Absolutely amazing on how they upgraded all the surrounding areas…read more Lots of new parking with a new multilevel parking structure and new bathrooms and showers for the boaters that have a permit for boat parking to launch their Crafts from Dana Point harbor. Automatically given 4 hours of free parking with quick access to any of the numerous restaurants and gift shops right on the water. This is the spot if you want to go offshore fishing on a charter or whale watching which I did on a couple hour tour it was outstanding. Not to mention all the whales dolphins and other mammals that were seen offshore. Tuesdays they still do half off. If you have not been give it a try it's so much better now with the easy access and and plenty of parking.

We went on a family trip together for this Independence Day weekend. My dad suffered a stroke in…read moremid-December last year, and luckily he has recovered quite a bit since then. However, since he still can't travel too far, we decided to visit somewhere close by. So, we booked a hotel in Dana Point and had a wonderful two-night trip. On Saturday, July 4th, we all booked tickets for a whale/dolphin-watching cruise. When I booked the tickets, I asked how long the tour would be, and they said it would be two hours. The ticket prices were $78 for adults and $68 for seniors. At first, my brother accidentally bought all five tickets at the adult rate when three of them should have been seniors. I noticed this on the receipt, so I managed to get a refund for the price difference for the three senior tickets. We bought five tickets for the 12:00 PM cruise and were told to wait at Dock 6 starting from 11:45 AM, but the boat arrived a bit late. Once we got on board, the wind was blowing incredibly hard, and the waves were quite high, causing the boat to rock violently. After boarding, a friendly female crew member gave us a briefing at the front. She kindly advised everyone on board not to run, and said that if anyone felt seasick, it would be better to stay towards the back of the boat rather than the front. She also mentioned that if the motion sickness got too bad, they could provide peppermint or ginger candies, and added that there was a bar and snack counter inside the boat. Come to think of it, I once went sailing on a yacht with my friends a long time ago. For the first 30 minutes, I was clapping, taking photos, and having a great time, but then I got so severely seasick that I had a truly miserable time (the same thing happened to me on a cruise trip before). Still, when I rode a boat at Lake Arrowhead last year, I didn't experience any seasickness at all, so I thought I would be fine this time too--though looking back, that was probably because the lake was so calm. But during this cruise on July 4th, I ended up getting so incredibly seasick that I felt like I was dying. About 10 minutes before we docked, the seasickness got so severe that I even started dry-heaving, and it was just awful. I was dizzy, and my stomach kept churning. Even so, it was really wonderful to see so many dolphins during the cruise, and the crew members were all so kind. When I was struggling with severe seasickness, my brother went to inform the crew. A crew member came over and asked if I wanted a peppermint, ginger, or ginger ale candy. I asked for a peppermint candy, and they handed it to me, saying it was free. When I asked, "Does it work?" she assured me it would. I sucked on the candy while sitting at the back of the boat and fell asleep, but later on, the seasickness became so overwhelmingly intense that I ended up throwing up everything and had a horrible time. Anyone who gets easily seasick should definitely take this into consideration before going on a cruise. Still, seeing so many dolphins was a huge highlight.

Love, love this area of Dana Point. This has been my families spot to learn about the ocean and to…read moreenjoy sea life. We have always come to the Marine protected area when the tide is low and walked along the beach and sand outside the Institute to see all sorts of sea life. It is amazing what you can see, even saw an octopus one time. Just make sure that you know when the tide is rolling in and out to not get caught out on the rocks! On the backside of the Institute there are also benches to sit at and listen to the ocean. The Institute itself is filled with wonderful sea life and is a great learning experience no matter your age. Outside, there is a calm bay area where paddle boarders are all over as well as the educational ships filled with history. There is nothing that you cannot do in this area!

