| Rating |
Date Attended [^] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
|
Great enthusiasm...poor execution.
|
| Thu, Dec 27, 07 1:00 PM |
mkraja |
Male |
30-39 |
Local |
Family With Children |
| While I have no complains about not actually seeing whales, I was dissapointed and concerned on a few other points:
1) The tour started late....arrival time was indicated as 12:30pm...however, my family and other visitors waited outside, in the cold watching as crewman cleaned a boat that had obviously just returned from another trip. As a boater, I understand the labor involved in getting a boat clean, and ready for the next trip, however, I also know that given enough lead time you can always depart on time. Also, despite a long line of cold patrons, no one took in a few seconds to state that the crew was running a bit behind and that the boat would be ready to depart shortly. The schedule seemed very loose.
2) Safety...considering the marine weather (6 - 8 foot swells), the boat seem understaffed by 1 or more and very loose on safety. There were several children on board and considering that there were only two crew members (1 skipper in the wheel house) and one deck hand..whose location was not always apparrent, a passenger going overboard or otherwise experiencing a problem would not have been immediately noticed by the crew. No initial body could was performed before or after the trip and for a group of around 20...at least one additional spotter would have been recommended in general, not even considering the weather conditions which caused the boat to pitch violently for about 80% of the trip. No life rings were within reach and no lifejackets were suggested (which I would have done on my own boat given the weather). Also, no one seemed to notice that several of the passengers were sea sick...which might have been an indication that it might have been better to call it a day. The crew was warm, inviting and friendly....but adequate safety procedures did not appear to be in place. |
|
Good Day Trip
|
| Sat, Dec 29, 07 1:00 PM |
apgandy |
Male |
20-29 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| The whale watching trip was great for a day trip, lots of animals to look at and photograph. Trip ran 45 minutes long though and on the way back cooking fumes made the whole boat smell really bad, stick with snack foods! |
|
Phenomenal experience
|
| Tue, Jan 1, 08 1:00 PM |
nugget2004 |
Female |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| The crew was wonderful, friendly, and professional. I would recommend this trip to everyone I know. We wil be back in the summer for another trip. Thanks Ken & DJ! Great job!! |
|
|
great experience
|
| Sat, Feb 9, 08 1:00 PM |
bine_ansbach |
Female |
20-29 |
Combination |
Family Without Children |
| you have to see these animals in their natural habitat at least once in your lifetime. Not only you get to hear interesting facts about them from the friendly crew, but you also get to see dolphins and sea lions if your lucky. A must for all nature lovers. |
|
|
Saw Whales!
|
| Sat, Feb 16, 08 1:00 PM |
noswald |
Female |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| I've always wanted to see whales and now I have, so I'm happy. The crew worked very hard to make sure we saw them (even though it's not peak season). That meant staying out for four hours, which I completely appreciated, though it was kind of a long time on a boat. Ideally, they would move the whales closer to Santa Cruz before taking people out to see them--I'm thinking giant nets. I think they did a great job. |
|
|
Great day for Whale Watching
|
| Sat, Feb 16, 08 1:00 PM |
rssevere |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| The "Velocity Ship" was awesome, and the crew was amazing. DJ was so nice and was always smiling. Our Captain was so full of knowledge of all marine life. He made the trip very interesting. We started off by seeing several sea lions laying around one of the buies (sp.). Then we saw about three Sperm Whales which were beautiful. The Captain said that they were rare to see at this time of year. When they sounded and went under it was so thrilling to see their tails in the air. Wow! Awhile later we came across a pod of Grey Whales. They were awesome too. I would recommend this trip to everyone and for only $39 a person it was great. A few people got sea sick towards the end of the cruise, but I was wearing a patch and never felt sick at all. Be sure to layer your clothes as you will be warm enough one minute and then get cold. DJ will fix up something for you to eat also. They have a good menu and nice galley on board and everyone kept him busy. Highly recommended! Loved it. My husband and I will be doing this again. We are from the Modesto, Ca. area and was going for a little R & R time. Thanks Stagnaro Bros. |
|
|
Good trip, saw whales and sea lions
|
| Sat, Feb 16, 08 1:00 PM |
cairotciv |
Female |
30-39 |
Local |
Couple on a Date |
| We enjoyed the whale watching trip and saw sea lions, sperm whales and gray whales. It was pretty cold on the water, but the hot chocolate available in the galley helped. |
|
|
I would do it again in a heartbeat!
|
| Sun, Feb 17, 08 1:00 PM |
MWorthley |
Female |
40-49 |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
| The whole experience was wonderful. The boat Captain and his assistant DJ were both very friendly and knowledgeable. The boat was clean and comfortable. The next time I visit Santa Cruz, I will definately take another trip with them. |
|
|
Good but COLD!
|
| Sun, Feb 17, 08 1:00 PM |
melmike |
Female |
40-49 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| We did see some whales from a distance. That was fine, it is understood that these are wild animals and cannot be controlled, so the success in seeing them varies from trip to trip. We did see them, and that was great, and we also enjoyed a pod of dolphins.
The only problems were
not enough warm places to sit on the way there and back,
difficulty hearing what was being said over the loudspeaker (sound was distorted), and
difficulty hearing the mate explain things on deck before we departed.
Otherwise the captain and mate were friendly, helpful and informative, we saw what we came out to see, and we had a good time! |
|
|
windy and exciting
|
| Sat, Mar 1, 08 1:00 PM |
JoelMiller |
Male |
50-59 |
Local |
Family With Children |
| I would have liked to have seen a whale! |
