Dinner Cruise ~ Undecided

Thursday I went on an evening Octoberfest dinner cruise and I am stuck dead neutral when it comes to "rating" my experience. I am sure part of the problem is the fact we have a boat of our own and nothing beats the freedom of moving about with the wind in your hair. This brings me to my first con to the dinner cruise; the timing.

When you arrive and board the beer tasting begins. This is very nice. They do the beer tasting on the promenade deck and it's the perfect time of evening to be outdoors. They served local brews so we got to experience the taste of Tampa's finest. I'm not a big beer drinker but I enjoyed each one and all it's uniqueness.

As we pulled out towards Old Hillsborough Bay we were called down to dinner. Dinner was a pro to this adventure. An appetizer, salad, and entree are included in the price of the boat ticket. There is a gratuity you pay separately and a cash bar. The food was excellent. We had been a little apprehensive about dinner with a few special requests within our party. To our surprise there was a nice variety of choices. I had a baked Mahi Mahi. I prefer my Mahi Mahi blackened and tend to be picky when it comes to my fish. The slightest bit of fishy-ness and I'm done. This was a nicely sized, we'll baked Mahi Mahi filet. The sauce was light and it was very good. In addition, the broccolini and refreshingly small serving of mashed potatoes were all great. In the group there was a Cuban stuffed pork chop that was delicious although I could have done without the mustard in the sauce. There was a vegetarian salad that was great. The desserts were all very yummy. I also had a wonderful cocktail appropriately named Key Lime Pie and finished it off with another pineapple-y one named Love.

The boat ride itself is where most of the cons came in. Again, I want to be fair in saying my perception could be skewed since I am used to being out on our boat and have done the night's trip several times myself. The best time of the entire trip is and should be the sunset. Big issue here.. we were all down in the cabin for dinner during the sunset. We needed to be on deck for this. In true Florida fashion, it was another gorgeous sunset and we missed it. The dining area is surrounded by windows and we were lucky enough to get a window booth but it just wasn't what it could have been. In addition to the lowsy timing, they took the back route out to the bay. This puts Harbour Island in your view blocking the majority of the sunset. Moving on...you go out to the point where Old Hillsborough Bay and Tampa Bay meet, you linger, turn, then as dinner wraps up and everyone moves back on deck, you head back to dock.The ride back is actually one of my favorite routes. We headed back between Davis Island and Harbour Island. I was able to get a nice shot of Tampa Bay's skyline while we were out in the bay.

Tampa Bay, Fl

A dinner tip: if we were not paying attention, we could have been ripped off $50. I had a $50 tab and my friend had an $8 tab. I gave $50 cash and she gave a debit card. He brought back the receipts and gave us no change (my tab was really $47) and charged her $47. I told him of his mistake and offered an easy solution. I told him to give me back the $50 cash and I would just give it to my friend. Another friend at the table noticed the waiter pulled the cash out of his pocket when he returned it to me. I am sure he thought that because we were all having such a great time we wouldn't catch it. Thing is we have a great time anytime we are together and it has nothing to do with alcohol. We are just fun people who are comfortable letting our hair down and enjoying ourselves without worrying about being pretensious. Also, the cost of the trip isn't cheap. We snagged our tickets off living social for a great steal. So I am sure some people would have just signed their receipt. Unfortunately for him he ended up having to pay an $8 gratuity fee out of his own pocket. That's karma for ya. I didn't even think of that until now. I am sure he was just thankful we didn't report it to his boss. Now I am even more convinced it wasn't just a simple mistake.

If you want to have a nice dinner cruise experience, here is my advice. Hire a Captain who has his own boat to take you out or rent a boat (only if you know what you're doing). Pack a cooler with some champagne and strawberries and your favorite sunset picnic items. We usually take our favorite grocery's subs and some crackers. Find a spot out in the bay and drop anchor. Have some champagne and dinner as you watch one of the most beautiful sunsets you'll ever see.