I really hate to write this review because I've chartered a few times with Hot Spots over the past…read morefew years but today, I encountered one of the rudest guys and was really blown away by his attitude. I had a 6 hour private charter scheduled for me and my son for the 28th of this month. We come down for the PG World Series each year and close out our ball games with a fishing trip so as a mom, I plan ahead and booked this trip about a month or so ago. Because of all the rain forecasted, we decided to cancel this charter and take a trip to Tamarindo in July. I called to cancel the charter today, 9 days in advance and the guy laughed numerous times and said "that's 10 days away, but ok." I let him know I was well aware of the timeline and that we didn't want to take a chance on the rain. The possibility of storms was part of the reason but I also decided to just take a trip to Tamarindo and fish instead. The trip to Costa rica is 5 days and only $1700 more and we get a 10 hour fishing day so I thought it would be a cool experience for my son since he's already gone out with Hot Spots several times, this would be a little different. This review is based solely on the poor & rude service of the kid I spoke to today. I have had great experiences in the past but they were with Cash & Jason.

Bountiful morning of mostly catch-and-release fishing in the Guif of Mexico just off Pensacola…read moreBeach. Captain Daniel beelined from Shaggy's to the inlet and then out into the very tranquil Gulf for a great time. Fish of the day: a large amber jack. Runner up: a chunky remora with the coolest head. Also nice: a red-lipped lipstick fish. But the red snappers were plentiful as well, doing the food chain thing courtesy of the smaller catch. The season was open and apparently someone told the snapper. Average weight: eight or more pounds. Ambiance: a great boat on the open waters. A clever captain. All good. Service: Captain Daniel knew his spots and was an encyclopedia on marine life. We even saw about a dozen dolphin. Fi(ni)shing lines: this was our second time with Hot Spots and there will be more. Great folks.

Very friendly and helpful, prompt service. They topped off our cooler with ice and loaded our…read moresupplies on the boat. Guided us out and back in so we didn't have to be concerned with docking. A great experience!

The kids that run the place are great, but the boat wasn't nice. I even asked the kid if there was…read moreanother boat available but he said there wasn't. I was taking two ladies out for the afternoon and the seats were repaired by duct tape and pretty moldy. They were one of the lessor expensive rentals on the beach, I guess we know why.

Captain Tim is THE MAN!…read more My family and I sailed with Tim on July 3rd, 2025. Long story short, this was the best fishing trip any of us have ever been on! Tim met us at a location that was convenient for us and was perfectly on time. We went out about 4-5.miles and bait fished before heading to some wrecks to fish for snapper. We caught a BUNCH of fish! Tim was on top of the customer service and kept our hooks baited and and was on top of every fish coming over the rail. This was no small task as all four of my family members were fishing and there were fish being caught almost constantly. Tim had great stories about the area and about the adventure we were on. Tim is an outstanding Captain and generally a great guy. We traded stories about everything under the sun. We will absolutely be back every time we come to Pensacola!

What an experience! Accompanied by a few stray blue angels, you gotta love it & I love how safe Tim…read moremakes everyone feel! He read through the whole safety precautions & made sure everyone knew where everything was. On our way back, we even got to see a few dolphins!

Great time on a great boat. Skippy got us on the fish and the deck hands, Bobby and Matty, worked…read moretheir butts of to ensure we were taken care of while we fished. There's a food truck and small bait shop on site that sells the essentials (beer). What more do you need? We were also able to get ice there. The restrooms are hidden so you may need to ask for directions. No military discount.

Had a blast catching vermillion snapper on a 6 hour trip on 7/1/25. You couldn't ask for a better…read moreday on the water. No breeze and cloud covered sun. We didn't have to move to find fish as the Captain put us right on the fish and you don't leave fish to find fish. Will, Danny, Ryder, and Slater did an excellent job attending to the "fish on!" Calls. Open party boat had a blast with me, my father in law, brother in law and uncle. Good group as a whole with not too many tangles between fishermen or snags on the reef. The catch was divided evenly between all the fishermen. No monsters were caught which was the stipulation to make sure that went to the person that caught it. The lead deck hand Will was up front about that before we left the dock. No one had an issue with that and it made too much sense. Definitely will be back. Mom and pop run boat. Loved the 2 mousers they had at the shop who greeted us pre boarding and post fishing trip. Highly recommended and will be back for years to come.

