My family (consisting of my husband, two children ages 8 and 11, and I) booked a nighttime manta ray snorkel experience our second evening in Kona. The sunset was incredible and the staff was professional, knowledgeable and friendly. They equipped us with wetsuits and snorkel gear and we boarded the boat for a brief 3-4 minute trip. They assisted us with getting the little ones in the water and helped everyone get in their spot in the water. You see the idea is to float on the surface of the water while holding onto a board with lights on it and watch the manta rays swim their beautiful dances as they eat the plankton that are attracted to the bright lights. Plankton go to the light. Mantas go to the plankton.
Well our tour group, along with a handful of other tour groups were all set up, shining lights and patiently waiting. And waiting. And waiting. No mantas. Staff even moved us to a different area, in hopes of finding mantas, but still no luck. Not just us, but none of the tour companies reported seeing any, which they say is odd because there are over 270 documented “regulars” there. But while we were all patiently waiting for mantas, we were being visited all around us by spinner dolphins. Eventually our kids got a little tired of hanging onto the boards by their arms, and a little chilly, so staff helped them back into the boat with the captain where they enjoyed hot cocoa and got to see all sorts of dolphin fun. Us adults were bummed that we didn’t see any mantas but the kids were so excited to see dolphins that we felt it wasn’t a complete loss, and we know Mother Nature is out of the control of SeaQuest.
Well here is where SeaQuest won us over: Not only did they apologize profusely to everyone for the lack of mantas, but they offered us a free return. We thought that was very nice of them. We didn’t pursue that as we left though. The next afternoon they called us to say how sorry they were about the experience and again offered a free return, so we took them up on their offer.
The second run was equally as organized and professional but within 30 seconds of sticking our masks in the water, we were witnessing one of the most amazing shows in the deep blue sea!! We had manta rays coming and going from all directions! We even saw a few eels too. My husband and I had thought about passing up on the return but we are so glad that SeaQuest didn’t let us! They are truly an amazing company and I cannot thank them enough for the incredible service BOTH times!