Calypso Queen Tropical Cruise

I attended this sunset dinner cruise last night for a friend’s birthday. I’ve never been on a dinner cruise before, so was not sure what to expect. I ended up being surpried as I had a lot of fun.
Pros: Great opportunity to take great photos of the sunset in the bay.
Attentive and friendly staff. They made sure to keep the drinks coming. They always had a smile on their face
Dj on board and he takes request. Great dancing times.
Endless wine, beer and rum punch. Enough said.
Cons: Cheesy and outdated décor (I supose that’s part of the charm though).
Not so great food. I found it to be of Golden Corral quality.
Very small bathrooms.
However, if you can overlook the cons and do this with a group of friends, you will have an absolute blast. I loved it and would recommend this to anyone looking for something fun and different to do.

I recommend this to anyone traveling to Clearwater. Food was good. The rum punch was terrible. Most people got the beer and wine. The music was versatile and they take request. After everyone ate it turned into a party. We had kids on board and they had a ball. But I must warn you if you are very protective, you may not want to bring kids. You never know what type of crowd will be on board. There was a bachelorette party and lets just say the kids saw a girl on girl lap dance! It was harmless. They’ve seen worse on TV. Fun time for all. I highly recommend.

Greeted upon entering the boat, staff was friendly. However, felt like it was being run by a group of college kids. Restroom could’ve been cleaner. Décor was tropical and completely out of date. Like I was still in the 1970s. Things were a bit run down on the boat. The menu is posted it sounds really good but it was trough style instead of buffet style. There wasn’t any options for people with food allergies so I was not able to eat 80% what was served due to the sauces and cheese laden salad. I actually think that Golden corral would’ve been a better choice for dinner. I never eat at Golden Corral. The top of the deck contained chairs and disfigured tables, that were completely wet from an earlier rain. Since it hadn’t rained when we arrived it would’ve been appropriate for the staff to have dried the chairs so that when the people went upstairs to incessantly smoke others could’ve had a place to sit. There was two extra decks outside where you could see the sunset if you wanted to inhale cigarette smoke. Unfortunately several people in our party were asthmatic so we were stuck inside for most of the cruise.
Nature of course is magnificent and the sunset was spectacular. I’ve been on many dinner cruises and this would be very very budget friendly for very young adults, and an appropriate cruise. If you enjoy some of the nicer things in life choose a different venue. However if you just want to see the sunset and if you want to see a few dolphin and this fits your budget it may be the right thing for you.

Uhm, this is a skip-​it IMO. I think there are probably better bay and gulf cruises available.
The good? The servers are very attentive with drinks. The lunch is a buffet so you serve yourself, and there’s only one side they serve from. Soda, water, tea, wine and punch are free. Other alcohol is extra, as is the dessert.
The food is just ok. It’s not great. And for those reviewers who claim it’s prepared on the boat… while that’s true, all their food comes from Sysco. That means it’s in big bags which they boil and dump into a serving tray. That means it’s not fresh, and that kind of grosses me out.
The captain got on the speaker many times to remind us that they accept tips. Even the captain accepts tips, which I think is pretty lame.
The cruise doesn’t go out into the gulf. It only circles the bay and then heads back to the port. If you’ve never taken a cruise or a lunch cruise, then maybe it would be fun and novel. I found it boring and a waste of time. Sorry y’all.

I cannot say enough positive things about the Calyspo Tropical Cruise! This is my second opportunity interacting with Theresa Burke from the Group Sales Department! She has been extremely accommodating to me and my family! On June 14, 2015, I had my daughter’s Sweet 16 on the Calyspo Queen! It was AMAZING! The food was delicious! The waitresses were so attentive and made sure that the entire party was catered too! They kept going around to all of the guests refilling their beverages and clearing off their tables! As great as they were, it was the DJ that was absolutely phenomenal! I have been to many functions, and he was seriously, the best DJ that I have seen! He kept the party interactive, he gave out microphones for these teens to sing (almost like karaōke) as they were dancing! The Calyspo Queen Dinner Cruise actually exceeded my expectations! I only wish I could give it more than 5 stars!

I can’t comment on the Calypso cruises since I never went on one, but what I can comment on and caution you about is that their cruises seem to be dependent upon how many passengers they have signed up to go.
I purchased two tickets for their dinner cruise, but just before it was about to leave and when I was already at dockside, I got a phone call telling me it was cancelled due to bad weather. As I was there, the weather looked fine to me and checking on my mobile device, the forecast was good and there were no high winds. Then, when speaking with some of the people working around the adjacent marina was told that such happens rather frequently during off seasons as going out with only a few passengers is a money loser. So, reliability would seem to me to be an issue with their operations.
However, to their good credit, they did as they said by reversing the charges made to my credit card for the cruise, which speaks well as to their honesty.

