Just got back from a 3 hr back bay fishing with Captain Tony and Dale. Honestly a great time and perfect for a family. We have 6 & 4 year old boys who enjoyed every minute. Dale let the kids help out the crab traps, showed them the fish that everyone caught and was very attentive with all the customers. Captain Tony is a wealth of knowledge and very personable. Great value for 3 hours and awesome crew!! We left from the Cape May dock and very convenient. We will definitely do again!!! read more

Great afternoon fishing trip. We caught one Trigger fish, (2) sea bass, and a porgy fish. Could use some upgrades on the ship bathrooms (missing sink in men's bathroom). Beyond this the trip was great. Staff very accommodating. I would come here again. read more

Excellent night fishing trip. Captain was very friendly and tried hard to get us on the fish. Mates were great with help and tips. We didn't catch the biggest fish but it was a lot of fun. Boat is very clean and would recommend. read more

The staff was very honest and said that they rarely see any whales so I didn't have my hopes up. We did see lots of dolphins which was cool! The boat captain made sure we were always close to the group and kept moving the boat for better views. Overall it was just nice to get out on the water, to feel the waves, the cool wind blowing in the hot sun. Plenty of seating and standing areas, inside and outside. The staff were friendly and informative. read more

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Great location but don't eat here. Served frozen fish from Costco? Clam chowder from a can? Food in plastic containers. Water only available for purchase. Worst dining experience in Wildwood. read more

We love the whale watching-dolphin tour portion of the dinner buffet cruise (except for the cheesy YMCA portion through the Lobster House waters). The renovation of the business's building space is spectacular! But the food menu changes, not so much. I bet Costco's happy, though, that Starlight's buffet is comprised now solely of Costco items. Having all the food on one deck instead of a buffet on each deck makes sense for consolidation, but only if the food was hot (hell, even if it was warm). But everything was cold ... even the chicken fingers and pigs in the blanket. Hubby said the "prime rib" (which it wasn't ... it was roast beef at best) tasted old. And if you're a vegetarian, you're screwed. Nada for you. And the beer was warm. Looks like after 5 years we won't be doing the dinner cruise anymore, opting instead for the straight whale watching/dolphin tour. Shame, as this had become a late August tradition for us. :( read more

Allie and Matt were the BEST! I didn't catch anything but had a great time; very knowledgeable, helpful, present and interactive. First time going out with a group of people, so I was expecting chaos with so many people fishing but it was great. read more

Starlight Fleet - Boating Near Me - Wildwood, New Jersey

Very disappointed regarding a recent trip. My brother in law was exposed to some of his friends that came down with Covid. So he and his wife self quarantined for 10 days. He was supposed to fish with me on an offshore trip. The problem with the Starlight Fleet they are the only ones that can cancel a trip. You as an angler can't change dates, cancel your trip or move it to another date. They have 100% control and can cancel up to the last minute. I notified them 3 days prior to the trip about the situation. Never heard back but the day of the trip they charged my cc for him not going. I spoke with a person told her about the Covid and her response was "anyone could use that excuse just not to go". That basically told me that they thought I was lying about the situation. I understand they have policies but when dealing with Covid there needs to be some common sense used. If that is their customer service I will not be fishing with them again. I feel the proper thing would have been just to issue him a credit toward a future trip. Especially with all the problems regarding the virus. read more

Sailed on the dolphin watch sunset cruise on Friday night August 31. Threatening weather, but off we went. The Captain (and owner) went out of his way to ensure a safe and smooth journy, and for the most part we dodged the weather! The crew was just wonderful Well trained, and jovial. The young man who takes the mic and spots the dolphins and acts as the tour guide was just delightful. It was a special occasion for our family's mom, who was turning 80. All 5 of her daughters, a couple hubs, and 12 grandchilden on board, and it was just perfect! We all got a turn at the wheel. We also danced the night away :) Ella at the bar (who we kept busy!) was a very special young lady. I highly recommend you sign up as well! read more

