Princess Monterey Whale Watching Cruises

We went out on the larger of the two boats. The lower deck was pretty crowded and other whale watchers were a little pushy, standing in front of us and letting small children run around the boat. Most of the whale action was on the other side of the boat, and we were unable to get there due to the large volume of people intermixed with inaccessible railing space where people had gotten sea sick. It would have been nice if they had someone on board who was cleaning this up. The inner cabin was a little dirty and understandably did not smell amazing. The upper deck was restricted to people who paid an extra $20. The whales got very, very close to the boat. I wasn't paying too much attention to the way that the boat approached the whales so I can't remember if we stopped and the whales got closer to us, or if we got close to the whales, but it was a little too close for comfort. Not that I thought we were in any danger, just that it would be nice to give these animals more distance so as not to disrupt their feeding. We saw lots of whales, which was nice, and the tour operator seemed knowledgeable. Still, with such a large boat, it appeared that no one was available to answer questions until the tour was almost over. Overall I enjoyed this trip, but I think I would have preferred a much smaller boat next time.

The experience overall was quite enjoyable. While we missed some of the sightings that trips later in the day were able to see, everything we saw was wonderful. Thanks

100ft blue whale!

Always wanted to whale watch and got to see 3 different kinds including a Blue Whale. How fantastic is that? Great staff, great experience! Bring a coat even in the summer.

My husband and I went on a late afternoon trip with Princess Monterey Whale Watching in mid-July. We were thrilled to see humpbacks, which we were hoping we might, and blue whales, which was unexpected for us and awesome! We even got to see the blue whale flukes when it dove, which is uncommon. Spotting spouts in the distance was fun. The captain maneuvered the boat so we could see but still keep the right distance as to not disturb the whales. The naturalist was excellent. Our tour was on the Greatland, the larger of their two boats. Tips: When we arrived a half hour before the tour time, the top deck option was already sold out. The crowd on the regular deck was a bit larger than the outside deck could accommodate. I wished I had come by earlier to upgrade. Also, I don't usually have a problem with motion sickness, but the swells were bigger than I anticipated and I did need to get outside and move as far back as I could. I recovered and it did not diminish my enjoyment of the trip. I recommend bringing some dramamine, just in case, even if you don't usually need it. Overall it was a great experience, and I would love to go again. I highly recommend Princess Monterey!

Fun trip with multiple whale sightings, several within jumping distance of the boat. Clean, well kept boat with friendly and knowledgeable staff. Best price we found after looking around.

The trip was well organized and comfortable. Good crew, especially the naturalist who gave a lot of good information and answered questions. We were lucky to see many humpback whales and a blue which is so unusual and the captain made great effort to get us close enough for a good look. Thanks for a great trip.

What fun! Beautiful whales, fresh air, great commentary and truly renewing. A wonderful way to spend a day!

We saw blue whales, humpbacks, dolphins and so much more. It was a wonderful and comfortable cruise on Monterey Bay. Capt. Leon, AJ & the naturalist Ron made our day so special. They are awesome.

The whole experience of whale watching was amazing. The crew were very knowledgable and helpful. Highly recommended

We saw a lot of humpback whales and two Blue-whales, the captain did a great job driving us to the right spot and the a guy provided us with interesting facts and comments... Great tour, have been doing this with friends for 6 or 7 times, never disappointed, never dull!

Great tour group. Highly recommended!

Saw plenty of whales. Humpbacks, several Blues, and dolphins too.

It was a wonderful expience that I highly recommend for everyone.

This is the 2nd time back on this whale watch trip. They now have a new additional boat, both have great capacity. This time we saw 15+ humpbacks and 4 blue whales. Were able to observe rare blue whale fluke display when sounding. The naturalist/narrator on the trips knows all about the marine mammals being observed. Saw pilot whales on this trip, white sided dolphins on the last one. Lots of sea lions and some otters too.