Pastime Princess Charter Fishing

Words can not express how bad my fishing trip with this boat I arrived at the boat and was the 2^nd car there I got to the boat and all back spots and back corner spots were already taken but there was no one there that just didn’t make sense and then we left about 30 minutes late and went about 2 and a half oh ours out and got to the first spot and all we could catch were bait fish and there was an old guy with suspenders that arrived at the boat 1 hour after me that was fishing in the back right corner that I guess was the old captain and sat back there and told all of us if we get tangled in his line he will f**k us all up he by far ruined my experience the crew sits In the back of the boat smoking and just talking to each other the only pro was the gally cook. She was nice and made good food that brightened up my day a little bit this boat may have been cheaper then most but we barely fished for 2 hours and there were no fish really even caught spend the extra 25 $ and go out of the sea love or the may port oats those are great and the crew is great and always put you on BIG fish

I would never recommend this boat. The captain does not know basic seamanship and I was afraid for my safety and the safety of the boats on the waterway around us.

We went for their last space shuttle launch «cruise». It was advertised to have the best view for the launch. Well the Coast Guard apparently had already limited how close any vessel could get to the launch site, it wasn’t very close at all. I mention this because when I discussed this issue with the captain prior to the cruise he was very noncommittal about saying what his cruise plan was going to be. The far distance could be argued that the captain had no control about it, but we should have been notified about the possibility of this issue especially when considering the very high price we paid.
We paid $ 300.00 person (over $ 950.00 with taxes and fees for our family) and the price was advertised to include a prime rib and lobster dinner while on the cruise. What we received was not exactly the industry standard in my opinion. We did not receive any dinner while on the cruise, it seems that this was never a practical idea because of the small size of the boat. The advertisement of these amenities implied that the boat was more luxurious and bigger than it was. We did receive a buffet style dinner when got back to port. It was apparently prepackaged very thinly pre-​sliced beef that did appear to be prime rib but it was cooked until it was brown. What about the lobster you ask? Well I foolishly assumed that this being a seafood joint on the ocean that it would be a lobster for each person. Well not exactly, it was again, apparently some kind of prepackaged lobster pieces in a nasty butter flavored sauce served buffet style. Part of how I justified the high cost of this «cruise» was that we were going to be receiving a gourmet meal while on this «cruise». Just proves that if something is open to interpretation the provider will likely chose the cheaper way.
The boat was packed to nearly the legal limit with passengers. I had to press the crew to find out about the emergency supplies for example as to where the life preservers were. The staff seemed somewhat lackadaisical about the safety of the passengers in my opinion. Because the boat was packed with people, the boat rocked very heavily in the waves. At least 75% of the people were seasick. This really isn’t the crews fault but their uncaring attitude was. Some of the crew seemed to think it funny that there were people throwing up all over the place.
When some poor little boy puked all over the deck near a crew member, I assumed that the crew member would quickly address the situation. Not so. He just stood there and let the vomit run all over the deck making even more people sick. It wasn’t until I got a hose out and started to wash down the vomit did the crew member do anything but watch. By the way I think that the only reason the crew member did anything was because I got his shoes wet with the hose by «accident».
We knew that this was a fishing charter boat and that we shouldn’t expect it to be some kind cruise ship but, the stench of wet dog that permeated the air was really quite unexpected. We expected a fish smell, but wet dog?
By the way, beware of other reviews that you find on the Internet about this place, some of them were written by the owner by his own admission in the fine print.

