FREE Whale Watching Cruises for Whalers!
Join the San Diego Natural History Museum Whalers program and share your love of marine life and the magnificent Eastern Pacific Gray Whale. To apply complete an online application at the San Diego Natural History Museum website at http://www.sdnhm.org/volunteer/application.php

Whale & Dolphin Watching Has Begun!

For Whale & Dolphin Watching cruises in San Diego, Hornblower Cruises offers the best and most professional options. The California Gray whales pass along the coast of San Diego during the south migration to the warm lagoons of Baja Mexico.

For reservations for Whale & Dolphin Watching Cruises, click here.

For detailed scientific information about Gray Whales from San Diego Natural History Museum Click Here! The museum's home page is www.sdnhm.org

Whale Watching Cruises Tickets and Times
San Diego Whale Watching Tickets Prices, Discounts and Times:

Adults - $30.00 Mon.- Fri. $35.00 Sat. & Sun.

Discounted Senior/Military $25.00 Mon. - Fri. 30.00 Sat. & Sun.

Discounted Children (4-12) $15.00 all week

Boarding times: 15 mins. prior to cruise Morning: 9:30 am. departure Afternoon: 1:30 p.m. departure Tours last 3.5 hours approximately.

Hornblower Guarantees Whale Sightings!
If a whale is not sighted during your cruise, a pass good for a future Whale & Dolphin Watching Cruise midweek or San Diego Harbor Cruise & Sea Lion Adventure will be issued.

3 1/2 HOUR ADVENTURE INCLUDES:

• Fast new whale watching yacht in San Diego with capacity for up to 600 guests
• Bird's eye view from 25 feet off the water
• Climate controlled indoor seating
• 3,000 square feet of outdoor viewing area
• Hot food and complete bar available
• Informative narration on whales and migration
• Views of birds, sea lions and other wildlife
• Educational video documentary

Hornblower Respects Whales and Environment
Hornblower Cruises and the crew understand that the development of whale watching presents opportunities and challenges to everyone involved. Hornblower has a deep respect for nature, our environment and the animals. We respect our passengers, we assume responsibility during whale watching cruises and pledge to act responsibly. Hornblower follows strict U.S. Coast Guard safety and security requirements on all vessels.

Ocean Ethics Statement
Hornblower Cruises & Events:

Operates the whale watching cruise with a genuine desire to learn more about the marine life.

Please respect the operators' obligation to respect the whales and ensure no harm befalls them or you. Listen to the safety announcements and narration during the cruise.

Become familiar with what may be done on board and what should not be done.

View whales from a safe and respectful distance so that you do not change their behavior. Interfering with critical animal behaviors can cause them considerable distress - if harassment occurs it should be reported to the appropriate authorities.

Err on the side of the whales -- if there is any uncertainty or disagreement about the effect of your presence or your viewing vessel on the whales your operator is obligated to take a precautionary approach.

Be courteous, as you are only one of thousands of tourists visiting this country to view marine life and do not expect special viewing privileges.

Whale & Dolphin Report 2008 (coming soon)
Hornblower Cruises Whale & Dolphin Report December 23, 2008 – FIRST WHALE REPORT OF THE SEASON!

This whale report documents the activities and successful sightings of whales, dolphins and sea lions on Hornblower Cruises & Events Whale & Dolphin Watching Cruises in partnership with the San Diego Natural History Museum who trains our Whalers. Sdnhm.org

12/20/08 2 Gray Whales: Sunny and nice to start the season. Pod of two adults a mile or so west of kelp. Went further west towards feeding birds and found 400-500 Common Dolphins. 1 Gray Whale, Single adult gray whale south to about 7 miles. 15 or so Pacific White Side Dolphins.

12/21/08: Clear and cool with light winds. Sea Lions off of Point Loma.1 Gray Whale Single whale with a lot of good views. Sea Lions, Common Dolphins and Pacific White Sided Dolphins.

12/22/08 1 Gray Whale: One juvenile Gray Whale that went right beneath the bow. Brief but beautiful! Five Pacific White Sided Dolphins, No Whales Sighted, hundreds of Pacific White Sided Dolphins feeding and playing with the boat. A tremendous show!

Photos by Antonio Ramirez.

Whale Report -December 2008!!!!
the Whale Watching trips on Saturday 12/20 were great!!! *Laurie Hinckley wrote “Today was a great day - couldn't ask for much better. We saw whales AND a pod of about 400 dolphins on the morning cruise. It sure was great to be back out on the water - AND on Adventure” *Diane Cullins “Yes, had a wonderful morning trip this morning....season is off to a great start - besides two large whales, saw 300--500 dolphins” 3/5/08 As reported by Sheri Knox, San Diego Natural History Museum onboard Whaler and Trained Naturalist.

Just wanted to let you all know what a spectacular day we had out on the water yesterday afternoon! After almost two hours of NOTHING, we spotted about 50 dolphins and 50 sealions out at 9 mile bank feasting on a bait ball, with a ton of birds.

About 10 minutes later, I had just finished telling someone that we rarely see breaches, when in the distance, we saw TWO INCREDIBLE (nearly all the way out of the water) breaches!!

As we caught up to them, they stayed in their Northern track and seemed totally unbothered by us -- we were close to 4 of them for about a half hour. A couple of times, three of them surfaced together and close enough to hear the spouts!

