Our first port stop was to Marco Island, Florida where we stayed in port from 7:00AM until 5:30PM. Most of today's excursion choices had a morning and an afternoon option. Only the two complimentary tours, Naples Botanical Garden and Downtown Naples Shopping, were held once. The Naples Botanical Garden excursion was held in the morning and the shuttle for Downtown Naples Shopping was offered for the afternoon. The most popular choice was the two sessions of Everglades and 10,000 Islands Exploration. This 3.75 hours tour cost $65 per person with a low activity level and was ADA accessible. We did an Everglades airboat tour the first time we came to Fort Lauderdale for a pre-cruise stay. Certainly worth doing once if you've never been to Fort Lauderdale.
The remaining ship sponsored excursion, Dolphin Exploration and Shelling Cruise, was also held once in the morning and once in the afternoon. This 3.25 hours excursion is listed at a moderate activity level and is unfortunately not ADA accessible. The price for this excursion is $75 per person. The nice thing about American Cruise Line's loyalty program is that after your third cruise taken with them, all of the Premium level excursions you choose to take from that 4th cruise on, are now just as free to you as the complimentary excursions are to everyone. This was my 4th cruise on this line and Dad's 5th. Unfortunately, there is still some disconnect within the company because I was billed for all of my Premium level excursions after returning home. I questioned the charge with customer service over the phone and only after the rep double checked my account to confirm it was the 4th cruise, did she put in for a refund. She explained that they usually double check for discrepancies like that and must have missed mine. Why they never seem to mistakenly charge Dad's account, the universe may never know.
Looking back at the portable steps with handrail that we used to reach the height of the boat's entry with its own handrails.
Looking toward the back of our catamaran you can see the metal fixed benches, the covered ceiling, open sides, and extra waist high canvas barrier so you and/or your kids by your side could sit facing forward, facing sideways, or kneeling on the benches.
Our ferry style catamaran, the Dolphin Explorer, used in this excursion was docked just a short walk down the pier from where the American Pioneer was docked. If you would like to book this activity on your own, as did a family with young children who came along during our tour, you can visit the company's site here. Adult tickets cost $79 and Seniors (60+) tickets cost $69. Pretty rare that booking direct versus through the cruise ship doesn't come out cheaper. There was a small bathroom on the boat. We were encouraged to help ourselves to bottled water from a cooler as much as desired. The front section of the boat was open to the sun while the rest of the boat was covered so you could choose sun and/or shade. Depending on the water conditions and the boat speed, you may get a refreshing spray from the water splashing up over the open sides but never more than a refreshing spritz.
Our two person crew consisted of Bob McConville, a Florida Master Naturalist, and Captain Eddie Farr, a certified Coast Guard Captain with a Masters of Science Education degree as well as a PhD in Cetacean Biology. These two crew members on our tour not only made the experience educational but also enlightening, entertaining, and fun. The kids onboard got to enjoy filling out a checklist on all the marine life spotted during the ride.
Photo filled binders were passed around onboard with photos of each known dolphin in the area. We were all encouraged to browse the photos and see if we could identify the ones we were seeing. Bob took many if not all of the photos compiled in these binders and was a wealth of knowledge remembering which one was related to which other dolphin. Dolphin activity was high as we traveled through the marina and Bob would call out each by name. We saw dolphins jumping in the boat's wake and others just popping up nearby. Sometimes we'd stop and sit for a few minutes to watch the activity or especially if a dolphin was close before moving on. Captain Eddie was always careful to keep a distance between other boats in the area so both people and the wild dolphins were safe. The main rule asked of us while onboard was to not move around while the boat was in motion. Otherwise there was no assigned seating and we were free to check out a new viewing spot during the times when the boat was stopped.
I didn't take many photos of the dolphins we saw. You soon realize that you miss out on seeing the moment with your own eyes because you can't be fast enough with the camera.
A look back at our boat showing the wide but steep steps to climb up and down from the beach.
The view from onboard when it came time to get down those steps - definitely best to climb down backwards like a ladder. Dad chose to stay on the boat both for concern of handling the stairs and his lack of interest in collecting shells.
After each person stepped off the boat, Bob had us pose with our bags so he could take our picture. During the ride back, he used a photo printer onboard the boat to give each of us a copy of our photos and one photo he'd previously taken of one of the dolphins. I did end up with a few broken shells after the plane ride home. Maybe one of these days I'll do something crafty with the pieces.
The ride back to the pier also provided a great opportunity to grab a photo of the American Pioneer:
Do I recommend doing this excursion? Absolutely! I loved not only the amount of dolphin activity we experienced but also how comfortable being on the boat was and how having such great guides added to the experience.
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