First Chance Whale Watch — Attraction in Kennebunk

We’ve been going on this whale watch for over two decades - and always have a great time. This time, not so much. We received a text message about two hours from our departure time, telling us that the marina parking lot was closed. This wouldn’t have been an issue, if they had ALSO said that they own two other parking lots that you can park at for free - but that information wasn’t shared until we complained that we had to pay $60 for paid parking for the hours of the whale watch in the paid parking areas, since we didn’t have that information.

The person running the ticket window was really rude. She had opened the window, so we walked up, and we said “hey, how’s it going”, and she rudely responded “I don’t know yet, I’m not open yet, give me a few minutes”. Why did she bother opening the window, if she wasn’t open?

The worst part of this trip, was that the instructions were to arrive 45 minutes before departure, to get your boarding passes, etc. We got there really early, so we could have time for breakfast first, and then to wait in line to get good seats. So, we waited in line for about an hour and were the first ones in line. We were given instructions at the window to line up by the food truck, so we did. And, when it was time to board, they moved the line to a different boarding area, and we ended up boarding LAST! We were really irritated, as were many of the other passengers who also got there early to get a good seat. What they SHOULD have done, was when they moved the line, to keep the front of the line the same people and just turn the line around. When I complained as we were boarding, one of the staff said “all of the seats are the same hun”, which is completely not the case. We’ve been on over 50 whale watches, here and other places, and everyone knows that is the not the case.

To mention some good: The skipper was really friendly and very informational as we were on board. The trip didn’t yield any whales, so we were given a free voucher (that does not expire) for...

We went for the 5-hour whale-watching tour on July 3. It was raining and really cool. The sea was pretty choppy. My daughter and I were smart enough to take Dramamine, but others obviously didn't. People were getting sick all over the place, and did not heed the advice of the crew to stay off the upper deck and out of the galley if they felt nauseated. On top of that, we only saw one whale the whole time. I saw more people throw up than I saw whales, and heard several people say what a miserable time they were having. Even though they can't control the whales, I felt like they could have done a couple of things much better. To begin with, rather than having a crew member tell people on the upper deck about potential seasickness, the captain should have made that announcement over the intercom for everyone to hear. And I guess they don't want to scare people off, but there ought to be more warnings about that on the website. Also, I think they should have more of a "tour guide" approach. The captain pointed out the Bush compound on the way out of the harbor, but other than when we spotted the one whale, he didn't say much. To help pass the time, I thought he should have gotten on the intercom more, and told people about the whale population in the area, the crab traps that were constantly in sight, the other vessels we saw (crab fishermen, presumably), and other things, to entertain people and help pass the time, and to make people feel like they were getting something for their money. All in all, I'm glad I went, and took my daughter. She will remember it, and we will have a good laugh about...

Cruise date: June 9, 2024

Everyone we met at First Chance was friendly and very helpful. This, alone, would be enough to draw us back again!

But now, to the meat of the story. We arrived in Maine on a Friday and it was raining... A lot! We were very concerned that the whale watching cruise that we had dreamed of for years would be cancelled. However, two days before the excursion was to leave, we received a very welcome email from First Chance stating that the cruise was still "on".

They know what they are doing because while it was still raining, the ocean was practically flat at 12 miles out from the dock at Kennebunkport.

During our journey to sea, our Captain, a young but well trained and knowledgeable man, sought out and found 8 or 9 sightings of Minke whales and a huge pod of dolphins (50 to 60).

We are an older couple and while we didn't ask for preferential treatment, were boarded first, so we picked out the driest, warmest seats. We certainly want to thank First Chance for the excellent customer service.

This trip was on our bucket list so we won't be able to come back but let me persuade you to book a couple of cruises from these nice folks.

First Chance whale...