Excellent time last weekend. Friendly staff, nice boat, good drink selection, and smooth sailing…read more The sunset cruise was nice. Make sure to bring a blanket or some layers

This sail exceeded my expectations. In addition to Liz and the rest of the crew being great, we saw…read moreseveral whales within minutes of setting sail. We continued to see whales during the entire trip. My six year old daughter was the only child, but she still had a great time. I highly recommend this experience. We had an amazingly fun and peaceful experience and now have a great memory! So wonderful.

i am a seaaa kittyy i feel the breeze on ma faceeeee! i wish i wore some sun creammm! i wanna do…read morethis everyday. don't forget ur binoculars. but if u do, the crew miiight lend you theirs if u r cool (*u*) they give u wine or beer while you traverse around the monterey bay. and u feel like a million dollars. very special time for me.

Beautiful sail last night, good Sones wine/pizza . The crew is great and…read more very attentive and made sure we had a wonderful time . Wind perfect for the sail. Spectacular views and sunset. We had so much fun . Saw thousands of shearwater birds and whales . Would highly recommend!

Thank you @seaspiritsantacruz for another amazing day out at sea! It was amazing to see these…read morebeautiful whales in their natural habitat. We also observed seals, sea lions, jellyfish, sunfish, birds, and more. I highly recommend @seaspiritsantacruz for your sea adventures. Our female captain and female deckhand host were gracious, informative, and wonderful. They provide blankets if needed. Bring cash to purchase the snacks, soda, beer, or wine on board and of course to tip the staff. . . . . . . . . #seaspiritsantacruz #santacruz #thingstodoinsantacruz #awesomeadventure #whalewatching #sealife #funtimes #femalecaptain #femaledeckhand

Update: got a phone call from the owner Raina...I should say 2 and the last one she stated she will…read morecontinue to call me until she gets a person... when I did call back and instead of hello there it was a well... not so politely.. her response is below... which honestly I agreed to change my star but no compensation nor a really good apology... it was more I want to destroy a small company and their family etc hmmmm why would I want to destroy a small company if I own one myself... 1st... never did I dish the Captain or the assistance Darcy so your response is so bogus. 2nd commonsense, I never expected your team to pull a shark out of a hat... so ridiculous to even say that and that was not my purpose of the 1 Star like I explained to you... it was you advertise to go to a certain place and that I called and ask and stated which time frame I should go because I wanted to visit the Shark Park of course if the weather permits it.. not that I expected your crew to make Make miracles. 3rd why would I call the company if it was the first place I called to ask for their advise she told me to take the mid-morning and later I find out it was the owner (Raina) whom I spoke with. Now she is saying it's the mid day but what's funny on there website for mid-day states "IF the sun permits we will go to the shark park"... I'm posting a pic of their mid-day only to show what is now being recommended after the fact I took the tour.. Word of advice Raina as a owner of a small business myself.. you don't fight with a costumer and blame the costumer like you were doing it with me... you make it right... I get some negative remarks but I don't count the mins they talk.. I listen and wait until their done... I use their feed back to improve or make changes and be apologetic. I even ask my clients for their opinion how can i improve myself and my company. Trust me it changes the whole conversation and at the end we are both happy and they call me again for my business and without me asking they change my rating.. it's what you call communication and not act unprofessional. THE ONE STAR REMARK DID NOT GO TO THE CREW.. I WILL GIVE THEM 100 STARS...THE ONE STAR WENT DIRECTLY TO THE PERSON WHO HELPED ME OVER THE PHONE... WHO GAVE ME FALSE INFORMATION AND FALSE ADVERTISEMENT WHICH LATER YOU YOURSELF TOLD ME IT WAS YOU... that's were my 1 Star goes to... *****Really bummed with this company... Sea Spirt ocean Safari is the name of the company... they are a new company the crew was nice but false advertisement.. I just took a 3 tour with them.. let me just say if you just want to go see Whales, Seals, Sea Otters and stand still for about 20 mins and let them slowly explain about the otters and to see some brown sea weed looking thing just to kill time then this is the company to go too. If i personally wanted to go see this... then I would have gone to the regular Company I normally will go to... or selected a company closer to my area... like Im San Francisco pier 39.. they offer all this... The reason why I selected this company was because it advertised the Great White Shark... and i was told by one of their employees...if i would take the morning trip you get to go to the Shark Park and see Great White sharks... if you selected the 1pm then it was a 50/50 chance of going...well I got played... I drove two hours just so I can see some Great White Sharks and that never happened... when asked if we were going....the assistance said no because we spend to much time seeing whales... like wth really...so why advertise it... So the rest of ride I was hella bummed because I was so excited to go to the shark park.. What an "Ocean Safari" tour it was.... Don't get me wrong I love whale watching, sea Otters etc but when a company advertise something and doesn't complete it well its false advertisement on their website to the people answering the phones... I know I'm not the only one.. there was also a group of 6 that showed up and they were bummed too.. who knows how many more people where bummed... the funny part of it all is that they decided to take us out again to see a whale one last time lol but we have no time to see a shark... I would have understood if it was a weather issue but it wasn't I gave 1* not because of the crew but because I had to otherwise I couldn't post..

