An interactive, fun experience for families that have young children. I even noticed preteens having a blast. Unfortunately, for myself and my family we were sold on this idea of a pretty cool pirate ship that tours the island of Destin. Not at all with this ship does. This cruise is solely intended to entertain children while you explore a small area of the waters for example passing crab Island starting just a short distance away from Harbor Walk. We were lucky enough to see a dolphin take a quick flip above water, but if you blinked and missed it, which some people in my group did, then you missed it but it's not advertised as part of the experience so for those of us that saw it, we were lucky. I do find that there are many dolphins and you get to see them probably any day you're on the water. The ship is exceptionally clean, and I loved the laboratory facilities. Not your typical tiny bathrooms that you find on a boat. We did order the fast on boarding Tickets, which I did not feel were necessary. No one asked us for it and when we got to the ship, we were instructed to walk to the front just like everybody else and had to wait for one family to board ahead of us as they only board one group at a time. In my mind that family did not have a fast on boarding, however, who knows. We were not asked for the Pass and there was no line or sign to indicate what side to stand on if you had a fast on boarding. Maybe this is more valuable during peak season but definitely not now. read more

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We had a great time on the cruise! Brought the family to Destin and my girls wanted my grandson to experience a Pirate Cruise like they did when they were little. It was outstanding. The staff were all helpful and entertaining to all onboard that I saw. Interacting with as many guest as possible. Cracking jokes, dancing with the kids, training them to be a "Pirate". I would highly suggest this place for more than just the cruise. They are outstanding believers in Jesus Christ and also support missions. I am sure your family would enjoy everything about it. read more

Buccaneer Pirate Cruise - Boat Charters Near Me - Destin, Florida

We did this cruise in June 2026. Our two 5 year old grandsons had a ball. The pirate actors were incredible and believable. The kids participated in sword fights, water gun fights, a treasure hunt and more. This is a must do with kids. It is action packed the whole time and well worth the money! read more

The description on the website states it's for children of all ages. It clearly needs to be capped at age 6 or 7. The so called entertainment is meant for very little age children. It also states that it is a sunset cruise... we drove out past crab island and parked there for about 30-40 mins. We were certainly not cruising. The older children and parents were just sitting and baking in the sun. At most this entire experience should not cost more than $5 per person. This was the worst experience for me and my family. The worst $250 I've ever spent. I give them zero stars but it makes you select at least one. read more

Such an amazing time and what a great show. They held up the boat for a few minutes to add us to the tour and then treated my grown son as amazing as a young child. Added him to the show and they all had a blast. The crew provided a great show while performing jobs as a safety officer as well. The captain added to the show perfectly whoops steering the ship and the galley had a great selection of everything one would want. Great tourist adventures. read more

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This cruise was super fun! The cruise was interactive and entertaining! My kids had a blast! They had snacks and drinks available for purchase and there was a covered area with seating as well as seats in the sun. The performers and participants take place in the uncovered area. read more

Buccaneer Pirate Cruise - Boat Charters Near Me - Destin, Florida

My family and I enjoyed ourselves and the buccaneer pirate cruise. My daughters got to have an interactive event with the pirates and play games and be part of the show so that was excellent. We got to the high seas and have some drinks and really enjoy ourselves. read more

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This was a very fun and interactive pirate cruise. The staff clearly enjoys their job! Even with wild kids pointing things in their faces (where were the parents?!) they handled it very well. Highly recommend! read more

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Wonderful for the kids! Great drinks and concessions for the adults! Great time had by all ! Great actors!

Kids had an absolutely wonderful time!! All staff killed it. The food option is hotdogs, they are large but basic. The drink menu is solid. The "ship" is clean and pretty cool. read more

If you have kids that are under 10 with you this is worth every penny. We took my nephews, 6 and 14. The 6 year old had a blast. They keep the kids entertained for the whole hour and a half trip. You get to see Crab Island and the midway bridge. We purchased our tickets online and the boarding process was smooth. They start boarding 30 minutes prior to sailing time. There is food and drink and adult beverages on for sale onboard for purchase. You do have to pay for parking at the harbor walk ($20 all day) but you can come and go all day and only pay once. We went on the first sail of the day, it was not crowded at all. read more

