Sea Goddess Whale Watching — Local services in Watsonville Water Treatment Plant

This was a very good experience. We went with Sea Goddess on 5/22/16 for a whale watching trip. Luck would have it, this was a day when historic amount of blue whales were feeding in the Monterey Bay. Check in was very smooth and kids enjoyed the donuts that they offered for the early trip. The trip itself takes about 2-3 hours. Going out there is abut an hour and then that much coming back and if you can spend about an hour out there that is the extent of it. It could have been a little short had it not been for the record amount of blue whales. Three hours is the outer limit of time I presume. Their crew was very friendly. They had a deck hand who was very personable and helpful and a guide (Laura) who happened to be continuing with her education as a marine biologist. Sounded like she would be going to another University on a scholarship, so she may be leaving. She was resourceful in responding questions and very friendly and engaging. The captain took his time to locate the whales although this time he had an easy job I presume because of the large number of blue whales. It goes without saying that you should bring warm jackets and possibly water proof or repellant types as you may get sprayed with water once you are out of the harbor and speeding towards open water. For guys shorts and t-shirts and for girls skirts and flip flops may not be good idea. Don't forget sunglasses. It may be a good idea to have a small binoculars with you. Try to pick a spot either on the right or left sight of the boat and stick to it. It is not a good idea or always possible to shift from one side to the other. They do not allow people on the deck above so unless you are by the rails on the sides or up front or back you may get stuck behind other people. I was surprised how many people were so consumed by taking photos and videos and missed the chance of proper experience of watching the whales. For my taste, 92-96 people on a 70 feet or so boat a little too much but that is me. I cannot say that it was uncomfortable in general sense. Another thing I would recommend is that "go to the restroom before you board the boat", I did not try but I heard that going to restroom on the boat is not be best experience. Overall, I think this was a great experience and size of the boat had something to do with that. there are other boats but this one was a large size. Another suggestion is to bring some small snacks for the kids and water. My kids got thirsty and hungry fast on the way back. Thankfully, my wife decided to make a reservation at the Whole Enchilada as soon as we headed back and that way we avoided waiting for a table which can be long at that restaurant especially during the weekends and holidays. Well, that is it. All and all, this is a fun thing to do with family and kids and I would recommend...

I wish I hadn't done this trip. I understand it's about going out and looking for whales, and the company can't control where they are; also, they're trying to fit the tour in a set time frame. However, it was not well done. We booked it on our anniversary; I spent the whole time puking and freezing, barely seeing anything, while my husband was sick, too. I feel it could have been managed better to prevent this for me and other passengers. Apparently you can see whales within 5 min-1 hour of leaving. Then, you see the whales (and other wildlife) and come back. Well, they had seen whales on an earlier tour that day quite far out, and those whales were traveling quickly, further afield. So, they decided the best thing to do with a group of non-professional passengers was to go as fast as possible, slamming on the waves, for like an hour. It was like a speedboat. Several of us were puking; I was crying in a ball on the deck floor until I passed out hugging the wall. I have never been seasick like that. The staff was running around, grabbing puke bags. When I came to, lots of people were inside the boat, curled up with their heads on tables or in fetal positions on the benches. Also, it was freezing cold, both from the ocean and from going so fast. They said to wear a sweatshirt; I was wearing a sweater, a puffer jacket, and a scarf, and so cold. They should have some blankets and Dramamine to help sick people. I did try going to the back of the boat, like they suggested, but it didn't help. There was a kind worker, Jayden, who helped me go further back in the boat, brought me some water, and even gave me her hoodie, which was very nice of her. But, it was eerie that the whole time, they just kept announcing random facts about whales like we were having a grand old time. We eventually saw two whales, their fins and a tail, although I couldn't see much due to being on the floor. We also saw sea otters and a few kinds of birds. The announcer was very excited about seeing four albatross. If you are at all prone to motion sickness, even a little bit, I wouldn't book with this company. They will prioritize getting out to see a whale fin over your well-being. Also, wear a lot of clothes and...

I’ve been on several whale watching tours in the last ten years Both in Monterey bay, sf area and Maui. This was my least favorite time for a few reasons. So yes I was disappointed First the weather was cold and the ride choppy but that was expected . We did see about 6 whales and several seals and that was the goal . So mission completed . But we didn’t stay out very long and seemed to be too far from the whales to really get any good views or pictures. We did a couple times but it was definitely less than any other time I took a tour I am aware we must stay 100 yards away but it seemed we were much farther than that… I know we are at the mercy of the whales but they were feeding and not concerned with our presence it seemed. I felt we could have been closer, stayed with them longer, and also had more information from the experts on board but I guess you have to pay for the vip experience for that which was standard every other time . We did get a few announcements like whales at 1’oclock And one employee did walk around with a bucket containing a by the wind sailor that was cool. The boat was very clean and standard for tours. So overall I was a tad disappointed we didn’t get very close or stay at least as long as it took to find them Usually my experience has been we are in whale vicinity longer than it took to get to and back to harbor this felt less… but I didn’t actually look at my watch. We got a late start (25 min) based on morning crew coming in late, and we came back on time . Last time I went out of Monterey bay and the boat took us to moss landing . So I thought this time just book from moss landing to have more time with whales. … seemed to take about the same amount of time.. I get it the whales are where they are. However we did pass one splashing around many times I would have like to stay to watch but we kept going …??? (That was the most action we saw all day but we were going at speed and it was far away. I did enjoy the trip. All employees were super nice and yeah we saw whales so it’s all good I guess. My name isn’t Karen btw hahah just trying to give a...