Overall our experience was great. No complaints whatsoever. My group consisted of four adults, plus one child age 3. We all had an amazing time. Although we knew going into this that there was a good chance of NOT seeing a whale, we thought it would be worth the chance, if we saw one or not. We felt this was a special opportunity to perhaps see one for real.
We were in luck! Just as we were about to give up all hope of seeing a whale, and began to accept that merely seeing bunches of dolphins would have to be good enough, -- we got to see a 35-foot humpback whale. There were excellent views with plenty of chances to photograph. Views lasted a good long while, too.
The boat was clean, including the bathrooms. My wife also enjoyed a cocktail which was delicious, strong, and not too expensive.
I just want to add a few things more, because I see that there are some people here who are posting strongly negative reviews.
Firstly, my party bought our tickets well in advance of the trip. We understood that the tickets were not equivalent to boarding passes, and that we were not necessarily guaranteed to ride.
It's all pretty easy to understand, but please take the time to read all the fine print in advance so you thoroughly understand all the policies and procedures.
We arrived more than 40 minutes prior to departure. That is very important if you want to be sure to ride. As the departure time grows near, they may begin to turn away valid ticket holders. Once the boarding passes have been issued to the boat's full capacity, they do not issue any more boarding passes for that ride. That means you could still be turned away even though you legitimately bought a ticket in advance. Please, once again, read and understand the policies!
Another thing is that I highly suggest phoning ahead more than a day in advance, to get a telephone reservation for the specific ride you want. The phone reservation is still not a total guarantee, but it does help. If you phone ahead more than a day in advance, and you arrive more than 40 minutes early you are likely to be set for your ride.
Also please note that the whales are wild creatures. It is impossible to predict if you will see one on your ride or not. My family accepted that we might or might not see one. We consider ourselves extremely lucky to have gotten the rare opportunity to glimpse such a wonderful and beautiful creature in the wild. It was our very first time on any whale watching expedition. Such incredible luck!
Lastly, there are some basic facts about boat travel:
1) motion sickness, aka "seasickness," is very common on such rides. My wife is prone to seasickness, so she took some medicine beforehand, which helped. My son has never been on a boat, so we gave him some children's medicine. He got sleepy and took a nap, but he did not feel ill. I have a very strong stomach and I am usually not prone to motion sickness… so I didn’t take any medicine at all. Even I felt just a tiny, slight tinge of mild nausea… but it wasn’t bad and I didn’t actually get sick. Other riders on the boat weren’t so lucky. Many others did feel very ill and one person unfortunately did vomit on deck. The crew was very professional and immediately cleaned it up as if nothing happened. I’m sure they see it constantly. So… please be aware of this basic fact about boat rides: lots of people do indeed get seasick. Don’t be shocked if you or somebody on board gets ill. Prepare in advance with appropriate measures.
2) The boat sometimes rocks quite violently. This is not the captain’s fault. It should come as no big surprise that boat travel is very unsteady. You may easily loose your balance, fall, and get injured. This is a predictable component of sea travel. Please understand this in advance. You could slip and fall on the boat, so it would be best if you stay seated, especially if you are unsteady on your feet on a violently rocking boat. If you do get up, then you should hold on to something! All boats of this size are prone to being rocked around. So please expect it and deal with it in a safe manner. It’s also true that boat decks can get wet with spills. There are drinks served on board, and also there is seawater all around. The boat deck can be wet sometimes, which could contribute to falling and the risk of injury. As long as you know what to expect, and take care of yourself and your family, you will be perfectly fine. Nobody in my group fell or got hurt in any way.
That’s all I have to say. It looks like the majority of major complaints on this rating site show that people either failed to understand the policies in advance, or were unfamiliar with the realities of what a whale-watching boat ride would entail. Plan ahead and understand what you are getting into. If you are smart and take care of yourself, you may just get very lucky and see some amazing marine wildlife — We did!