We took this tour on a Friday morning in April and it was the highlight of our California trip! We saw numerous dolphins, sea lions, and whales! It was amazing to see so much marine life 100 yards off the Newport coast! You cannot get too close to the whales for their and our safety however there was no need, you can spot a whale tail instantly! So grateful to the crew for doing their best to get us the experience we were hoping for! I highly recommend you not worry about where you are sitting if you travel with kids because as soon as the boat took of we were on our feet the whole time and stayed up front for the best views! Also, I suggest you try the grilled cheese sandwich on board, but remember to bring cash as it is cash only :
In addition to dolphins and sea lions we were fortunate to watch 3 gray whales, one of which put on quite a show breaching between 5 and 7 times. Our excursion was exceptional!
We didn't get to see any whales due to the weather. Staff gave a free ticket to try again though.