| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
 |
Friendly knowledgeable crew |
| |
Wed, Apr 9 9:30 AM |
AWarne |
Female |
50-59 |
International Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| |
We took a morning whale watch in April 2008. The departure was punctual, the boat was clean, the crew were friendly.
We had a great day with Sanctuary, and I would have no hesitation in using them again. I suppose ,as with all whale watching, you just have to be lucky as to what you see and we certainly were, as there were lots of humpacks around.
We saw a young humpabck only a few minutes out from the harbour and stayed with it for a little while. Then we headed further out. The captain took a radio call that orcas had been seen further north, and we turned in their direction but, unfortunately, they had moved on. We turned back south again to go in the Monterey direction to a place where humpbacks are more regularly seen. We were lucky to see lots of them in all directions - almost too many to count. None came really close to the boat, but we still had a good view of them. The Captain was very helpful in trying to get us as good a view as possible. He has great eyesight!
An added bonus was that there were lots of sea lions and sea otters in the harbour. It was great to see the otters so close.
There was a good selection of snacks and some hot drinks on board, all reasonably priced. My sons tried the wrist bands for sea-sickness. I'm not sure whether they did any good or not, as they had taken tablets as well, but they didn't feel sick so something worked!
This was in fact our second trip with Sanctuary, because we had set out the previous day and it became too rough. The captain made absolutely the right decision in turning round - there was too much swell to have had a proper view of whales anyway. We were offered a refund or a free return trip. We came back the next day and the sea was lovely and calm.
We had also taken a trip on a boat from a different company, in Monterey, where several different boats operate. It's hard to decide which was the best. Sanctuary Cruises use a smaller boat and there were less people on board, so we had closer contact with the crew and for that reason it was probably a more personal service. Noel, the Captain, was very friendly, and he seemed to have good contacts with other whale spotters, to help us find the whales.
Another important factor is what the whales are doing. When we were there, the highest concentration of humpbacks seemed to be slightly closer to Monterey. But other times it might be better to go from Moss Landing if the whales are further north. From my limited knowledge, I think that the deep water canyon is closer to Moss Landing so you might have more chance of seeing orcas from there, but I'm no expert!
I think that Noel would do his best to find whales to see, wherever they were. |
|
Excellent choice for whale watching |
| |
Sun, Apr 6 9:00 AM |
camplouf |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
| |
The boat is the right size, the people from Sanctuary Cruises are very nice and helpful, and it was an excellent experience (we were lucky i suppose and besides sea lions and sea otters we saw killer whales and humpbacks). |
|
Excellent!!! |
| |
Sun, Apr 6 9:00 AM |
bluedirt |
Male |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| |
This was the highlight of my weekend trip. The weather was beautiful and we saw several killer whales. Jane, one of the trip leaders on weekends, was a delight. Very friendly and eager to answer any questions folks had. I highly recommend this to anyone visiting the area. You won't be sorry. |
|
Wonderful! |
| |
Sun, Apr 6 9:00 AM |
KrisCedar |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| |
Great Captain and crew! Lots of good information on whales. And, lots of whales! |
|
Great trip |
| |
Sun, Apr 6 9:00 AM |
patdaoud |
Female |
60-69 |
Local |
Family With Children |
| |
We were very pleased with the Sanctuary Cruises trip. The staff were helpful and informative. The captain was considerate. He made certain to turn the boat so all passengers could see the whale activity as well as to have good light for photos. We were fortunate to have 6 orcas, including a baby, within 3/4 miles to 3 miles of shore for about 3 hours. We also saw 2 humpbacks. A great day. I would recommend Sanctuary and will plan to go out with them again. |
|
Great Day of Whale Watching with Sanctuary Cruises |
| |
Sun, Apr 6 9:00 AM |
janetrahn |
Female |
50-59 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| |
I went on a Sanctuary Cruise one other time and had a great time. But my experience this time even surpassed the previous one. The boat's captain, Noel, was very knowledgeable and gave us lots of great information about the sea life and topography of the Monterey Bay. Crew member Jane was also great, and was sympathetic and helpful when one member of our group got a bit green at the gills.
And the whales! Wow! I'd never seen orcas before and we followed a small pod around the bay for a couple of hours. One of them was a baby that Noel estimated to be about 2 months old. We also saw some humpbacks - magnificent creatures, in spite of their smelly breath! ;-)
I'll definitely be back for another day of whale watching with Sanctuary Cruises -- maybe this summer in hopes of seeing some blue whales! |
|
The entire experience was brilliant. |
| |
Sun, Apr 6 9:00 AM |
bigsherry |
Male |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| |
Staff very friendly, informative and yet not overbearing.
Boat in great condition and spotless.
No smoking, no fuel or fish smells which was a huge plus.
Got to see 6 killer whales and 2 humpbacks aapprox 1.25 miles offshore.
Just a great experience. Would highly recommend this company to anyone looking to go whale watching. |
|
a great experience |
| |
Sun, Apr 6 9:00 AM |
Pedrito3 |
Male |
20-29 |
Local |
Individual |
| |
I loved the trip, it was a good day and the crew where very helpful informative and showed good poeple skill.
I did get a little sea sick so in some sense it would of been nice to not stop the boat so much but all in all it was a great esperience.
thanks you |
|
The Orcas were fantastic! |
| |
Fri, Apr 4 9:30 AM |
Jeannieb |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| |
This was not my first cruise with Sanctuary but it was definitely the best! We found a pod of orcas that played around our boat for an hour and 25 minutes! They swam right up against the boat and under it. It was fantastic! |
|
Great trip |
| |
Thu, Apr 3 9:30 AM |
Sarah4 |
Female |
40-49 |
Combination |
Family Without Children |
| |
Although a smaller boat than the tours from Monterey, they have a very helpful and knowledgable crew, that follow the whales so everyone gets a good view, but never hassles the creatures. In consequence we were treated to close ups of killer whales when they decided to come right up to the boat to look at us! If we didn't get good photographs it was because we were watching with excitement, rather than clicking! I have taken my various international relatives on this trip before, at different times throughout the year and have always had a great trip, so feel it is money well spent. Thank you. |
