Pirate boys

Dad and Mom enjoying the ship

Face paint pirate

Arrrrrrr, mateys! Our day at sea!

So, part of the fun of our little baseball park experiment is being able to take fun side trips. And… since we strategically planned this trip to be near some family, this Pirate Cruise was a bonus! Clearwater beach, Florida on the gulf coast is only a hop, skip, and a pirate boat ride away from the Tampa Bay Rays stadium and was a perfect way to spend a morning!

I will start off by saying that all of the “snow-birds” who flock to Florida in the winter months and then head back North in the summer are truly genius. Who would voluntarily vacation to Florida in August?!? The heat?! The humidity?! Well, us.

Our time was limited this year, and August was available. If the pictures you see look extra sweaty, we all apologize. It was HOT.

I will be honest that this excursion was recommended by my grandmother, who is a Florida resident, so it was not on my list of must-dos and I was a little reluctant to drag the boys, BUT it ended up being one of our favorite things that we did all week!

You can purchase tickets online, or if you are close, there are multiple ways to get coupons to lower the cost pp. One absolute must in my book is taking the morning time slot, especially if you are traveling in the summer- the heat was already stifling when we were docked and that was at 10:00AM. I can’t imagine the afternoon. Seriously, folks. Plus, many Florida afternoons in the summer are punctuated by thunderstorms- which doesn’t sound fun on a Pirate Ship.

But, I digress… when boarding the ship, the kids were given cute pirate hats (yes, they are paper- but high quality and the kids could care less if they’re paper) and asked if they wanted their faces painted- as you can see only 1 swashbuckler in my crew was game. There were a ton of basic snacks and drinks (all included) for everyone. And, a nice surprise was that some alcoholic drinks were also included for Mom and Dad! That made for a much happier trip. The “pirates” on the ship tell tales, do kids-only activities (Mom and Dad are free to find a seat and relax- yes, thank you!) and then will let you know when the kids are all done. There was a dance party and kid’s get some fun loot to take home. All of this is taking place while you’re out to sea, heading to the Gulf of Mexico. Of course they take a souvenir photo with a pirate before docking that you can purchase in a frame- we did, because we’re suckers for that sort of thing- but that is certainly not needed. After about 2 hours, you are back in port and disembarking.  Overall, a great experience. The boat was incredibly well-themed, clean, and staffed appropriately.

So next time your family is headed to Clearwater beach, Check out Captain Memo. Just remember, try to book the morning cruise to save yourself a light dose of heat stroke.