I’ve never been charter fishing, but my husband and I had fun.
We checked into the Dolphin View Restaurant where we paid for a boarding pass and put down our name and number on the US Coast Guard list.
I wish I knew they offered military discount (my husband and I are both active duty) where the difference was $ 70/​person vs $ 49 with military discount. This included the fishing license, rod, reel, lots of bait, and tackle.
You’re supposed to call after 7pm the previous day to see if they are still sailing since they may have to cancel due to bad weather. They want you to check in between 0715 – 0815 (if I remember correctly, it’ll tell you on the message when you call the night before). There were about 60 people on the charter and we went on a Tuesday. They allow you on the boat to mark your territory with a rag and to put down your cooler (no more than 20 inches allow, no hard liquor, no glass bottles). Then they kick you off the boat to give you a safety briefing.
We departed the dock around 0850 went out about 10 miles (just a guess). It took us about 2 hours before we stopped. The ride out there was nice and cool. We sat on the upper deck to enjoy the view of flying fish, jellyfish, dolphins, and turtles.
The first stop did not give us much fish so they took us to the next stop where everyone started getting black bass, 1 vermillion, then we moved on to the next stop where everyone was getting a black bass and lots of shark on the other side of the boat. The crew was always there to help us out if needed, to measure our fish, and to help us with any problems. they were very attentive and polite to us. My husband caught lots and lots of small black bass, but only 3 were of legal size.
We went in August which was very very hot once the boat stop. Bring lots of sun protection (hat, neck cover, sunglasses, sunblock). Bring lots and lots of water and Gatorade. They do sell food and drinks in the galley, but we brought our own food so I didn’t get to try their food.
When we got back, the crew cleaned our fish for free (tips are appreciated) and the restaurant will fry your fish for $ 3.99 per person serving (they weigh it). I was not crazy about frying my fresh fish, but we were out of town without a stove.
They do have separate female/​male bathroom that is small. They whole boat is a little rundown along with the bathroom, but it offers water and soap so that’s all I cared about. The inside galley has a few seating areas and a small old TV.
They do not carry Dramamine. I would highly recommend bringing some even though you don’t think you get sea sick. I never get motion sickness, but felt terrible throughout the trip (plus it might be nice to offer it to someone else who’ll get sick).

Okay, so this was my first charter fishing experience, but I can honestly say that there was not a single thing on this trip that could have gone better. I absolutely had the time of my life.
First of all, this charter was affordable. They charge $ 65 for an entire day out to sea (from 8:45 — 4:00) which includes all the bait that you could need, a fishing license, rod, reel, tackle AND fish cleaning (all except shark, which only costs an extra $ 2 due to their tough skin and how much wear it has on the crews’ filleting knives). If you go to the Pastime Princess’ website (
), you will find a $ 5 coupon to print out which brings the price down to $ 60 (NOTE: The price of charter fishing does tend to fluctuate depending on gas prices, so the number I quoted might be slightly more or less).
The Pastime Princess offers breakfast, lunch and drinks for those who want to purchase meals or beverages on board. Nothing fancy, but cheap, tasty, and perfect after spending all day in the sun. I was concerned about becoming seasick because it started out to be a really rough day, but I managed to find someone with Dramamine on board before we took off (word of warning… they don’t sell any on hand, so bring your own if you need some). They allow you to bring your own food/​beverages in a small container if you want to save a few bucks and they don’t have any problems if you want to bring your own fishing equipment either.
The captain was great at taking us to his favorite fishing holes. If the fish weren’t biting, he’d tell us to pull up our lines and he’d move to another destination. No one had a problem on this trip though… everyone caught something. There were only two deckhands on board the day that we went and they were fabulous. Every time I pulled up a fish, they would be right there waiting to take it off the line for me and put it on a stringer for when we got off the boat.
Everyone is given a chance to enter a fishing contest ($ 5) when they get on board. Whoever catches the biggest fish gets to keep the jackpot. We didn’t win, but it was a great idea. The crew also took pictures of everyone with their catch and posts them online. Go to their website and look at «Today’s Catch»… you can see what some of your potential fish might look like.
I know this goes without saying, but bring suntan lotion and something warm! It gets really cold while the boat is moving and remember, your outside in the sun all day… I got fried. :)
Between my boyfriend and I, we caught a shark, Mangrove Snapper, a few Red Eyes and a couple small ones. We had enough filleted fish for two entire dinners… for four people! We drove from an hour away, so the crew was kind enough to offer us some ice as well to go in with the fish bags.
If you live a really long ways away — or don’t feel like cooking — the Pastime Princess has a small restaurant on location with outdoor seating. We were told that they would cook our catch right there for lunch if we wanted to. We opted against it, but a lot of people stayed and the food looked great.
Be sure to tip these guys. They were awesome and deserve it.
Definitely check this place out!