We came to the Ocean Institute for a homeschool field trip and was it ever worth it for waking up…read moreat 6am! The initial lesson part was split into groups and we were assigned to Sydney. She was absolutely delightful! Very knowledgeable and receptive to the questions the kids have! After the lesson, we headed out to the open sea. To our delight we got to see dolphins, sea lions, and even spotter a whale! Overall it was a great experience and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a lesson on ocean mammals!

If you want big yellowtail the Thunderbird out of Newport landing is by far the best boat in…read moreSouthern California. Crew was awesome and they always do their best to put us on the big fish. Would definitely recommend to anyone who wants to catch a trophy

The crew was very helpful in many ways. They removed the fish from the hook, filet the fish that we…read morecaught, and overall made the whole trip wonderful. I definitely fish again.

This was an AMAZING experience. I wasn't expecting to see anything, and then there were dolphins…read more Once we got farther out. We saw a few blue always. Amazing! First time for me and my sister. We also saw a Fin whale briefly. All in all, the event was spectacular. I highly recommend it. The Captain and the crew were super and helpful with answering questions. I will be going back when I visit my sister in SoCal! Woot!

We really enjoyed our Dolphin/ Whale cruise! The all female crew was great! Professional &…read moreInformative! I guess early June wasn't the best month to see whales but we will return and try again on our next visit. Everything was professional and great, but kept Dave's highly recommend them.!

Dustin is the Best Captain!…read more We had an absolutely incredible time! Dustin was right on time, professional, friendly, and extremely attentive to everyone in our group from start to finish. Dustin went above and beyond to make sure we had an unforgettable day. He even found whales for us out in the ocean, which was such an amazing experience! Afterward, he got us set up in the bay with paddle boards, a lily pad, and goggles so everyone could get in the water and enjoy themselves. If you're looking for a captain who genuinely cares about making sure everyone has an amazing experience, ask for Dustin. 10/10 experience and easily 5 stars. We will absolutely book with him again!

This was the best experience I've had out on the water. Perfect for a birthday or other celebration…read morewith a small group. We saw tons of dolphins, sea lions, and a whale and we were super close. I said "wow!" the most I ever have in my life during this excursion. Dustin was super accommodating and knowledgeable. Thank you for such a memorable time with my friends.

Big mahalos to Captain Noah & Patrick for making sure we never came home empty handed. Even though…read moreour backup plan was stopping at the fish market...just wouldn't be the same, right?! Fishermen, you may decide to go budget and save a few bucks by sailing with a large charter of 30-40 people. But then, after paying for boat entry and fees for rod/reel, bait, tackle, etc., not to mention the frustration of crossing lines and catching zero fish, will you really save?! And you absolutely cannot beat the 47' Jersey Luxury "Tartar Sauce! It has all the creature comforts every rugged fisherman deserves! 100% recommend RockenReel Sports Fishing for the memories, and the fish!! Da Hawaiian Crew, Papa Ray, Ale, Koa, Juan & JT

I got to know Capt. Steve last year when I bought my first boat . I had no clue what the heck I was…read moredoing until meeting Steve . Within a short time he train me well enough to operate the boat. It's been a pleasure and honor knowing Cat. Steve. He is a very knowledgeable, patient and more importantly fun guy. If you're in Dana Point and like to have a fun day on the water, look him up.

Aaron made our boat rental experience a breeze! He was very thorough in walking us through all the…read morefeatures of the boat and its controls, as well as all the safety equipment on board. The boat is fully equipped with state of the art navigation and fish finding equipment, and Aaron familiarized us with the harbor, bait shop, and fueling station. Highly recommended! We've already booked our next trip!!

Fantastic hour with Captain Ray! Lots of fun visiting the seals and admiring the mega yachts!read more

Amazing experience. Tons of fish. Nice boat. Super good guys. Know their stuff. Highly recommended.read more

We did a four person (three hour) fishing trip with Capt. Anton and Logan. They were both super…read morefriendly, professional, and knowledgeable. The boat was very clean and comfortable. My friends and I have near-zero fishing skills so we didn't catch much, but we still had a great time and we'd definitely do it again!