Tampa Speed Boat Adventures — Local services in Saint Pete Beach

I was excited to go on the speed, boating adventure tour as a birthday event. Upon arriving the tour guide called us on the phone 15 minutes before our appointment time when we were right up the street. Once we arrived, he was standing at the end of the plank with an obvious attitude. We were about 10 minutes ahead of our scheduled time, he asked if we had filled out the waiver but we had not. He pointed to the board and told us to follow the website and fill out the waiver, which we did. It took all of two minutes, so once we were done he told us to move to the side so that he can explain to the other couple the rules and instructions. Once he did that he showed us to the boat, gave us some more information and then helped us into the boat. Then he told us to pull on out and do some practicing. From the time we pulled out until the time we returned back on six different occasions he scolded me and my friend for unnecessary things. He initially told us do not give the boat Gas, then I told him I couldn’t hear him on our radio. He told me don’t worry about that just pay attention to what he was saying. He spoke to us as though we were toddlers he was very demeaning very disrespectful, and obviously extremely prejudice/ racist. Then after telling me not to add gas to the boat when we got further out, he sped off extremely fast and the couple behind him sped up as well but I was going on the regular speed that he told me to go which means they were far away from us. He then circled back and says to me are you gonna be able to do this do you have a problem following instructions? I said why he said because you’re so far behind I said, you told me don’t give it that much gas and he says well you need to follow directions. If I go fast, you go fast I said I did follow directions. His attitude was extremely rude and disrespectful. I will never recommend this service to anyone of color and I will never use it again And at the end of all of his disrespect and demeaning behavior, he had the audacity to tell us that we can give him a 20%...

Do you think you have done everything well? How about adding the ability to drive a speed boat to your list? Well, that's exactly what I did. This was just flipping amazing. The location is a little off the beaten path. However, it has a beautiful beach right next to it, so if you show up early enough or stay after, there is basically a "local" beach, and it's beautiful. You want to show up a little early for the safety briefing and to take some great pics. You can bring whatever except alcohol or weapons so if you want to bring some water you can. I had no idea, so I didn't. Also, I would recommend great pockets or a fanny pack because you can't set your phone on the seat as it will slide into the back of the boat and be gone. I put mine in my shorts pocket between pics and videos. This is so cool. You are taught by a wonderful captain who has 30+ years of experience in the industry. "Bring some cash to tip him" He will lead you on a jet ski into the open water waters of Tampa Bay. You will get almost 45 minutes of high-speed boating excitement. Make sure to watch for any waves and follow all the tips and rules you learn in the beginning, and you will have a time of your life. You will go past places you can't see on land and experience going under bridges while being able to say, "I know how to drive a boat now." That's a bucket list if you ask me. I would highly recommend this thrilling adventure next time you are in Tampa. It really is like a Segway tour with speedboats!!! I went when it was like 65 degrees out, and with the sun, it was perfect. I recommend sunscreen and maybe a secure hot in the summertime. You must try this, though!! If this review helped you at all, please mark as helpful and follow me for more reviews...

The FAQ on the website says it's "no problem" if you've never driven a boat before and that the "boats are very simple to operate." That is a lie. During my briefing, I was only given a couple minutes of instruction on boat controls and most of that was on the throttle. The ONLY instructions on steering were "turn the wheel left to steer left, turn right to steer right" and nothing else.

Once my boat was pushed away from the dock, I immediately had difficulty getting it to go in the direction I wanted it to as the boat was constantly drifting to one side or the other, meaning that at idle I was only able to do wide S-curves while struggling for control.

I flagged the guide down as he caught up to us to try to ask for assistance. He WILDLY overreacted; instead of offering advice, he towed me back to the dock and kicked me off the tour claiming I was a danger to myself and that he had given complete instructions on steering containing everything I needed to know (again, those instructions were nothing more than "turn left to steer left, turn right to steer right"). Even when I pointed out that I was having trouble and that clearly it wasn't enough, he doubled down on this obviously false claim.

Not only am I out the cost of the experience itself, but I'm also out over $100 for Uber rides there and back from my hotel in Indian Rocks Beach (surge rates because of Gasparilla) and I have lost three-quarters of a day in my two-day vacation from Ohio. I could have spent that time on the beach or doing other fun things.

Bottom line: don't waste your money here unless you already have experience operating speedboats. I'd give zero...