Princess Monterey Whale Watching Cruises

Lots of fun, Dolphins, Humpbacks, Killer Whales, and Blue Whales seen. Very successful tour. Knowlagable and informative crew. Highly recommended

This was our second time doing this. The boat is well-equipped for the outing, with an outstanding captain and crew, and we had the good fortune of seeing several types of whale- orca, humpback and blue. The main thing that needs improvement is the sound system on board. There were dead spots, and we were in one of them, where the biological interpreter could not be heard clearly. We would have moved around but that ran up against the rather crowded conditions on the boat. A somewhat smaller group, even at higher ticket prices, should be considered, along with some additional exterior speakers.

It was fun... But we didnt really see any whales other than a couple of them and all we really saw was their fins... The water was rough, we went at the 4:30pm ride, it was very cold and the sun was gone by then, it might be because that day was very cloudy overall...my fiance and i got sea sick... It could be bacause we travelled for almost 6hours prior to the trip and were already tired... I also wished that we brought snacks with us... Bottomline, it was a great experience, wished we saw more whales it would have been so much more exciting! I guess my advice is to not expect to see so many whales, and if you get motion sick easily you might want to think twice... Bring snacks... And things to keep u warm such as gloves, scarfs, even a small blanket for extra warmth :)

Crew was top notch. Captain was very pleasant and highly infomative. Found plenty of Whales and Dolphins. Day was a little gray and rocky. But that was obviously not anybody's fault. Keep up the good work.

We saw a newspaper article on whale watching and decided to go. We had a great time and have already recommended the trip to friends and co-workers. We saw 5 Blue whales, and numerous Humpback whales including a mother and her calf. The whales breached many times and we saw two jump up in the distance and come completely out of the water. We saw several pods of Risso dolphins which came close to the boat. There was plenty of room and viewing was easy on either side of the boat . The Crew would turn the boat so both sides could see if there were whales on one particular side, but you can also walk from side to side. The water was a little choppy the day we went, but we did not get sea sick. Food and drinks for sale are inside the boat. The Crew was pleasant and very happy to answer our questions. Also helpful was the fact that the Crew always seemed to know when and where the whales would be surfacing and would tell you where to watch. Would definitely recommend dressing in warm clothing with knit cap and gloves. Also would recommend bringing a video camera. It was a fun and exciting experience for our family.

Saw lots of whales and dolphins

This trip is definitely worth doing at least once in your life, there really is no other way to see a blue whale than in it's natural habitat. I would have wished to see the whales a bit closer up than we did but there are federal regulations on how close the boat can go. It also depends on how curious/friendly the whales are that day so this is no fault of the boat and it's crew. On our trip we saw 2 blue whales, 2 humpback whales and a pod of ~25 risso's dolphins. I've been on quite a few fishing boats prior to this and the one thing many have in common is the harsh "salty dog" attitude from the crew. However, im glad to report that this boat's crew was extremly curteous and quite helpful, especially the first mate. On our way back to port he came around with a book that had close up pictures of what the whales and dolphins we saw look like out of the water. If I hav to give one piece of advice that would be TAKE DRAMAMINE prior to going on the boat. There we about 15-20 people on our boat who did nothing but sleep or throw up because of sea sickness. It wasn't even choppy water.

To take a few hours out of your day to see these huge creatures is unbelievable and well worth the time and money. We had a wonderful adventure and saw too many blue whales and humpbacks to count. The important part was the captain knew exactly where to go and how close we could be. I would do it again . . . .

The captain of the boat gave us a nice commentary and worked hard to get us near to as much wildlife as he could. The "deckhands" were sweet and helpful and were always around or nearby to help out.

This was our first time to watch whales and it was a spontaneous event. Last week, I heard in the news that there was a large whale visitation in Monterey due to the abundance of krill, and that if this would be the best time to see whales. I especially wanted to see the Blue Whales, and I thought this would be the best chance I would have. I used YELP to see which merchants had good ratings and The Princess Monterey had really great reviews. I did some more research about the company and decided to buy the 1:30 pm tickets on 8/7/19 for Princess Monterey. On the day of the travel, I didn't anticipate much traffic from San Francisco, and I should have. We left SF at 11:00 am...so, if you're traveling the same distance, I suggest allow about 3 hrs to get to Moneterey. We arrived in Moneterey really close to 1:30 pm...and, yes, we were running to the vessel. Thank goodness it didn't leave exactly at 1:30....we would have missed it! The waters were very choppy so, take a pill if you *think* you'll get seasick. There were a couple of people that were very excited when we left the harbor, but, as we waded into the sea, they just looked so sad, sitting and chewing on ginger. We first saw the Blue Whales, then, Humpbacks, and lastly, Risso Dolphins (which a passenger who seemed really knowledgeable about the many different sea species pointed out to the Captain). We were very lucky that one of the Blue Whales took a deep dive for we saw his/her TAIL! I wished I was fast enough to capture it on my camera! The captain informed us that only 11% of the time will people see a Blue Whale's tail...it's quite a rare sight! The blues weren't close to the vessel...however, the Humpback's were. We were able to capture some Humpback's tail on our cameras. I was aware that Blue Whales are the biggest animals on the planet, but didn't fully understand it until I visited the site. It would be beneficial to have an understanding of their size...and then to actually see them in open waters is unexplainable.