Upon reading all the positive reviews, I was really excited to join the tour. After I made an online booking for the 11 a.m. tour on 9/9, I received a confirmation email advising me to arrive at the store by 10 a.m. At check-in, I was asked to complete my personal details on a yellow card so that I can hand it over to the staff member prior to boarding the boat. Then, I was told to wait by the bench outside the shop till about 10:45 a.m. The tour started promptly at 11 a.m. and we had an all female crew. Once on board, I sat by the bench next to the reserved area on the upper deck. Mask was only required inside the boat. I could barely hear the announcement. The staff was mumbling all the way through the tour when introducing the marine life. In addition, the crew who sat next to the Captain and the red haired bartender were not particularly friendly and their responses were short. Although it was a nice boat ride and there were plenty of space to allow social distancing, there were no sightings of any dolphins or whales which was disappointing. The entire journey took about 2 hours and we were given a $7 voucher at the end of the tour since we did not witness any whales. Be sure to park your vehicle at the Balboa Municipal parking lot by the pier on Washington Street and pay at the parking station or download the app. The parking fee was $2.80 per hour.

This was our first time experiencing whale watching, but it was an amazing few hours. We went on the 7:30am tour, the crew was knowledgeable and super nice! At first we just saw some sea lions and then there was nothing till we got closer to the harbor heading back was when we saw an ocean sunfish. Right after we were able to experience a baby grey whale trying to get out of the harbor. Definitely a great experience. Would highly recommend booking your whale watching tour with Davey’s Locker!

Terrific boat ride. Saw loads of dolphin pods up close, diving along the boats wake. So cool. Plenty of space on the boat. They gave us a free ticket for another day because the winds were too high and we had to turn back. So we got two fun boat rides out of it and even though we didn’t see any whales we had a great time. Can never guarantee whale sightings and we understand that. Would recommend this company!

We did the Luxury Whale Watching cruise- the boat wasn’t crowded at all. The first one was too foggy and we had to turn back early. Davey’s Locker gave us a coupon to come back for a complimentary cruise anytime, so we tried again later the same day and ended up seeing 2 gray whales on the 2nd cruise. We were impressed that the crew worked to make the first experience right. Seeing the whales was incredible!

(Wish I could do 4.5 stars) It was a fun experience. You don't always see whales or Dolphins (these are wild animals, duh) but the boat ride itself was really comfortable -the crew was very nice. The only reason this isn't five stars is because I wish there was just a tiny bit more seating above (I know that might not be possible to add) because standing the whole time can be really tiring. The bar was great, coffee was good! :) Cute note: The Captain let a little boy 'steer' the boat. Little things like that are super sweet and I just wanted to show my appreciation for that kindness. :)

We had an amazing time with Jill, Kayla, Tim as our crew!!! Their enthusiasm really got us going. We saw 3 gray whales and hundreds of dolphins (seriously) as well as sea lions. Such a blast and great pricing also. We were not charged anything extra then the price we paid on Groupon! I highly recommend them!!!

This place is the way to go for whale watching. Remember watching whales is 50% chance or watching dolphins is the same. So its never 100% remember that. We went and we did watch 2 big whales. The staff are extremely friendly and jill was an amazing host. Definitely recommend this place!

Extraordinary service! The crew was fantastic, explaining marine life and detailed information about the dozens of dolphins that decided to put up a spectacular swimming show along with our boat! They found the pod of dolphins quite fast, and we had a fantastic experience seeing a baby ( about 3 weeks old) dolphin swimming along with his mom!

We LOVED our tour with Davey’s locker. We ended up doing two tours that day. The crew was awesome and very knowledgeable. We had Tanner and Brian both times, our captain I believe was Sterling. They shared pics and stories of what they have seen and answered all questions we had. We ended up seeing a few different types of whales in the distance, but had a ton of dolphins come and swim right along side the boat. It was AMAZING! When we come back to Cali, this place will be one of our first stops again!

I had a great time on my whale watching cruise. I had my flight get canceled on the way to CA and this caused me to miss my original reservation. The staff was very accommodating and got me on a tour later in the week. The staff was friendly, the boat was large and clean, and the views were stunning. We didn’t see whales, but so many dolphins and sea lions. It was definitely worth it!

We had the pleasure of touring with Captain Kayla and Marine Biologist, Jill. They were so knowledgeable and shared a wealth of information. We saw 7 Humpbacks and 100s of dolphins. This is because the crew knew the exact spot to locate wildlife. We had dolphins swimming in the boat’s wake and numerous active, large whales showcasing their awesomeness. The sea lions and birds were an added bonus! Will do this again and hopefully with Kayla and Jill. Best whale tour guides ever!! The upper deck is worth the extra fee- excellent views and drink service.

