I don't want to leave a low review for this experience because our captain, Heidi, went above and beyond for this excursion. She was knowledgeable, friendly, funny, and encouraging. Snorkeling was a little disappointing due to visibility and the low presence of fish near the area we were at, but I don't blame the trip for that. It was still fun getting in the water, and Heidi even helped another person on our trip when they got scraped up on some rocks. I enjoyed the hike on Egmont Key, but our problems began when we returned to our boat to unfortunately discover that the engine would not turn over. Again, Heidi did her best; she made sure we were informed, that we had water, and that she utilized everything at her disposal to get us taken care of. She even took us back out on the Key to explore more so we could both pass the time and not spiral into anxiety.
The two stars are for her and her stellar treatment of us; she honestly deserves a raise for it. I'm docking three stars because of the TERRIBLE experience with the actual company running this. They did not have a back-up plan whatsoever for Heidi to use, and there were no extra boats or boats to rent. SeaTow estimated an hour wait, and by three hours in, there was no update at all. but the worst part was when a member of our party contacted Charter Finders LLC by phone and was given attitude and disinterest in our predicament. It was clear they left Heidi to fend for herself in solving this problem, and she had to call on a relative to thankfully come out to us and pick us up. We did not make it back to land until night fell.
Again, Heidi was incredible and I'd go out on the water with her again in a heartbeat. But this company should have had SOME sort of plan in place in the event a boat became inoperative. We sadly found out the hard way that they did not.