Princess Monterey Whale Watching Cruises

We had a wonderful time and saw a pod of 8-10 whales. The crew was excellent and knowledgeable. My 15-year old son wasn't enthusiastic about going on this adventure with me, but once we boarded the boat, his attitude changed and he became intensely interested in learning more about whales. As a bonus, we got to see an otter diving and bringing up his lunch. All in all, a very pleasant and interesting few hours on the waters of Monerey Bay.

We loved our whale watching trip with Princess Monterey Whale Watching tours. The biologist on board (Katherine) was very knowledgeable and told us interesting information and we were thrilled to see about 20 humpback whales. The boat was comfortable and it was a very enjoyable afternoon. We went on the 1:30 cruise. Take a jacket - it was very chilly on the water even though it was quite warm onshore. I would highly recommend this company.

It was on my list of things I needed to do in my lifetime, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. Thank you!

I was with my extended family from Germany (I am local). They were very happy with their experience. They commented on the helpfulness and friendliness of the crew. Crew was great about looking after not only safety, but also well-being of crew.

We weren't sure if this would be worth the price since we are on a budget. The crew were very friendly. We saw many whales. Three whales lined up right next to the boat and flapped their tails at us. The boat cruised by sea lions and seals too. Others saw dolphins in the distance. My kids loved it. The 3 hour cruise is a long time if you are prone to seasickness.

We (my mother and I) had a great time. We did feel bad for those who did get sick. We had taken dramamine and felt fine. The service by staff was very professional. We can't say enough about Christine's positive influence on the trip as a whole. We continue to discuss information she had given us long after the trip. Everything was great!

March 22 was my birthday and it was a great way to celebrate by whale watching. Crew was friendly. Had a great time. Humpback whales were very impressive.

I was apprehensive about taking this trip. But once on board and the whale and dolphin watching began i was truly enjoying it. I was disappointed somewhat in the market of the product verus what you really get when you arrive. The marine biologist was informative and kept us entertained. I understand that there is a distance that has to be kept from the animals and was alittle disapointed with that. But overall is was a nice trip. Alittle costly but with gas prices and all it was worth it.

The staff was professional, friendly, knowledgeable and hospitable. We've never been on a whale watching tour so not sure what to compare it to. The loudspeaker was poor so we hardly understood anything the guide said. Also, they delayed the tour by a half hour due to weather, which is not unreasonable, but they could have called us say an hour before to let us know. Then we would not have had to stand in the cold and wait. I'm quite sure when I signed up you asked for a local or cell number.

The naturalist began the program before we boarded the boat. She was funny and enthusiastic. While on the boat, the naturalist was helpful in bringing attention to the whales present in the water along with a detailed explanation. My daughter and I are from the East so this activity was a real treat. About half way through the boat turned around to return to shore. We were so relaxed from the movement of the boat we feel asleep---happy that we had seen whales.

Although we've never been Whale Watching out of Monterey before I thought it would be a nice activity for my husband's Birthday. We frequent Carmel/Pacific Grove and Monterey frequently and love the area. I love and respect the ocean and all the creatures and splendor of the sea. We went Whale Watching ("Chasing") up in Alaska last September and thoroughly enjoyed our excursions. Seems like the flukes of the Gray Whale are much smaller than the Humpbacks though. Would have loved to see an Orca, but I guess that will be for another time. Our Naturalist on board was very nice and informative. I've been taking alot of Earth Science courses lately and have had the opportunity to go out on Humboldt State's Research vessel, The Coral Seas on several occassions. So I'm extremely interested in all the ocean has to hold and everything living beneath her surface. Some day maybe we'll plan it better so that we can see a whale breech. But it was fun to be out there anyway. Yes, I would highly recommend such a trip again to anyone who is interested in the ocean and all its creatures.

It was a relatively a nice day, 3/13/08 but still cool so being inside on the way out was nice. Once out spotting the Grey whales, there was plenty of room for everyone to view the whales. The Captain was very informative of the whales and their history. We saw about 10 to 12 Grey's. Was a nice and well spent $35 for the adventure. We are planing our next trip out when the Humpback Whales migrate.

We enjoyed the boat trip. The staff was very nice and helpful. The boat was comfortable and clean. I do not know if there are any lawful stipulations regarding how close your boats can get to the whales, but I was very disappointed that we were not able to get closer to the whales. I was hoping for some decent pictures of whales, but was unable to get any good shots. We saw "glimpses" of whale bodies, and saw many spouts. We saw a whale's tail twice, but never did get a good enough look at one to even see what a gray whale looks like. I just had high hopes of seeing a whale much closer up than we did.

My son was home on leave from Afghanistan and I was trying to line up activities for him that he would enjoy. Before joining the Army he was working at the San Francisco Zoo and had always had a special interest in all sorts of exotic animals and all of nature for that matter. But when I showed him the newpaper about the Orcas in the Bay and asked him if he'd like to go whale watching he was very excited to do so. Buying the tickets was a breeze finding the location was also very easy. Everyone was very curtious and when they found out that my son was home on leave from fighting in Afghanistan they went out of their way to thank him and make him feel welcome. We headed out for the Whale Watching trip on their beautiful 100' Princess. What a great boat. I had chose it because of it's size and the fact that my sister and her kids had joined us to be with my son and they are prone to sea sickness. My wife's son went with us as well and I think he also had a nice time. The day was absolutely fabulous. We did see a pod of about 5 or 6 gray whale but no Killer Whales. The trip as a whole was so enjoyable that we didn't even miss seeing the Orcas. We all had a wonderful time just being a family out on another adventure.

Leon was a great captain on the boat. He actually kept in contact with another boat so he could find more whales for us to see before we needed to head back in. I had just put my camera away when Leon saw another whale on the port side of the boat! That was the best sighting of the day...but no camera ready to catch the sight! Don't put away your camera until you are back in the harbour. The snacks available were slim and every expensive. I suggest taking your own. The seas were calm and the boating experience was just fine. My husband & I are big boat sailors so we know how it can be. The boat almost didn't take off because they didn't have enough people when we got there. We went to another whale watching boat company that said they were for sure going out if the Princess wanted to cancel. We went back to the Princess and by then, at the last minute, enough people had signed up. So that was good luck. The Princess is bigger than most of the other boats so it was more comfortable. I highly recommend it. Kris Wheatley