Testimonials
Letters from Happy Customers

Just wanted to thank you for the wonderful sunset cruise last Saturday (4/26/08). My children and I loved every second of it! Shane, Kate and Brooke were fantastic—so knowledgable about the wildlife, especially the whales. But more importantly, they were so enthusiastic about what we were seeing. It’s hard to believe that they experience these things every day and yet are still so in awe. They gasped and cheered with the rest of us every time those whales surfaced or made a move. We have not stopped talking about it —even my teenagers! We can’t wait to come back. Thanks for everything—it was perfect in every way!!!

Judy M. from Frankfort, IL

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We had a wonderful time. I wanted to personally thank Kate, our naturalist, though. She was so wonderful. She truly made the trip stand out in my mind from the many I’ve taken. I’ve traveled the country (and parts of the world) whale watching, but I’d never experienced a crew as lovely as yours! If it were possible, would you pass this message along to our naturalist in particular? I also plan on joining you in early May to see Pacific Coast resident Orcas for the first time in my life! Thank you all once again!

Tori H.

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I went on a cruise today, Saturday (4/5), and just wanted to thank you for such a great trip. I grew up in the Puget Sound area and had never seen a gray whale until today. I got to see at least 4!!!!It was a great trip and I was impressed with the knowledge and friendliness of the crew. I also chose your company because I heard from my friends that you comply with the rules and don’t get too close to the whales. You ran a tight ship.

Samantha E. from Seattle, WA

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I was on your whale watching tour on September 26, 2007. It was the most incredible day and I would like to extend a big thank you to all your employees. They were fantastic and the day couldn’t have been more successful. I have told many people about our experience. They plan on booking with your company in the future.

Sylvia O.

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I want to thank you for the wonderful tour my daughter and I took with Island Adventures. Your staff were outstanding and made our tour the highlight of my vacation. We saw J, K and some of L pods. The Orcas gave us a show to remember! We will be back next year. We’ve already marked our calendars!

Alice V. from St. Louis, MO

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We wanted to share photos from our trip 9/14. We had an AWESOME time. The new Island Explorer III is a beautiful boat! Keep up the terrific work… we will be back again!

Ron & Cheri T. and Bob & Pam J.

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Thank you for another wonderful day on the water. What a knockout line up: orcas, a minke, stellar sea lions, harbor seals, eagles, harbor porpoise, turkey vulture. Pretty darn cool. And Captain Shane the naturalist! That was a first for me. What fun.

Annette C.

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I am so extremely impressed with your crew. Carl, Captain; Brooke, Snacks; Drew, Naturalist; were absolutely fabulous. We were planning on going with a different charter, but they were filled up.

Coincidentally, I kept getting referred to different charters, who finally got me to you and your company. Honestly, I’m so grateful that all the other charter’s were full today, because we will always come back to your company. Tracy in the reservation office was totally awesome. She helped me and my family spend our money in your staff with class and availability of her time. In all honesty, I’m just being funny, she was great. This was my husbands’ and my 15th anniversary celebration trip and it couldn’t have gone better. We were so impressed with your staff, that we will be back every year at least 1 time. Unfortunately, we live in Portland, Oregon, so it takes us time to get up here, but it will be worth the while. I’m hoping we can stay in Anacortes next time, but we will have to find the best area. Again, thank you for such a great time and a memory that will last a lifetime.

Wayne J. from Portland, OR

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I just wanted to follow up and thank you for your effort in making sure me and my family saw the Orca whales this year. We saw the whales on Aug 6 or 7th and we all had a great time. We were under tight time constraints and timing was critical in order to see Orca. Anyway, your help is much appreciated and everyone I had contact with at Island Adventures was super.

Keep up the good work and hopefully we’ll be back up again to visit.

Bill C.

