Princess Monterey Whale Watching Cruises

My husband and I had never been whale watching and decided this would be the year to do it. Kathleen had explained what we might be seeing and we were treated to a Hump Back Whale that gave us a real show for over an hour. She was very informative and used her wonderful personality to entertertain as well as teach those on board the beauties of the Sea. We would recomend this tour to any of our friends and family. P.S. Kathleen was also very sympathetic about my husband's Giants baseball cap being blown offf his head and ending up in the water. He really appreciated that.....it was his favorite. Thanks again, Bill and Renee Cutter

We were nervous about going because we live locally and my husband is skeptical and does not like big crowds. We were pleasantly surprised. The staff was very knowledgeable, professional and kept things interesting even when there was no whale to be seen. I know the whale watching companies compete but I think they also talk to each other as well as fisherman and other boaters because they knew exactly where the humpback was. It was a thrilling site - we saw him or her jump out of the water for over an hour. They respected the whales space and really tried not to interfere with it. I would highly recommend them - they were great!

I Live in Monterey, and wanted to take a 12th grade class out on this boat, this was miss repersented, this was an old fishing boat with it's history on a plaque on its bou. There was NO person giving any history or facts. This was however a Whale watching boat, If i did not know the skipper it would have been a miserable for this group. I was told by the owners to call them direct next time I want to go out. This is Great for me; but you should know not so GREAT for YOU!! Tina Silvestri

The Princess Monterey is a beautiful ship. Clean and the Captain and crew were great! We managed to see several pods of Killer Whales, it was very exciting. The journey out to the viewing area was pleasant and great views of the shoreline. The ship departed on time and returned when promised. The ocean was relatively calm, so it made for a smooth comfortable ride. You will find all the amenities on the ship from a cabin inside, if it is too breezy, to a canteen as well as men's and ladies washrooms. Overall is was a top notch experience and we would definitely do it again!

Great if you have young children

We had a warm day with calm seas, and the fantastic experience of seeing 10-20 orcas in a couple pods about 14 miles from the dock. The boat was comfortable, the naturalist knowledgeable and informative, and the scenery beautiful. This is a great, unique Monterey experience and 3 hours is the perfect amount of time.

We took the afternoon cruise - most disappointing. One whale was allegedly spotted by the biologist - we never saw it. The biologist was very unprofessional - off color humor which was out of line in light of the number of younger children on board and silly comments - nothing scientific or informative. To add insult to injury - she thanked us all for helping her spot the whales - this had no truth to it at all. The deck hands were very courteous -but overall - we could not have been more dissatisfied.

Don't expect to see too many whales up close. On our trip, the captain did more boating than whale watching. During that last 5 minutes we saw 2 pods of whales but from a distance. Than we were off back to the dock.

My boyfriend and I had a great time on our whale watching adventure with Princess Whale Watching Cruise. It is something we have been wanting to do for a long time. We are so glad we chose Princess and plan to go again. The guide was great. She was very knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor! I have already recommended the cruise to friends who are planning a a whale watching cruise this weekend with Princess!

We really enjoyed our 2.5 hr excursion. The show was amazing! We were fortunate to see the Killer whales and they put on a really wonderful show for us. One was actually along side the boat and could be seen, though about a foot of water. The crew was very friendly, safety conscious and informative. The only thing that I would say to the crew is that maybe the children should stay with their parents. Some of the children were running around on the boat. I personally am handicapped and must use a cane as I have trouble walking without one and maintaining balance. One of these children almost knocked me over at one time. This is not the crews fault as I am sure they can not see everything going on at once. But they may consider having any children under 15 to be with their parents, This excursion made this Monterey Bay trip the most amazing I have ever had yet. We are from the San Francisco Bay area so we do get to visit more often than others. I will remember this the rest of my life should I not get a chance to do it again.

We were excited to see 2-3 pods of Orcas . Saw male female & Jr Orcas diviing in & out of water, some came very close to the boat & one swam underneath. The staff were excellent keeping a close watch on passengers & providing info re whales & other things of interest.

We never done this so we didn't know how our bodies were going to react to the boat movement. 1 out of 4 of us got sick but they were very nice about how to handle it. Me, my husband and youngest daughter had a blast. We didn't get any humpbacks but we got about 9-10 Killer Whales/Orca's. We are doing it again in November hoping to see humpbacks! I think the intercom in the enclosed area of the boat needs to be clearer on a windy day, we couldn't hear the narrations from the captain who was funny and energetic, I was a bit sick but he made me smile on what I could hear!

Going whale watching is great fun, just make sure you have the right gear. It gets so much colder than you would expect. Jacket, gloves, and even a hat would have been great on this warm April day. I got wet in the front, and started shivering like crazy. However, all those things are tehnically my fault, not the company. Seeing the whales in the wild, was really amazing. The knowledgeable captain was able to follow them and we kept getting really good views of time. Note that it is a looong ride out and back, 3 hours is a long time on a boat if you're not used to it. It's pretty fun to do once in a while...

We really appreciated being on a big boat when the weather was not ideal. Even though nobody (on any boat) saw whales the day we went out, it was a fun time. Having a naturalist on board was informative, though I was glad I didn't have younger kids with me given that some of her commentary was a little off-color. This is my preferred whale watching tour company and boat. Hands down.

went to see whales, but unfortunately did not see much. We had hoped that the boat crews would have a better sense as to where the whales would be.