Monterey Bay Whale Watch

I was an awesome experience. We did the trip with the Black Fin boat on a very rough sea. Friendly staff, excellent guide the marine biologist (forgot his name). We did found some gray Wales to follow but the sea was too rough and difficult to spot them.

I should preface this review by saying that this was my first whale watching experience, so I don’t have anything else to compare it to. However, both my boyfriend and myself agreed that it was a fantastic time and well worth the money!
The tour itself felt very organized and well put together. The boat appeared to be in good shape and very clean. Our «guide» (I’m blanking on his official title) was extremely knowledgable and easy to listen to as he explained what we were looking at during various parts of the tour. Of course, the boating company can’t control whether there are whales present or not, but they do know where to go for the best chances to see marine life. Honestly, I did not expect to see as many whales as we did nor did I think we would be so close! It was one of the neatest things I’ve ever experienced.
There are a lot of things in the bay area that I feel are over-​priced tourist traps, but whale watching in Monterey Bay is not one of them. I can certainly see why there are some places that offer tours longer than 3 hours; we didn’t want it to end!

We went to a 10 am whale watch tour this past Saturday (following christmas day), let’s just say there are no words that can describe how amazing this experience was! The crew was extremely knowledgeable about the aquatic kingdom, as well as the geology of the area, with the utmost kindness. Most importantly, they care about each and every person’s experience following necessary safety precautions. We had spotted roughly 20 grey whales blowing their spouts, several tail slapperooz, and even had the pleasure of witnessing a breach of a 50 foot grey whale!
Tip of advice: if you have never been on a boat before — you are likely to get sea sick especially in rough seas, so be prepared. They suggest sea sickness pills or patches to take in advance and they work! The trip is amazing and you don’t want that to put it down! I would definitely go back again.

We had the greatest adventure with this group on Wednesday. It was the first time for Patti my wife and she lived it.
Staff were friendly, knowledgeable and just plain great
Will go again soon with kids and grandkids.

We went whale watching at the 2pm trip about two weeks ago. We saw about 60 hump backs! And over 1,000 long beaked common dolphins! People were getting sick left and right! I took Dramamine before and was a little nauseous feeling but the ride to the whale spot seemed worse than the way back.
I was a little disappointed that we could not hear the naturalist at all. We moved about the boat quite a bit and from no place could we hear him. They post the numbers of species they encountered after online, they did not catch many sunfish and jellies which we found. I wish they pointed those out to people more. We just happened to notice them but not many others did.
Overall, the staff was very friendly! The boat was big but not crowded. We had a lot of fun!

Whale, whale, whale… what do we have here?
Only the culmination of my recent West Coast nature-​fest! I’ve been a bit of marine wildlife geek ever since I was a kid, and yet I had still never been on a whale watching tour. Arriving in Monterey Bay, that was going change. After researching all of the tours in the area, Monterey Bay Whale Watch was the one that fit the krill, I mean bill. Okay, I promise, I’m done with the puns.
Booked the 9am tour on a Monday. After fueling up on coffee and a hearty breakfast, made my way out to the docks at Fisherman’s Wharf. I didn’t expect there to be much of a crowd on a Monday morning, but the dock was packed and all 125 tickets for the tour were sold out.
The morning was overcast, which at first had me concerned about visibility, but it turned out not to be an issue. I do recommend to dress warmly with layers, even in the summertime, as the ride out can be chilly. After embarking, we sailed about 10 miles north to the heart of Monterey Bay which took about an hour. During the way, the captain and crew walked around explaining in detail the ecosystem of the bay and all their recent wildlife sightings. The tour has gotten quite popular after being featured on a BBC blue whale documentary (another one of the reasons I chose it). This isn’t your normal whale watch crew either; they also work in a research capacity. The main guide, along with a few of the deckhands, are naturalists. So it was so damn refreshing to see how passionate they are about the their work and how much they truly appreciate the bay and its wildlife. And yes, I was asking all of them questions like a naïve, excited school boy the whole ride out.
The moment of truth… We finally arrived at the heart of the bay and the captain turned off the engines. Initially, all we saw were huddles of gulls and murre, and the waters were relatively calm. Suddenly, a water spout here… a water spout there… three water spouts in unison. Then a whale tail flap! And another, and another! Before we knew it the water was coming alive with pods of humpbacks all around us. Not a minute later, a huge pod of common dolphin about 300 strong were joining the mix. The whales, dolphins, and seabirds were all converging on a sardine bait ball just feet from the boat. The frenzy culminated with a large humpback fully breaching out of the water just about 100 ft from our boat!
I have difficulty putting into words how special and awesome this was for me. I was nearly paralyzed in elation. The only thing missing was David Attenborough proving real-​time narration beside me. The activity alongside our boat lasted nearly two hours and in total we saw about 60 humpback whales and almost 1,000 common dolphin. I probably had the dumbest smile on my face the whole ride back. It’s was bonkers. Just bonkers… The whole experience is one I will never forget.
While I didn’t get to see any blue whales or orcas like I was hoping to, the tour still went above and beyond all my expectations. From interacting with the crew to being alongside all those regal and majestic creatures, the whole experience was informative, wondrous, and completely humbling. I cannot wait until I do it all again.

Super balade qui compte parmi les incontournables d’un passage à Monterey. La baie est connue pour sa faune marine particulièrement riche, due à la profondeur des eaux qui permet la rencontre entre les courants froids des grands fonds et l’eau de la surface chauffée par le soleil. Le plancton adore ça et les mammifères marins en profitent ! Nous aussi, grâce aux bateaux qui nous amènent près des baleines de passage dans la baie. Je craignais un peu que notre curiosité les dérange, mais on reste tout de même à distance respectueuse des bestiaux. Né vous attendez donc pas à voir les baleines comme au Marineland: vous observerez de loin des silhouettes à la surface, les jets de vapeur que rejettent leurs évents, et bien sûr leurs spectaculaires nageoires caudales qui ressortent quelques secondes au moment de la plongée. Né soyez pas déçus, ces magnifiques animaux sauvages né sont pas faits pour tourner en rond dans des aquariums (pas plus que les autres d’ailleurs), et vous aurez eu le privilège de les apercevoir dans leur habitat naturel !
Durant la balade, qui dure environ 3 heures, on est conduits et informés par un guide réellement passionné par la vie marine et qui saura répondre aux questions. Avec un peu de chance, au début et à la fin, vous pourrez aussi voir de près des otaries et des dauphins bien plus familiers que les imposantes baleines du large.
N’oubliez ni votre crème solaire ni votre petite laine !

Cancelled our trip the second time «due to rough sea». Well, thanks. Why don’t you call in the morning before our 2h drive from Berekeley? You have our phone number on the reservation. 8h of our lifetime and few gallons of gas wasted…

Every individual we interacted with at Monterey Bay Whale Watch Center was rude and impatient. We booked a tour 24 hours in advance for four people, arrived on time only to be told that our booking was for a party of two and the tour was sold out. Rather than troubleshooting or apologizing, the staff members we spoke to made flippant remarks and implied the error was on our end. Unwilling to leave half our party behind, we were forced to cancel the reservation, to which the response was, «Great, there are other people who can use those spots.» No concern over confusion or miscommunication.
Moral of the story: Be cautious as a customer of this outfit. They don’t consistently put your interests first.
We happily booked with another company. Highlight: a pod of beautiful Gray whales breaching in the sun.