Sunset Dolphin Cruise in Panama City Beach

If you are looking for a fun, family-friendly activity during your beach vacation, consider a sunset dolphin cruise.

Don’t get me wrong, I could spend an entire week simply lounging along the shore with a cocktail in one hand and a good book in the other! But during my recent trip to Panama City Beach, I wanted to plan something special that I could do with my teenage daughter and her friends.

After a bit of googling, and making the decision to skip the more adventurous activities like parasailing and jet skiing, I settled on the idea of a sunset dolphin cruise. I mean who doesn’t love seeing dolphins at play in their natural habitat?!

I took a dolphin cruise in Clearwater Beach two years ago that was enjoyable, but light on the dolphin sightings. So my expectations on actually spotting dolphins were rather low. And I’ll admit, I was being cost-conscious on this trip, so I selected the least expensive sunset dolphin cruise I could find online.

The Captain Anderson III sunset dolphin cruise had great ratings and was just $25 per person. And I must say it was worth every penny, and then some!

Exploring the Marina

Given that I am a rule follower, we arrived one hour prior to our cruise time as the confirmation email instructed. Getting our tickets took all of 3 minutes so we had plenty of time to explore the marina.

Wandering among the various boat and yachts docked at the marina was a fun way to kill time. We saw fishing boats coming back from a successful day at sea with quite an impressive catch!

Then we took a quick peek inside the marina’s fish cleaning station where fishermen were hard at work scaling and deboning the day’s catch. That was a bit more blood and guts than the girls and I were interested in, so we quickly moved on!

While we opted not to eat at the Marina, we did wander through the impressive lobby of the Capt. Anderson Restaurant & Market. We had time for a peek into the gift shop and visited the ladies’ room. Which I highly recommend before boarding the ship.

All Aboard Captain Anderson III

As we boarded the two-level boat we stopped for the obligatory picture by the boat’s photographer. (After the cruise an adorable photo was waiting for us and at just $10 I couldn’t pass up this special souvenir.)

Given that it was only mid-March the boat was far from full, which meant we had plenty of room to move around. The top level of the boat provides lots of open ocean air, but it also includes a roof that provides some protection from the sun as well.

The lower level offers plenty of seating in an enclosed area with windows all around.

There is also a small snack bar for purchasing treats as well as restrooms on the bottom level.

My crew, and pretty much everyone else on the boat, preferred the open ocean air to the stuffy lower level, so that is where we spent most of our time.

Feeding the Birds

As we left the dock things got rather exciting as swarms of seagulls learned it was feeding time. The boat crew came around offering cheetos for the passengers to feed the hungry birds.

Children and adults alike giggled and squirmed as we all held out Cheetos and let the birds swoop down and grasp them right out of our hands. Of course, some of us were a bit more tentative and threw the Cheetos in the air. We enjoyed watching the birds swoop in long before the food ever found its way down to the water.

After the excitement of feeding the birds, it was time to sit back and enjoy the ride as we listened to the Captain provide narration on the scenery along the shore.

Dolphins Galore

After about twenty minutes of gliding through the water we reached the area not far from the shoreline where dolphins were likely to be spotted. Several other boats in various sizes and styles from different companies were also milling around this area in hopes of spotting dolphins at play.

It didn’t take long before the Captain alerted us which side of the boat to look out to see the dolphins. All the passengers gleefully chimed in (my crew included) to share their own sightings while excitedly pointing for others to get a glimpse. The passengers would hop from one side of the boat to the other as new sightings were broadcast.

I of course had my camera ready and took hundreds of photos. Most ended up being shots of just the water as the dolphins proved to be much quicker than I was, and I often snapped the photo a second too late!

But I did get a few good videos that do a decent job of showing how up close we got to these beautiful creatures!

As the cruise continued it seemed that more and more dolphins came our way, ready to perform for an adoring crowd. They came in droves and swam right up to and under our boat!

I’ve never seen so many dolphins in my life! It was a beautiful sight to see.

Holding the Crab

As the sun began to set it was time to bid the dolphins farewell and head back to shore. But the Captain had one more surprise to share before we docked.

A large crab lives in an aquarium aboard the Capt. Anderson III and the crew brought him around the upper deck for everyone to see. And hold!

I happily kept my hands on my camera and took photos. But my daughter and her friends cast their fears aside and each took their turn holding the weighty crab.

Now it was time to sit back and let the ocean breeze toss my hair as I gazed at the beautiful sunset.

Our sunset dolphin cruise turned out even better than I had hoped! It was so much fun, for both mom and the teenagers, and created plenty of lasting vacation memories.