Tall Ship Whale Adventures Review

Great whale watching trip with Jolly Breeze! A large amount of whales seen with other animals as well. The boat was safe and fun, with a good sense of tidal changes in the Bay of Fundy.

We were just visiting St Andrews. Nice if not charming place.

Really great trip and tour as it sailed leisurely, had fantastic engagement for both adults and children alike. I found that filming the sightings were less stressful than taking pictures, seeing that we don't know whenever the porpoises, seals or Minke whales come up. Bring your sunscreen, snack, binoculars and a warm jacket for when you hit the colder areas by the Bay of Fundy. Otherwise, they have blankets for borrowing. Kids got to steer the ship, everybody got to touch sea urchins, sea cucumbers, star fishes, whale tooth, etc. THEN, they start handing out soup and crackers. It was so worth it!

We did the tall ship with our three boys ages 7, 4 and 10 months. It was a great time and they really put a lot of effort into making the trip enjoyable, especially for the kids.

Friendly, safe, informative tour! Booked as a staff adventure. Staff are still raving about it! It was amazing! Thank you Jolly Breeze

Myself and 2 teenage daughters went on the zodiac about 1 week ago and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. At first the action was slow with no real sightings then we noticed some whales in the distance. Going to that area was fantastic. We saw dozens and even the rare N. Atlantic Right Whale. It was obvious our guide loved his job. When the whales began actively feeding, things really picked up with several breaching humpback's right beside us. Very cool experience and would strongly encourage you to try Jolly Breeze whale watchers for your trip.

Saw whales and lots of marine life. Staff was the best. Lived the adventure.

Great if you're only interested in a very long boat ride. We spent 1 1/2 hours sailing out into the Bay of Fundy, half an hour watching the fins of a couple of finback whales that surfaced a few times, then 1 1/2 hours sailing back to port.
We specifically asked if there were any humpbacks in the area and were told no. Only to find out when we got back that friends of ours who had gone out that day on a different tour, at less than half the cost of ours, saw humpbacks that came right up to the boat, and made quite a show, with lots of fin and tail slapping on the water. This wasn't way out in the Bay, but just near Deer Island, which we PASSED on our long trek out.
Watching all the incredible videos they had taken made us green with envy, to say the least. We could have paid a fraction of what we paid, travelled half the distance and had a far more spectacular and up close view of some truly magnificent creatures.
I would recommend -- if you only want to give your kids a great sailing experience. Otherwise, go with a different tour boat, like one of the smaller fishing vessels that go out.

Response to owner: I'm not spreading misinformation at all. Our group of 4 paid over $300.00. Our friends paid $160. for their group of 4. The Jolly Breeze is a great tour for people who have maybe never been on a boat and there's lots of things to keep kids amused for the long 3 hours of travel time. If you want to get a better 'whale' experience, I would recommend one of the smaller fishing vessels such as the one our friends went on.

Loved it a lot, I seen about 5 whales and more marine life. Very friendly staff

Excellent customer service. Superb cruise where we could observe whales, seals and porpoises. Suberbe sailing boat. Delicious pea soup served free of charge in the boat. Children can dress up as a pirate for the cruise. Very competitive prices.

It was a really fun experience to be on a tall ship watching for whales. Everyone was very friendly. You really do need to dress in layers and expect to get splashed if you're near the front. I only wish we could have seen more.

Helpful and welcoming staff, they took great care of us out on the water. The captain was very friendly and knowledgable about the local marine life - it was an excellent experience.

Loved the tour. Was very cold when we went out but only because of the time of the year. Want to do it again but maybe late July or August

AWESOME DAY! Great sailing wonderful staff & delicious complimentary soup!

Absolutely amazing! I would highly recommend a boat tour with Jolly Breeze!