It has been 10 years since we've taken a Starlight Dolphin Cruise and it was even better than I remember it! The crew was personable and helpful, and very knowledgable about the coastline and marine animals. We ordered our tickets easily online & they even had a 2fer special that we took advantage of. There were 5 of us - two adults and three children - and we all learned a lot and had fun. The captain did a great job of maneuvering the boat so everyone aboard had a chance to see all the dolphins (and there were a lot!). My only complaint was that this boat is not "smoke free". There was couple who chose to stay right up at the front of the boat on the first level and were vaping most of the trip. Their stink was blowing back over the whole boat and a couple of families moved away from them. We were on the top level and we still smelled it! I do wish the crew had asked them to stop. read more

A day out with my wife. We booked the Whale & Dolphin Cruise. Not a Whale in sight. No apologies from the crew. No explanation of what might have happened. After speaking with Mary the manager, she blamed it on the time of the year. This info would have been very useful if it was provided prior to the purchase of this cruise. Educate yourself before you book. Maybe someday they will change the name to something less leading. read more

We went on the Dolphin cruise today, The staff was so friendly. We saw tons and I mean tons of dolphins. I got some great photos. I can't wait to go again next year. read more

My older daughter and I have gone on fishing trips with the Starlight Fleet for years now. We always have a good time, even though I hardly ever catch a fish. Our last trip, August 8th, my daughter won the "pot" for catching the biggest fish... first time in years lol. Although a really big catch is rare, the crew is definitely first-rate. If you watch the mates, you'll see some extreme patience. Yesterday we were next to a family with 5 young children and one of the mates (I forgot to get his name) helped them almost the entire time. Rick, one of the long-time mates knows every darn thing about the fish you catch on the boat. Captain Ernie is friendly and it's always fun when he comes and socializes with the guests on board. This is a great activity for the kids and novice fishermen/women (I am still considered a novice lol), but the repeat customers (like us) are there because of the great crew. Just please remember to always tip the mates when you leave the boat, no excuses! We'll be back again this summer.... with a dessert for the crew! read more

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I wanted to use my LivingSocial voucher while I was visiting my in-laws in Wildwood, however there were many restrictions. Staff was not accommodating whatsoever. I would expect a better customer experience given how businesses are suffering during this pandemic. Drove across the bridge to Cape May as a last minute resort and walked on the Sea Star III with open arms and everyone on the boat caught fish. I come to Wildwood often and for me, booking with Starlight Fleet is not worth the hassle. read more

Went on the dinner cruise. Good food and music very friendly staff great captain. Lets the kids take control of the boat and some adults too. Great price for what you get. Would definitely recommend for all. Families, girls night out and seniors. Drinks not expensive. On a clear night the sunset is amazing read more

I would not recommend purchasing Groupon for this business. I purchased several Groupons and have not been able to get the vouchers to work. When I entered the voucher numbers on the website they came up as invalid numbers. I tried multiple times to contact Groupon via email and chat, and they answer with a "we will get back to you." Needless to say, they have not, and more than a week has passed. Groupon no longer has a telephone where the customer can contact by phone. I contacted the merchant, dark star pirate cruises, twice. On my first contact I was told by a woman who answered my call that "nobody can get those Groupons to work", but she refused to help me with my booking issue. On my second contact I spoke with Anthony, who stated there was nothing he could do for me. I do not understand a business who accepts Groupon, and yet refuses to help a customer in need. I am sorry to say, I will be never do business with either again. read more

