Signed in at the front desk and hung out in the gift shop until the designated time, then we were all lead into a room to get a quick "Manatees 101" presentation, including a video. Very informative.
We went over the rules which honestly made it sound like there wasn't much change for real interactions - more of a close observation, than what pictures indicated. After the experience it's obvious that some people couldn't handle themselves, forcing rules to be strict... but that doesn't take away from the experience... PLENTY of interaction!
On the tour itself our Captain (Mike) and Guide (Matt) were fantastic. Tons of good info and worked hard to ensure everyone had a great experience. It was also nice to see the crews in other tours helping eachother to make sure everyone had a good time.
Water was a little murky, but plenty clear to see... apparently that's normal this time of year and when the manatees were eating and moving around on the bottom, they kicked up silt. We saw them eating, sleeping, and had a curious baby who played with all of us (and wouldn't leave some of us alone lol)... I think everyone got a little love from that baby and a big one farted on my wife... It was pretty amazing, honestly.
We made a quick stop to check out a big spring and swim a bit, then headed over to the back of Charlie's Fish House where they were cleaning fish... they threw scraps in the water so we could watch the tarpon feed at the surface... then it was back to the dock to round out the tour.
All in all, a great time. We decided before we even got off the boat that we're definitely coming back...