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We were so looking forward to the pirate ship, but our son booked us for the night cruise to see the fireworks. This is different than the pirate sailing and the ship sails out about 10-15 minutes, anchors to see the show, then directly it's back to shore. It is not 5-star, but then again, it is not the pirate sailing. So no stars taken away because of this. But there were other issues. The female employee pirate was downright rude. We were seated where we couldn't get a good photo of the fireworks. She came and told us we had to move when we sought a better view. The other employee, the male pirate was very animated and excused her for her behavior. He played his role real well. This would have been a one-star review had he not intervened with her. read more

Buccaneer Pirate Cruise - I wish I had gotten this pirates name, he was great! - Boat Charters Near Me - Destin, Florida

Such an excellent for my kids, 3 and 5!! Even all of us adults enjoyed the show. The actors were really in character, very involved with the kids and all the kids had a wonderful time! A really great experience! My son has CP and they noticed right away he had a wheelchair and saved us a front row seat! They also let him go ahead for some things and were very inclusive. I very impressed with this crew and show! Thank you! read more

Buccaneer Pirate Cruise - My son dressed as a pirate! - Boat Charters Near Me - Destin, Florida

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This review is about the fireworks pirate cruise. 1) Parking- horrendous and if you are late- wave bye bye. We got there 45 minutes early and drove in circles waiting for parking. You need to arrive an hour before hand. Street parking is very limited. Give yourself LOTS of time. 2) Food- while we did not buy- it was very reasonable ($3 hotdog, $5 hot dog combo and $8 hotdog combo with a beer). Soda $2 3) Seating- terrible for fireworks unless you are on the top decks which only seat 25 people at the front and back. They do not let you go up to look. I was yelled at by a 'winch' (dressed up employee). I don't think it was an act either. They need better instructions when boarding they don't want you anywhere except your seat, the bathroom or the gift shop. So again, get there early if you want a top seat. 3) Fireworks- nice display to patriotic music and pretty close. They turn the lights out so you can see better. 4) pirate activity- very limited interaction towards the end as you are heading back. One cannon fire. Dancing and throwing 'treasures' - coins and jewels for the little ones. Be carful with little ones because older kids will clobber them or take coins. They ask for tips when you exit- so if you like it, have some cash. Age group- 6-10 is probably perfect. 5) Lines to board boat- you wait on the docks. Watch your kids so they don't fall in. The fishing boats are cleaning guts while you wait. I suggest your bring glow sticks and pirate wear to be in the spirit while you wait. Kids will go stir crazy waiting. I wouldn't go again unless I had a tranquilizer! To stressful. Again. Parking nightmare. When you come in and the instructions they give you said where to park and the attendant tells you it is full. Is there other parking?? Blank stare. read more

Buccaneer Pirate Cruise - Fireworks from below deck - Boat Charters Near Me - Destin, Florida

Crew were great. Fun for all ages with kids. Great drinks too! Can't go wrong for 2 hours of fun.

My wife and I took the kids to this cruise and I gotta say, it was actually a good time! The crew were all professional, stayed in character at all times, they were all very friendly and cared about everyone's safety. They really did a great job keeping the kids and parents entertained the whole time, I will say the one thing they could maybe make a bit better was to add some speakers in the snack area or something because when the engine was going it was hard to hear what the pirates were saying sometimes. My daughter enjoyed every bit of this 2 hour cruise, she interacted with everything they had the kids do, water gun fight, sword fight, hula hooping, etc. it was great to watch her having fun! If you're wondering about if this is something you want to do or not, or if you're kids are wanting to do it, I highly recommend doing this cruise, we enjoyed it very much! read more

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First off, this is a kids cruise! The wife and I just had to take a ride on the pirate ship, the sales lady went out of her way to tell us this is a kids cruise. We went anyway. If you don't want to get wet, do not stay on the main deck! The kids on board had a ball, learning how to be Pirates, how to use pistols and swords, swab the deck, and hoist sunken treasure! And for the grandparents, and maybe the parents, there are adult beverages for sale on the aft deck. And the music playing on board was hilarious. Especially when the started playing the theme from Deadliest Catch while hauling up sunken treasure! Priceless!!! read more

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MUST DO if you have lit kids! Super fun!! The kids had a blast in this interactive Pirate Ship. The pirates engage with the crowd, kids and adults to find the treasure. Some of the "rewards" include face painting and a medal. Smoothies, sodas and snacks are sold inside the pirate ship as well as pirate items like hats, bandanas , eye patches and swords . Would recommend stopping by the dollar store and getting your "pirate"supplies before hand. Don't forget your sunscreen because you'll need it! This was definitely the highlight of our trip! read more