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Today I went on your 9 am tour and want to tell you a wonderful trip it was. I have lived in the Pacific NW for 18 years and have always wanted to go whale watching, but was “waiting” to go with someone. I decided to give myself a birthday present and went by myself. I went out with a heavy heart. But as I stood at the bow of the boat, almost the entire trip, my soul was soothed to be out in the open water with the wind, fresh air, beautiful scenery, and of course the wildlife, particularly the whales. They made me squeal like a little girl. Thank you to the crew for an awesome day!!!

Christine R. from Kent, WA

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I want to thank Skipper Carl and all the crew that helped us enjoy a terrific day of whale watching yesterday. One of the reasons we always chose Island Adventures is we know they are respected for their adherence to whale watching regulations and have a sound “green” policy. We were first introduced to you by People For Puget Sound, and have been out, always with you, several times since.

Yesterday was a jewel of a day so the scenery was spectacular. Buuuut, watching the group of transient Orcas kill and feast on the Harbor Seal was a notable life-time experience. Thank you Capt’n Carl, for allowing us the time to watch until the whole ritual of killing, playing with, then devouring the Harbor Seal, played out before our eyes (eat your heart out Cap’n Shane!). We brought along a guest and we were confident that Island Adventures would be a great experience....we just didn’t know how great.

Thanks for running a terrific operation. Thanks for knowing that being generous with time, when one of nature’s great dramas is being played out, is more important than watching the clock. We’ll go whale watching again. Will it be with Island Adventures? Emphatically, yes!

Barbara L. from Camano Island, WA

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At the request of my two grand kids, I am writing this e-mail. My two grand kids are visiting “Grammy and Grandpa” for a couple of weeks. They live in Reno, Nv. I decided to take them on a whale watching trip. Notice I said “I took them” as Grammy is not comfortable on the water. She would have been fine on this boat.

The boat is super nice and I can’t say enough nice things about the whole crew. They were wonderful!!

We saw lots of Orcas. So in the words of my grand kids it was an “awesome” trip.

Thanks to the crew, Captain Karl, Captain Brian, Kate and Tiffany.

Will H.

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This is our second cruise this summer. Didn’t think the second could be as good as the first. WRONG. It was so different. Different boat, different crew, different whales, different weather…different WONDERFUL caring crew that made each one feel like they were special from the front desk when we checked in (bought jackets for all and Christmas tree ornaments) to the hand shake at the end…again, we WILL be back with more people…here are some pictures to prove my point…including the note I sent to Brooke whose picture you will see with my sleeping daughter and husband. Thanks again for the great day.

Jan & Norman P.

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I just wanted to thank you again for the wonderful whale watching adventure we (myself and two grandsons) had on Friday, June 29th. We went out at Noon and had the opportunity to see many of the J Pod Orcas—they were so beautiful and the crew made the experience overwhelming with their knowledge and abilities…from the information about some of the wildlife we saw on the way to the Pod and then the able way that the Captain moved the boat to get the best views of the Orcas as they moved and all the information that Kate provided about the animals…it was just something spectacular. I have been wanting to go whale watching for so many years and now my dream has come true! I will gladly refer folks to you so that they can have a great experience too. “Thank you” seems inadequate but it is from the heart!

Sue Z. and grandsons

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This cruise was the most spectacular day of our vacation. The crew was very helpful, knowledgeable, and kind. And all the scenery was beautiful—the eagles, the harbor seals, and all the whales. Pat and I highly recommend this cruise!!

Steve and Pat from Chiefland, FL

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We just wanted to say thank you for the great trip. We got to see the orca’s the way nature intended them to be—free—and it was amazing. The crew was wonderful and went out of there way to make sure we saw all wild life. I do not take the best pictures, but I got a great one. It just shows how close you can get and still let them have their space to be orcas. Thank you once again for a life time memory.

