Princess Monterey Whale Watching Cruises

while 3 other whale watching boats were at least 100% closer to the whales, this operator was much farther away, and was quick to turn around and head back, hoping to cut their time short ( since all they cared was that paid customers SPOTTEd whales not watched them). I rate this whale watcher vendor a MUST AVOID.

We observed just 2 whales and 2 dolphins. Really disappointing as I assumed we would view various types of whales and in higher multitudes. I saw more sea life while kayaking.

We went on the whale watching cruise on the 2:30pm ride. This worked out since the fog had cleared by then. Don't know if we just got lucky, but we saw a hump back whale with her baby, pretty close to the boat! Closer in to the harbor a dolphin and her baby came over to play by the boat. They leaped out of the water and did all types of tricks, then some seals started to play with them, like playing follow the leader, also leaping out of the water. It was the neatest thing. We took seasickness medicine, and it was a good thing too. I was fine for most of it but still got a little nauseous on the way back for a bit. Not too bad though, and I'd do it again anyway. Definitely take a few layers of clothing. Even if it's warm on shore, it can get windy and cold out there, plus you might get splashed (which we did).

I THOUGHT THIS WAS THE MOST AMAZING BOAT RIDE I HAVE EVER TAKEN. IT WAS MY FIRST TIME ON A BOAT, SO I WAS NERVOUS! BUT IT WAS AWESOME!! I CAME AS AN EXTRA CREDIT FOR MY BIOLOGY CLASS, SO I AM GLAD I CHOSE THIS AS MY TOPIC!! IT WAS VERY AMAZING...I GOT TO SEE A LOT OF HUMPBACKS AND LOTS OF DOLPHINS!! I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS TYPE OF TRIP TO ANYONE...AND I WOULDN'T MIND COMING BACK AGAIN, NOW THAT I KNOW HOW IT FEELS LIKE.... NICE AND AMAZING TRIP!! I JUST LOVED IT! (I CAME WITH MY DAD AND MY BROTHER...THAT IS WHAT I MEAN BY FAMILY WITH CHILDREN)

The boat trip was great, it was hard to get from one side of the boat to the other, when the whales were jumping.. But that is a bit impossible to control. The instructor/commontator was OUTSTANDING her wealth of knowledge of the ocean and all it's creators made the trip very enjoyable as well as educational. She was awsome !!

I loved it. It was a great experience. I took my 11 yr.old and 7 yr. old grandsons. The 7 year old had a wonderful, fun time. The 11 yr. old got a little motion sickness and did not enjoy the ride at all. But that's him - he has always had motion sickness problems since he was a child. The person who talked was wonderful in explaining everything to us. She was a very joyful, enthusiastic person. The other help on board were very caring, and attentive to us at all times. It was a great crew to be with. I could do this trip over and over - I enjoyed it so much. I loved it.

pros: we saw whales and dolphins, sea lions and seals good comments, nice crew cons: some padding on the outside seating would be nice

THIS WAS OUR FIRST TIME WHALE WATCHING AND IT WAS WONDERFUL. THE STAFF WAS VERY FUN, FRIENDLY AND KNOWLEDGABLE. WE LEFT AND ABOUT 20-30 MINUTES LATER WE HAD TWO BEAUTIFUL HUMPBACKS PLAYING IN THE WATER ALL AROUND OUR BOAT. ABOUT AN HOUR AFTER THAT WE FOUND A COUPLE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DOLPHINS AND SWAM WITH THEM FOR A LITTLE WHILE. OVERALL, THIS WAS 3 HOURS VERY WELL SPENT.

I didnt think we would get to see so much, but we did! We even got to see a mother and calf humpback whales. While we were out there we saw about 4-5 whales, but the mother and calf stayed right next to us. On the way in a dolphin passed us by too! Very fun, but cold so wear gloves because your fingers will be freezing.

The Good: Saw humpbacks, common dolphins, sea lions, sea otters The Bad: Printed our Zerve e-tickets, but when we presented them to the crewman, we were made to go back upstairs (which was crowded and narrow) and exchange our "e-tickets" for regular ones. There is NO mention that we had to do this, either on Zerve's website, our "e-tickets", or while waiting at the pier. The crewman gave a half-hearted apology, saying "yeah, that happens a lot". IF IT HAPPENS A LOT, DO SOMETHING TO FIX IT! Had our cruise been filled to capacity, our trip would have been even worse. Beware of this if you buy your tickets here on Zerve. Or better yet, consider one of the other activity providers that have better communication between themselves, their ticket vendors, and their customers. The Ugly: While knowledgeable and affable, our tour guide's routine was rated PG (a couple of sexual double-entendres, i.e. whales "getting some tail) and wasn't appropriate to say in front of young children.