Buccaneer Pirate Cruise - Charlie the Pirate welcoming the guests! - Boat Charters Near Me - Destin, Florida

This is a great event for children and families. Probably too young for teenagers. It's a participation event and keeps the kids busy the whole time. The crew did an excellent job. They made a comment at the end about tips (which we did give), but I am hoping they are also paid a living wage as they deserve it. It was a great "show" for everyone. They had a bar, snacks and souvenirs for sale. Unfortunately, I was not aware until after the purchase of our souvenir photo goes to christian missions. I was told it goes to charity at the time of purchase and when I asked which charity, the person rattled off a few and I was ok with it. Heed their notice about arriving an hour and a half early as parking is crazy and may cost $10. There may be public parking across the street, but I don't know how far away or availability. read more

The Buccaneer crew gave our family incredible hospitality and lots of laughs and memories. This is a very organized and well run experience. The kids were engaged the whole time. The ship and the bathrooms were all very clean. They even took extra care for my son who has high functioning autism, gave him some headphones to wear to help block the cannon noise. They give you plenty of warning but the extra hearing protection made him able to enjoy everything even more. They have truly refined and planned everything to the last detail. There are as even a treasure chest we got to pull out of the sea. This was well worth every penny and we will be talking about this for years to come. Can hardly wait to go back and do this again in the future! read more

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Great experience for young kids. They enjoyed ALL of the activities. We did a 9am in June which was still a little uncomfortably hot but there's a slight breeze on the water. Just keep the heat in mind. The treasure activity was air conditioned, though. Booking was easy online and had excellent directions for parking and finding it on the dock. Highly recommend! read more

Best Experience for the Money! For $30-$35 bucks here's what you get. 1. you get to ride on a pirate ship in the ocean for a solid 2 hours experience 2. you get to watch a theatrical production put on by a handful of actors that really do a great job, and while its geared towards the kids they are in character the entire time and really awesome to watch. 3. they offer a hotdog, chips and drink combo for $5 bucks you cant beat that. Entertainment for the whole family. Honestly I thought the experience was a great one and id consider it again for the price just to get out on the water for a few hours. It was really a fun experience and definitely worth it for adults and kids. The only drawback here is the boat leaves on time and doesn't wait for you. You are able to reserve again without losing your money if they have seats for the next time available. Parking here is roughly $10 bucks as well with an insane line also so take that into account. We ended up missing our boat having to reserve the next day but didn't lose our money. Thats way cool of this place. Again top notch and would do again absolutely. read more

Parking was a nightmare for the nighttime fireworks cruise. Complete chaos on board with a woman working the deck who is very unpleasant with the visitors who paid to have a good time. I would not recommend the night time fireworks cruise. Save your sanity. read more

This cruise was fun for small children (ages 2&4). The show was cute and they had activities geared to keep the kids entertained. There was face painting, a treasure story, swabbing the deck, hula hooping, finding treasure, as wells as singing and dancing. I would say for older children it might not be something fun for them but for small children it's great. The gift shop offers souvenirs as well as snacks, drinks, and alcohol. read more

This tour was fun. I loved how the crew interacted with everyone especially the kids (pirates in training). Highly recommend and very great scenic boat ride read more

Fun for the kids!!! Kept them entertained for 90 minutes, this gave time for the adults to relax and maybe enjoy an adult beverage.

The actors/hosts never broke character. We saw dolphins, the kids found treasure, we ordered hot dogs and. Hips during the cruise. Such a fun experience. read more

If you have the spending money available and you've got young children who enjoy pirate tales, then I would recommend this cruise. Our cruise was over 2 hours long, but the time goes by quick enough. The show is kid-focused and they have activity after activity for the kids, all the while following a storyline. On our cruise, the kids aboard ranged from older 2s through about 6yo, and that seemed about the right age for the imagination needed to follow along with the story. The crew is great with kids; they stayed in character the entire cruise (even when adults were chatting them up), and even one of mine was nervous to board the ship and a crew member put him at ease. Alcohol on board is priced more reasonably than I was expecting. Draft beer was $5, and decent quality mixed drinks were $8-9. Water with ice was free, much to my surprise. read more

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I thought this was going to be so cheesy, but we had such a good time. I even saw some adults with no kids join, they must have been so bored, haha. They really planned this to be interactive and engaging for the full time you're on boat. The staff never lost character and was so funny. Also if you're hungry, there's snacks sold on the boat. read more

