So this was part of my husband's surprise birthday Sunday, where he had no idea where we were going…read morestop after stop. This will stop number three and my thought is even if we never see a whale. It's always a pleasant way to spend a few hours out on the water.. Everyone on the boat was super professional and informative. We really appreciate Laura spitting facts at us and making sure we knew what was going on. At one point, I was standing in front of the boat and I was about to go sit back down, but Laura told me to stay because she knew we would see something soon and we saw a Fin whale, which we stopped for a while to watch come up and down and no matter what it's always magical. We ran into a bunch of dolphins and watching them chop and play as always fulfilling. There's no way you can go wrong with this excursion, especially with a discount. They seem to always be offering. They also give all the birthday people a drink cozy. Highly recommend a great way to spend a few hours..

We went on a family trip together for this Independence Day weekend. My dad suffered a stroke in…read moremid-December last year, and luckily he has recovered quite a bit since then. However, since he still can't travel too far, we decided to visit somewhere close by. So, we booked a hotel in Dana Point and had a wonderful two-night trip. On Saturday, July 4th, we all booked tickets for a whale/dolphin-watching cruise. When I booked the tickets, I asked how long the tour would be, and they said it would be two hours. The ticket prices were $78 for adults and $68 for seniors. At first, my brother accidentally bought all five tickets at the adult rate when three of them should have been seniors. I noticed this on the receipt, so I managed to get a refund for the price difference for the three senior tickets. We bought five tickets for the 12:00 PM cruise and were told to wait at Dock 6 starting from 11:45 AM, but the boat arrived a bit late. Once we got on board, the wind was blowing incredibly hard, and the waves were quite high, causing the boat to rock violently. After boarding, a friendly female crew member gave us a briefing at the front. She kindly advised everyone on board not to run, and said that if anyone felt seasick, it would be better to stay towards the back of the boat rather than the front. She also mentioned that if the motion sickness got too bad, they could provide peppermint or ginger candies, and added that there was a bar and snack counter inside the boat. Come to think of it, I once went sailing on a yacht with my friends a long time ago. For the first 30 minutes, I was clapping, taking photos, and having a great time, but then I got so severely seasick that I had a truly miserable time (the same thing happened to me on a cruise trip before). Still, when I rode a boat at Lake Arrowhead last year, I didn't experience any seasickness at all, so I thought I would be fine this time too--though looking back, that was probably because the lake was so calm. But during this cruise on July 4th, I ended up getting so incredibly seasick that I felt like I was dying. About 10 minutes before we docked, the seasickness got so severe that I even started dry-heaving, and it was just awful. I was dizzy, and my stomach kept churning. Even so, it was really wonderful to see so many dolphins during the cruise, and the crew members were all so kind. When I was struggling with severe seasickness, my brother went to inform the crew. A crew member came over and asked if I wanted a peppermint, ginger, or ginger ale candy. I asked for a peppermint candy, and they handed it to me, saying it was free. When I asked, "Does it work?" she assured me it would. I sucked on the candy while sitting at the back of the boat and fell asleep, but later on, the seasickness became so overwhelmingly intense that I ended up throwing up everything and had a horrible time. Anyone who gets easily seasick should definitely take this into consideration before going on a cruise. Still, seeing so many dolphins was a huge highlight.

Love, love this area of Dana Point. This has been my families spot to learn about the ocean and to…read moreenjoy sea life. We have always come to the Marine protected area when the tide is low and walked along the beach and sand outside the Institute to see all sorts of sea life. It is amazing what you can see, even saw an octopus one time. Just make sure that you know when the tide is rolling in and out to not get caught out on the rocks! On the backside of the Institute there are also benches to sit at and listen to the ocean. The Institute itself is filled with wonderful sea life and is a great learning experience no matter your age. Outside, there is a calm bay area where paddle boarders are all over as well as the educational ships filled with history. There is nothing that you cannot do in this area!

We came to the Ocean Institute for a homeschool field trip and was it ever worth it for waking up…read moreat 6am! The initial lesson part was split into groups and we were assigned to Sydney. She was absolutely delightful! Very knowledgeable and receptive to the questions the kids have! After the lesson, we headed out to the open sea. To our delight we got to see dolphins, sea lions, and even spotter a whale! Overall it was a great experience and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a lesson on ocean mammals!