Bought a Groupon ($45 for 4-hour fishing for two) and honestly will never go back on this boat again even if the Groupon is $0. Not a bad ride if u want to "cruise" the water but if u actually want to catch fish, don't waste ur time or money (AGAIN, no matter how cheap it is). This past Sunday morning at 8am the boat had 55+ people on it and aside from spending most of the day tangled in other people's line (at least 12 people's lines were all tangled together immediately after the first drop) the captain put the boat where there were no fish. 55+ people on the boat, most with 2 hooks per rod (110+ hooks), 4 different stops and only 3 king fish caught plus a handful of 5-7 inch shark. Understandably you can't always catch fish but the aggravating part is that my buddy and I paid to go on the 12:00 trip on the same day as well and although no one caught fish in the AM, the captain took this new group (about 45-47 people) to the EXACT same coordinates with the same results although this trip there were 5 fish caught. Kingfish have no minimum limit so all 5 caught were kept but ironically enough, after filleting the largest one, the mate was told to just feed it to the seagulls bcuz it was so puny. There are MANY other FISHING boats to go on if u actually want a captain that knows where fish are or is willing to adapt and try different spots if the day, weather, etc dictates. With this boat I get the feeling that he's raking in cash hand over fist due to Groupon filling up his 3 daily trips but doesn't really care much if anyone catches anything. Terrible experience read more

Starlight Fleet - 1 example of the nonstop tangles. Not all the captains fault but partly due to an overcrowded boat & inexperienced fishermen - Boating Near Me - Wildwood, New Jersey

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I recently went fishing on the Starlight out of Wildwood Crest. My family had the time of their lives! The friendly ticket staff and the knowledgeable captain and crew members made our fishing experience unforgettable. We are beginner fishers and the captain and crew members were very patient with helping my son and I learn to fish, and were more than happy to help and direct us in any way that we needed. The crew members even cleaned that fish we caught so we can bring it home! I can wait to bring my family back next year! read more

I had my doubts when we got the Groupon for this trip. "We won't see anything" "we will be bored" well...I was wrong!!! The captain was excellent. The staff was excellent. We saw a couple of birds and of course we saw dolphins. I didn't go there expecting to see any whales so I wasn't disappointed. The captain gave some history on the landmarks we passed. We did the 2 hour trip. I could have staying out there all day. My nieces, ages 3 and 5, weren't too excited they probably would have enjoyed the pirate ship. I will go back again for sure. Maybe even just take a day trip. Two thumbs ups!! read more

Our starlight pirates rocked out. They were funny and so nice and accomadating to my son and sister (has a disability). 5 stars for the crew and their captian!!!!! read more

Took a 4 hour deep sea fishing trip. The experience was average. It was much more of a boat ride than fishing. It takes an hour or so before you start fishing and the boat will continue to relocate throughout the trip. Its a minimum of 2.5 hours of travel. I wouldn't do this more than one or two times. Plenty of options in Wildwood! read more

I don't understand why there are so many positive reviews but I spent 5 hours driving today from New York to Cape May to show whales to my kids ( I also asked over the phone when booked if there is any whales and they said YES!) we saw many Dolphins next to the boat parking and after that all trip was super boring. Junk food, poor quality drinks and NOTHING to WATCH ! Complete waste of time and $$$ ! Stay away ! My kids were still very disappointed because we just get from Florida where is Dolphins are common ..... read more

This company refused to honor my livingsocial voucher for a Saturday night dolphin watching buffet cruise; stating they had "no more reservations available." After researching online and finding that there was in fact still reservations available for purchase for the requested event and time, I called back and was told that they had "reached their limit of allowable vouchers for that night!" Therefore, if I wanted to pay the $40 per person, I was welcome to PURCHASE the reservations, but they would not honor my prepaid vouchers! I advised them how that was quite unfair since their was an expiration date on the vouchers and quite unprofessional of them not to honor them when requested; especially if there was still reservations available for purchase. Unfortunately, they would rather have empty placements on their ship, than honor the pre-purchased voucher! The two individuals who I spoke to on the phone were very rude and continued to give "suggestions" of how I should "plan ahead," by MONTHS apparently since the vouchers being used that evening were reserved in APRIL!!! And advising me to request a different night of the week and that then they MAY have space available .... Yes, that's right, MAY have space available for vouchers. Very disappointed with this companies lack of honoring their contracted obligation to the promotional advertisement they were given through livingsocial, and their refusal to redeem my vouchers! read more