Great experience and perfect if you have kids because the cruise is interactive and caters to their participation. Pirates stayed in character the entire time and did a wonderful job. We plan on coming back once our toddlers are older read more

This was so awesome! They involved the kids and parents. So much fun. They are like real pirates--acting was phenomenal (accents were so real). It was a good show for adults too--kind of a comedy duet. Highly recommend it for kids AND adults. They have a bar too. read more

This was so much fun for both my kids ages 5 and 3.5. Singing, dancing, jokes, interactive, water gun fights, scrubbing the poop deck, sword fights, pulling treasure out of the ocean, face painting. So much fun. Dolphin viewing too. Adult drinks on board, hotdogs for the kids and fountain drinks. read more

It was fun. My kids enjoyed it. Excellent replica of a pirate ship. The crew definitely kept the kids entertained and engaged and were nice to my kids. I also appreciate the snack bar on board. Two things I did NOT care for: Smoking on the ship. This should not be allowed. It's a pirate ship. That means lots of kids. Inevitably my growing babies have to inhale your disgusting habit when we are stuck on a boat with you for two hours. Seriously need to ban it, Buccaneer! At the very end of the cruise they gave a schpeel on thanks for coming, yada yada..Then I hear a few lines of "jesus loves you..." and some other ramblings. While I'm all for everyone feeling warm and fuzzy, this is not the place. If this is that type of place, it should be stated somewhere that it is a Christian orientated cruise. This Jew didn't care for that. All in all, most people will enjoy it. Been there, done that. Next time I think I'll rent a pontoon boat. I'm not into crowds and fighting for a seat. read more

Buccaneer Pirate Cruise - Boat Charters Near Me - Destin, Florida

Definitely a must do when visiting Destin. Kids enjoyed this so much! And the pirates stayed in character the whole time. Refreshments were reasonably priced with free refills on drinks. A ton of fun for the whole family ! read more

Buccaneer Pirate Cruise - Cruise ship - Boat Charters Near Me - Destin, Florida

This is a must for families with children 5-8 years old and worthy of strong consideration within 2 years of that range. The staff was funny well rehearsed and constantly kept the kids busy. They made both of my boys feel important and included and both the 5 year old and 21 month old had a blast. What can beat face painting, stabbing the deck, water gun fights, sword fights, and finding treasure!! The staff was clearly concerned about the kids safety, prices for pirate gear on board was not required but very reasonably priced, soft drinks had free refills, and there was ample seating. To the rare trolls who I found on sites giving them 1 star... 1) the ship was not overcrowded. We took many pics and videos of the kids and never had a problem finding a seat. 2) they are not sexist (they had girls get face painting while boys did swordfighting then switched. They all did the same activities in the end. 3) If you don't like their inspirational message go in the shop for the 30 Seconds they talk. 4) we hydrated our kids several times during the cruise. As a parent you can get them drinks or have them take a short break. The whole show doesn't have to stop for this. My only suggestion is to be prepared for weather. A cruise was cancelled the day before due to rain and it was 92 degrees during our tour. There is 1 fan in the shop which we truly appreciated, but if it is really hot out your want to bring something to keep cool. read more

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Great crew, great views. Our 10 year old autistic son has been fascinated with the Buccaneer since he first saw it, and we finally went. He was worried about the pirates, and they worked extra hard (went overboard?) to make him more comfortable- everything from bringing the toys they were handing out up to where he was, to asking his name so they could address him by it. An adventure that started out with some difficulty ended with him high-fiving the Gypsy/Princess/Pirate on they way out. Thanks to their efforts it's a great memory for us- thank you! read more

Buccaneer Pirate Cruise - View from the top front deck - Boat Charters Near Me - Destin, Florida

Fun little ship ride. The "cruise" is based for children, although they do have alcohol! Fun experience

My children love the Pirate Cruise! We've gone on it twice so far and the second time was just as fun as the first. The employees are super active and keep our interest held. Even as an adult, I love it. read more

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Lots of fun for the kids, a great way to pass 2 hours. Parents can get a drink at the bar while the kids play. Definitely recommend.

Went as a family and brought our nephew for his birthday on this pirate excursion. It was so fun! Even for the whole family. They serve alcohol on board - it was not exorbitant prices like I expected it to be. They cruise and do kid things and even pull out a treasure chest from the water! So cool! Towards the end they bring you in right for the perfect view of the sunset to watch on the water. It was beautiful! read more