Santa Barbara Sailing Center

Booked a spot on a waterfront cruise for my friend's birthday. This was my first time on the Double Dolphin, and I had a really nice time. It was a 1 hour cruise and there were less than 10 people on the boat including us four. The boat can accommodate around 60 people I think?

Our captains were super friendly and played some great tunes. There were snacks and drinks for purchase, too. On the way out of the harbor we stopped by the buoy to check out the seals.

I just can't go back to life before this. After this experience, Sunset cruises are part of my life forever. Forever-ever.

So what, sharks?!
So what, killer whales?!
I don't care, tsunamis!!!

SUNSET CRUISES FOR LIFE. RIDE OR DIE.

Yelp, I had an absolute blast. The patrons were splendid people; the captain and his assistant were lovely; The directions on the website were spot-on; the coastline from the boat was breathtaking; the sunset was out of this world.

Out of all of the bad in life, this experience was truly a purely good, purely beautiful one.

My advice:

1.) try doing the cruise during the week. I have a feeling they might be packed on weekends.

2.) Follow your GPS to the Harbor...but switch over to the website step-by-step directions once you enter the harbor. You can't miss this place whatsoever. The directions are perfect.

3.) DO NOT EAT BEFORE. EAT AFTERWARDS. Don't chance motions sickness.

4.) Dress warm, even during the summer! Bring gloves cause your hands will freeze!

5.) Remember to Tip the lovely staff for the wonderful evening you **will indeed*** have

We booked the Sunset Cruise and were really happy with it. Booking was easy online and there's step-by-step instructions on how to get to their dock which were very helpful. You do have to pay for parking, ours was around $8.This was a great way to spend an evening during our first visit to Santa Barbara. This is a sailboat so your trip depends on the winds that day. Either way it's a fun ride and really impressive to see the staff sail the boat.

I HIGHLY recommend that you bring a jacket/thick sweater. It does get cold on the water, specially once the sun starts setting. They do have blankets if you forget your sweater. They sell wine, beer and champagne as well as other non-alcoholic drinks. There are a few bathrooms on board too. There are two nets that you can lay on at the front of the boat. Depending on which direction you're sailing you can lay on them and not get wet. The staff were really friendly and I highly recommend he Sunset Cruise. It's a great way to spend some time on the water. *Remember to bring some cash to tip the crew

tl,dr: We went kayaking. Awesome, fun experience!

Tips:
. Use sunblock, cuz the price is for 2 sunny hours.
. Bring a GoPro helm, cuz your hands will be too busy to capture footage.
. Go train your rowing muscles beforehand, to make the most of your exp.

Likes:
+ Very polite, friendly, informative, safety-oriented, and helpful staff!
+ They are very thorough with the safety orientation.
+ Thankfully the staff made sure to mention that as you get closer to the far peninsula, the waves get rougher. We stayed p safe behind that region.
+ Life vests are provided.
+ Their kayak dock has a nifty (un)loading structure. Use your paddle to pull/push yourself off/onto the kayak dock. [see photo]
+ We encountered many pelicans and seals! We were even lucky enough to meet a playful curious seal.
+ You'll likely encounter other friendly paddlers, some even bringing along their doggos.
+ They have convenient restrooms.
+ We didn't wanna bring our important baggage along the ride, but thankfully the staff were willing to safely hold onto all our belongings.

Non-likes:
- They didn't have a cheaper option for just 1hr play. The pricing (~$25/person) is set for 2hr, so we played for 2hr cuz we wanted to make the most of our money, yet we had many places to go that day. At first I did ask if there's a 1hr option, the guy said Yes. I thought that meant it'd be half price; turns out he meant we could quit kayaking after just 1hr, but the price we pay is still for $2 hr. haha yike.
- The parking to get here is a slight nuisance, particularly if you're coming from the 101 South (LA). Have to enter the P lot all the way down via Harbor Way, then maneuver back up. If you're also planning to tour Stearns Wharf, may as well seek free street parking along W Cabrillo Blvd, or just park on Stearns Wharf and walk over.
- Their restrooms don't have paper towels.

My wife and I took up the Sunset Cruise package deal that came with our hotel booking. We were celebrating our honeymoon so it only makes sense to take up the deal. We got to the place early like it said to on our RSVP card but they didn't start boarding until like 10 minutes before sailing off. Bring a jacket because it will get cold out there and also find a good seat depending if there a lot of people. We sat near the back so we were next to the bar and had a great view. The crew (driver and bartender) were amazing and came to talk to us during the ride. We were also able to see some dolphins during the tour so that was nice. It was a good 2 hour cruise around the coast.

Awesome, friendly staff, great music and drinks on-board, and the Captains make it a point to direct the boat to natural wildlife: sea otters, pelicans, dolphins and whales. We typically get a mix of each but sometimes we are able to enjoy them all on one trip! Great times!

BUYER BEWARE - I accidentally reserved a boat tour for my office staff with this company not realizing it was in Santa Barbara not Newport Beach. I scheduled it for July 21st. So when I realized that I had made an honest mistake I contacted them. The snotty girl on the phone told me I had checked the box online when I made the reservation that I agreed to a no refund policy. I emailed Skip the owner asking him to consider giving us a refund for this mistake and his reply was...

"Hi Jo,
We have a 100% non-refundable policy that is agreed to at the time of booking. We can offer you a house credit that never expires and I will go ahead and put that in the system for you now.
Thank you,
SANTA BARBARA SAILING CENTER"

Now I can understand a no refund if I were cancelling 1 or 2 weeks prior to the date but TWO MONTHS?! Come on, that is greed and just bad business practice. Skip didn't even sign his name on the email. How cowardly is that? I wish I would have read the yelp reviews prior to reserving. I think this company is scamming many out there. Buyer beware!

I booked the Harbor Cruise for ten of my family members. The Captain did not wait for two of our members to arrive on the boat, even though they were 2 minutes from the dock. He left them in the parking lot. The Captain claimed he needed to be on schedule, yet we returned to the dock 4 minutes early. Also, this cruise was very short and boring, the staff clearly are uninterested. Spend your money on a different activity!

We did a 3 hour tour on the 42' Califia. There were 5 of us.

Captain was really great about helping us get all loaded and knew how to sail the vessel really well.

We bought a 3 hour trip because when I called I was told that those trips went out further to try and see whales. I don't feel that we ever really left the harbor. It wasn't very windy so sailing was tepid - which of course is nobody's fault. I think we could have caught more wind if we'd gone out further. As far as whale watching - our captain clearly didn't get the memo that we got the longer trip to try to see some whales, and after a while it became apparent that it wasn't going to happen so we sat back and enjoyed the slow ride up and down the harbor area. I probably should have been more vocal about it, but didn't want to spoil the mood and after saying many times that we wanted to see whales..... well - we were told that they are occasionally seen in the harbor. I don't think we ever got to water that was deeper than 35 feet. It was a fun trip - but if i knew that was going to be the extent of it I would have just bought 2 hours and saved some money.

So it was an OK trip considering the cost - exactly 3 stars.

We took the Catamaran Coastal Cruise. The staff and boat were amazing. Would highly recommend the trip!