We had the absolute BEST time on the Jolly Sailing & Dolphin Cruise!! I serve at a hotel restaurant…read moreon Pensacola Beach, and I can honestly say I will be recommending this to every single guest from here on out--it was THAT good. Mary was our tour guide, and she was truly something special. I wish I remembered the captain's name because he was so kind and welcoming too, but Mary completely made the experience unforgettable. She went out of her way to connect with every single group and person on the boat, and especially the kids. You can tell she genuinely loves what she does, and it shows in every little interaction. My son is 3 and usually stays to himself, but Mary picked him up, let him ring the bell, and everyone cheered for him--it was such a special moment that I'll never forget. As a mom, that meant everything* to me. The whole experience was so fun and interactive--we were waving or dancing every time we passed another boat, laughing nonstop, and just genuinely enjoying every second. The vibe from start to finish was so light, happy, and comfortable. The boat itself was super nice & spacious with comfortable seating, plus you could see everything from every angle, which made it easy to catch every encounter! Pro-Tip: come prepared with your best dolphin puns and your "dolphin call" because they WILL put you to the test This was hands down one of the best experiences we've had on Pensacola Beach. We will definitely be back, and I truly can't recommend it enough!!

We booked this tour through Viator a few days in advance. The team communicated ahead of time that…read morethe departure time could change or even be canceled due to weather. Our tour ended up being moved to an earlier time the day before. I did receive a couple of different text messages about the start time, which caused a little confusion on my end, but the crew communicated well and kindly waited for us before departing. The address synced perfectly with the gps to the exact departure location. Parking was free and available immediately by the dock area, but notes this will likely not be the case during peak tourist season. The tour itself was lovely. We had beautiful weather, and the crew was attentive and knowledgeable, sharing interesting history and stories about the bay throughout the ride. We saw dolphins and were able to capture plenty of videos and photos. This would be an especially beautiful tour to take in the evening to enjoy the sunset.

We have been on a variety of dolphin tours in various places along the Gulf of Mexico and the…read moreAtlantic Ocean, but NONE of them compares to this one!! We did the 1.5 to 2 hour Sunset Dolphin Cruise and had an absolute blast!! It was unbelievable how many dolphins we saw out in the bay! Five of them even swam with the boat when we were heading back!! We saw three jump out of the water and flip in the air! It was honestly like we were watching a movie instead of seeing it in real-life!! The sunset over the water was gorgeous as well!! I simply can't say enough about this cruise!! I very, very highly recommend!!! **Tips** ~ Reserve your spot online on their website to be sure the cruise/tour you are wanting to take doesn't fill up. ~ Bring some cash or your credit/debit card as there is an onboard snack bar. ~ There is a bathroom onboard, but it's similar to a porta-toilet, so you might want to make sure you use the restroom before boarding. ~ There is a Coast Guard-certified lady who shows everyone how to put on, fasten, tighten, and take off the life vests, as well as telling everyone where they are located onboard, if needed. Not every dolphin tour has life vests (we have taken a couple in the past that didn't), so this is important and just another positive about this company!

Very disappointed, boarded the boat that I was reserved with, then was told that it was a private…read moreBooking. The Thompson's . They went out but we did not on the back up boat. We went upstairs to have dinner at Shaggy's and that was even more disappointing. Skies cleared and it was obvious that the private boat was more important . Stopped here on purpose for the great revues. Makes me so sad. Please do better! We live close enough and are asked for recommendations . I understand that safety is imperative. But when other ships sailed and we didn't.......

Our captain was very friendly and determined for us to catch something. It was not necessarily the…read moregreatest day to be on the water fishing, but we still had a good time and caught a handful of fish and at the end of the day we all enjoyed the trip. Thank you!

Party of two. This was my very first dolphin cruise and I absolutely enjoyed it. The host (Charlie)…read morewas a pleasure and Cap. Mike took us out and brought us all back safely. These guys are very professional. Took the 2pm tour. Charlie knows the area well so we really enjoyed the fun facts that he shared. Can't wait to visit again. It will be well worth your time.

We all had a great time fishing with captain mike. He was very patient with my two grandchildren…read moreand we all caught fish! A wonderful time was had by all. Highly recommend!

We had an AMAZING TIME catching our limit of red snapper today with Captain Michael! THANK YOU for…read morebeing so very friendly, instructive, unbelievably quick and efficient with helping all of us (usually all at the same time!), all business when it came to catching all the fish we set out to catch, and for cleaning that big ole mess of fish in record time!!! We will be back for more...