Blue Ocean Whale Watch is a one-boat, owner-operated whale-watching business at Moss Landing, in the middle of Monterey Bay. It is the operator to book if your priority is space on the rail and a crew who will talk to you, and the wrong one if you need a big enclosed deck, a snack bar or a ticket you can cancel online.
The company sells no fixed fare on its site and no partner listing exists, so the price you pay depends on the season and the trip length you pick when you book. What is fixed is the boat and the number of people on it.
What it actually is
The whole operation is one vessel, High Spirits, and two captains. The site describes it as "a small, owner-operated business with one boat dedicated to whale watching and private charters". That is unusual on a bay where the other names run fleets or 100-foot day boats.
Kate Cummings is the naturalist and a captain: on Monterey Bay whale-watching boats since 2008, licensed as a captain in 2015, a member of the Whale Entanglement Team, and the person who photographs each trip and posts the images afterwards. Jim Davis is the other captain, with a career the company summarizes as the Naval Academy, active service as a Navy officer with NATO forces, and a spell as a Coast Guard commander.
Moss Landing is the point of the whole thing. MBARI describes the Monterey Submarine Canyon as one of the deepest on the west coast of the United States, with walls reaching 1,700 meters (5,580 feet) and a channel running over 470 kilometers (292 miles) offshore. Its head sits at Moss Landing, so a boat leaving this harbor is over deep water sooner than one leaving the Monterey or Santa Cruz rim.
The boat, the deck and the seasons
High Spirits is 60 feet, Coast Guard certified and inspected for 47 passengers plus crew, non-smoking, powered by twin John Deere diesels muffled below deck for a quiet ride. Blue Ocean caps it at 28 people — 8 upper deck, 20 main deck — which is the single most important sentence on its website.
{% photo "humpback-fluke", "The company publishes a 99% chance of humpbacks from March through December" %}
The upper deck is restricted to passengers 18 and over and ticketed separately; it is the photographer's position. There is indoor and outdoor space, but nothing is sold on board — you bring your own food and drink, and beer and wine are allowed while spirits are not.
Its published seasonal pattern is straightforward. Humpbacks at a claimed 99% chance from March through December, with gray whales alongside them in spring and winter and blue whales from June into December. Killer whales are listed as a year-round possibility with the best odds in April and May and again from September to December.
What it costs and what the guarantee means
Sighting guarantee
No whale, next trip free — a free repeat, not money back, and written around whales rather than 'whale or dolphin'.
- Wording
- 'Whale sightings guaranteed or your next trip is free! Any month of the year, you have over a 99% chance of seeing whales' (blueoceanwhalewatch.com)
- Seasonal odds it publishes
- Humpbacks at a '99% chance' March–December; grays and humpbacks December–March
- Refunds
- 'Once tickets are purchased, there are no refunds'
- Weather cancellation
- If the captain calls off a trip for sea conditions, you get a full refund or a reschedule
A free repeat trip is only worth something if you can come back. Visitors on a single day in Monterey should weigh that against a platform booking they can cancel.
Read the second half of that policy as carefully as the first. The guarantee covers the whale; it does not cover your plans. Once tickets are purchased there are no refunds, and the only path to your money back is the captain canceling for unsafe sea conditions. Arrive 20 minutes before departure, because trips leave on time and do not wait.
Because Blue Ocean does not sell through a platform, there is no free-cancellation window and no live price to compare. These are the bookable alternatives on the same bay:
Price check · GetYourGuide
Live prices, per person, checked regularly. Sorted from lowest.
| Tour | Price | Duration | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey: Monterey Bay Dolphin and Whale Watching Boat Tour | $62 Lowest | 3 h | ★ 4.7 (2,269) | Check dates |
| Monterey: Whale Watching Tour with a Marine Guide | $70 | 2.5 h | ★ 4.6 (504) | Check dates |
| Monterey: Whale Watching Cruise | $71.95 | 2.5 h | ★ 4.5 (204) | Check dates |
| Monterey Bay: Whale Watching Tour | $75 | 4 h | ★ 4.8 (2,499) | Check dates |
| Monterey: Private Whale Watching/Sailing Tour for 6 | $950 | 3.5 h | ★ 4.9 (5) | Check dates |
Prices are checked regularly. None of these listings is Blue Ocean's — the $71.95 cruise is the other Moss Landing operator, Sea Goddess, and the rest leave from the Monterey wharf.
