So glad my family of 4 did this... they promised whales, and whales we got. Here's some info from my experience which might help those who haven't done something like this before. Supposed to be there at 1:00 for 1:30 departure... we got there at 1:00 and were the last in line... guess everyone else thought to get there early to snag the best seats and locations on the boat. We had to stand most of the time. Where is the best place to sit or stand? Not sure, depends. If you definitely need to sit, get there early. Being at the front of the boat in the middle (upstairs or down) would seem to give you the best vantage points for viewing... but would also put you in the sun/wind the whole time. With no ocean boat experience, didn't know how my family would do with regard to sea sickness. I took a dramamine just in case, my husband and teenage sons did not. One of my sons got sick about 30 mins into the trip. He took a dramamine, but was pretty sick for the entire time, although he was able to catch a few good views of the whales. I would recommend taking a dramamine pill 30 mins before you go, and keep more on hand just in case. Why not? The whole trip took about 4 hours. The ride to (and from) the whale area took about 45 mins, and this was fast riding, tons of "wind" in your face... I had to take off my dangling earrings because they hurt to wear because of the wind. It was about 85 degrees and humid that day, and as described it is much cooler out at sea... I was comfortable in long pants and a long sleeve tee shirt, plus used my hoodie on the ride back in. We ate an early lunch before going so we weren't hungry, but I saw many people who brought lunch with them, which seemed smart (if you know you aren't going to get sea sick.) We saw a lot of whales... all humpbacks... saw them "logging" in the water. By a lot, I mean a few singles and a couple of pairs/groups. The captain did a good job of maneuvering so that people on both sides of the boat got a look when possible. Because of the sun glare, it was hard for me to see my phone screen to see if I was actually capturing the whales in the water... I gave up on trying to snap a photo of their brief time to the surface, so I just let the video run and hoped I captured something, which I did, but didn't get fantastic photos or videos to be honest... but I didn't mind... wanted to be present and not stare at a phone screen the whole time anyway. Seeing the whales brought tears to my eyes.