It was awesome, a little chilly but that was our fault, didn't dress accordingly. Luckily they had plenty of blankets. Thank you

Nice staff....i did not take their boat whale watching...did a different one

Great tour, saw tons of whales! Boat had a lower deck in case the kids get bored (coloring, books, stuffed toys). Well organized and knowledgeable staff

This was an amazing experience! We went on the zodiac boat, the captain did a great job showing us lots of whales. We saw a family of three whales that were jumping out of the water which is really rare to see. So beautiful and unreal. We loved it and highly recommend taking the tour with these guys!!!

5 stars isn t enough to rate. Brought a five year old and 7 year old and they had a blast. Even though it was a long ride, the kids were never bored, especially with the pirate costumes, props, snacks, lunch, and education stuff. So much to do, so much to keep them entertained!

This was an awesome day! The staff were knowledgeable and friendly. We really felt taken care of. And the fact that they got just as excited about the whales as we did made it all the better. People that love what they do make all the difference!

The Jolly Breeze Is the #1 choice !! If you give anything less then 4 star, something wrong with you. Been twice plan for a 3rd and 4th. Sometimes its just not about the whales. Enjoy the company and effort this family puts into making everyone feel welcome and comfortable. And with some luck nature might give you a treat !!

Absolutely fantastic afternoon spent with these folks. We saw three types of whales in the most cool laid back boat. Highly recommend young and old, and the pea soup is awesome too.

The staff was friendly and informative. They served hot chocolate, tea, and coffee to keep people warm on a particularly cold and rainy day. The soup served on board was delicious. Although they have no control over whether whales will be seen, they worked hard to find whales and were just as excited as the passengers when we did seem. We got to see harbouring porpoises, minke whales, fin back whales, harbour seals, grey seals, and a variety of sea birds as well as a bald eagle. It was a wonderful experience!

great service, awesome experience, the kids loved it.

This was the best east coast whale watching tour I have been on tried cheticamp and pleasant Bay in cape Breton with no luck and seen so many whales on this one as well as seals and purposes the staff was great and they had 3 knowledgeable marine biologists that just love what they are doing and can answer all your questions.plus your on a pirate ship lol

I can't say enough about how fantastic Jolly Breeze and the crew were. What a fantastic tall ship ride. With the soup, onboard "petting" aquarium, information about the area, as well as all the sightings of whales, seals, eagles, porpoises and more, there was never a minute of boredom. Kids and adults will love it, and I would recommend it to everyone.

Nice ride on a zodiac, but hugely disappointing as far as whale watching goes. We saw one whale - only the back and a fin - and only in the distance. We didn't get anywhere nearly as close as the website photos would suggest. PS> Clearly this isn't a "zoo", but there was little effort made to get close to the one whale we did see. And we didn't see a porpoise.

Staff very friendly. The zodiac is the best boat to see a variety of animals in a short amount of time. Safe, dry boats. Got to see a few whales. The captain is very knowledgeable of the waters and where the whales frequent.

What an incredible experience! We took our sons, age 5 and 19. Our whole family had a wonderful time. The crew was friendly, funny and very knowledgeable. Started with breakfast- bagels, cream cheese, juice, coffee, hot chocolate and fruit. Followed by the captain providing information about the sights along the way. There was plenty to keep everyone busy. Our youngest was able to get a pirate costume on before setting sail and have his face painted on board. The touch tank included lobsters, crabs, sea urchin, sea cucumber and starfish. Our tour spotted harbor seals, tons of porpoises, 1 finback and numerous minke whales (too many to count). It was a fantastic experience. Thank you to everyone on the Jolly Breeze.

As a family with an 8 year old and a newborn it can be challenging finding things for the entire family. The jolly breeze was the perfect choice for our daycation. They thought of everything. The soup was wonderful, the pirate punch even better. And the whales did not disappoint. They had enough going on that the kids were entertained and learned a few things too!

One of the best parts of our vacation! The Jolly Breeze was beautiful, the staff was incredible and the views from the boat were absolutely breathtaking. To top it off we saw whales, an eagle and lots of other wildlife. Best cruise out of St. Andrews for sure! Thanks so much for a wonderful morning & lunch!

