Exploration822311
Oct 2018
We booked a Whale Watching Tour for 18 people (all family) with Groupon, but It still cost us about $ 1200. I am local and so I made the reservation specifically for the Eclipse because I knew the boat had tables and would be nice for all the little ones we had with us. The Eclipse used to always leave from the ferry landing, but we were told that no boats leave from the ferry landing anymore. Since all my kids were coming from the mainland, that meant that they all had to bring their cars to the island so they could board the boat at the ditch in Eastsound. After most the people had boarded, we were told that our boat would leave from the ferry landing. They loaded us all into 2 vans and drove us back to the ferry landing. When we got there, there was no boat and no explanation from the staff as to what was going on. The boat finally arrived from Anacortes - I believe it was close to 2 pm by now (we were supposed to leave at 1 pm). It was a nice and fast boat, but it was crammed full of people and no tables. We did see whales, but they were far off - not a memorable experience. At the end of the tour we were taking back to the ferry landing and loaded back into the vans to be taken back to Eastsound. To top it off, I found the biologist on board very rude and demanding about a "suggested" gratuity. First she said that $ 5 to $ 10 per person would be an acceptable gratuity but then she said that $ 10 to $ 20 per person would be more appropriate. I wrote an email to the owner about the incident, not because I wanted anything from him, but just to let him know that I was not all that happy with the trip. He was very rude and offered no apology. I had emailed him personally so I thought I would not have to leave a bad review, but now I feel I need to vent my frustration here. Next time I would book with Deer Harbor Charters - small boat and friendly staff.