We had the most amazing time on the 9:30am luxury cruise. The ship is lovely and it’s not crowded like some sightseeing boats can be! The captain and crew were absolute gems and made our experience so memorable! The captain was so knowledgeable and patient looking for the whales and as he said- it PAID DIVIDENDS! We saw a total of 4 blue whales, 2 of them even flung their tails up when they dived! He also found a pod of dolphins that swam with the boat for at least 15 min swimming and jumping! We even saw a baby with its momma! And he turned the boat at one point to create a wake for the dolphins to play and did get at least one to jump! This was an amazing experience and one my family will never forget!

Had a really nice whale watching excursion for a few hours. We never saw any whales but honestly, didn't expect to see them based on previous comments...BUT, so nice to see all the dolphins in their own environment doing their thing. We saw probably well over 1000. Such a beautiful site. Also saw some sea lions basking in the sun when we were coming back in...would I do it again? Absolutely!!! It was a nice change of pace, being out in the middle of the sea. The tour guides were nice and informative. Thumbs up all the way

We had an amazing experience! We had a chance to see dolphins. Captain crew gave us information about our trip and dolphins. My friends are going there soon as well. We are so happy to see the dolphins, so many of them. Even baby dolphins. Highly recommended 💖

This was myself and my Sons second trip. No visit to Newport Beach and surrounding area is complete unless you go for a spin on one of the whale watching boats at Davey’s Locker Whale Watching. The best part is all that you love about the mainland you’ll see from a unique POV. As you leave the harbor and you see the ocean maybe for the first time, know that you are in very capable hands. The captain and crew are very informative and certainly go for the chase. We saw pods of dolphins twice and a sun fish. My Son said he had a blast. So I’m happy. Overall you won’t be disappointed as even if not the whole adventure they offer a discount to re ride and even then you won’t say no to another spin. Thank you all for a great day.

I bought tickets for a Whale and or Dolphin experience with my granddaughter. Upon arrival the check in staff in the shop was welcoming and helpful. We filled out our 🎟 and did a bit of shopping, made a few purchases and window shopped as you are asked to arrive an hour early. We took some amazing photo's on the dock. The boat ride and experience was beyond our expectations. The captain and his narrations of info and fun facts delightful. The crew members all nice. We were prepared with nausea medicine we took 30 minutes prior to departure. This is important because once on the boat and moving it will not work if you take it then. We got to hit a huge pod of dolphins which included many baby calfs. They jumped and swam with the 🚢 It was wonderful! Additionally the captain pointed out the breaker wall and waves crashing. He said it only happened about 10 times a year, also beautiful. I highly recommend this experience. You can also shop around for deals on ticket. I hit Rush49 and got early 🎟 departure before 10AM for an amazing price. Public parking is close and it is city or meters to disabled are free. We had a ball!

We went on the 830 boarding. Everything went quite smoothly. It was a gorgeous day in OC. Unfortunately, we did not see any dolphins or whales. But the boat ride itself was enjoyable. They did provide a discounted $7 ticket for a future trip. Not their fault the whales and dolphins were busy that day !

I went on February 12th, 2022 for the 2 pm cruise. It was my first time on a boat and I had a pretty nice experience.. We got to see i think 2 whales and a few dolphins swam in front of the boat. If you're parking in valet, be aware that Daveys Locker is all the way at the end of the boardwalk. I'm sure one of the parking directions in the email they sent mentioned that but I was new to the area and the cruise so I'll mention it here for anybody like me lol... $30 valet, and you should carry cash. So, I bought tickets off their website and not Groupon, upgraded to VIP for the seating and free drink. It was my first time on a boat and first time w a VIP ticket. I guess I assumed the staff would be able to see my tickets and that they're VIP while checking me in on their computer? I also showed the worker my confirmation email. Anyway, the lady that checked us in didn't give us a green wristband for VIP. I didn't know I needed one until I tried to redeem my free drink at the bar on the boat. I had my confirmation email proof and the other lady I spoke to at the bar (forgot her name but she was a cool host) apologized and let us go into VIP seating and brought our drinks to us, without having our wristbands. Although there was a mix up, I'd still recommend upgrading to VIP for the captain seating and free drink. The boat wasn't packed but it was a struggle to find good seats around the boat if you weren't the first few people on board so it was nice being able to walk around the boat and know your seats will still be open.. I ordered 2 Blue Hawaiians, 1 small bag of baked hot cheetos & another small bag of chips, it came out to I think about $34. Not complaining btw, because I was gonna drink regardless of the prices LOL!! Just mentioning to give others an idea of the bar because I wasn't able to find a menu of drinks and snacks of theirs online. I would definitely go back again! The boat ride was nice and smooth, and the captain kept us out a little longer to possibly see more sea life. (my pictures were taken at the end of the cruise when everyone was getting ready to get off)

Great experience! Guides were friendly and on top of any sightings! No whales unfortunately but we saw common and bottled nose dolphins, lots of them and very close up! Would highly recommend and can’t beat the $20 price!