Great Experience, fun & educational for kids and adults.

Had a wonderful experience on a Zodiac with the friendly and experienced crew. We started off in the fog but Captain Randy expertly navigated us out to where we were able to see some whales including harbor porpoises and minke whales. Our biologist John was very knowledgeable about the various sights we saw. We also got to see several cute harbor seals and big grey seals and I learned something new about the Campobello lighthouse. The fog lifted and the high speed boat ride was a lot of fun. I was a little anxious as I had never been on a Zodiac before but I would definitely go again and recommend the Jolly Breeze.

Trip to the mouth of Bay of Fundy and north Atlantic ocean was awesome just saw 2 kind of whales but awesome adventure and crew.

Awesome staff, great day out on the water with the extended family

A group of 9 women went whale watching to celebrate a birthday. A wonderful day! I loved how they entertained the children with raising the sail, face painting and the touch tank. Worth every penny!

Great experience, the staff were friendly and informative. Bring a windproof coat, it gets cold and breezy out on the bay.

Amazing experience! We were lucky enough to see whales and a white shark! The crew members were fantastic with the kids. This tour really is a must if you are in st- Andrews

Really fun adventure... Beautiful ship and wonderful guides:-) they feed you, teach you, entertain you. They offer warm jackets and blankets for the underprepared, they are great with kids and teaching them about sea life.
We got to see 2 right whales which are apparently quite rare as well as some seals and porpoises. Great for all ages (not for babies perhaps tho) Very cool experience overall.

The bilingual staff were knowledgeable and friendly and just as excited to see whales as we were. The whales made an appearance late in our trip and the captain stayed out late to give us a fantastic view of them feeding. I would recommend bringing a sweater and long pants like tear aways as it gets cold further out. They provided soup on the way back in. Great experience!

Amazing experience! Saw several types of whales and the crew was awesome! Highly recommended!

Excellent service. Got chance to see 8 different whales.

Thanks for the trip and for the tons of whales (and others)

Only saw a couple of whales. Nice boat. Informative and knowledgeable guides. Dress in layers and bring a coat even if you don't think you will need it, you will regret not bringing it. Especially for the morning tours as it can be very foggy. Ride out was longer than expected and whales can be hard to find but the various tour boats communicate with each other.

Scenery was beautiful...saw porpoises, bald eagles, puffins, lighthouses, whirlpools - no whales but it's early in the season and the skipper was up front about our chances. 9/10 would do it again

Incredible.
Amazing day Adventure.

We had a lovely trip with them on both their boats. Lovely crew who honestly care for you and explain so much. They are dedicated to what they do and have extensive experience as well.

We had the most incredible experience we saw humpbacks, minkes and fin backs. Cece was wonderful, and Randy is amazing his knowledge and passion for these wonderful creatures is beyond words. From the booking with Joanne, the fitting of the survival suits, the ride out past the wolves to witness such beauty is an experience you definitely don't want to miss. Well done Jolly Breeze team!

Beautiful evening with sunset. The dead times before and after the territory of the whales are animated. Lots of porpoises seen.

This was an incredible experience! Our Captain was amazing, friendly and knowledgeable. It was a beautiful tour and amazing trip. Thanks so much!

The ships captain and crew were so Friendly
It was so nice talking with them

The whale spotting tour on the Jolly Breeze was definitely one of the highlights of our tour through New Brunswick! The crew was very friendly, knowledgeable and very engaged! We spotted many sea animals including 3 types of whales (can't remember the exact types - although one was called 'Slice') seals, birds and even a flock of ducks!

On the boat the kids were having fun with face painting, dressing as pirates and hands-on explanations by the crew about sea stars, lobsters, crabs etc...

I can thoroughly recommend this lovely sailing boat experience with the Jolly Breeze crew!