If you're visiting from out of town, in the area and simply want to spend a day on the water, the…read moredeck hands and boats at the landing are professional and helpful. However, in my experience, the area receives a lot of fishing pressure, and the catch is often limited to smaller fish. I originally purchased two trips through a Groupon to try out the fishery. On my first trip, we only caught very small whitefish and sculpin. If the size limit was still 10", we would have maybe had 20 keepers. If anyone had larger than a 1lb sculpin or 2lb whitefish, I would be surprised. Jackpot was a sheepshead. Unfortunately, I missed my second trip in June and later contacted the landing about redeeming it, especially since the yellowtail bite is strong right now. I was surprised to learn that I would need to pay a $55 rescheduling fee, despite already paying more than $100 for the trip, even with the Groupon discount. For regular or experienced anglers, I would not recommend this option. Parking in the area can exceed $40, although the landing mentions there are less expensive lots nearby. My credentials are not important, but I fish frequently and have considerable experience. Based on that experience, I did not find this trip to be a good value.

The crew was very helpful in many ways. They removed the fish from the hook, filet the fish that we…read morecaught, and overall made the whole trip wonderful. I definitely fish again.

This was an AMAZING experience. I wasn't expecting to see anything, and then there were dolphins…read more Once we got farther out. We saw a few blue always. Amazing! First time for me and my sister. We also saw a Fin whale briefly. All in all, the event was spectacular. I highly recommend it. The Captain and the crew were super and helpful with answering questions. I will be going back when I visit my sister in SoCal! Woot!

We really enjoyed our Dolphin/ Whale cruise! The all female crew was great! Professional &…read moreInformative! I guess early June wasn't the best month to see whales but we will return and try again on our next visit. Everything was professional and great, but kept Dave's highly recommend them.!

3rd year in a row with Chris and he never disappoints. Last year was the best trip to date, landing…read morea monster bluefin. This year was even better with 6 yellowtail and an epic day of fishing with the family. If you want a captain that knows how to fish and is focused on giving you the best experience possible Chris is your guy.

Captain Chris provides a safe and fun experience - I've done 2 all-day trips with him in the last…read moreyear and both were epic! Great time, great dude, and great fishing! Can't recommend highly enough!

This was the best experience I've had out on the water. Perfect for a birthday or other celebration…read morewith a small group. We saw tons of dolphins, sea lions, and a whale and we were super close. I said "wow!" the most I ever have in my life during this excursion. Dustin was super accommodating and knowledgeable. Thank you for such a memorable time with my friends.

Incredible, epic time out on the water with Newport Surfrider and Captain Dustin. Weather was…read moreperfect and being out on the ocean just is amazing. We had fun the entire time and can't wait to do this experience again in the future. Saw so many dolphins and a huge sun fish. Highly recommend A+++

Big mahalos to Captain Noah & Patrick for making sure we never came home empty handed. Even though…read moreour backup plan was stopping at the fish market...just wouldn't be the same, right?! Fishermen, you may decide to go budget and save a few bucks by sailing with a large charter of 30-40 people. But then, after paying for boat entry and fees for rod/reel, bait, tackle, etc., not to mention the frustration of crossing lines and catching zero fish, will you really save?! And you absolutely cannot beat the 47' Jersey Luxury "Tartar Sauce! It has all the creature comforts every rugged fisherman deserves! 100% recommend RockenReel Sports Fishing for the memories, and the fish!! Da Hawaiian Crew, Papa Ray, Ale, Koa, Juan & JT

I got to know Capt. Steve last year when I bought my first boat . I had no clue what the heck I was…read moredoing until meeting Steve . Within a short time he train me well enough to operate the boat. It's been a pleasure and honor knowing Cat. Steve. He is a very knowledgeable, patient and more importantly fun guy. If you're in Dana Point and like to have a fun day on the water, look him up.

Aaron made our boat rental experience a breeze! He was very thorough in walking us through all the…read morefeatures of the boat and its controls, as well as all the safety equipment on board. The boat is fully equipped with state of the art navigation and fish finding equipment, and Aaron familiarized us with the harbor, bait shop, and fueling station. Highly recommended! We've already booked our next trip!!

Great Fun! Aaron is the best. Makes our fishing outings at ease. Very helpful! The boats are very…read moreclean and always ready for us. Everyone should join. Fabulous. Thank you Aaron Rita