I did the Manatee Snorkeling Tour with Gulf Coast Expeditions in January 2018, and again in January 2019. Both were great trips. I research everything thoroughly before purchasing or going on a trip. There were a number of other tour operators offering Manatee encounters, but I'm glad I found and chose Gulf Coast Expeditions. They have a smaller boat than most of the other operators, so that you get much more attention from the crew. Captain Ron is very informative and super helpful, even calling me a week before the event because I wanted to make sure that my booking date and time was locked in. And he has a tour guide named Lauren who goes out in the water with the participants, and helps guide you around, and takes photos for you. We saw other tour operators, and they're probably good people, but their boats were larger with larger groups of people, and I only saw one other boat operator where they get in the water with the participants, and I'm not sure if they take photos for you. The small group size that Gulf Coast Expeditions offers (6-people maximum, apart from Capt Ron and Tour Guide Lauren) is a good small size so that you get personal attention and assistance. I liked it so much a year ago, that I booked with them again recently, and after getting home from my trip, numerous friends saw pictures and they want to go on these adventures, and I have recommended Gulf Coast Expeditions to them. If you're thinking of going on one of these adventures, book with this group; you'll be happy that you did.
Side note: think about what you want to wear under the wet suits. Its cold on the trip back after being in the water, so wearing compression shorts and top (long sleeve or short sleeve) is helpful for warmth and for getting the wet suit on and off easier. I didn't have those items on the first trip, but I got them for my second trip and I was glad that I did. You also should consider bringing a pair of Aqua Sox or Dive boots/footies. I didn't have them the on my first trip, and I didn't like having my bare feet sometimes touching things, plus my feet were cold on the boat ride back, so I brought some dive boots/footies for the second trip. I used the regular snorkeling mask and tube on the first trip, and I've never really liked those. So I brought a full face snorkel mask on this second trip, and it worked perfectly. I bought five different full face snorkel masks, and tried them all, and only found one that fit perfectly (Ocean Reef Aria) and it worked great (no fogging and no breathing problems). It was a huge game changer for me. I am now addicted to snorkeling. And Capt Ron and Lauren at Gulf Coast Expeditions were very helpful and accommodating with me and my group using different gear (full face snorkel masks) and they had the regular snorkel gear ready for us if we needed it. Capt Ron even helped me when I went back to the boat minutes after we got in the water because my GoPro Dome was not working right, and took it off at the edge of the boat and Capt Ron got my backpack for me and put my Dome aside for me so that I didn't have to get out of the water. I just put my GoPro back onto a floater handle and went back out to photograph Manatees without the Dome. Again, Capt Ron and Lauren are terrific tour operators with great customer service. I cannot recommend them highly enough. I will likely do this same Manatee encounter again, and I’ll book it with Gulf Coast Expeditions again.