Everyone was so excited and thrilled about the day, it was so fun to be on board! But that wasn't all! On the way back in, we ran across a swath of sea TEEMING with feeding dolphins (a cowboy said to me it looked like 40 acres or so of dolphins). I put 800 dolphins in the log, but it could have been nearly double that. Several DOZEN came to the boat to ride the bow -- it was breathtaking, and, along with many of the passengers, I nearly burst into tears!

In all my years on the ocean, I have never seen a breaching grey, nor that many sealions together that far out, nor feeding in conjunction with dolphins, LET ALONE the incredible mega pod of dolphin. It was my best day EVER, BY FAR, here off San Diego. And Atonio got GREAT photos of everything! It was FANTASTIC!!

1/26/08
Whales: 14 Grays
Dolphins: Many pods including a pod of 4 or more. Highlights: in the morning 400-600 Commons
1/25/08
Whales: AM:2 adult Gray Whales and 1 baby
PM: One single adult gray, one mother and calf pair. Nice shows in spite of choppy seas. 2 adult Gray Whales and 1 baby One mother and calf pair, followed by a single adult gray. Dolphins: AM: eight Pacific White Sided dolphins
1/24/08
Whales: AM: 5 Gray PM: 2 adult Gray Whales Hihglights: The whales were spouting all around the boat. Dolphins: AM: 5 Pacific White Sided Dolphins.
1/23/08
AM: 6 Gray Whales PM: 4 Gray Whales
1/22/08
AM: 2 adult Gray Whales and 3 babies PM: 2 mothers with their calves. There was one baby that was by itself, playing and going around going under the boat.
Highlights: 16 Gray Whales The best record for the season!
1/21/08
Whales: 7 adult Gray Whales and 1 baby PM: Mother and Calf plus 6 whales AM: 5 Pacific white sided. pod of 100 common dolphin

Jan. 12, 2008
Whales: We went to kelps and saw 1 whale and around 20 Pacific white sided dolphins. The whale did show tail and soundings.
In the afternoon we went south and saw mother and baby plus 4 whales for a total of 6 whales. Also we saw a Mola Mola fish.

Jan. 13, 2008
Highlights: This was the BEST TRIP so far, we went to Kelps and saw nothing so we went to south and saw 2 pods of whales each with 6 whales and we had whales all over the boat. I was able to snap a picture with 5 whales at the same time. Whales: total for this trip was 12 whales!
Afternoon trip: 1:30 trip we went south and saw Mother and Baby and a juvenile. total 3 whales.

Jan. 9, 2008 From a guest onboard the cruise: The crew was professional and cheerful and accessible. Capt. Bill was a wonderful tour guide: excellent humor, huge expertise, and the visitors experience came first. It was 1/08/08 afternoon tour, sunny and clear. I noticed our boat delivered as promised, in fact travelled further and longer than the other guide boat out there with us which I really appreciated AND we arrived back in port on schedule. We saw two pairs of gray whales that afternoon and a few different pods of two types of dolphins, dozens of CA sea lions and sea and shore birds, the ship was clean and spacious. Appreciated the bar for drinks and snacks. The San Diego Natural History docents provided excellent additional information one on one with visual aids and via the loudspeaker to supplement the tour. Overall, it was much better than I had expected. Most importantly, I felt the crew, especially Bill, respected the fact that that tour may be our first and only whale watching tour even though those guys tour every day. I didn't feel like part of a tourist mill, like cattle. Actually seeing whales not guaranteed, of course made it complete, too.

Be sure to click on PHOTO GALLERY to see some beautiful photographs of the marine life we see each day!

Whale Days Feb. 21 & 22
A Whale of a Deal at First Ever San Diego Big Bay Whale Days SAN DIEGO, CALIF. — December 26, 2008 — North Embarcadero businesses along the Big Bay® invite you to the first annual Whale Days celebration February 21-22, 2009. From late December to early April, San Diego celebrates the migration of thousands of California Gray Whales. Their annual journey takes them from the Bering Sea, past the San Diego coast, to the protected warm waters off Baja California, Sonora and Sinaloa, Mexico. The longest migration route of any mammal, the gray whales travel nearly 13,000 miles roundtrip each year. The Big Bay Whale Days festival, organized by the Embarcadero Marketing Group (EMG) and supported by Embarcadero businesses, will feature free cruises for children with purchase of adult tickets, free admissions for children with adult purchase on USS Midway, discount admissions to Maritime Museum of San Diego, and money-saving coupons to Seaport Village stores and restaurants along the Embarcadero (North Harbor Drive). “Businesses along the Embarcadero are encouraging families to discover the thrill of whale & dolphin watching and the magic of the Embarcadero,” said Rebecca Milkey, Hornblower Cruises & Events, and spokesperson for EMG. “We have put together a fun event around one of San Diego’s most treasured seasons and named it Big Bay Whale Days. Businesses will be offering super values to dine, play, stay and cruise on the bay. We invite everyone to be a part of this new annual celebration.” Make reservations for a whale watching cruise and be sure to ask for your Whale Days discount: – Hornblower Cruises & Events, hornblower.com, 800 ON THE BAY – 1 Information on special event promotions and free Big Bay coupon passports will be available on February 21 through 22, from 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., between the Hornblower Cruises and San Diego Harbor Excursion docks and on thebigbay.com/whales.