Starlight Cruise in Tampa, Florida. Like Day and Night.
I was surprised by how different the day and night Starlight cruises are in Tampa, Florida. Completely different crowd from day to night. While the daytime was casual, relaxed and oriented to sightseeing with mostly an older group the night time was energetic, fun and oriented to dancing with a younger group.
The Starlight Majesty ship is roomy, stable and capable of carrying 280 passengers on three levels. The top deck is open and the other two are enclosed and air-conditioned except for a small area near the bow. The staff is friendly and helpful. Starlight offers 3-hour lunch, dinner, dancing and sightseeing cruises out of Clearwater Beach and St. Petersburg, Florida.
Day:
The Lunch Sightseeing Cruise out of Clearwater Beach, FL is quiet and relaxing.
The lunch menu offered 5 choices from salads to seafood in lunch sized portions served at your table. The cruise goes south on the Intracoastal Waterway between Clearwater and Clearwater Beach. Music is provided by a duo and features classic sing-a-long hits and when the music takes a break in the middle of the cruise, the captain narrates for 20 minutes.
Overall a nice, quiet, relaxing midday sightseeing cruise with good food and good service. They also offer a dance luncheon cruise.
Night:
The Dinner Cruise out of Clearwater Beach, Fl is good fun.
They seat you as you board and immediately bring out an appetizer, which was a bacon wrapped scallop and a slice of grilled chicken. Once you order your dinner from 12 or more choices, they suggest exploring the ship until salads are served at 8pm. Dinner follows and is tasty. The crowd ranged in age and many danced to the musical duo that also does the lunch cruise but the music was more upbeat. I’d compare the music to attending a wedding.
The atmosphere was lively the whole night and the lights from the shoreline of the Intracoastal Waterway added a nice background to the night air. Lots of couples and groups seemed to enjoy the experience. A fun way to spend an evening.
So is there a difference between Day and Night? Absolutely! If you want to just relax and enjoy sea breezes or put on your dancing shoes and sing along you’ll find it at Starlight Cruises in Tampa, Florida. Permission to come aboard Captain! More photos here.