We took this tour due to great reviews and it being kid friendly, however, we were very disappointed with the staff, the service and the prejudice we received on our trip considering it costs us $200 ! We took the 1245 pm whale boat tour on the tall ship. First, it was advertised that you have a "marine bioligist" on board, no, you have students studying to be marine bioligists on board, not yet marine bioligists. These "biologists" we had particularly, treated the caucasian passengers far better than those that were of different race including my family. They took the time to show the caucasian passengers the touch container ( not a tank as advertised but a plastic bin with sea animals in it) however skipped the only 3 other families that were not white. They also took the time to explain and answer the questions of every other whit families there but did not do the same when the non white passenger was asking them questions. One of the "bioligists" even snapped at one of the my non white kids when he touched the seasponge but she was very polite with the other white kids who were squeezing it. At the end of the trip the "biologist" handed each white kid and even some older white adults a pirate coin token, but not the other nonwhite kids who had to ask for theirs.
So, yes, you will be aboard a tall ship, you will see some whales but if you are not white be prepared to be treated differently.

* in response to jolly breeze' comments.
There were 2 women and 2 males, both women stated that they were studying to be marine biologists when they introduced themselves, one male was the captain steering the ship and the other one was the engineer/bartender/face painter. And yes, children do need to be reprimanded at times, however, one of the "bioligists" chose to only pick and be very harsh to the nonwhite children.
Also, the plastic bin touch tank seemed to be intenionally only shown to the caucasian families.
14 years in business and your staff is not able to make every paying customer feel welcome. We've been to other whale tours and ship tours and this is the first time we've felt unwelcome and treated disrepectfully because of our race.

Had an amazing whale watching trip! We saw so many whales it was unbelievable!! Staff on boat were nice and knowledgeable and made sure safety was a priority there were lots of young kids on board and it was clear they were experienced with teaching and managing the challenges that can bring. Make sure to bring warm layers!

So much fun! Wonderful staff. Great family experience. Soup was so good. Highly recommend this.

We had to drive 2.5 hrs to get here from our rented cottage but I would say it was worth it.
The weather was "nautical", cold, rainy and windy but the tour operators provided us with water resistant, insulated jackets for the trip. Good thing too, since it's quite a bit colder out on the water.
We ended up seeing a few whales, some porpoise and a couple of seals.
Since these are wild animals, the tour can't guarantee anything, but they do a good job of keeping you entertained while en route to the feeding grounds and back to port. The trip out and back is a little long, especially if it's foggy and you can't see the islands.
Our trip was lucky enough to have a biologist as part of the crew and she did a good job of explaining what we were seeing. She was also local so she knew a lot about the area.
Other tours may have faster boats, but having been on the tall ship, I wouldn't have it any other way.

It was really great, the staff are great, even speaking French, we saw whales and there were activities for the kids. I recommend it to everyone

This was my third trip with Jolly Breeze, each one a wonderful experience. Excellent crew that does everything they can to make the trip enjoyable. They offer hot drinks, and have a licensened bar, and a wonderful soup is included. With all of this and we have never had a trip that the whales eluded us!

Tall ship... Whales... Fun crew... And you need what else?

Friendly and helpful staff. It was well worth the trip we made to go on this tour. We would definitely do it again!

Slower than the high speed RIB whale watchers but a classic experience and worthwhile in its own right.

It was too foggy to go out on the water but they were extremely nice and friendly

Crew were great. Saw lots of whales and seals. May do it again next trip.

We went on a tall ship whale watching trip and had a fantastic experience. It was great for kids especially - they have pirate costumes/swords for children to wear, the crew come around and paint faces, they have animals to touch (sea star, crab, lobster etc), they allowed children to help streer the boat and gave them "pirate names".

We had good luck, the crew found several different species of whales as well as many porpoises and a seal and we got a good view of all. The guides had good info and pictures of the various species and did a good job of both engaging the kids and giving info to the adults.

