Princess Monterey Whale Watching Cruises

I had a fantastic day! Saw many amazing Blue and Gray Whales.

We had a great time whale watching. We saw several blue whales, the staff was very knowledgable. Please, make sure you take your motion sickness medicine. If you don't, you will be inside the boat puking and you will miss everything.

I never expectected to experience abundant Blue Whale sightings in mid July alongside with the more showy Humpbacks, It was a kick. Excellent piloting on a very choppy day combined with a friendly and informative crew made for a great outing. Thanks and keep the krill coming. alan & joan tempe, az

We got the fairly standard "you should have been here yesterday" story before boarding, but our excursion was more than adequate. There were numerous Blue and Humpback whales for us to see including a couple of juvenile Humpbacks that were hanging out on the surface while the adults were lunge feeding. The boat crew was very friendly and attentive to the needs of the guests. I'd recommend this boat to anyone and will definitely choose this boat again the next time we're in Monterey.

After hearing that there were plenty of whales out in Monterey Bay, I decided to take one of the whale watching tours out of Fisherman's Wharf. After a little bit of online research, I chose the Princess because it was a larger vessel and most of the reviews seemed to suggest a good experience. And overall, it was a pretty good experience. Although it was hard to hear the naturalist at times becuase of the waves and the location of the speakers, the overall experience was great. There were plenty of blue and humpback whales out in the bay, and some were even as close as 25 feet away. There was an adult humpback and her calf that hung around the boat and provided plenty of photo opportunites as they breached. If you're thinking about going out, I definately recommend jumping on any of the boats. The only complaints I would have is that the guy checking us in seemed very disinterested, rushing through his introduction without really talking to us or even making eye contact. Also, it did seem a little crowded on the boat and some people were not willing to allow others in to take pictures. Otherwise, it was a great trip.

I observed a very distressed sea sick child on our outing. The crew came by every few minutes to check on the father and her daughter. Kudos! They, of course, did not see the blue and humpback whales. I think the creew should be empowdered to give some type of compensation to sea sick kids and their parents. Perhaps, a gift certificate at 50% of what they paid for merchandise........

My parents were here visiting from PA, and we had driven up to the San Francisco area to do some tourist things. On the way home we decided to stay overnight in the Monterey area. My mom found your whale watching tour in one of the local tourist attraction books. When I booked the reservations, I was somewhat skeptical about what we would see, having been on a "whale watching" tour in Alaska once before. The weather was great, the water was cooperative, and the whales were just unbelievable. My parents were so thrilled at the spectacular display of nature that they were able to see during the 2 1/2 hours. The captain and the crew were excellent at positioning the ship so that no matter where you stood you could see. We spent 2 1/2 hours admiring these creatures. It was absolutely AMAZING. I know the crew has no control over the whales, but it was almost like they were on cue, and put on a show just for us and the captain and the crew were giving the commands for the show. This was well worth the cost of the tickets. We would ABSOLUTELY recommend this trip. I know the captain and the crew can't control for nature, but if you don't see whales in this trip, it's because you're not looking

My 14 year old daughter and I enjoyed our first whale watching experience on the Princess Monterey. The staff was wonderful and very informative. We saw plenty of blue whales and humpbacks on our trip not to mention a few dolphins. I would totally recommend this whale watching tour to anyone and we plan on visiting during the winter!

With the krill in Monterey Bay, the whales are up cloae and personal. Great trip.

We chose the largest boat that usually does whale watching cruises because of the added stability in potentially choppy sea. In the event the ocean was like a mill pond and we need not have worried. The crew were very helpful and knowledgeable, taking us straight to a pod of blue whales that were feeding and describing where to look. However the skipper decided to always manoeuvre to put the same side of the boat to the whales, so those of us that had positioned ourselves on the other side were forced to always look over the shoulders of everyone else on the boat. This was OK at first but became increasingly annoying as the boat felt crowded and people were not inclined to move away from their hard won viewing spots. There were loads of whales to see, both blues and humpbacks, and this was fantastic, although how it would have been on a foggy or rough day I would not like to guess.

i read in the san francisco newspaper that the whales were in monterey bay by the 100's. my wife and i decided to check it out and we were not disappointed. the boat was full but we had no problems viewing the whales. the skillful boat captain was able to get close enough to the whales, for photos, without disturbing/harassing them. it was a totally enjoyable experience and we will do it again next year, hopefully with the grand kids.

We spent 3 hours on the Pacific Princess roving Monterrey Bay. The weather was perfect. We saw 12-20 different Grey and Humpback whales. The crew did a great job of directing everyone's attention to where to look for the whales. At one point a couple of whales passed within a few feet of the boat. The boat was fine although it was pretty crowded due to the out of season presence of whales in Monterrey Bay. July 2010.

My husband and I went on the Princess Monterey's whale watching excursion and we were taken away. It was so much better than we expected. The staff were really nice and informative and we saw so many whales. It was definitely one of the best things we've both have ever done, ever. They're such huge and beautiful animals out in the ocean, their natural habitat. I'd definitely return just to watch the whales.

The whale watching was great! I couldn't always find a place to sit. I also wanted to buy a soda halfway through the trip and couldn't find anyone to help me. But the staff was knowledgable and we saw at least a dozen whales.

excellent