Sea Thunder Dolphin Cruise — Local services in North Myrtle Beach

where do i even begin. this “tour” jipped me out of time, money, but most of all the experience. my wife and i booked the two hour jet ski dolphin tour for our honeymoon. we were in a group with other people on their own jet skis following a tour guide. One of the guests on their own jet skis had never rode one before. We spent the first hour of the trip stopping every 5 minutes while our tour guide would stop and give her a pep talk and not explain to anyone else what was going on. we spent more time on our trip stopped then actually moving. after that first hour of him continuing to stop and talk to her, we finally made it to the open part of the ocean. Then she got too scared and decided she wanted to go back. So then we got to spend the next 30 minutes at a dead stop waiting for someone else from the company to come pick her up. meanwhile when we asked the tour guide what was going on he kept brushing us off and not explaining anything to us. Finally someone came to get this woman, and he took us out to the “dolphin” area which was actually just a shrimp boat about 200 yards away from where we waited the 30 minutes for this lady to get picked up. We spent a total of MAYBE two minutes at the shrimp boat for the tour guide to say “there’s no dolphins out today so you guys ready to go back?” and back we went. So my wife and i on our honeymoon spent over $250 to watch our time get sucked away stopping every 2 minutes to give this lady a pep talk and pushing her farther out into the ocean when she clearly wasn’t going to make it through the trip. and then waiting another 30 minutes for her to get picked up, and spending less than 2 minutes at the “dolphin” site to see no dolphins. Only reason i’m giving two stars instead of one is because the staff was super nice, as was our tour guide. They made it clear they expect tips however, and after throwing 260 down the drain last thing i was going to do was give this company more of my hard...

TLDR:

1. Only book if you know for sure weather will not impede your trip - refund policy is terrible.
2. Know where to arrive. Sea Screamer is different location than Sea Thunder, even though they are the same company.
3. Arrive EARLY to get to the front of the boat. You will likely get wet at the back of the boat.

We initially booked on Sea Screamer. Due to weather, our trip was cancelled about 30 mins into the ride, and they did allow us to rebook at no charge. However, I find it absolutely ridiculous that they do not allow weather-related refunds. I feel bad for anyone who wasn't able to rebook. Also, our rebooking was a one-time offer. We were told that if the second booking was cancelled due to weather, we would not get a refund or be allowed a third rebooking. Due to this fact alone, my opinion of them dropped a lot. Both boats were nice, large, and hold many people. We did discover that although the Sea Screamer/Thunder appear to be the same company, their arrival points are different, so pay attention to how you book your trip. Both captains and assistants were great. Sea Thunder captain used her PA system much more so we could actually hear what was being said; did not have the same experience on Sea Screamer. YOU WILL GET WET at least in the back of the boat - there is a lot of spray. Arrive early to get the front of the boat. There was also a water gun fight that was fun for the kids, but on a day when we were all in sweatshirts due to a cool breeze and overcast skies, the adults were not super thrilled and there was NO WHERE to go to escape the water gun fight. My 92 yr old Gma was with us and this was not fun for her. While we did find dolphins in one spot, it felt very much like: Okay, here they are, okay now let's go back! Overall it was fine and generally what I expected (we did see dolphins) but it did not exceed my expectations, and the refund policy...

We were excited for our tour with our family while on vacation. There were 13 in our party. We were told to arrive early. We got there 45 mins before the tour. The person who checked us in and gave me a ticket said group numbers would be called for boarding. No one did that, instead the crowd pushed forward and found seats. We were only able to find 7 seats in 2 different areas on the boat. No staff member was willing to help us. The tour was either over sold or people was spaced in ways that didnt allow maximum seating. Half our family was told "Maybe they could just stand, people move around once the boat is out" With their small children? They can just stand on a boat moving fast? No one made an announcement about making room or tried to help find seats at all. The crew did not care. They were offered a refund for their tickets instead. Not only was it frustrating but hugely disappointing for the kids that didn't get to go. The 7 members of our party that did find seats were not aware the others had gotten off until leaving the dock. We rode together. Because of seating arrangements in the vehicles, they couldn't even leave to do other activities! I personally went out on the boat and it would have been a good time. We saw dolfins, but it was hard to enjoy without our whole family. Once we returned and I spoke to the ticket lady about my refund she was apologetic but said they always tell groups to get there early. Placing the blame on us for the lack of seats. 45 mins wasn't early enough. I guess we should have camped out like it was Best Buy on Black Friday! Obviously no one really cared. On to the next money...