Tldr: poor communication resulting in a lost reservation, and no resolution.
Full review: compared to other area whale watches, this boat is faster, larger, sometimes more crowded, has better food, and a higher bow/lower deck. The trips tend to be shorter but that’s in part because of the faster boat. I have always preferred another company in the area by a small margin but still really enjoy CAWW. Their mission and viewing practices are the same as all WWs in the area and the experience is very similar across all WW companies.
Why I won’t be back: I wanted most recently to reserve directly with CAWW instead of groupon because I have been told it is better for small businesses. I called one day ahead of their last trip of the season to reserve and was asked politely to leave a callback number so they could reach me later as they had just had a trip come in. Nobody called, so I tried again 45 minutes before closing time only to find they had closed early. The next morning, I called to find they were sold out. They said again that they’d call me back regardless of whether or not they could squeeze me in or put me on a waitlist, or if it was worth my coming anyway to see if someone didn’t show up— but I got no call. They even took my email address which made it sound like they were going to try to resolve the situation, but wouldn’t even respond when I (politely) reached out to them online. It was sad to miss out on what would’ve been my first WW since the pandemic and not have any real acknowledgement of what a bummer this was for me.
If CAWW was reluctant to let me book the Groupon rate because they believed the trip would sell out, they should’ve said so instead of shutting out a passenger who’s been on 10+ trips with them.