| Rating |
Date Attended |
Reviewer |
Gender [v] |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
|
Perfect Weather Day for Whale Watching at Sea
|
| Sun, May 17 10:00 AM |
msnancy |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
Local |
Individual |
| Mother Nature provided us with a perfect weather day at sea. Spotted a couple humpback whales. Captain allowed us ample time to watch them swim about. The Velocity vessel and captain/crew were exceptional. Of course it would have been even more exciting had we found some killer whales, dolphins, or a few more humpbacks, but that's just the way it goes. The crew will appreciate a gratuity upon return to dock. Well deserved, at that. |
|
CREW WAS NICE, BUT TOUR WAS DISAPPOINTING
|
| Fri, May 8 9:00 AM |
owyaran |
Unspecified |
40-49 |
Combination |
Group of Friends |
| Quite disappointing trip, everyone was vomiting on the boat. If it was not due to motion sickness then the cabin smell will do the job. The inside cabin smelled like fried and greasy food that had not been cleaned for weeks. The crew, in general, was nice, but they seemed discontent and irritated. We were the first ones to take the ride in the morning and were hoping to see whales, but to almost no avail. We did see some splashing and half the passengers saw the tale of a whale go down the water, but that was all. Not much of a ‘whale watching’ tour. We manage to see some dolphins, one otter, and sea lions, but in total 5 minutes of a 4 hour trip. Not worth it. |
|
|
The most amazing whale sighting!
|
| Sun, Apr 19 1:00 PM |
lauraegli |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
Local |
Family With Children |
| We went on the 1pm tour on 4/18/09 and had a blast. We saw sea lions, 1 sea otter,1 gray whale, and a BUNCH of killer whales! There were killer whales everywhere. There were multiple pods and and we chased them all over. We couldn't have been more than 50 feet away from them! The captain and mates were very respectfull of the nature and very personable. I highly recommend them;-) |
|
Great Trip!
|
| Thu, Apr 16 10:00 AM |
cck1492 |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
| The team at Stagnaro's made the trip just great. Lots of information about the Monterey Bay and sea life and they really tried hard to look for whales for us. We were able to see lots of Killer Whales! Thumbs Up. |
|
|
A splendid day on the sea
|
| Sun, Jan 11 11:30 AM |
thomasbrox |
Unspecified |
30-39 |
Local |
Couple on a Date |
| We spent a wonderful day on the sea. The crew put much effort in fiding whales. At the same time, they were very careful not to disturb them. We saw a wonderful two tail dive (two whales that decided to dive at the same time), many water fountains and dolphins. The best, however, was the seawater biver who just hung out in the middle of the ocean. |
|
|
My thoughts...
|
| Wed, Dec 31, 08 11:00 AM |
cheolee |
Unspecified |
20-29 |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
| It is a unique experience that is worth doing at least once. |
|
|
great trip
|
| Sat, Apr 26, 08 11:00 AM |
hendrikgn |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
| was simply great! we were out for more than 3 hours...saw greywhales and humpback whales... and a lot more at the coast!!! |
|
|
Recommend this trip if you can survive sea sick
|
| Sat, Mar 29, 08 11:00 AM |
khj730516 |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
| I enjoyed this trip from the beginning to the end.
Some folks had hard time getting over sea sick. It would have been
nicer if the boat were larger. |
|
|
Good cruise, good crew, bad directions to boat.
|
| Sun, Nov 1 10:00 AM |
Walt11 |
Male |
60-69 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| Web says Santa Cruz Wharf, doesn't matter if the printed ticket says otherwise, change the web page! At harbor, need better directions. Two piers wide apart, both with what watching sign (and hard to see at that) is not acceptable. We nearly missed the boat for both reasons.
The actual cruise was nicely done, which was the saving grace. |
|
|
Great nature experience that could be even better
|
| Sat, Sep 19 10:00 AM |
JoggerD |
Male |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| As a bonus we got to observe a colony of sea lions which occupied the departure dock at the wharf before the boat arrived from the harbor (the sea lions' cue to scatter in all directions). We took the 10 am trip and were lucky to have a mild overcast start to the trip with the sun breaking through for most of the voyage (sunscreen recommended-- I got mild sunburn on my face without it). Although the sea creatures aren't on the company payroll, so you get what's there, in addition to whales the crew located, we were delighted with being able to view the sea lions, 5 or 6 sea otters and a pod of Risso's Dolphins.
The experienced crew was able to locate one blue whale and a pair of humpback whales for us. We were only able to sight the blue whale for a couple of surfacings. Then it apparently stayed under for an extra long period of time and surfaced out of our line of sight (camera shy, I guess). However, soon afterward we caught up with the pair of Humpbacks and the boat crew stayed with them for about 1/2 hr (even though that put us at the end of the 3 1/2 hour usual trip maximum and we were 1/2 away from the wharf). I regret that I didn't have a telephoto lens for my camera, but I got some decent photos.
What would improve the trip?: As mentioned, we had to go pretty far out to find the whales. Although the crew did a pretty good job of describing the wildlife that we saw along the way, there was a lot of "dead time" when we were just cruising to get some place. Although I think there should be some quiet time for us to contemplate (constant chatter like on Monday Night Football would be obnoxious), the crew really should prepare some insightful commentary about the sea life (maybe including animals that are commonly seen but not today) and the Monterey Bay Area-- especially to relieve the tedium of the long ride back. This stuff could be periodically output to the passengers. |
