Princess Monterey Whale Watching Cruises

Most of the trip was getting to and from our destination. Not enough time to really see anything.

We went out on the hottest day of the year--99 degrees in Santa Cruz--so we were in t shirts without jackets the whole time! Sea was calmish, whales were plentiful, and guide was helpful and fun. Highly recommend this operation--we had a great time!

This is the largest boat in Monterey going whale watching, therefore the most smooth going. The crew is friendly and the comentary very informative. We went the last week in August, and saw 3 whales and a large school of dolphins with babies. We loved it. Dress warm. It gets cold on the water.

We had such a magical time on this cruise -- in relation to the wildlife we were fortunate enough to see. However, not having a clue in regards to whether or not our kidlings would get sea-sick was what prompted us to take them along. We have 3 year old twins and they both became extremely sea-sick within 30 minutes of the voyage. In hindsight we simply would not have taken them (even though the boat allows for 3 yrs on up to go) because it amounted to a full three hours of sheer torture for them :^( The boat was all over the place, anything but a smooth ride. I would recommend taking dramamine (and I NEVER get motion sickness), since it was so rock and rolly -- if you thing for even a moment you might become ill. And skip breakfast altogether! Our tour guide was a woman with mountains of experience as a marine biologist. She was funny, exuberant, and incredibly knowledgable about everything. Quite a joy.

My husband and I went on honeymoon to California and pre-booked the Whale Watching Trip, what fun we had!! We went really far out to see, and yes it was choppy out there, but its not the same as being on a bit rough boat indoors, this is fun. Wear something warm though, as it starts to get chilly on the way out. We seen a hump back whale and lots of killer whales, it just doing seem real seing these mammals up close, but it was fantastic, we really enjoyed it. Thank you Fiona

I literally missed the boat and they do no refunds or exchanges....I was very disappointed. Not my fault. My GPS took me to the wrong location.

We were in Monterey celebrating our 33rd wedding anniversary with no firm plans of what to do. We found two whale-watching tour brochures at our hotel, but the concierge recommended Princess. I went online to check prices expecting the tour to be at least $75 for the 2.5 hr tour. To my delight it was only $39.95+tax so we made two reservations. The reservation process was very easy to use. The boatride/tour was a delight. The marine biologist onboard was lively and interesting to listen to and we did see LOTS of whale and dolphin activity, as well as marine birds. Safety onboard was emphasized and lots of life jackets in various sizes were easily available. Snacks & soft drinks were available on board also. We had a wonderful time and I highly recommend this tour to anyone who loves being out on the water and seeing marine life.

EXPERIENCING A WHALE WATCHING EXCURSION WAS A LIFE LONG GOAL FOR ME AND I FINALLY WAS ABLE TO FULFILL MY DREAM. WE BOTH ENJOYED OUR TRIP ON THE PRINCESS MONTEREY. THE TOUR GUIDE WAS VERY INFORMATIVE AND HELPFUL TO GUIDE AND INFORM US WHEN THERE WERE SITINGS TO OBSERVE. WE FEEL THAT WE WERE EXTREMELY FORTUNATE TO HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE SO MANY WHALES, DOLPHINS AND SEVERAL OTHER TYPES OF MAMMALS, BIRDS , JELLY FISH ETC. MOTHER NATURE GAVE US A GREAT SHOW! WE CAME HOME AND BRAGGED TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY ABOUT OUR WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE AND SHOWED OFF ALL THE GREAT PICTURES THAT WERE CAPTURED ON OUR TRIP AND NOW THEY ALL WANT TO JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT WHALE WATCHING TRIP. WE WILL DEFINATELY PLAN FOR ANOTHER TRIP MAYBE IN THE SPRINGTIME SO THAT WE CAN SEE OTHER TYPES OF WILDLIFE THAT MIGRATE DURING THIS TIME PERIOD. THANK YOU FOR THE WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE

We had a wonderful time on our trip. Katherine our marine biologist was fun and enthusiastic. We saw lots of whales! Thanks so much for an awesome trip.

Our daughter, her husband and their two young teens were visiting from Philadelphia - they'd been here before, so we wanted to do something extra special that would be really memorable. This sure met that goal! Air travel is nothing new for them, but we weren't sure how a boat on open water would be tolerated, so we did hand out a motion sickness med beforehand. Everybody was fine - our granddaughter and grandson started out sitting on the benches, but very soon graduated to the front rail, totally enjoying the scenery and the water spray - looked like veteran sailors. Then.........the whales! We saw several gorgeous ones feeding and diving, got some fabulous photos of the flukes as they went down - saw dolphins and jellies too. The trip was even more exciting than we imagined! As a bonus, they loved seeing the Aquarium and the buildings along Cannery Row and Sunset Drive from the water side, and trying to identify everything they knew. It was a totally wonderful experience! Thank you Benjie, and the rest of your crew. You made our day!