nice trip captain Kurt was great

Beautiful weather, great captain, we started off with some sightseeing around the bay then spent our afternoon at the sand bar surrounded by dolphins. Three adults and three children under the age of 8.

The captain gave the kids a ride on the lily pad before letting them jump off the boat into the ocean. Highlight recommend, we can’t wait to do it again.

We planned the 2 hour charter where we planned to relax on a sand bar and the 2nd half touring around looking at the beautiful houses on the water. Perfect chill relaxed day on the water.
Well it immediately didn’t go as planned. Our pick up time was 10am. 10:10am rolled around, no boat, no phone call or message from the company. So I called and left a message. Captain Alex called me back and said that his boss told him the wrong location and that he will be to us in about 25 mins. He finally arrived at 10:40 and he reiterated that his boss sent him to the wrong place and he didn’t mind going full throttle and burning a bunch of gas because it’s his boss’s fault. And that his boss can eat the gas costs. As a business owner myself, I didn’t think that was an appropriate response to customers after showing up 40 mins late. An apology would have been sufficient. 
Anyway we went on our charter and we started the charter as planned. Sand bar and then home tour. Then in the middle of our tour he asked if we’d be okay going to a bait and tackle shop 5 miles away because he has a fishing charter next and he needs shrimp. I was a little hesitant because that would cut into our time but he sensed the hesitation and said that it was a beautiful scenic ride. We agreed to take the ride. And it turned out to be very terrifying. The water was pretty choppy that day and he decided to drive very fast to the bait shop and the boat was slamming up and down across the chop and we were in front holding on for dear life. Thank god there was a no wake zone closer to the bait shop because it was seriously scary.
When we got back on the boat from the bait shop I asked him if he could slow it way down on the way back. He kindly obliged. We did see dolphins on the way back which was pretty cool. He tracked them for a couple of mins so we could get videos. When we made it back to the car we were so happy to be off that boat. It was not the relaxing experience we thought we were getting. Now for the worst part.
I woke up the next morning to a text that was sent at 10pm at night from Captain Alex saying he didn’t receive a tip. First off, very unprofessional and uncomfortable. 2nd, we had other things planned that day at certain start times and had to cancel or reschedule because our later than expected return from the charter.  Also we did not enjoy this $300 experience.

I really don’t want to torpedo the boat & captain (Kurt), but at the price point, we expected more. The boat was at the dock on time. Not an old pontoon, but not new. The maintenance of the seats, the sound system, and the stowage of equipment left something to be desired. Seats have split from sun damage (As a former boat owner I know that this is an easy fix.) and it would be nice to have a Bluetooth connection to the sound system. Kurt said he couldn’t get it to work. That’s ok, but I could have brought a speaker. It was a two hour booking so we weren’t expecting an “ocean adventure” and Cpt. Kurt was accommodating in getting us to a beautiful sandbar. There was a new swim mat for our party of four adults. We could have used a small mushroom anchor and tether instead of the boat’s mooring line, just to get some distance from the boat.
Captain Kurt was a nice enough guy, but needs a little polish on being a welcoming host. The cruise was sold on the fact that there would be snacks & cold beverages available. We were offered none of this and only when I asked about a cooler on the floor, was I told that there was ice in it and that we could put our drinks in it if needed. There was an open case of water on the floor of the boat. We were also sold on fishing equipment, snorkeling gear, and filet if needed. None of this was offered. Also, the Captain should not be smoking cigarettes when entertaining guests. Because we had to tie the swim mat so close to the boat, we had to smell cigarette smoke while we were in the water. So we felt a little cheated. So we got a boat ride to a sand bar, had to bring our own food and drinks, and a ride back to shore for almost five hundred dollars (with tip). Speaking of tipping, the Captain needs to figure out a way to receive cashless tips. Fortunately, someone in our group had cash. So ultimately, we received a boat ride to a sandbar, but the experience could use a lot of polish and fulfillment of how it was sold.