I had a Groupon for the Starlight 4 hour fishing trip, which was almost a 2 for 1 deal. I went out with my 8 year old son and my dad for some bottom fishing. The parking was right at the dock and was great. The boat was clean and filled up pretty well. I'd say there was 40+ people fishing on board. We left right on time for the morning trip and went out about an hour to the fishing grounds. There were a bunch of other boats fishing the same area, so I assume we fished a known reef/wreck. We all rented rods, and my rod had a small tangle in it. Luckily it had enough line to reach the bottom, but not by much. I probably should've switched it out, but just went with it. People started catching fish right away, although there weren't a lot of keepers. The deck mates were attentive, but really busy, so it good service, but wasn't exactly 5-star service. When the captain came around, he was very helpful and tried to give some pointers, too. He was really good and a lot friendlier. Fishing slowed down after the first wave of catches, but it was a great day just to be out on the water since it was so hot back on land. In the end, the three of us only caught about 5-6 fish (fluke, sea bass, rays) between all of us, but no keepers. I might give them a try again, and would definitely buy a Groupon for them, if they came up again. (Remember to book early with Groupons, everyone waits until the last minute to use them up!) Or I might try an 8-hour trip to have more time out on the water. read more

Bought a Groupon. Called to schedule 2 weeks before expiration. They were booked. Told me "nothing we can do about it". Eff that! I'll do some deep sea fishing with someone who doesn't have that type of attitude towards their customers. read more

Let me start off by saying I think a lot of my disappointment was because of others and not the trip itself, but after 3 hours things started getting to me. I would definitely go again, if I was on a boat alone. We left right on time and within a half hour we saw dolphins all around us. That part of the trip was great, everyone was laughing and having a great time. After a while we turned and started out to sea to look for whales. I was sitting outside very excited, then things went bad. All of the people sitting inside were vomiting, my husband started feeling sea sick and laid down for a nap. I waited a bit in there while my son tried to eat a hot dog but the room kept having more pukers come in. Finally I had to go sit outside, so I left my husband (who was awake but could not sit up) and son and tried to go sit outside. It was quiet, no one was talking and everyone I saw was either sleeping or puking. Two hours in I asked one of the staff if this was normal, he said people get sea sick but this was almost everyone. I was apparently one of a handful of those on this particular ride that was not sick. At one point my son came out and since he was fine we were laughing and people around me got annoyed. I guess I was supposed to pay $65 to sit in silence? I was told people upstairs were fine, but I didn't want to go too far in case my husband started getting sick. Now, this is not the fault of the staff. It was also not the fault of any other passengers. No one intended to be sick I am sure. It was a lot of money to spend to be on a boat that I felt like I had to sit in silence on. The ride, for me, was a lot of fun. Just beware that a 3 hour trip can be a very long 3 hours if there is a boat full of sick people. read more

We have taken Starlight Fleet tours fishing trips, but this was our first Dolphin Watching Buffet Cruise. It was amazing! We will never go on any of the other cruises again. This was by far the absolute best one we have been on and we have been on quite a few. We've even been on others that say they are a "dinner" cruise when all it is is pizza and hot dogs. This was a buffet of sliced prime rib, turkey, pulled pork, crab balls, shrimp cocktail, pigs in a blanket, fruit kabobs, pasta salad, and more that I can't remember. It was excellent! We saw many dolphin and the Captain was knowledgeable and humorous. The crew was excellent and even came around with individual drink service. We had such a good time! read more

We took the two hour dolphin and whale watching tour using a Groupon on a Monday morning. I knew from reading other reviews not to expect to see whales, so I wasn't disappointed there. Why they continue to say dolphin and whale watching in their advertising, I'm not sure. However, the tour exceeded my expectations. We had our two young kids along who got to drive the boat for a minute and play with with the sea animals in a tank. We saw plenty of dolphins and the tour guide was very informative about the dolphins and history and sites of Cape May. Great crew and service. A relaxing morning, and I highly recommend! read more

