Stagnaro Charter Boats

My wife and i had a great time on the whale watching tour. the staff were really friendly, extremely helpful and allowed extra time on the trip once whales were found.

We had a wonderful time and saw 2 humpback whales, a mother and juvenile, and a lone blue whale. The crew was very skilled and helpful.

Although we didn't spot any whales or any other sea mammals, the crew was nice and the day was beautiful...it was a worthwhile trip!

We thoroughly enjoyed being out on the boat, in the sunshine, with the hope of seeing whales. But it was not to be; we were told that this was the first trip in four months in which whales did not show up. We did see large sunfish, harbor porpoises, and sea otters; we did enjoy those sites. The crew was extremely helpful and personable. Rain checks were given but only to those that would return yet this season. Since we live in the midwest and were departing California in a couple of days, we were not able to take advantage of the rainchecks. It is likely that we will try this again on a future visit to Santa Cruz.

My wife and I decided to try whale watching on our 5th anniversary. We used to live in Santa Cruz but now live a couple hours away but have always heard great things about Stagnaro's so we gave them a shot. The crew was very helpful and courteous. Although it was a pretty rough day in the bay, the captain handled the boat very well. Unfortunately all we saw was a mola mola (which I was shocked that the captain even spotted due to the choppy water and the fact that it wasn't a very large fish!) but we had a nice cruise around the bay. I had no idea that they did this but as we left the boat they gave us a free pass to come back within 90 days since we had no whale sightings. I thought that was very cool. We will definitely be back to use our pass and then I'm going to find time to go albacore fishing with them. They have my business for sure.

Excellent - very professional and friendly. Minor complaint is that the PA speaker on the boat is not very clear. Also don't forget that this is a 3-4 hour trip on open seas - plenty of people seasick on our trip as the sea was quite choppy.

I have never gotten seasick and the conditions got me there. There were a lot of families that were very sick and I think the Captain was very out of touch of what was happening below or maybe he was afraid of loosing money for the owner of the boat.

We had a lovely sunny day for our whale watching trip. We were really looking forward to seeing Blue whales & Humpback whale. Unfortunately the Killer whales were in the Bay which was quite rare but this kept the other whales away. Having already seen Killer whales on a previous holiday to Canada we were slightly disapointed not to see other varieties of whales. We did get some lovely views though of the Killers whales, a male & a young one quite close to the boat. We also saw an Otter peeking out of the water & some sealions basking in the sun.You can take your own drinks & snacks but if you do want to buy food or drinks on the boat it is all reasonably priced. I would recommend this trip for anyone but do remember that if you get sea sick that it can get pretty rough the further out to sea that you go. You can buy tablets or rent wrist bands for a few dollars or even better take your own. A great day out!

We had a great adventure looking for whales. We thought we would see humpback whales, but we saw a pod of Orca whales instead. The sea was a little rough, but some ginger candies helped. The snack bar was well stocked. The crew was friendly. The captain made sure we saw sea otters, seals, and lots of sea birds. Although it was hot when we left Santa Cruz, I needed a sweatshirt, jacket and hat. It was a fun day and I would recommend this adventure to anyone looking for a different view of Santa Cruz.

We saw a pod of at least 4 killer whales. It was wonderful. They performed for us beautifully. I felt so lucky to see these gorgeous creatures. I have been whale watching many times with Stagnaro's and I see something new and fantastic every time. I never expected to see Orcas This trip was near the top. Highly recommend!

All employees were very helpful. Made sure everyone had what they needed to make it a pleasant experience. My main thought to share is- you never know what you will see. Each trip is different. You might see a lot or you might see nothing. For me, I feel it was too expensive for what we got out of it.

My family and I have been wanting to go whale watching for some time now, so my fiance and her 2 girl's and her mom and I all went on a Sunday morning. My fiance's mom has been wanting to go for the last two years and has finally gone and to the amazement to us all, we were able to see 4 killer whales, everyone on the boat was excited and we were told it's a rare view to see them. The killer whales provided about 2 hours of fun and excitement, very cool to see these mammals up close and personal in their own habitat, rather than at Sea world. We go back again.

We saw a frolicking group of killer whales, it was a joy. The crew was wonderful, the only hitch was about a 45 delay on boarding the boat -- be flexible with the scheduling.

We saw a rare sight - a pod of four killer whales frolicking post-kill. Awesome stuff. The crew on the boat were helpful, cooked a mean cheeseburger, and were very knowledgable about the subjects of the tour. The only downside was that we departed about half an hour late, due to a private charter they had in the morning. They apologized profusely for the delay, and as it turns out, without the delay we wouldn't have seen the orcas, most likely.

Nice, professional and friendly. Great naturalist who was very informative. Parents and children all had a great time. Remember to dress warmly -- it is very cold out on the water.