10/10 would recommend! The crew was friendly, fun and skilled. Because it’s June, we didn’t see whales, but we did see a pod of 100 dolphins that swam with us for 10 or 20 minutes. There were also cute sea lions. Here’s some photos I took on my iPhone, thats how close we were!

We saw a huge pod of dolphins today when we took my grandsons on this amazing boat. This was my birthday wish and it exceeded all expectations. Its honestly something families should plan to do regularly. Such a great nature learning experience for kids and adults alike. Bravo captain Larry. Perfect birthday!

The kids really had a blast on this tour! We saw some bottle nosed dolphins on our way out, came across two blue whales and hung out with them for multiple dives! It was very cool learning about them and seeing the puffs of “smoke” when they surface. One even had some sort of tag on it for tracking. On the way back in we came across a HUGE pod of common dolphins. The kids really enjoyed how closely they got to the boat and when they jumped out of the water! Kayla was a fun and talkative captain! Christine and Matt did a great job as well!

The whale watching tour was amazing, we didn’t see a whale on our trip a couple days ago but we did see lots of dolphins. We actually saw two breeds of dolphins and we saw other boats trying to feed them bread and our captain had a good time with that since dolphins don’t eat bread. Had a great experience with the staff and thought this was a super fun journey.

What an amazing morning. Big shout out to Captain Kayla and Jill, who were both amazing and full of knowledge answering all our questions. We had great morning seeing dolphins commen and bottle nose humpback whales 2 of them and sea lions and another fish I can't remember but was feeding on jellyfish. Highly recommend this trip all staff helpful polite boat was clean. Would do it again. Thank you all for making our trip so memorable.

An amazing tour you shouldn‘t miss! Even we didn‘t saw any whales on our trip we saw a lot of dolphins and seals instead. I had the VIP ticket which cost just a few bucks more but its totally worth it! You get the best seat, a free drink (even cocktails), and you get a binoculars for the best view.

Went out for the St Patrick’s day ride and whale watching. Even though we did not see any whales they were both super relaxing experiences. The staff is amazing. At the end of our whale watching trip, since we didn’t spot any, we received a $7 voucher to come back on another trip. That was a cool gesture. We did see dolphins 🐬

Had a blast today. This was “make up” trip day after the initial one was cancelled due to high winds and waves. We end up seeing multiple dolphin pods and a humpback whale. Good and friendly customer service. Captain and crew were patient and truly let people enjoy the ride and views. On board bar and snack shop, a little expensive but it’s not bad.

Highly recommend this operator along with a Groupon coupon. Jill our guide was amazing on the mic 🔥. Her excitement added to the joy of seeing 1 humpback whale 🐋 and a large pod of Dolphins 🐬🐬🐬. really exciting time at the sea on a perfect sunny afternoon. Great weather time well spent with the refreshments on board.

We enjoyed a VIP trip today with Davey’s Locker Whale Watching. No whales but given the weather conditions we were very lucky to see what seems like hundreds of dolphins. The crew today was captain Danni and first mate Christine. Not only did they find and follow a huge pod of dolphins, showing knowledge and respect of the dolphins, but also steered us safely and professionally home in some very thick fog. Great Job Captain Danni and Christine and the Dave’s Locker Team. Thank you.

We had a great time with Christine and Kayla. They are happy, pleasant, professional, knowledgeable and lots of fun to be with. While we didn't get to see the big whales we saw 3 pods of dolphins come together to form a pretty large pod feeding. We also got to see some sea lions at the end. Christine's photos are great and was well worth the money. I'm attaching a couple of pictures I took. They are not as good as Christine's.

Kayla & Alex, they were amazing. We had a wonderful time. We went 9/11 at 9:30am, we saw 500+ basic dolphins, hunting for breakfast, mama’s and babies. Pelicans scooping up fish, sea lions Sun bathing. I love how happy Kayla was to be doing this job, we paid for the VIP seating and enjoyed talking with her and learning new things about the marine life. We can’t wait to come back!! Thank you all for a great time.

Larry and Christine did an outstanding job at guiding us to the great spots (even if the whales were 10 miles out) and it was absolutely worth it! We saw a few whales from really up close and had dolphins swimming under our boat the whole time. Larry and Christine were very knowledgable and just overall great people. I am recommending this company to every single person visiting LA!

Once in a lifetime experience! We saw a family of dolphins which was breathtaking. They followed us at the boat moved around and kept jumping. The total tour was 2 hours. The staff was friendly and answered all our questions. They have even named the seagull Joey and he is apparently there with the sea lions every day. It is important to note that depending on the time of year you may not see whales but you will see sea lions and dolphins for sure.