This was something I almost took a miss on for fear our group wouldn't see anything but I'm so glad that we decided to take the trip. We ended up seeing dolphins, blue whales, and a rarer minke whale.
I just loved being out on the water. I had never been out that far on a boat into such a big body of water. I am from Michigan and have only ever been on a lake in a boat. There was quite a swell the day that we went so the boat was rocking quite a bit, especially if we were standing at the railing, but I found this to be really nice, actually.
At the outset we saw some birds and sea lions on what looked like a dock which we were told was the told of where they kept the live bait which explains all the attraction of birds and sea lions. I liked the pelicans especially.
I really loved seeing the dolphins racing along the side of the boat and being so close to them. I had never seen them in the wild and they were so beautiful and fast and we even saw a baby one.
We saw the whales but unfortunately did not get to see one breach. This was very cool to see them and their spouts of water but one bad thing is they're often on one side of the boat so you have to go over there to see it or hope one will show up on your side. Also the whales often only stay visible for a few moments before diving deep in search of food and it takes them an unspecified amount of time to come back up. We had binoculars which I highly recommend. They rent them for three dollars at the store where you check in. A great investment.
Unfortunately, one member of our party was not fond of the movement of the boat and got sea sick despite having taken a Dramamine. The crew was very helpful and kept checking on her and brought her some peppermint to settle her stomach and stuff. This was above and beyond and much appreciated.