What to check before you book direct
Pregnant women and children under four are not carried, and the company states plainly that the trip is not suitable for people with chronic neck or back problems or limited mobility. The vessel is not wheelchair accessible and boarding is by steps. If you need an accommodation, the instruction is to phone before booking rather than after.
On clothing it gives the most honest advice of any operator on this coast: dress for snow, because the water runs about ten degrees colder than the shore and you can always take a layer off. Take seasickness medication the night before and again in the morning; the company's view is that if you are prone to it you will get it unless you act in advance.
How it compares with the neighbors
Sea Goddess sails from the same Moss Landing address with much larger boats and a similar free-return promise, and it is bookable through a platform. Princess Monterey has the two biggest vessels on the bay across the water at Old Fisherman's Wharf, with heated cabins and restrooms. Stagnaro runs a longer 3–4 hour trip from the north rim at Santa Cruz.
The trade is clear. Blue Ocean gives you the least crowded boat and the strongest guarantee; the others give you facilities, flexibility and a cancellable ticket. For the whole coast, see the California page.
Our call
Blue Ocean if you can get a seat, and the upper deck if you are over 18
Forty-seven certified places sold as twenty-eight is the single biggest quality difference between boats on this bay: room at the rail, a quiet ride on muffled engines, and a naturalist who is also one of the owners. Its guarantee is the one on this bay that a dolphin sighting does not satisfy.
Skip it if If you need a restroom-and-snack-bar day boat, wheelchair access or a bookable ticket you can cancel — none of that is here.
Compare bay tripsQuestions people ask
Where does Blue Ocean Whale Watch leave from?
7881 Sandholdt Road, Moss Landing, CA 95039 — halfway between Santa Cruz and Monterey and, as the company puts it, the closest port to the nutrient-rich Monterey Submarine Canyon. You park by the boat rather than walking a wharf.
How big is the boat?
High Spirits is a 60-foot Coast Guard certified non-smoking vessel licensed for 47 passengers plus crew. Blue Ocean voluntarily limits it to 28 — 8 on the upper deck and 20 on the main deck — for a less crowded trip. The upper deck is 18 and over and ticketed separately.
Does Blue Ocean guarantee whales?
It publishes 'Whale sightings guaranteed or your next trip is free' and claims over a 99% chance of whales in any month. That is a free repeat trip, not a refund — once tickets are bought there are no refunds except when the captain cancels for weather.
Who runs the boat?
Kate Cummings, a naturalist on Monterey Bay boats since 2008, a Whale Entanglement Team member and a licensed captain since 2015; and Captain Jim Davis, previously a Navy officer with NATO forces and a Coast Guard commander. The company describes itself as owner-operated 99% of the time.
Can I book Blue Ocean through GetYourGuide?
No. There is no Blue Ocean listing in the GetYourGuide feed; its checkout is on its own site. The bookable Monterey Bay trips come from other companies, including one that also sails from Moss Landing.
Who should not take this trip?
Pregnant women and children under four are not carried. The company says the trip is unsuitable for anyone with chronic neck or back problems or limited mobility, and the vessel is not wheelchair accessible — boarding is by steps.
What should I bring?
Blue Ocean's own line is 'dress for snow', because it runs about 10 degrees cooler on the water. Bring food and drink — none is sold on board — plus a wide-brimmed hat, closed-toe shoes, sunglasses and seasickness medication taken the night before and the morning of the trip.
Official sources
Updated September 17, 2026 · partner prices refreshed October 6, 2026
