Suncoast Sailing — Attraction in Treasure Island

Where to even begin. Let's start with the booking. I made my reservation a couple of months in advance and had to change the number of people on 2 occasions. Easy Breezy. The Viator website was easy to deal with. Enough about them. Let's talk these fine people. The building is VERY easy to get to. There is abundant parking for you while you are out on the water. The inside of the facility was way above par! It was clean and recently remodeled. They had an abundance of drinks to select from if you wished to bring some last minute beverages onto the boat with you. All kinds of drinks from water and sodas and beer and wine and even little charcuterie options. Very nice touch. Lol. There is a very clean restroom to use beforehand if nature calls and there are plenty of items from hats and shirts if a quality souvenir is your thing. The check in took less than 1 minute and was done by the owner himself who was EXTREMELY pleasant and professional and welcoming. I want to point out that literally every member of his staff would prove to be highly professional and polite so that vibe is clearly part of the culture with this operation. Kudos to everyone for that! The boat itself had more than enough room for all of the guests. We had about 15 people on our booking and 3 in our party. We had a cooler we packed ourselves and it was stowed safely and readily accessible as was the case for everyone else on board. We were not on top of the other guests and the Captain and his Admiral were all you could want for something like this. 1. They were capable sailors. They make and excellent team and keep the attitude fun and safe and light. They are very accommodating to the comfort of the guests. From helping with photos to providing supplies to those less fortunate with sea sickness. They were knowledgeable of the area and would point out landmarks and kept an eye on local wildlife. We saw a sea turtle and a pod of dolphins on our trip. They were in no rush to get us out and back in. The trip us all about the sunset and they really embrace the spirit of how magnificent the Tampa Bay area sunsets are. They gave us close to 3 hours out there and brought us back in just after dark. Safe and sound and very content. Tipping is a nice touch on these types of trips and they mentioned it maybe twice? Maybe. Classy and professional for something that they totally deserved and earned. My point is that they didn't make it about them even at this juncture.

This was a WONDERFUL way to spend an evening on my trip from Ohio to see my Dad for his birthday. He loves the water and the sailing experience was very special. We had a great time and will talk about it for years to come. Moreover, we will make it a part of our itinerary in the future. It is a no brainer of an excursion!

Top Notch to the entire...

I surprised my wife on her birthday taking her on this sailing trip. Crew was professional and nice. We were the only customers on the trip. I understand the other 4 people cancelled. The winds were blowing about 10-15 per the Tampa marine forecast and the gulf had a moderate chop so unfortunately we didn’t get the true sailing experience we hoped for. We spent an hour in the gulf and the captain could only raise the jib, not the main sails. We spent the remaining time in the bay under engine and jib wind power. In hindsight, I wish I knew they wouldn’t be able to raise the main sails otherwise I may have cancelled too. However, birthdays only come once a year so my wife may have been disappointed. We may schedule another trip in the future but would confirm they would be able to raise the sails. Other then the true sailing experience piece, my wife loved it and had a...

I definitely will book this cruise again; quite a blast! If you've never been on a sailboat before, it is quite exciting to hear those sails make that 'whoop, whoop' noise when they catch that first wind. After sailing through the intercoastal and passing through the bridge at John's Pass, Suncoast takes you due west, fairly far out into the Gulf. I will try the sunset cruise next but I actually favor the midday cruise. I think what I liked most about this cruise is that it was low key, no one shouting at you; just this beautiful schooner, the sails, wind, water and sun. Very enjoyable! Very pleasant people sailing the boat who happen to love sailing.

The day we went out, a crew was working on renovating the bridge at John's Pass; only half of the bridge raised. I was fairly well impressed that our Captain could sail a tall mast ship through...