Whale Watching Trip on Monterey Bay

The trip was surprisingly awesome. I went there knowing I might not see anything and that I might get sick. I did feel a bit queezy a couple of times, due to the motion of the boat, as did my girlfriend. But that was to be expected and really nothing to cry about. I am very surprised that some other reviewers actually complain about the service if 1) the seas are rough or if it rains or they feel sick, or 2) if they see no whales during the trip. Go to a zoo or read a book or watch a documentary about them if you want to be ensured you see one - this is nature! You don't expect to always see a cougar or a deer when you go to the forest do you? And by the way, orcas, dolphins and porpoises are whales too. Look it up. There was about 20-30 people onboard, just about the right amount. The guys handling the boat (and the tourists) were helpful and knew what they were doing. One guy was driving the boat and explaining general things about the animals and then you could go and ask the other about details. The only thing I have to complain about is the other tourists onboard. A couple of kids were (for no reason) walking back and forth the narrow walkways or whatever around the boat. But they didn't drive me nearly as nuts as the 17-22 yo bimbo group giggling and screaming and jumping up and down every time when we saw anything of interest. They reeeally spoiled some of the atmosphere around them. Gimme a break, sit down, shut up and enjoy the scenery without disturbing others! On this particular trip we first went to see an otter fixing its fur in the kelp forest, then to a buoy with some sea lions on it. A sure way to keep most of the people satisfied I guess :). Then we failed in an attempt to find the last migrating grey whales, and did a quick transfer to see a pod of killer whales moving north. I guess there were a couple of porpoises swimming away from them at one point. Unfortunately time was of the essence so we couldn't follow the orcas for more than ca. 20 minutes. Then we moved to a different part of the bay to see a humpback just swimming somewhere.. it wasn't as cool as the orcas though. All in all, a highly recommendable experience. A bit on the expensive side, compared to some others operating in the Monterey bay area, but then again I don't know if they are shorter - or crappier - trips. :)

The Stagnaro's did a great job in preparing the group and making sure we took advantage of every opportunity to see what was going on in the Monterey Bay...My grandchildres will always remember this outing!!!

Boat was clean, crew was friendly and helpful. Good explanation of what to expect. Excelent trip, beautiful day, POD OF WHATES!! 31/2 hours and lots of fun. Everyone seemed to be happy!!!

This trip lasted 41/2 hours but we only saw 2 whales come up for air twice and that was almost 4 hours into the trip. Unfortunately we ran into some fog which stopped us from going to where we would have normally seen the whales. We did see some dolphins and sea lions and a sea otter but overall I was disappointed as I wanted to see the whales. As it turned out, we just saw a glimpse of a small part of their back from a distance. Guys on the boat were friendly and helpful - I guess we were unlucky.

Captain and crew did everything to enjoy us by finding the big ones and he succeeded (unfortunately only on the very end of the trip). I'm definitive coming bac,.

I highly recommend this experience. We had calm seas and saw many whales. My only suggestion to Stagnaros is to invest in a better PA system. The driver of the boat was attempting to convey many interesting facts to the attendees, but the speakers were in such bad condition and the volume very loud to over come this defect that it became irritating instead of informative. Several of the children on the boat just covered their ears. Other than that it was a great adventure and fun and well worth the fee. We will be back.

we really enjoyed this trip even after postponing multiple times due to the weather conditions. the crew were super friendly and helpful and the boat amenities were adequate for a 3-4 hour excusrion on the ocean. stellar views of santa cruz and the light house and being in the proximity of amazing gray whales really made for an aswesome time on the water. sean

It was an amazing experience. The crew went out of their way for us to find whales. Cannot wait to do it again.

We were ready to explore the bay for whales during the migration season. However the open ocean was very choppy with 20 foot swells. The day before was a surfing competion that had 50 foot faces! If you get motion sickness and are not prepared do not take this trip! The crew did everything they could given the conditions. Great people! We ended up seeing 3 gray whales!

long trip for kids under 8yrs we enjoyed even with weather conditoins crew was helpful and full of information.