We went on a whale watching excursion on Friday, August 19, 2016, from Anacortes with Captain Matt and naturalist Chelsea. This is a mixed review.
The Good: The weather was beautiful which made the entire trip worth it overall. The naturalist Chelsea was fantastic so we hung out near her so as to hear her soft voice over the engines. She was the highlight of the trip! Her knowledgeable commentary and answers were memorable. We saw a couple porpoises, cormorants and many other birds, and the hilarious stellar sea lions! They even provided binoculars.
The Bad: Unfortunately we saw NO WHALES. There is a whale guarantee so...
We left late, @ 1:20pm, but still had to return by 4:20, because there is a 5pm trip as well, so it was a short ride. I suggest the 5pm as it won't be as rushed? The Captain was sarcastic. This was our second attempt to get on the boat, the first time we showed up we "weren't on the list" according to Captain Matt and the boat was full. We booked through Travelzoo but there was a miscommunication somewhere because we had our vouchers with us on arrival.
It took a heated phone call with the owner of the company to get back out w/o paying for it.
SUMMARY: We saw 5 or 6 other boats out the same day so I would book with one of those, even if you have to pay more than the $70 deal we received.