sanctuary cruises

Doris was our guide, she was amazing. With her background as a marine biologist, she was full of information about the sites we were seeing all around us. We were out for 4 wonderful hours. The boat is completely Eco-friendly, adhering to laws protecting the wild life around us. They were able to guide us near the whales to our delight, all the while educating us about what we were seeing and experiencing. HIGHLY recommend this company for your whale watching adventure!!!

We bought whale watching tour.Biologist was great, very pleasant lady.Ship is not big, and there were no crowd - exactly what I wanted.We found whales and were watching them from very short distance, capitain did his job great.Super!

I have been on numerous whale watching cruises (Hawaii, Washington and California). Never before have I seen what we were able to witness when we visited here in the Fall of 2014 - lunge feeding, cooperative feeding, total organized chaos. Even though I was terribly sea sick (my inner ear imbalance) this was the most awesome trip imaginable. The staff was great!

Absolutely amazing whale watching experience - humpbacks in the wild. But much more as the bay is teaming with all sorts of birds, fish, and sea mammals galore. First off, the boat Sanctuary is basic and clean, relatively low decks close to the action. Our naturalist was wonderful and genuinely excited to be out with us. (She also was very attentive to anyone who might get queasy, although only a couple did). The boat was not crowded. We literally saw our first whales within 15 minutes of departing the dock.

We took the whale watching tour with Doris & Mike from Moss Landing on 16th January 2015. A trip we will never forget for so many amazing reasons. My husband did his homework beforehand checking the many whale watching tours leaving from the Monterrey Bay area. The decision to go with Sanctuary Cruises was definitely the right choice.Mike(the skipper)headed straight for the feeding grounds of the whales and on the way we saw harbour seals,sea lions,sea otters,pelicans and playful dolphins swam along with us.I was expecting to see only the grey whales as this was the season for there annual migration.Luckily for us Doris(marine biologist) explained that the humpbacks were still feeding in the area and we might see them.To my amazement and joy we were suddenly surrounded by many humpback whales.What a humbling experience to be so close to these magnificent creatures, as we watched them surface and dive for hours.Sadly it was time to head for shore when the spout of whales was spotted in the distance.Mike immediately headed towards them with Doris explaining that they were probably grey whales.As we got close one of the whales breached,not once but four times.It was shock and awe and one of those heart stopping moments that I will always remember.A big thankyou to Mike & Doris as they certainly went the extra mile to make our trip truly remarkable.If you want the ultimate whale watching experience on a small, intimate boat with informed,enviromentally friendly people then this is the trip for you. Magical and Awesome!!!

We left Moss Landing Harbor without expectations and had the most exceptional experience on the Bay ever! The weather was surprisingly beautiful for this time of year and the marine life was obviously enjoying the great weather and feeding conditions as well. The Captain was very experienced at locating multiple varieties of marine life and our Marine Biologist was very astute at describing life habits,migration and types of personalities of different marine life species. The crew was determined to make our visit out on the Bay the best it could possibly be by making sure that we didn't miss anything! There were more humpbacks surfacing than I could possibly photograph at one time with many opportunities to catch the fluke shots! The dolphins were innumerable and playful. The return trip ended with an eye-opening view of two grey whales breaching at the same time showing off duplicate flukes descending laterally in unison! I credit the capable folks who made this experience so memorable for us all with their attention to detail and the life habits of the different species as well as exhibiting enormous respect for the Marine life in the Bay!

As local residents, we often take guests on whale watching trips. We have usually gone to Monterey, since many visitors also want to spend time there. Last week, we focused on predictable whale activity and the best place to see wildlife quickly once at sea, so we picked Sanctuary Cruises out of Moss Landing. It was fantastic! Their 43 ft. boat "Sanctuary" has low level decks with plenty of rail space so you're just over the dolphins swimming alongside! The boat carries no more than 30 and runs on 99% biodiesel so it is clean, with no nasty exhaust at the back. The marine biologist is very adept at getting everyone settled, answering questions, going from group to group to make sure everyone is comfortable and happy. The captain is very enthusiastic about whale and other sightings, and turns the boat for everyone's best viewing. We saw hundreds of "rafting" sea lions, dolphins, dozens of sea otters and thousands of sea birds in an almost 4 hour trip. The Humpback Whales were feeding right out of Moss Landing, so we spent more time looking at whales than driving back and forth to other ports. We even saw two Grey Whales breaching! Moss Landing is also the gateway to the Elkhorn Slough, where sea otters and wildlife thrive as well, and it can be accessed by small boat trips or on wonderful hiking trails! There are three decent eateries, so make this a stop on your way to Monterey!

