Princess Monterey Whale Watching Cruises

Our whale watching trip was fun.......... My husband and I took our four year old daughter on the boat. It turned out to be the best adventure for her. She loved every minute of it and learned about whales and dolphins. She wanted to get back on the boat when we got off. This was her first trip ever on a boat. We had a great day seeing whales and dolphins. We can't wait to go again.

thank you Pacific Explorer Great trip 2 hump backs 2 blues & rizzos gr.kids loved it first time for 1 ,2nd for other ,4th for third second time with you& boat well done . G.C.R. Trona CA

We got cancelled on a 4 PM trip due to rough water. They reset our time for 9 AM next morning & we had a complete sellout Long trip out (half hour) to find a pod of whales. We stayed about 100 yards from the pods (as law requires) but there were lots of sperm whales & lots of oohing & aahing as he whales surfaced - 100 yards proved no viewing problem. Several showed large tail flips & we saw 3 full breeches - very entertaining! We then traveled about 15 minutes where they had spotted a gray whale. It was enormous & worth the trip to see the largest live creature in the world. Only negative was the cold, of which we were warned. Well worth the $40 cost.

None

Although the seas were running 8 to 10 feet, this was an excellent trip. There were a large number of whales feeding about 5 miles off shore. We spent at least an hour surrounded buy whales, although none got within about 50 yards of the boat. The boat was large enough that the seas were not a problem and the crew was very attentive to everyone's comfort. Those that did suffer from sea sickness were escorted by a crew member to the rail and tended to with care. The captain was very knowledgeable and informative about the whales and their habits. I would recommend this trip to anyone.

Windy and cold, but a great trip! Saw several whales and my husband got some great pictures. I just watched! The guide was knowledgeable, giving lots of interesting information about the sea creatures. Definitely recommend the trip.

It was great to see so much, but very hard to take photos because the boat moves so much. Video works best, but my advice would be not to try to take too many, just look and enjoy. We would have liked to to stay longer once they had found the place where all the whales were (espec the blues) but we had to turn back unfortunately. 30 mins longer would have been ideal.

This was our first whale watching cruise and we hope certainly not the last! We saw blue whales, humpbacks, and even dolphins -Yay! The crew was pleasant and informative. This cruise was reccommended to me by my sister, and I am highly reccommending it to others! Thanks for a whale of a time!

We saw lots of humpback whales including a mother with calf. The humpbacks moved slowly and spent alot of time on the surface so you could really see most of the whale. We followed a pair of blue whales which moved much faster. When the blue whales dove, the 20 ft wide tail stuck straight up in the air. That alone made the trip worth it. There was also a school of Risso's Dolphins which were also very cool. Definitely worth the trip.

The cruise was very well organized and professional. Felt very comfortable, would do it again!

The crew made a great effort to find and point out whales, other ocean life.

The trip was not bad, but having that many people on one boat is really not enjoyable. The morning trip was sold out, and I understand that the more tickets you sell, then money you make. People were running back and forth depending on what side the whales were on. People were pushing their kids in between people so that the kids were on the rails. If society had more considerate and decent people, there wouldn't be that many issues, but that's not the case. I said something on several different occasions regarding them being rude and pushing, but they just continued to be inconsiderate. No one was nice, they were just thinking about themselves and their children. We all paid the same amount of money for that trip and with the boat being so unstable that you must hold one with one hand at all times. I was nervous having my child close to the rails for fear of someone pushing him over while trying to see a whale. I understand that the Coast Guard has determined the amount of people that can be on the vessel at one time. If you cut the amount of people allowed on the boat by 1/4 per trip. I would probably refer my friends and family.

Top drawer all the way. From booking, to check-in, to boarding, to safety consciousness for children, to cleanliness of the bathrooms that my child had to use twice, to staff friendliness and consideration for guests, to helping kids to see the whales, to the captain who did not aggressively drive the ship, to the narrator who was clearly passionate about the wildlife (whales, dolphins, albatrosses, etc.) this was all that we could have hoped for. We are local to the SF Bay Area and have already recommended this operation to a friend. We'll be back to go again on the Princess without a doubt. We like the big ship because for kids (6 yr old) who haven't been on the ocean before it's best to introduce them to a ship that will be less conducive to motion sickness so they have a positive experience and to lay the foundation for future trips. My $.02: take an over the counter motion sickness tablet an hour before just in case. They make them in chewable less drowsy form, but check with a doctor if under 12 yrs old per the directions (for the non-drowsy form). Our Dr. was only familiar with the popular brand which causes some drowsiness, but is okay for 2 yr olds and up...so that's what we used and it made our child a bit drowsy. If you don't think you need to take a motion sickness pill, just know it's too late if you turn green on board. That will be true with any of the ships, but the boat and the captain do make a difference. I rarely smelled diesel exhaust. I really liked that, because that will turn me ill in a heartbeat. I think by going in the morning the water and wind were calm. Ate lightly, not greasy, easy on the caffeine. All in all, a great way to go!

We enjoyed our 2 1/2 hours trip to see some whales in Monterey Bay. The naturalist on board provided us with a lot of information on the whales. The captain that day was able to find about 5 humpback whales and later about 4 blue whales which for August is pretty good. Also saw sea lions, harbor seals ans some dolphins, a good trip.

A wonderful experience. Everyone associated with the activity was very personable, friendly, and informative. Loads of Blues and Grays and one Orca. If you're not quite awake for the early departure, the odor from the sea lions will get you started!