The boat had a bar (serving snacks, alcoholic drinks and coffee/tea) and they provided warm blankets to use when the wind picked up (I would advise bringing a jacket too even on a warm day). Comfortable seating and enough space even though we had a sold out trip. The ride was very smooth - I have done bost trips/whale watching before and was very anxious about the waves/bumpinees but this was great, no motion sickness.

There were several adults only groups who seemed to really enjoy the tour, it would be good for any age, but if you have children under 12, this is absolutely the best whale watching tour to book.

Great fun! Saw lots of seals, porpoises, dolphins and whales. Friendly guides.

Really great experience. The crew was highly knowledgeable and took care of everyone excellently. We brought our three year old and there were other kids on the boat. It was very kid friendly. Bi-lingual service was available and the "little pirates" got to help out as crew. We saw lots of whales, porpoise, seals and other wild life. Even thought the crew do this several times a day, they still got excited when we saw various marine life.

Awesome tour for whale watching. Friendly staff and lots of family fun

Best guides on board made my first experience the best one!

This was a great experience! We were a group of 20. Ages ranged from 73 to 13. Everyone really enjoyed themselves on the Tall Ship Jolly Breeze. The weather was cool but sun was out. They provided extra blankets, coats and rain gear if anybody needed. The 3 girls (Marine Biologists) were about the best anybody could ask for, very friendly, knowledgeable and wanted to please everyone. The touch tank was cool, my daughter loved touching all the different things like lobster, crab, starfish etc . The girls have a great knowledge of anything marine, from whales to birds to, even gave us a geography lesson and history lesson on some of the islands. They served us lunch which was an incredible tasting soup. As for whales we see Minke and Fin, also we seen grey seals, porpoises, and many birds. the scenery and fall colors were second to none. If you want a relaxing sail on a very well kept sail boat, and run by a great staff then you need to do this.

A great day! Followed a fin back whale and got to see him lots! Even though the wind was up, we had a good trip.

Went there last summer, their boat was as broken but they didn t tell us before we drove 300 KM to St. Andrews, they checked us in, suited us up, when our departure time came, they told us the mechanic has been trying to fix the boat and we had to wait for 2 hours and hopefully it would be ready.

We had kids waiting in another park and couldn t take late schedules.

If would have been a unfortunate incident and I got ready to leave.

Then I saw the girl trying to sell the same boat to other walk in tourists, she just told us the boat was broken but she turned around and told the couple the boat was under maintenance and would be ready soon.

This was outright lying. They already messed up our schedule, I couldn t get on any other companies because we were weren t told about the broken boat.

Now they didn t feel any sorry and tried to cheat others.

I couldn t help arguing with the girl. How can you do that? The girl gave me all kinds of excuses and didn t feel shame at all.

What s funny, the manager called me next day, said the girl cried after we left because I argued with her, and it was my fault that I didn t wait.

I didn t make a review until one year later, the incident still caused some unhappiness, it would have been a nice vacation but all ruined by the unprofessional unethical operation of the company.

I can t review their tour I can only say they are not putting the customers interest first. And they don t feel shame even they cause your whole schedule messed up.

I would suggest a backup plan if you have to use them.

PS. Not surprised by the owner's response, you totally disregarded the fact your sales girl try to duped other people into the tour even when the boat is being repaired without a firm timeline.

PPS. No, we may not speak perfect English but we understand what customer service means, and we are not "challenging" to work with. You messed up in this case, own it and fix it, not trying to talking yourself out it and blaming non existent communication problems.

It was a nice boat ride. Didnt see any whale, but saw seals and dolphins. Got to see parts of the bay that we wouldn't typically have seen. Staff were excellent.

Out of all whale watch excursions that we did on our trip (4 in total) this was the one that we will remember the most. Kids loved it. Staff kept them busy with all sorts of entertainment. Great job guys.

This was fun. Saw three whales. Staff were helpful, friendly and informative

Had a great time on the ship. The crew were all very knowledgeable as some were biologists.
The soup was awesome too!