Our trip on 8th January coincided with a spectacular feeding frenzy in the bay. The humpbacks were surfacing all around us, totally unconcerned by the boat. We were among sea lions, pelicans, and sea otters as we manoeuvred over the swarms of anchovies on which they were feeding, and for four hours Mike and Dorris kept us close to the action and fully informed. Finally, as we returned to harbour, we were escorted by a pod of playful dolphins leaping out of the water and riding our bow wave. Fantastic!

We went out with these folks from Moss Harbor and I was not expecting much because their boat is small, or at least the one we went out on was, only 38 feet and no upper deck for viewing, I frankly was not expecting much more than a boat ride; it was my wife's idea. Wow, did I get a surprise! The naturalist knows his stuff and the captain found the whales almost immediately and the whales in turn came very close to us; we could smell their bad breath when they spouted! I also observed some larger vessels out of Monterey with hundreds of people on their three decks and was very happy to be on our boat with only twenty four of us! A great time was had by all.

We had a fabulous tour with Doris and Mike. We were very lucky that there was only 9 of us on the tour, which made for an incredibly intimate experience. Doris was attentive to those who suffer from seasickness, offering watches which definitely helped!The tour lasted four hours and we saw many humpback and grey whales, sea lions, sea otters and dolphins. Mike was great at attracting the dolphins - at one point we were surrounded by hundreds and they rode the waves with us; a truly magical moment we will never forget. Doris was incredibly knowledgeable of all marine life and every moment she had spare she spent talking to us about what we were seeing, illustrating the whales with some lovely models. Her passion for wildlife is infectious. Doris and Mike use biofuel and unlike many of the bigger operators, were completely respectful of the whales, keeping their distance. Our views were still spectacular and at one point there were many groups of whales around us that were very close. Unfortunately we saw several boats harassing the whales. One reason, among many others, to avoid the bigger operators. We spent two weeks in California and saw many incredible things but the charming Doris and Mike will go down as the best. Could not recommend them more highly! Unforgettable.

This trip is well worth while and excellent value for money. we saw lots of wildlife including numerous Whales and dozens upon dozens of dolphins- plus otters, pelicans, seals ... And more. Very knowledgeable and pleasant tour guides. I would recommend it to anybody as a wonderful day out.

I have been whale watching with Sanctuary Cruises twice now and both times were fantastic! The crew is fantastic and very friendly and knowledgeable. I picked Sanctuary cruises the first time because of the smaller boat size and I liked that they left out of Moss Landing. I picked them the second time because of my great experience the first time. If you get sea sick, they have bands that you can rent for the day to help with the sea sicknesses. I don't get sea sick, but my friend who does says they were a life saver and this is the first time she has been out on the water without being sick. Overall, this was an amazing experience with a great group of people.

I never realized that Moss Landing is actually a top hotspot for whale watching until last year when I spotted the boats - and the whales from a nearby restaurant. This year I finally made it onto the boat and had a wonderful day on the bay! I opted for sanctuary cruises because they operate on of the smaller boats. The crew was friendly and helpful and the whale watching itself worth every minute. I'd do it again anytime soon!

We went on the 4 hour whale watching cruise which was fabulous. The crew of captain Mike and biologist JC were nothing short of brilliant. Being a slightly smaller boat and passengers (28) made it more personal. Captain Mike soon some humpback whales and JC explained everything about them. They also found a school of Dolphins and had them following the boat. However whilst the other cruise boats left the area captain Mike decided to stay a while and wait which was worth it as a humpback took an attraction to our boat and was getting very close, even swimming underneath. It was a spectacular sight, but they both said this was very rare. I also liked the fact they turned the engine off when in an area whilst other boats didn't, respect for the marine life. Also, they helped when I got a bit sea sick and offered remedies. They also welcome pregnant women and young children which some cruises do not.Excellent crew, great photos and great time. Well worth the money.

I saw late at night on facebook my friend's posting of whales and sea lions that were Amazing. I knew I had to try and get on a whale watching cruise right away. Called at 5 am and there were 2 seats left. My daughter had school but some times you gotta' play hookie! We left Mill Valley at 7 am and we were in Moss Landing by 9:15 am with traffic. We got sandwiches, water and hit the boat. The whales were so abundant some even swam under the boat. The sea lions are now learning to group the fish in a fish ball with the whales. The sight to see all the sea life swirling, whirling, bubbling and singing was amazing. My daughter told me her favorite part of the day was hearing the whales sing through the auqaphone which is a mic the crew places underwater. We could hear the whales singing and the sea lions yelping! Doris is a Marine Biologist and super knowledgable and nice. Mike the captain can find the Whales!!! Such great people. Nice boat. Lovely day. One of the best experiences I have had with my daughter ever!!!!! Must do again.