We went whale watching from Santa Cruz earlier this week and Stagnaro's did not disappoint. Booking…read moreonline was straightforward and the directions to the harbor and the slip were easy to follow. The boat was clean and in good repair. The crew (Sydney, Megan and Abby) was professional, personable and knowledgeable. Sydney was an excellent naturalist and Megan was an able captain, ensuring a smooth journey. We saw humpbacks. Lots of humpbacks. We saw other marine life, including a lone sea otter on the way back into the harbor, but the whales outweighed (no pun intended) everything else we saw. It was an awesome experience and I'd definitely go out with Stagnaro's again.

Our experience more than exceeded our expectations and we will only use Stagner's for future trips,…read moreon the water theywere much more respectful of the wildlife then other charters and we had incredible looks - views of whales, orcas and more! It was beyond fun and special, the marine biologist who was the host ensured a safe and wonderful time, Thank you!

Found this cruise last minute due to holiday travel plans changing. We saw humpback whales and…read moreorcas! We found then both real fast and so we chased the orcas for a while and spent time with the humpbacks at the beginning and end. Only wish was maybe not chasing orcas because my nieces really wanted to see dolphins closer (bow riding) and bigger pods than orcas. It was an amazing trip and I'll definitely take any of my friends that come to visit.

Had a great experience whale watching on Mother's Day with my Wife and Son. Chase and Captain Joe…read morewere great and I would recommend. Heed the preparatory message about sea sickness if you (or your party) is not experienced. The wrist band is good for those that might be susceptible.

Absolutely phenomenal ASA 101 experience with Pacific Sail!…read more I had the pleasure of learning from Dylan and Darrel, and I couldn't have asked for a better team. Both instructors took the time to thoroughly cover the material--balancing hands-on learning with classroom-style instruction (Darrel even led lessons right in the hull of the boat!). We practiced tacking, jibing, tied a variety of useful knots, and learned all the parts of the boat in a way that was both fun and deeply informative. Even during wild weather (30+ knot gusts that caused racers to retire their boats!) and a brief engine hiccup, the experience was safe, empowering, and invaluable. I learned not just the textbook approach to handling situations like a man overboard, but also real-world knowledge--like how to troubleshoot engine issues (thanks, Dylan!) and who to call in a marine emergency (thanks, Darrel!). Dylan's patience and steady encouragement made sailing feel approachable, even when conditions were intense. Darrel brought humor, depth, and thoughtfulness to every moment--together, they're a truly outstanding teaching duo. I also had the chance to meet Kate, another instructor, who was all smiles and incredibly helpful, waving while passing up on her tow boat and then cracking jokes to Darrel when she prepared for her Chardonnay crew to take off. On land, Natalie and Ethan from the front desk were warm and welcoming. Natalie and Ethan even walked me over to the boat with my coffee in hand to make sure I didn't get lost. I left this course genuinely feeling like I have a solid foundation in sailing--both in skill and confidence. I highly recommend Pacific Sail to anyone looking to start their sailing journey. This team is the real deal!

