Princess Monterey Whale Watching Cruises

I found that this tour was very much worth the money, but only because we saw whales! The boat was awesome, enough room for everyone! Though we didn't get as close as I thought we would, and as I've seen other boats, but I respect that in order not to disturb the whales migration patterns/route that we should keep our distance. It would be awesome to be able to stand at the top deck of the boat to be able to see better since we were so far, but rules and regulations! All I gotta say is that, at least we saw whales! PROS: SAW WHALES!!!! Didn't get seasick because I took Bonine=motion sickness prevention, less drowsey feeling than dramamine? Stayed warm, with coat and gloves and beanie! GLOVES recommended if you want to stand and hold on to the railing! CONS: there was a large group of rowdy children that were running around a sometimes stood directly in front of us on the ride back so we couldn't enjoy the view? it's close quarters too so sometimes they'd fall on us. we moved. but there were other places they could have stood. minor.

Tour biologist was interesting, well informed. Boat captain was skilled in keeping the boat stable and close to the whales. Weather Oct. 19, 2007 was perfect - clear skies, gentle swells.

I should have known better about sea sick. My husband and I had a terrible sea sick and so were many others... We started to feel sick after 30 minutes and were ready to get off the ship but you are in the middle of ocean. Our entire 3 hour trip was a nightmare. Our 3 and 4 year old kids were so scared and felt sick too. The sia sick preventitive ginger tasted cany did not help at all. Sea sick is very very scary than what you imagine! If you are afraid that you might get sea sick, DON"T GO! This is not recommended for toddlers either. It's too dangerous! I cannot believe they allow toddlers on the ship. Since there is a price setting for 3 to 12 years old, we thought it is safe to take kids on the ship, but it was wrong. Only a few people who did not get sea sick seamed to enjoy the whale watching though.

The crew were a lot of fun, the information is a learning experience, the day was calm and warm. We were able to see dolphins, a mother whale and her baby. Later on we saw another whale. The only thing we did not see were the whales jumping and waving their tales, that was disappointing but that the brakes. We were able to see two blue fin sharks and a lot of jellie fish floating by. To be out in the ocean and just know that you are bonding with mother nature is a great experience. The only problem I had was a worker dropped a floor mat behind me on the wharf, I turned around to walk away and tripped over the mat and fell on my knee and shoulder, which is still giving me trouble today. This was a very careless act on his part and could cause the business trouble.

We loved our cruise with The Princess Monterey. There were 16 of us, they made it very easy to be a large group. They nearly guaranteed whales and we weren't disappointed...we saw humpbacks and orcas. I highly recommend this as a family outing.

The naturalist on board was extremely enthusiastic, she was very knowledgable and you could tell she loved her job. We only saw one whale/calf pair. I may have had unrealistic expectations. Also saw a rare basking shark and puffin. The trip back to the wharf was a nice way to see the coastline.

Great hospitality, lots of puking (not me), long travel on the water.

We wanted to see blue whales and on the schedule they had both blue whales and humpback whales. We ended up seeing humpbacks only and we spent 1 hour getting to them 15 minutes watching them and 1 hour back to the dock. We could have done the same thing driving to Moss Landing ourselves and not had to deal with my wife being sea-sick. The boat and crew were excellent. I would go again but my wife says it will be by myself?? IF I go I would likely not book in advance I would prefer to ask questions about plan of which type of whale we are going to look at.

Had a great time, tour guide was very knowledgeable and entertaining. Would highly recommend to anyone interested in this type outing

The biologist was quite knowlegeable, the staff was nice, and we had a very good time. My husband becamje a bit seasick due to the large swells, but the rest of us had a very nice trip. I'd recommend it for families and singles.

We had so much fun and the captain was very knowledgeable about the whales and the other wild life. The crew really did their research and knew right were the find the whales. It was well worth the money!

This is a tacky tourist oriented program that includes a naturalist/cheer leader who gets into your face insisting that you agree that you are having a great time, makes endless stupid jokes about "getting some tail" (whale flukes, folks), intersperses her rare naturalist commentary with endless anthropomorphizing (calling the female of any species "the ladies") while the captain shifts the boat around looking for ANYTHING to show the paid passengers, of whom there were far too many. Don't believe the hype about the boat...it is much smaller than it appears in the online photos, has next to nothing in the snack bar, and doesn't allow passengers on the upper deck. Check into other programs and talk to the naturalist if you can before buying tickets. Wish I had; this young woman belongs in Las Vegas, not on a whale watching boat. Oh, and yes, we did see 2 humpback whales and one seal, but sure glad I brought my binoculars so I could see them. If I had brought ear plugs I would have been spared the 'naturalists' mind numbing screams and whoops.

i was hoping to see a lot more than we did. we really didn't get a good look at the whales. we only saw the top of the backs of them and a couple tail shots. it was better then not seeing them at all but we wanted to see more. i know there is no way to predict what they are going to do but as far out as we went (10 miles) we were hoping to see more of them. i would recommend it just for an experience but that is it. i wouldn't go again.

Our guide was awesome! She keep the group going even though it was raining. We were able to see many different types of sea life and she explained each of them. The crew were also caring and helpful and made the trip enjoyable.

Enjoyable 3 hour trip.