The thing about whale watching is the scale; I don’t know how many people I’ve had tell me “oh, we’ll see whales from the ship” when it’s completely not the same thing. People go to the IMAX because with the right movie, it’s a larger-than-life experience. Same with whale watching: seeing one from a 1000 foot-long, 10 story tall ship is different from being eye-level with these adorable behemoths that somehow look like synchronized water ballet dancers.
That’s what our small boats are good for – getting eye-level. We give them plenty of space (both because we’re decent human-folk and it’s also required by law) but when one of those guys decides to check us out and rub his belly on the underside of our boat – you’re not getting that experience on a ship!