Heard rumours the day before that the whales had gone for the season, so arrived with low expectations. They warned us of this before we left and offered a full refund, but none of the 50 or so guests got off. Took 3 hours to get to Skjervoy and the weather was bad, so even if the herring hadn't moved on it wasn't the best day for it and might not have seen much anyway. However, we had half a dozen white beaked dolphins racing alongside the boat, going under it and leading us from the front, and you could get very close to them as the bottom deck is almost sea level, so as good as a RIB for viewing. We circled a few small islands in the area looking for a few whale stragglers not as hungry as their mates who had followed the herring up to the arctic ocean, but no joy, then on our way back we found a humpback and stayed with it for around 20 minutes, which was great. It was about 100 metres away, but it says that they can't get too close on their website, so that was really nice. All told, we had a great day out and the brand new boat is absolutely stunning, from the lovely wooden decks to the beautiful interior which was very warm, which we desperately needed after standing outside for a while. I don't think you'd get a more comfortable experience with any of the other larger boats, as they all look like big ferries. Also, we were one of only 3 boats to go out that day, so had the sightings all to ourselves. The crew were fantastic, coming round to every guest, asking if they were ok, and answering hundreds of questions. You could see that they really tried their best to see some orcas, but some times it just isn't meant to be. That's nature for you, so don't be upset if you don't get everything you want, as it's out of their control, but they will do everything they can, so would definitely recommend them and use again (but maybe come in December next time, as it seems the end of whale season is getting earlier each year).
