Dolphin Fleet Whale Watch — Local services in Provincetown

I was unsure if we would actually get to do this as it was likely to be too expensive but actually was reasonably priced and Stace my husband said yes let’s do this as he knew how much I wanted to see whales, I felt beyond excited and only ever dreamed of seeing whales, how would I ever sleep or wait until tomorrow. The following day we returned, waiting at the quay side I was so excited I felt like a child with butterflies in my tummy, I could not believe we were actually doing this and could not keep my feet still, much to Stace’s amusement. Before long we were on the boat with the naturalist introduced herself, Carolyn gave a fantastic talk, advising us of whales we could possibly see, what they eat and why they come to this area. She was brilliant, I found myself hanging on her every word as it was so interesting. I would be over the moon to see one whale and if only I knew for what was about to come. We were so extremely lucky seeing a Right Whale within minutes of getting out into the sea, Carolyn explained they are really under threat for survival with only 336 left in the world, this was a shocking statistic and she explained that most boats were not allowed within 500 feet of any Right Whales. We saw another one in the distance and a lot of excitement was growing on the boat already to see these incredible Right Whales. We travelled some distance around the Cape, then out to of the bay into a more open area of the ocean where the whales come to feed on the plankton and other small organisms. We started to see a pod of Humpback whales closer to the boat with about 2-4 in the pod, then the captain spotted another pod, so moved the boat to this pod, then on to another in the end we saw around 4 pods some with babies. All were coming up for air and we could see them so close. It was such a moving experience to see there tails coming out of water before they dived down or heads popping up were we got to hear the noise of them blowing air, it sounded so loud, a noise we will never forget. It was incredible, there were a few emotional tears as we got to experience these incredible animals in their natural habitat. We were having such a wonderful time and did not want to leave the area, Carolyn was saying that she recognised some of the humpbacks, telling us their names. As the boat started heading back to the harbour we were treated to the sight of a minky whale, a group of Atlantic white sided dolphins, we even had a seal popping its head up to say hello. Then just as we thought well that was an amazing incredible day in the distance a huge Fin whale surfaced, a much bigger whale than we had seen so far, it felt such a privilege, we couldn’t believe what we were seeing. At the same time also at a distance another Right whale surfaced then just as the boat started to turn in to the bay where the harbour was located the whales decided to give us one last surprise, a Right whale with a calf, which started breaching. The calf was having a brilliant time and looked like it was really just having fun breaching repeatedly. Carolyn relayed how rare this was to see and called it in to where they recall data whilst we were on the boat, she was so excited as this had never been recorded before. After staying out longer than was planned due to the unexpected sighting and show, we finally got back to the harbour slightly later than expected but we were over the moon, such a surreal experience to see so many whales. What a beautiful memorable day we had, It is certainly something I will never forget and will treasure close to my heart forever. As we progress on our journey (currently on a world trip on our motorbike) we come into contact with incredible people and companies like The Dolphin Fleet who do so much work to protect, record data daily of every whale they see and continually find out more about the whales in th. Thank you so much Carolyn you are amazing - a sea of knowledge and learned so much in one day. Can’t stop telling everyone how amazing the trip was and will hold it close to our hearts...

Booked with this company for a whale watching experience for my birthday trip to the area during the Memorial Day weekend of 2022. Was very disappointed with the experience. Boat had maybe 150 people, if that, so not overly crowded, but as expected. Rules were given prior to departure to stay seated while boat was in motion to the viewing area, but it wasn't enforced at all as adults and several children were moving about relentlessly for the whole trip out and back. Speaker system was not pleasant to the ear and did not even work consistently. The sound would go in and out during any announcement or storyline and some of the speakers didn't work at all so then you were left wondering what was even being said if you didn't move to another area of the boat to hear.

When the boat got to the Sanctuary area, a staff member stated that the Cpt would turn the boat at various instances in order for everyone to get a chance to view any whales that may be seen, but that didn't happen which resulted in adults and children running all over the boat trying to see whatever they could see without due regard for anyone else's space or viewing ability. Needless to say, I was not one of those people being rude and running all over the place and I did not get to see a single whale even though we had only maybe a hand full of total sightings of Minke Whales. Unfortunately, the company does not reimburse or offer other trips if you personally don't see any whales on the trip, as long as whales are spotted during the trip-period. I know staff cannot control what people do as an overall, but it was a very frustrating experience that ended up making me angry and simply wanting to just get off the boat and re-evaluate my whale watching plans. In the end, we ended up spending over $100 for two people who didn't get to see a single whale due to how this charter is ran.

Upon ending our 3 hour total experience (of which we were told would be 4 hours) we looked up other charters in the area and decided to spend the money on a private charter for another whale watching experience. The private charter was a much more enjoyable experience where we spent our whole time at the Sanctuary seeing several whales in the peace and quiet of nature without the stress of all the people, noise, or frustrations of even trying to see. Please re-think your options and evaluate the experience you actually want to have before booking on a large...

I was sitting just outside the business front and their doors were open because it’s a nice day. I have two cats that were in a stroller and I let them out to go eat and go to the bathroom. My two kittens immediately ran into the store and the employees were very nice and what seemed like a manager also greeted my kittens. I was able to bring them back to my belongings, outside the store.

Then, one of them escaped the stroller, her harness, and collar and ran into the store. I caught her and put her back in the collar and harness and back in her stroller. However, right as I was about to close the stroller, she escaped from everything again and ran back into the store. This repeated about two more times.

They closed one of the doors since my cat kept escaping into it. After my cat tried going full speed through the glass door and failed, bumping her head, she went through the other door. Eventually, the presumed manager got irritated and said, “Alright, lady, this isn’t funny anymore. This is a business. Get your cat.” I expressed my sincere apologies and explained that I was trying and he quickly quipped back with, “Well, you’re not trying hard enough.” With the tone he was speaking with, I had not been talked to like that in years; it felt like I was back in grade school.

While I understand that it is a business and that cats roaming around is not ideal, any cat owner would know that you cannot control cats and they are quick and slippery to get ahold of. I was already stressed with one of my cats going a different direction and the other cat continuing to disturb the employees; the manager’s bad attitude did not add nor help the situation.

It’s only getting two stars because I have done the dolphin/whale watching with this business in the past and it was great, the employees were great, and the manager does need to keep the business in mind. However, every other business I went to in PTown were very gracious and understanding of my cats and this was by far the rudest. Just be careful if you bring...