Osprey Cruises — Attraction in Port Isabel

This was our second trip to South Padre Island. I really wanted to do a more diverse nature trip, since our first trip centered around dolphin tours. The Sunset tour states in their advertising:

"When we conceived the Sea Life Safari Cruise, it was with the intent to provide an introduction and overview of the ecology of the Laguna Madre with special emphasis on its wildlife. Our narrator will discuss the natural history of this great estuary and its inhabitants, fin, feather, shell and hide. The passenger yacht Osprey has a high profile and is exceptionally well suited for sightseeing. From the upper deck you have panoramic views and with binoculars you can see for miles (and there’s lots to see). Every trip is a unique experience, and there’s nothing to match it on the Texas coast. Your entire family will enjoy this adventure!

This tour guarantees dolphin sightings.

Eco Tour Sea and wildlife watch Local and geological history Dolphin watch Excellent bird watching opportunities (600+ species) Live observation and identification tank"

I understand that a LOT of people enjoy the dolphins and they are fun to see, but I really expected to hear more about the other wildlife. The guide mentioned the dolphins and pointed them out, but no other information was provided. Not about any of the birds I spied. Not about the dolphins. Nothing.

Also, the place where we remained for the sunset was kind of...disappointing. We remained at the oil refinery/drilling company. That was not quite what I expected from a tour focused on nature. Created a kind of depressing sunset images.

I really struggled between a 2 or 3 star rating. The boat was very nice and I ended up with some beautiful pictures. I really just wish I would have received what was advertised.

They also offer to take your picture for $6.00 when boarding. We did this, but I was not happy. We were never told where to pick up the pictures and the guy taking the picture was not really about taking decent photos. (Hair in face - didn't give me a chance to fix it, rushed) I felt like this tour was going through the motions without any passion for providing history and information...

You get what you pay for. Before the boat/Bay King even left (which we left late because the Captain was late) I had thought about not even going because of the lack of professionalism. The First sentence I even heard out of the captain's mouth had about every curse word there is in it. There were 3 children aboard as well as two preachers and the Captain still let his explicits fly. Once he got to the fishing whole, he and the crew started fishing and just told us to get them out there. The Captain caught four fish before anyone even had a bite and was degrading all the passengers telling us that the fish are here, you got to get them etc. Never once did he tell us how to catch or what to do. All he said was "Let it roll with the current". What does that mean? I guess he is an Alabama fan. But seriously, he did nothing to help. The deck hands would even squeeze between us and throw right in the middle of us tangling our lines and then tell us "watch I'm going to get one" and he did, but didn't tell us how. Did I mention that they were all using different kind of bait then us and when we asked if we could use the bait they were using and catching fish with, they said it is the same and will catch. The Captain was a loud mouth, told big fish stories, degraded all other fishing boats and even the company he worked for, liked to use foul language, and knew how to catch fish personally (never taught us how to catch). Like I said, you get what you pay for... It was cheap, but a little common courtesy and decency goes a long way. Didn't mind only catching a couple of fish, but when my son is astonished at the attitude and language of the Captain, I knew it wasn't just me. So be aware if you have kids and want to take them...

I never fill these reviews out but I feel like my experience was so bad that I need to share. We had a reservation for Thursday night, however as the time got closer, we realized it was not going to clear up. It was cloudy and hazy and there was no way of being able to see further than 5ft ahead of you. We could not see the sun for the sunset part of the cruise. We called up and asked if the cruise was going to be canceled and they said “nope, it’s not our fault”. Which I totally understand, but I mean why go on a sunset dolphin cruise when you can’t see the sunset? So I asked if we could be refunded and they said no, it has to be 24 hours before the appointment. At that point I kept our appointment and hung up so I could discuss it with everyone else. It was decided we would change the appointment to Saturday night. We all leave early on Sunday. So Friday comes around and we were told about a band playing at a different venue for Saturday night and we all wanted to do that instead. I called back up the dolphin place and said I wanted to cancel out appointment and get the refund. The gentleman agreed. Now we get home and I realized they charged me for the cruise when we canceled before 24 hours ahead of time. So I called and asked for the manager. He told me I have to pay still. He didn’t care that we canceled 24 hours ahead. Pablo even yelled and raised his voice at me! What happened to customer service? This is crazy!

This place was our ONLY bad experience that we have ever had on any vacation! I have never left a bad review but I think people need to know that if they have bad weather and can’t see the sunset you will still be charged. I feel taken...