Princess Monterey Whale Watching Cruises

As residents of CT we have vacationed in Provincetown on Cape Cod, Massachusetts for over thirty years. We Whale Watch every year in Cape Cod on the Dolphin Fleet out of Provincetown. The whales feed during the summer months at Stellwagon Bank. it is nothing to see forty, fifty, or more whales, in edition to dolphins on the East Coast Whale Watches. Our Captain keeps his distance so as not to disturb them but there are so many, we have had them come over, right along side the boat and going under the bow like you could touch them. They are named by the design on their flukes and many years we see the same ones. It is a fantastic Whale Watch. We thought the West Coast one would be the same but it was most disappointing, seeing only six whales and not really seeing them, as they were so far away. Just their water spouts were noticable in the distance. Seeing so few it didn't seem like there is a feeding area off of Monterey , like the East Coast's Stellwagon Bank. The boat ride was good, and the crew were very nice and informative but my husband, son and I will never go on a West Coast Whale Watch again. Cape Cod is the place to see whales and it is worth a flight out here. Joan & Bob Mazurek

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When I booked this boat I thought we would have a good time and maybe see a few things. But when we went in September 2007 we saw Three Humpbacks (1 was a baby) and a pretty good number of dolphins. The boat is pretty good sized. There is an inside cabin area with booths and seating on the deck. There were lots of people on our trip but there was still plenty of room on the boat. In our party there were 2 people over 65 (one stayed in the cabin because of the cold wind), 2 people in the 40s, 2 people in 30s, and 2 children. We all had a great time.

We hopped aboard the Princess the first trip of the day (10 AM). Plenty of room on board to move around and enjoy the scenery. The weather was great. When the boat arrived at the Moss Landing area, there was a report of an Orca so we waited patiently to see it. All the other whale watching boats in the same area communicate to one another if they spot whales so it benefits all of us. The Orca gave us the slip I suppose....but we watched for others. No whales on our trip but great commentary from the docent/naturalist aboard. Learned everything from history of the Monterey Bay and Cannery Row to the habitat and migration of the different whales and birds. Great trip. The Princess offered every one on board a free trip later in the day to try again. Very professional crew and trip. I would definitely recommend them.

We loved our cruise with The Princess Monterey. There were 16 of us, they made it very easy to be a large group. They nearly guaranteed whales and we weren't disappointed...we saw humpbacks and orcas. I highly recommend this as a family outing.

My 10 year old son and I very much enjoyed our whale watching cruise. We saw a total of 5 humpback whales, portpoises, sea otters and many species of birds. The staff, especially Katherine the marine biologist who narrated the tour, were very friendly and knowledgable. The boat was comfortable and provided plenty of room for people to move about and sit inside where its covered if desired. I would not recommend this tour for children much younger than 10 as there is a lot of waiting involved while you are cruising the ocean looking for whales. I saw a few children around 5 or so that were very unhappy. Also I would consider taking a preventive dose of dramamine prior to the trip as a precaution as the seas were fairly rough and several people were not feeling well. My son and I took the dramamine prior and had no problems.I highly recommend this tour!

I've been whale watching out of Provincetown MA. On that trip the whales were within yards of the boat I was on./ The trip out of Monterey was a little dissappointing because we couldn't get closer to the whales, though I do understand the reason. I am glad that we rented the binoculars because with them my son had a similar experience to mine in Provincetown; it was as if the whales were right next to the boat. The female guide knew a lot of interesting facts that held our interest while we were on the lookout for whales.

Our group was lead by a wonderful woman who was very informative and very enthusiastic and fun. We had a wonderful time and saw three whales. It was cold and you do need to head the advice to wear layers. It was in the seventies inland and when we got on the water it was much colder. I would definately say to anyone to go, it's worth the trip.

The staff at princess whale watching were phenomenal. Engaging and entertaining, but more than that they were responsive to the needs of my family and the other families on the boat without being asked!(I took a three and a five year old on the boat and one staff member offered to sit with my little boy in the worm cabin, while I took my five year old out on deck.!! I was amazed by their genuine concern and warmth.

My family and I took a cruise to see whales in the middle of August. We all talked about seeing whales on our trip to Monterey, we just kept saying "I hope we see whales, I hope we see whales". To our surprise, we saw a female humpback and her calf, and we saw dolphins. On our cruise, the waters were a little choppy, so the captain had to take us in early. All and all it was better than we were expecting, and we will all do it again.