San Diego Whale Watching Cruise

The tour was lovely. The crew was knowledgeable, blankets, food, and drinks were on offer and it was over all accessible for all ages.

I was a little apprehensive feeling there was no way we could really see Whales or other sea life. I was so pleasantly surprised. We literally saw hundreds of dolphins and a humpback that loved to show off. He showed us his tail a few times and he even did a magnificent breech for us. The crew were knowledgeable and helpful. This was a great experience!

We were really looking forward to our last day in San Diego to go whale watching with Troy and his crew. We arrived, were checked in and taken to the boat by the fantastic Al in full regalia. We received a warm welcome on board and given a full rundown of the ship's facilities, snacks and soft drinks were provided free of charge and alcoholic beverages available at a reasonable cost. After a safety briefing, we set sail and went off on our adventure. After leaving harbour, all the visitors were invited to get involved in raising the sails and raising the American flag - definitely got the blood pumping and nice to get hands on...although the crew did all the really heavy lifting they didn't let on so we all still felt great for helping out. Al was very knowledgeable about all the sights on the way out of the harbour and kept us entertained throughout the journey. We're hoping to have children in the near future so Al's masterclass in dad jokes was cringely hilarious! Troy tried everything to ensure we got to see a whale that day but we were just one of the unlucky ones - not a single one to see that day. That said, we did see a mega-pod of dolphins...literally hundreds and hundreds of them!...and a sun fish too...weird thing it was. There's a guarantee to see whales on the trip so, if you're unlucky like us, you can book on another day to try again for free. If I was to go again I'd book earlier in my stay in San Diego so I could have the chance to get out again. Unfortunately, that was our last day so we had to leave but the offer extends to if we go back to San Diego in the future - great service! Much better than the trip to Martha's Vineyard last summer...it wouldn't matter how many times you go you'd still never see a vineyard (yup - we were that daft!) I have full confidence that Troy and his team would deliver whale sightings more often than not. Either way, a fantastic day out with a super crew. Thanks guys

This was AMAZING! The boat is beautiful, the crew so nice, the narrator Andy knowledgeable and interesting and funny. The captain ensures you have a safe and entertaining time and he will FIND those whales. We not only saw a mega pod of dolphins (at least 100) but SIX blue whales! It was truly the experience of a lifetime.

Top notch experience sailing with Captain Troy, Al, and the rest of the crew. We had a small group of 11 which allowed for a more personalized experience, but I feel the level of professionalism would be the same no matter the size. We enjoyed seeing many Navy vessels at work, dolphins, pelicans, seals and sea lions, either a swordfish or shark and had the pleasure of seeing a mama and baby gray whale. Thank you for a memorable experience.

Fathom does everything: sailing the ship to detailed explanations of San Diego +storytelling for children. We saw a blue whale!!! Fantastic. Followed it for a while. Got up close. The captain took extra time to look for a whale. Very much appreciated. Great sailing day, wind perfect sun shining. I will be back soon

The sailboat couldn't be more gorgeous and intimate to go whale watching on! Although we only saw one whale coming up for air, the majority of the time we saw dolphin and at one point towards the end we came into a mega pod of dolphins that had lots of babies in it and they were all jumping in the air and flopping their bodies on the water...it was quite a sight to see! Would recommend though that you provide a little more interesting snacks other than Fritos and Doritos and maybe talk more about sailing history and the like while sailing around looking for whales.

Had a great time on the ship. Saw some whales and lazy seals. Beautiful day and great crew on the ship. Had a lot of fun.

I'll start at the beginning. I called to confirm trip, as was stated, in bold print, on my confirmation. I was told that it was not necessary but since I booked with a third party it said to do that. I asked if it was bogus and he said I should have booked directly. Of course I never would have found it that way. The forecast called for rain and so I asked about the weather forecast. I was given a lecture about rain prediction which went on and on. I finally said never mind. I think an answer should have been, if it's cancelled we will call or text and we have blankets on board. The boat was beautiful and the 2 young crew members were very kind. It was windy and rough. I saw a tail of a whale but I could not stand because of the rocking of the boat. I am in my 60's and husband is in his 70's so we do not want to fall on a sailing ship. Blankets were offered by a young crew member to us about half way through. That was a big help. 90 of people were not offered. Then it rained. Started slow and got heavy. All visitors headed downstairs. It was pretty much wall to wall adults and children down below. It was by that time very cold. My husband was standing next to a space heater which he turned on. At that point the captain came below and was quite upset that people who were dripping were standing on the carpet. He felt the carpet and said not to stand on it and felt the carpet again. He was also mad about the space heater and said that we were not to touch it and asked who had turned it on. We acknowledged that it was us and he told us not to touch it again. He said it had stopped raining and we could go upstairs. We did, however, the seats of the boat were very wet and we could not sit down. About 10 of us proceeded back down. He came down a couple of times to see if anyone was on the carpet. No one was. Part of the problem was possibly that a person on the trip had lost a boarding pass and someone was onboard that had not paid. We were all asked toward the end of the trip to verify that we had paid. I do not know what happened to the intruder. Maybe the plank that I feared after the heater incident. Oh well. Maybe without that incident all would have been in a better frame of mind. The snacks were chips and they did sell beer and wine onboard. I did go on a wonderful sailing trip in Los Cabo so if you are looking for one and find yourself there it was great. This one was a bit disappointing.

We had one of those perfect San Diego days on a beautiful ship. The captain and crew were friendly and sailed the ship perfectly. The crew found a Blue Whale floating on the surface to everyone's delight.

A great trip. We saw a mega pod of dolphins. As far as the eye could see dolphins swimming around the boat.

We were lucky enough to find ourselves in the middle of what the guide called a megapod of dolphins. Hundreds of dolphins jumping and feeding. It was wonderful,

It could have been better because we didn't get to go! Bad weather kept the boat from going out.

Spectacular trip, many whales and dolphins. We saw whale behaviors we had not seen before in 40 years of whale watching Our Guide Al was tremendous. Must See.