I am so sorry to read this review and that you guys did not have a great time.  I spoke to your captain about your trip and he was extremely shocked to hear you were not happy.  To call this a “$800 pontoon ride to a small over crowded beach” is shocking.  First let’s be clear, you did not go to a beach you were driven to an island “Keewaydin Island” (where there is a Food boat, Bar boat, ice cream boat) where your captain expressed to you that if you guys wanted to do shelling and some swimming that you would need to go there first as your trip was on the busiest week of the year. (Easter week/Spring Break) Your captain knew he would not be able to get the boat on the island as the day went on.  He also told you that you could do some fishing off the boat down there but that he can take you to fishing spots when you were done on the island.  He stated to me that the 2 kids took off with the poles to the end of the island and was fishing down there.  He also stated you guys were shelling (brought a bag of shells) and appeared to be having fun and never said anything to him. 
In reference to your “single dolphin” on the way back.  While it is unusual to not see more dolphins, it is nature and this is not Sea World where we can que the dolphins for a show.  No where can we guarantee you will see manatees and dolphins, however we have a high rate of seeing them from our previous reviews. 
You reference your ride to the beach was though a “small canal with mangroves”,  the “intercoastal” is not a canal.  You were in Rookery Bay.  The Rookery Bay reserve is managed by DEP’s Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and includes two aquatic preserves: Rookery Bay Aquatic Preserve and Cape Romano-Ten Thousand Islands Aquatic Preserve.  A myriad of wildlife, including 150 species of birds and many threatened and endangered animals, thrive in the estuarine environment and surrounding upland hammocks and scrub of the reserve. That’s a far cry from a “canal”(which canals are man made).  I wish you would have contacted us to express your disappointment as I would have been happy to offer you something to make for a better experience for all of you.  I express to everyone when booking this boat that it’s more designed for sightseeing/island and some fishing as it’s not a designated fishing boat.  I would highly recommend in the future trying a fishing boat so you guys can target the fishing and maybe going out into the “open water”.  Again I am sorry about this.

I am so sorry to read this review and that you guys did not have a great time.  I spoke to your captain about your trip and he was extremely shocked to hear you were not happy.  To call this a “$800 pontoon ride to a small over crowded beach” is shocking.  First let’s be clear, you did not go to a beach you were driven to an island “Keewaydin Island” (where there is a Food boat, Bar boat, ice cream boat) where your captain expressed to you that if you guys wanted to do shelling and... More