Just finished my asa 103 lessons. Dylan is a really great captain! He's very encouraging and…read morepatient for my tons of weird questions. There is nothing he doesn't know he even knows the best fresh restaurant in Santa Cruz! You should all try his lessons and start to love sailing in the blue ocean with beautiful creatures!

What a fantastic experience Captain Dan created for our family. He was so flexible with time and…read moreprovided an experience that blew away not only the kids but the adults too. We'll be back on the open sea again with Santa Cruz Nature Tours. Thank you for helping us create beautiful memories.

We had a great time out at sea with Captain Dan. Went on an excursion with 4 little kids + 4 adults…read moreand felt very safe. Captain was super knowledgeable and an excellent guide. Boat is comfortable and roomy even with our larger crew. Would definitely recommend!

James was truly the best. He got us in last minute and worked so hard to find great whites for us…read moreto see. He drove around all over to ensure that we got to see them. Our brake line had blown as we pulled into the parking lot and he not only tried to help fix it but drove my husband to the auto parts store. He was the nicest guy around and I would for sure recommend him to anyone that wants to go on any kind of tour!

If you want an adventure, you want to know Captain James Moskito and Safari Monterey…read more I've known James for years and have done a few various adventures with him from whale watching to white shark adventures. I haven't been on one of his travel vacations yet, but plan on it one day. He's a class act, extremely knowledgeable about his field, the animals, the adventures, the conservation, the areas, etc etc.; Whatever adventure you decide to take with Safari Monterey, just know it'll be a great time and he'll bust his ass to make sure you get the experience you pay for. That being said, nature is nature and NOT a zoo, so you may or may not see the animal du jour, but just know that it won't be due to lack of effort On James' part. This weekend I did a whale and white shark tour; 3 hours encircled by 20+ Whales and 4 hours searching for Great Whites, all while covering 64-nautical miles and we didn't see a White Shark until 10-min before docking! Luckily, I had my camera out taking a photo of a Pelican, when James yelled "SHARK", then brought the boat to a stop... and that was it. The shark went down and didn't come back up. We estimated at 11'-13'. It was a BIG dorsal fin. There were Whales everywhere you looked all across the bay and we got our fill there. Just came up short on White Sharks, but it was a great day overall with James and Safari Monterey.

We went on a sunset cruise in Santa Cruise for my birthday last week and had a wonderful time…read more Brian and his daughter were so helpful and friendly. This was the soooo fun !

Had such a good time in a nice, relaxed environment. Friendly crew, peaceful waves, and otters!…read morelove it!

I texted Scott, Lighthall for Ash scattering of our mother. This is the second time I asked Scott…read moreand Krista to take us for the Ash scattering. I had to postpone our first attempt and rescheduled one week after. Scott or Krista sent us the detailed email message. It was very helpful. Mike was the skipper. He was very nice and polite. He did the Naval bell ringing. He brought some roses. First, I let go off the Urn while both of us scattered the roses we brought. He brought yellow roses. I took Red rose petals. After we scattered them, we were able to see and follow the Urn with the red rose petals and the bright yellow roses closer to the Urn. He navigated the boat very gently and able to see the Urn. The morning was quiet, sunny and calm. It was extremely calm during the entire time, he navigated around the Urn, getting closer to the floating Urn. It was calming me to see her floating surrounded by flowers. My mother was slowly but surely sinking. I watched her floating, while Mike took few photos and sent them to me. Mike also honored my mother with "Naval Bell Ringing". It was a very nice, beautiful, sunny and calm morning for my mom to be floating on the ocean water. Thank you, Mike, Scott and Krista for sailing my mother and me to the Sea and sharing the most precious moments in our lives. Lighthall Yacht Charters Licensed Cremated Remains Disposer# CRD627 (831) 429-1970

Krista's communication with me was impeccable from the start making the whole experience less…read morestressful. Jason our skipper was a joy. He made us feel so relaxed by his friendliness, his smiles and his stories about his sailing experiences. He even brought fresh rose petals for us to toss where the ashes were scattered. I just can't say enough wonderful things about the whole experience. Lighthall Yacht Charters are very reasonably priced. I really felt it wasn't all about the buck but about compassion and understanding the needs of their customers. Thank you all! The Billings family