Tammy & Dennis from Everett, WA

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Hello. I would just like to send a little note to let you know how much we LOVED our trips with your company. We first would like to say your crew is spectacular. Captain Carl worked so hard especially on the second day to get us out to the whales!!!! He didn’t rush us and “stick to the time” allowed so we could see the whales and have some great time and viewing of the majestic Orca’s. We even had one of them swim right under our boat!!!!! He also has a great eye at spotting other animals and I was really impressed at all the other wildlife we saw. Your staff was polite, very knowledgeable and the tours were AWESOME!!! We would recommend your company to anyone and will definitely tell everyone we know about your company!!!!! We couldn’t have asked for a better time aboard your ship!! The whales were awesome and we have great memories to last us a lifetime!!!!! I can’t really put into words what a wonderful time we had…it just doesn’t say enough. Thanks again for such a great experience!!!!! Hope to see you all again!!!=)

Scott, Amy, Shilo and Aeryn W. from Billings, MT

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We want to again express our gratitude for a most wonderful day. The trip was way more than we expected. You went overboard (pun intended) to give everyone the best possible experience. Your staff are great. They made everyone feel that they were the only people on board. You took little side stops so we could all see everything possible. We have spent many summers in the waters from Anacortes to Desolation Sound and have seen many of the animals we saw Monday. You made it all new again. I could go on and on, but by now you get the drift of our feelings. Our family is coming from California this July so we WILL be back in force with you. We want to be on your boat with the same crew as you have totally spoiled us. Thanks so much again for a wonderful day.

Norman and Jan P. from Redmond, WA

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I have now returned to Wisconsin and want to thank you for the wonderful time we had whale-watching. Your crew was exceptionally friendly, interesting and helpful. They played a large part in making the trip such a success. I’ve been on many trips but never felt so comfortable with the providers. Thanks again.

Barbara I. from Wisconsin

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I would like to thank you for the awesome trip! Before we set out on our trip from Wisconsin to Washington we had called to book our whale watching trip. Sam had answered the phone, and had informed us not only of Island Adventures but also information of the area, with lodging and restaurant information. He went out of his way to help us. Once we arrived we had a fantastic trip! The captain and other staff on the Island Explorer were accommodating and entertaining. We saw more than promised by your staff, and have wonderful memories. Enclosed is a picture from the November 24, 2006 trip. Please feel free to use the picture. Again Thank You!

Mike & Linda Lee W. from Wisconsin

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THANK YOU for a wonderful cruise on our whale watching tour. The crew was great—they were fun, helpful, knowledgeable, attentive, and just…great! We will most definitely consider you when whale watching comes up again for our July Meeting. It was a terrific experience and folks are raving about it.

Bonnie B. from WA & Northern ID District Council of Laborers

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We wanted to express our thanks to you and your crew for a very successful cruise. We really appreciated everyone’s efforts and wanted to especially say thanks to Drew and Brooke; they both did an exceptional job making our guests feel special. Thanks for everything, and we look forward to next year.

Viviano G. and Mary K. from Ferndale, WA

(this group has been using our company for at least 7 years straight)

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I would like to thank you for a truly amazing tour on August 19, 2007 aboard the Island Explorer 3. This was the most beautiful boat I have ever been on! I thought the captain was hilarious and the crew was terrific! I really enjoyed meeting your naturalist Bart Rulon, and was very excited to purchase some of his photography in your shop!

Although we didn’t see any “resident” orcas up close, it was extremely exciting finding the transient killer whales at sea. I also enjoyed seeing the other wildlife, but the whales stole the show! This tour was definitely the biggest highlight of my vacation. I will be sure to come back to tour with you next summer!

Barbara B. from Lady Lake, FL

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Wow! What a show! First of all, thank you very much for honoring the fluke pass. The captain and crew were great and so knowledgeable about the local wildlife and orca whales. This was my third time out and on the afternoon trip we seemed to stop in the middle of 3 pods. They were all around the boat. About the Explorer 3—what a great boat. The set up is just perfect. Extra seating all around. Nice snack bar area for the crew and all. At the end of our tour, the captain himself took our picture at the bow of the boat from the dock. I’ll have great pictures of my whale watch tour. I thought I would see one—instead we saw so many more. Amazing! Thanks so much. Orca whales do exist!!

Gloria from Mt. Vernon, WA