Stagnaro Charter Boats

First I must say that it was amazing seeing blue whales and I appreciate our captain's tenacity in finding them, despite prolonging the trip by an hour.We traveled for a long time to find them. Saw them probably for a total of less than 6 minutes and then headed back for an hour and forty-five minues. (The whales came up for a minute or two and then down for 10.) I hadn't really known what to expect and figure that's the way it typically goes. Some outfits offer "relief band" rentals to relieve sea-sickness. These folks didn't and my daughter was pretty miserable.

I know that every trip is different, but to see humpback whales that close to the ship, almost playingly following it, is something I'll never forget. We were also surrounded by a group of 500-1000 dolphins at one time during the trip. The boat itself wasn't too big, but it wasn't crowded, so we had plenty of room to witness the awesomeness that is nature.

The Stagnaro whale watching trip included an hour long trek out to the prime place for the whale sighting. Along the way we encountered a huge pod of Rissos dolphin! The naturalist on board was informative but not invasive. We found humpback whales. The pilot and crew knew what they were doing. I recommend it! Lessons: bring quarters for the meter (like 20), bring wind proof layers - it was hot when we left and freezing when we returned. Dramamine is your friend. And ride in the front or you may get seasick. The whales were awesome, the dolphin a treat, and on the way back we saw a sea otter smashing his dinner on his chest with a rock. Cute! My Children (Age 5 & 7) were engaged the whole time. I will definitely return with visitors.

Excellent trip - we were so close to the whales you could almost touch them. Nothing to fault unless - like me - you are prone to motion sickness. Then it can be a bit tough because the captain will follow and find those whales!

We really enjoyed it and plan on returning with our husbands. We are also recommending it t everyone!

the group did a great job showing us whales ---- we got to see 2 humpbacks up close for almost an hour, and also a sun fish --- but for me sea sickness was a problem. this definitely wasn't the company's fault --- the seas were fairly choppy and there was just nothing they could do --- but it's worth being aware of before signing up to go whale watching

WOW ! It was a magical experience at sea. We saw several blue whales moving quickly and coming up for air. There were birds everywhere. They ate so much krill they had a problem taking off. We saw quite a few humpbacks. But the highlight of the trip was attending a lunch meeting with several humpbacks feasting on krill all around our boat. They did not seem to be bothered by our presence and came up close. I was overwhelmed by the experience of being up close and personal: ONE WITH THE WHALES.

I thought the staff was great, very polite and accommodating. I enjoyed the knowledgeable information provided about the species that we were observing. I loved everything about it, well done!

We definitely like this tour. Not only did they find whales, they also looked out for dolphins, otters, seals, and sea lions. It was great that right out of port, a small pod of bottlenose dolphins found the boat immediately and started riding the bow wave. I would go with this tour if you're looking for more than just whales.

We truly enjoyed our day on the bay watching the whales with stagnaro's. What a perfect day! First of all, we say a blue whale! i am thankful to the crew that they took their time for us to enjoy the scene. What a treat. Then on to see the humpback whales. and lots of them! Again, thank you for taking the time for us to enjoy them. I loved the noise they made when they totally surprised us when they came up right next to the boat, the spouts, the tales, even a group of whales going "sideways" to feed, together! ! That was even special to the crew, we all were so enthusiastic! I live in santa cruz , my friend used to live here,now in oregon, and we absolutely loved our whale watching with stagnaro's! i am telling all my friends to get tickets now. night as well take advantage of the abundance of the krill in the bay right now! another great thing,and so convenient, taking off from the s.c. harbor! thanks again, you will be seeing us again, ,for sure. sieta bel and ineke de ruyter

We had a wonderful afternoon. The staff was friendly and helpful. The boat spotless and in excellent condition. The captain knew the most probable areas to spot whales and treated them with great respect. We were thrilled and squealed like little girls as the friendly humpbacks came within feet of the boat by their own choosing...multiple times! It was like they were playing with us! We were delighted!

On time start-excellent Willing to make a trip a bit longer because we saw whales and went to get close-adaptable-excellent Warning about the possibility of being cold and the need to dress in layers was good information. The inside seats were taken up with backpacks and picnic baskets--any place else they could go. Difficult to get in out of the wind and have a place to sit. Having a naturalist on board rather than someone who gave a few facts would have been nice. Stress that anyone prone to seasickness should be prepared ahead of time with medication.

Crew on the Velocity is great and knows where the whales are. Started out from the harbor seeing Sea Otters and Sea Lions. On the way out to open waters, we saw dolphins, schools of jelly fish and then spotted our first whale - a Magnificent Blue Whale! After following it for a while, we moved on further out and came across a bunch of Humpback's that kept us busy on the other end of the shutter. Great pictures of flukes, mouth- fulls of krill and full body shots right next to our vessel. Lastly, got some good shots of a Black Footed Albutros. Would definintely whale watch again with this experienced crew.

Friendly, informative and helpful crew. Reasonably priced food and snacks on sale. We were lucky enough to see a Blue Whale and several Humpback Whales, the latter coming very close to the boat. In part this accounts for the five star rating we've given and this I guess could have been different, however I've told it as it was for us on the day. Would highly recommend this trip for any family with kids, this has been a highlight of our trip to California.

We recently moved to the area, so the cruise with our Chicago friends introduced us all to Whale Watching on Monterey Bay. The two crew members were extremely helpful and gave lots of great information. The sea was really rolling, so one of our party was slightly sea-sick. Aside from that and the thick marine layer, we loved the cruise. We were in the middle of several groups of humback whales and were amazed at the size of the animals.