I am reviewing for my experience on the Starlight Fleet's Dark Star pirate cruise. I have spent every summer of my 33 years in Wildwood & have never experienced this fun cruise option until now. Boy have I missed out! Our three "pirates", the captain, Silky, & Wet Dog, rocked their characters far beyond what I would expect for a Wildwood production. They didn't skip a beat for the hour they entertained us, playing to adults & kids alike. I cracked up the whole time, & the kids (ranging from 3 to 9) loved it...especially when they pulled the treasure out of the bay. Everything was just so expertly executed. I'm just so sorry we didn't have enough cash on hand to tip them. I'm sure they aren't paid what they're worth. Definitely go, & definitely bring at least $5-$10 a person to tip generously! read more

I really enjoyed taking this cruise and watching the dolphins. They had a buffet with a variety of foods including hamburgers and hot dogs, pasta and potato salad, chicken nuggets and fried fish to name a few items. The food was OK wasn't bad and wasn't amazing but most buffet style meals are average to below average IMO. The round trip lasted almost three hours. It was kid friendly and many families were on the cruise. It was a sunset cruise which led to beautiful picture opportunities. They had soft and alcoholic beverages and there was music and some dancing on the way back. I would recommend this for anyone who wants a nice night out. read more

Buyer beware ... Bought groupon kids excited to go yet no one will return calls to make reservation. Have been tryin since May of this year, well over a dozen times. They got my money they had no problem there. read more

The most relaxed I have been in years. Parking was free and the staff were knowledgable and friendly. My only feedback for improvement was or the on boat food selection was a little too basic and unhealthy. But it was a fantastic day overall. read more

We took our granddaughter on the sunset/dolphin watching cruise last Friday and absolutely loved it! The crew were all nice, professional and very informative, the food was great the sail was diverse and beautiful and the captain let the kids drive the boat! I highly recommend this tour and this line for anyone who likes to have a good time in the beautiful waters. I will be back! read more

Very nice way to spend an afternoon. The crew and team at the dock were extremely nice. The crew shared lots of interesting information about the dolphins, the area and whales. We saw lots of dolphins...no whales, but, the trip was still fun. My husband and I took our 18-year-old son and daughter and 15-year-old son. Don't miss the touch tank....good for kids and adults alike. read more

If you like catching small sea bass and skate then this is the boat for you! You only get about 15 min of fishing at each spot and only tried about 4 spots. Captain was rude and mates were honest about not catching any keepers. My advice, look else where. read more

Hands down my favorite thing to do in Wildwood. My kids are 1 and 8, and both loved the pirate cruise. The pirates(jinx, Billy, and the captain) were fun, engaging, and incredibly intuitive, and our boat driver (Mickey) was informative and kind. They knew when to just let my 8 year old keep to herself, and when to engage her, and as a result, she had a great time. They even did face painting! I will definitely be back, and we're considering making this a yearly trip! Keep up the good work, guys! read more

Terrible fishing went out for 2 hours for 50$ there was more untangling lines than catching fish do not go here

I went on the one o'clock four hour fishing trip yesterday. The good: the boat was very clean for a fishing boat and the deck hands were around when you needed them. The downside: they take you an hour off the coast so you only actually fish for two hours. The locations we went were no good... I only caught one fish and many people didn't get any bites. But they do sell snacks and drinks...$3 ice cold Budweiser! read more

We went on the 2 hour dolphin/whale watching cruise. The reservation and ticketing process was an easy online process. The cruise left on time and there was plenty of room on the boat. It was a very kid friendly cruise but the adults had a great time also. Our naturalist, Kathy, was excellent. She did a fantastic job and was a wealth of information. I loved how she was so excited to see baby dolphins. Her enthusiasm for her job was apparent as was her knowledge. It made for a great trip! And we got to see baby dolphins!!!! read more

We had an excellent time on the 3 HR dolphin and whale tour. We went as a family which included our 3 daughters ( ages 15,14 and 8). We saw a lot of dolphins but sadly no whales. It was not for a lack of effort on the ship staff. The whales were just hiding. The staff of the boat did everything in their powers to make it enjoyable for our family. read more