Stagnaro Charter Boats

I took my Grandaughter (23 yrs old) Whale Watching as her Birthday Present. Neither of us had been and it was a wonderful experience. We were fortunate to have a very calm day, no sun (although we both got fried and I have blisters on my lips), no wind and just extremely pleasant. We were fortunate to see many, many whales & tails, as well as dolphins and otters. Two people on the boat got seasick :(:(....but we did not!! The trip was a full four hours and we would go again. Please be aware that there is not enough seating on the boat for everyone to sit. I also found it difficult to get up the rickety stairs that are used to board and disembark. I think something sturdier and with better rails is needed as there were about ten "older" people on board. My "sealegs" weren't too good so I spent the better part of the trip sitting. Luckily I was able to keep my seat occupied. DON'T FORGET YOUR BIG HAT AND SUNSCREEN, SUNSCREEN, SUNSCREEN!!!

We thoroughly enjoyed our whale watch and were treated to a very happy humpback who breached for us at least 4 times. We had numerous tail slaps and were lucky enough to see groups of humpbacks as well as singles. It was a fabulous day, albeit rather cold. The naturalist on board was wonderful, as were the crew!! We hope to go again in August.

I've lived on both coasts, and hadn't ever gotten around to a whale watch. My husband, two daughters, and I were very happy with our Stagnaros trip on the Velocity. Maureen, a former drama teacher with great presentation style and an infectious enthusiasm for the whole experience, was a special treat. We probably saw 20-25 humpbacks, none as close as some friends have reported on other trips (exaggeration, perhaps?), at least one full breach, many dorsal/hump/fluke surfacings, at least two tail flips. The crew told us our day was extraordinary (they might tell everyone that!), and from our perspective it was a great experience. We traveled nearly down to Monterey for our sightings, so it was a bit of a jaunt out. If you take a position early in the prow, you might want to stay there for the long haul to where the whales are, because the viewing is best from the front, and if you're not the tallest one on the cruise, you might be disappointed!

Saw 3 humpbacks up close and personal. Very amazing! Also saw some dolphins.

phantastic trip!

Fabulous time. Boat was well equipped with food, drinks, and everything you would need for an enjoyable experience. Crew and staff were friendly and informative. Stayed out almost 4.5 hours to ensure we had plenty of whale watching. In fact they hussled to where ever they spotted whales to get closer views and paid off big time. Easy to get to and in great area (Santa Cruz). Would highly recommend. Make reservations because boat was full.

This was a wonderful experience for the whole family. I didn't think we would see many whales but was greatly surprised to see almost 50 as well as sea lions, dolphins, and various birds. The crew were great and explained everything about the animal and knew where to locate them. I definitely recommend the motion sickness tablets. My daughter got a little motion sick even though she had the tablets but we still had a fabulous experience! I would definitely recommend it to anyone!

The boat was very clean and large enough for the group that was on this trip. The boat was also very powerful in that we were able to get to the whale location and return to the dock in a very reasonable time which allowed us to spend more time with the whales. The two man crew were as excitied to see the whales as we were and that seemed to add to the thrill of a first time whale-watcher. The crew seemed to know were to find the whales as another whale-watcher boat arrived at our location after we had been there awhile enjoying the show.

we had so much fun .the wales were so awsome.the staff was really nice.got lots of great pictures.we are recomending this trip to all our friend.and will bring our kids next time

Seeing whales in the wild was on my bucket list but no longer. The trip was amazing. We saw lots of blue whales, the largest animal that ever lived. Awesome, in the true sense of the word. We also saw humpbacks and dolphins but my heart belongs to the blues. Thanks so much to the crew!!!!!!

Excellent day on the water. Saw a bunch of whales and the crew was very nice

It was fantastic!!! We saw several blue whales as close as 100 ft. from the boat when they happened to surface near us. We also saw several humpbacks as well. One humpback suddenly spouted and dove 40 feet from the side of the boat 3 times, before it dove for food. Take along a video and still cameras with good zooms. This is a highly recommended excursion to do, even if you're down there for a few days. It sure beats the boardwalk! Just being out there is worth the trip, with the whales being the supreme icing on the cake. As the Nike commercial says, "just do it".

I read something before booking this trip that there were usually 15-20 people on each trip. This was not true. There were 55 people on the boat when I went. Also I was expecting a nicer boat, galley and bathroom. Overall I had a great time and saw many whales, but I didn't eat or go the the bathroom the whole time which kind of put a damper on the trip for me. My boyfriend had no problem with the bathroom, but he didn't buy any food either.

We were told to be at the office 45 minutes early. Some how we ended up about 10 minutes late for our boat. It was only supposed to take 3 1/2 hours to get there from where we live but it took us about 4 1/2 hours due to traffic. We were going to be sooo sad if we were to missed the boat. We called their office and told them we were running behind. The lady that we spoke with was very nice and was very helpful. She had the boat wait for us. She did mention that it's crazy traffic during the weekend and that's why they stressed that people need to live early on their website due to crazy traffic.. She helped us find our way to the boat over the phone. The boat waited for about 10 minutes. They didn't have to do that but that's what I call great service...The team that was in the boat was great as well. We saw lots of whales and learned alot about them. I would for sure go with this company again. I will also recomment them to our friends and family. Actually we have friends going to Santa Cruz next month and they are planning to go whale watching with this company... Word of mouth is such a big thing... Ohh i forgot to mentioned that we had our 5 year old daughter with us. She had a great time... She can't stop talking about the whales... One thing that I would recommend to them is to have cold drinks. The sodas was not cold.

The captain and deck hand are fantastic. We had a wonderful trip and saw lots of whales and sea life. Be sure to bring warm clothes. It gets cool on the water even though it is hot in Santa Cruz. We can't wait to go out again.