This was a truly amazing experience and Gulf Coast Expeditions really stood out to me and my family (wife and 3 children ages 10 - 14). They were very knowledgeable and passionate about manatees and provided everything we needed (wet suits, goggles, snorkel), even hot chocolate and coffee for the ride back.
Captain Ron keeps the tour size to 6 people, so everyone gets personalized attention - unlike many other tour operators which have triple that many people. As an added bonus, we were the first of many tours to arrive and we had the area to ourselves for the first half hour which was very nice. It gave us a chance to get our bearings before dozens of other folks arrived.
The boat ride was comfortable, even heading out at 6:30 AM with an air temp of 46 degrees - they have roll-up sides that kept most of the wind out. Once we were in the water the temp was fine as well. The only time I was cold was walking out to the car after we got back.
I recommend this experience to everyone - it really was amazing!