Saturday, April 30th: continued
A little background on Dolphin Landings, the company we chose to book our dolphin cruise through: they are currently the number two rated tour out of St. Pete’s Beach on TripAdvisor. They were number one when we purchased our tickets.
https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attracti...harter_Boat_Center-St_Pete_Beach_Florida.html
We had initially planned to book a dolphin cruise at a location a little closer to Tropicana Field, but a close friend of ours (who is a native Floridian) gently nudged us toward Dolphin Landings.
Trust me, she said….
you will be glad you drove the little bit extra and paid the little bit extra. And Gina, this is on a sailboat….’nuff said
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They do offer several different types of experiences, all of which looked amazing. Ours, of course, was the Dolphin Watch tour.
We booked in advance on their website, using a coupon found online. Hats off to the customer service at this attraction: even though they were very clear at the time of booking that these were a non-refundable tickets, after Sunshine was no longer joining us, I emailed them to let them know (so that we didn't have any awkward questions at the time of arrival) and they fully refunded our fourth ticket with no questions asked. Completely not expected but very, very much appreciated
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My boys were beyond happy to be on the boat and ready for the crew to untie the ropes from the dock
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There were about 15-20 guests on the boat and two crew, Captain Glenn and his first mate, Cindy. Cindy, especially, was a real gem: super friendly, wonderfully helpful, and possessing the awesome knack of making each of us feel as if we were her personal special guest. As we boarded, we went immediately to the very empty rear of the boat….why everyone else crammed themselves all up front, I have no idea
(the view from the stern was amazing!) but we weren’t complaining.
Dolphin Landings itself is located behind a strip mall (the Dolphin Village Shopping Center) which borders the gulf waters. It was so odd to see boats just parked behind a building that looked like it should be smack dab in the middle of an urban centre.
Looking around at the various watercraft docked nearby, I had visions of what our first purchase would be should we happen to win the next Lotto 649 jackpot.
Within literally two minutes of us seating ourselves comfortably at the rear, Captain Glenn fired up the engine and we began our initial departure away from the dock. It was hot, hot, HOT again today…..already hitting the low 90’s and we were still a couple of hours (and several degrees) away from the hottest part of the afternoon
. The gulf breeze and the partial cloud cover were Godsends!
Not far from shore, we passed a flyboarder giving it his best. I wondered if the poor guy felt self conscious as our entire boat all watched him intently
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It wasn’t long before Captain Glenn cut the engines and he and Cindy expertly raised the sails. It was time to get this party started!
Okay, so about this time, I decided to forgive the big guy for not filling up the car before we went to bed last night…..and he forgave me for misjudging the proper amount of time for the commute. It was too special of a time to ruin the mood by staying mad.
With the sails up and the boat effortlessly whipping along the water, Cindy came back and offered to take a family picture for us. Pardon the hair, it was WINDY on the water!
Everyone was welcome and encouraged to sit or stand wherever they felt most comfortable…..the crew was super relaxed and easy-going. Our cruise was just barely underway and Steve was already giving this attraction a big thumbs-up.
Oh, that view
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There was a small regatta happening in St. Pete’s Beach that Saturday, so Glenn took us by the boats for an up-close look…..what a colourful sight with all the varied sails. Pretty much every single boater paused to offer us a big, friendly wave, too……gotta love that southern hospitality
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Glenn steered us onward while Cindy handed out complimentary beverages (Coke products and bottled water) to all guests. You could also BYOB on this cruise as well, if you wanted, though only one or two did so that early in the day
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The shoreline is lined with homes and condo developments. Judging from the number of boats we saw along our tour, it appears that owning a boat is a requirement for all residents of St. Petersburg. There were hundreds of them.
Off in the distance we spotted a huge bridge, and as Captain Glenn navigated the boat toward it, he noted that the Fantasea (Dolphin’s Landings second sailing vessel currently on the water, which had departed just a short time before we had) had received reports of dolphin activity in the waters on the other side
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With cold beverages in hand, the breeze whipping through our hair, and the warm sun (intermittently) on our faces, the whole boat was literally teeming with anticipation as we passed beneath the arch.
Everyone was praying that we’d see a real, live dolphin. I mean, the cruise itself was ah-mazing, but a dolphin sighting would just put this whole experience over the top
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The balance of our cruise is next. 
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. Too much trip reporting and October planning!!
. The one and only time I did take it in with us the server had no idea what it was 
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25% off is a pretty nifty savings.
. As much as the $35 price tag makes me shudder a bit, you know.....I'd probably still pay it, since the experience was as awesome as it was. 
Considering we were on a schedule, I guess it was a good thing in a way…..we had no wait to be seated or served.
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. The salad bar (which you would normally find at lunch and dinner) was fully stocked and could be accessed as part of the breakfast buffet for those who wished to have a little greenery with their eggs and French toast. We stuck to the traditional breakfast choices, though…..it was way too early for salad (well, except for Steve….he enjoyed some Caesar salad with his breakky).
). Getting onto the I4, we managed to take the wrong ramp (and yes, we were using the GPS but still managed to mess up) which necessitated a full turn around where we got stopped at every red light while doubling back. Add 15 minutes there. The distance was MUCH longer than we had estimated, so the buffer zone we had built in vanished as soon as the GPS calculated our arrival time to the boat dock. Then, about half way to the coast, Steve realized that we probably weren’t going to have enough gas in the rental car to confidently get us to St. Pete’s. There was almost war in the car 
. What? He hadn’t checked the gas gauge the night before? 
That necessitated a detour to a gas station, and more precious minutes wasted.
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