K5805TRdaniellet
May 2020
As a florida native and a life time water sport lover, I have always wanted to do an evening kayak to see the bioluminescence. To say that we could not get out of there fast enough is an understatement.
First, we are a larger family (my son is 14 and 6'1 240) so I called ahead to ask about a separate kayak and life jacket for my husband and son. The nice young lady said she would make a note with your reservation and make sure we were well taken care of. I offered to pay extra for them to have the appropriate kayak. "No problem. They will have the appropriate size life jackets and convert a tandem to a single for each of my guys." Not only were demeaning comments made about their size when trying on lifejackets, no accommodations were made. So true with the kayak.
Next, we were directed to paddle around random areas that clearly had nothing to do with the bioluminescence tour. We were lead by a guide that's only interesting fact was that Osprey's have thumbs..yes thumbs...to crack open shells he said. My teenagers, who are Florida biologist in training, about lost it over his incorrect and outlandish comments about the limited nature we did see.
We saw little to no bioluminescence. It was nothing more than we see on a average night on the water. We purposely booked on the new moon at the end of May. So disappointing.
Finally, I have a genuine fear of alligators. I get it..all water in Florida has the potential for gators. I called ahead of time to understand the area we would be going to and the likelihood of seeing a gator. I was told, "I am sure they are out there but we never see them. The water is too salty." So after 30 minutes into the tour listening to our guide constantly talking about looking at the shore to see "all the lizards" I paddled up next to him and asked him to please stop all the talk about gators. The lady in the kayak next agreed. Not only did it continue, he then panicked both my husband and my daughter as he scrambled to get another kayak to leave an area because of the two large gators in the area he just saw. Really. Everyone in our group raved put of there and although the tour was not over we all asked to leave early.
I feel embarrassed that we use Florida wildlife to trick people. I feel bamboozled that I spent this kind of money for nothing.
Ответ от хоста
May 2020
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. If you would like to either send us an email or give us a call so we can look at the specific tour you were on, we can see what tour guides you had and also who booked you to see how this happened.
We always want every guest to leave our tours feeling like they had a 5-star experience, and we apologize that this did not happen for your tour. You should have been provided the appropriate kayak and life jackets without any comments from your tour guide. While ospreys have a talon that acts as a semi-opposable thumb, it seems like the guide did not articulate this correctly.
While new moons in the summer time are typically the best time to see the bioluminescence, unfortunately nature does not always cooperate with us. While there is still bioluminescence to see, it's more of a white color compared to the blue color that most people typically expect. We wish we could guarantee great bioluminescence all of the time, and we try to give the most information to our guests to make an informed decision on when to go, but sometimes nature simply doesn't want to work with us.
We do very occasionally see alligators, though they don't typically like to be in that brackish water. Even so, we of course do see them sometimes like you saw. We understand that many people have a fear of alligators, especially when being in the water at night and not having as much visibility. We do apologize that our guide seemed to dismiss yours, and other guests', real fears of these animals.
Again, please feel free to reach out directly to our office. It's important to us that our guests have a great experience on our tours.