Spent the day (4÷19÷15) with Capt. Bill on the Queen. Even with the ruff seas & high winds, we were able to get in a cruise. Sadly not out in the Gulf. Maybe next time.

Food at the buffet was unexpectedly good, however we were disappointed by their customer service. We were told to be there to board at 5:30pm for the dinner cruise, but when we arrived after waiting on the line for half hr, we were told to come back around 6:30pm due to the wedding party at the upper level. Music quality was terrible and staff was not friendly, but overall the boat was nice and food was descent.

The buffet was amazing! I was so pleased. (Maybe in part because of low expectations going in) Every item was perfectly cooked and seasoned.
It happened to be slightly rainy today, didnt see any dolphins but we still had a great time.
The music was fun, everyone was either singing or dancing — might have something to do with the complimentary beer win or rum punch!
Ill be back

The experience sight seeing experience on the water is super ideal to get a perfect view of all the bodies of water & skyline during sunset :) it was really pleasant and well-​run.
The set up of the ship + the staff = great experience. The staff was friendly, took requests for songs, and was very upbeat! Note: rooftop is great :) you can look for jumping Dolphins!
–1 star for the food :(food was not so great

Pros: its beautiful outside the ride is nice. The crew was all very friendly. The boat has committed to a serious tropical theme and its … cute.
Cons: Ok so I get that its a boat and it might be harder to cook on a boat… but salad at room temperature — just so wrong; ($ 35 bucks per person and we got warm salad and cold pasta, and the pulled pork tasted like muddy water… oh wait maybe that was my drink? No .no. they both did.; (
The dj tried his hardest to get people going but… no dice. Allow me to explain there was a couple on board celebrating their 70^th birthday and he played «Wobble» by VIC — GOOGLE it!

Awesome experience. If your looking for a fun and easy time or something to do at night this is perfect. Food was good, dance floor was fun, I would recommend it anyone and do it again.

The Calypso Queen was an awesome and fun experience! The serving staff and captain were friendly, quick and accommodating. The charge for the buffet, drinks and cruise were reasonable and there was more than enough food and drink available throughout the cruise. There are 3 decks that are available to the passengers and all have a great view. I did not feel trapped or crowded throughout any part of my experience. The DJ was awesome! He took requests, played both old and new hits and encouraged others to join in on the dancing fun. There were more than enough bathrooms on board and they were extremely clean and well kept. Be prepared for loud fun music.
If you are someone looking for a calm and relaxing or quiet dinner cruise, look elsewhere or plan to spend most of your time on the lower deck since the DJ is awesome and gets the music going right away after dinner. During our trip, there were a few passengers who were upset with the loud volume of the music and requested that it be turned down even though everyone else was having a great time. I did not have a hard time hearing others and I felt the volume was appropriate, especially since it was called a «tropical PARTY dinner cruise» and both the website and booth outside of the boat both advertise the DJ and party aspects of the cruise.
I noticed that there are some reviews of others complaining about the food. I think that the food was exceptional considering the fact that it was cooked and served on a boat… The servers kept all of the food dishes stocked and replaced them with more as they ran out. I am not sure what others were expecting, as cooking in a galley is much more difficult than a typical commercial kitchen. I have also noticed some of the other reviews commenting on the décor aboard the boat. I felt that the tropical theme was appropriate for the boat and I don’t see the need to dock stars for something that most passengers did not pay much attention to anyway. You had less fun because the wallpaper was not to your liking… how awful.
I would definitely recommend this to my friends and family and will definitely be doing it again on my next trip to clearwater beach!

Went on the sunset cruise a few weeks ago with a group of 30 for my moms 60^th birthday.
Pros: all you can drink beer wine and hunch punch, great dj who takes requests, beautiful sunsets, very accommodating to our large party.
Cons: boat is outdated, the a/​c does not work very well and we were all sweating most of the time, the Buffett food isn’t great (but it is all you can eat)
All in all we had a fun time, but probably wouldnt do this again

I really enjoyed this small cruise. We paid $ 10 for the unlimited drinks and buffet and it was well worth it (although I wish they would of served a dessert too)
The captain, bartender and waiter was extremely nice. You could go to the top and look at the ocean as you sipped your drink or you could stay down below and just enjoy the scenery. I will def be doing this again!

Three attended the luncheon cruise. For $ 24.95 you get a good deal, nice cruise, free refreshments and a good buffet. They lose one star for the low quality wine. I’d rather limit it to two and cash after that for a better wine. Staff is friendly, you’ll get some great pictures. Two floors of a/​c and one open deck up top. Arrive early as the buffet is set up and ready to enjoy as soon as you board. This is a good deal and I recommend taking your visitors onboard. I hear they have a nice sunset cruise also. If you don’t want the meal, the cruise rate is reduced however the added few dollars is worth the buffet. This would be a great idea for a smaller company party.

After many months of tossing ideas around, researching various cities and venues, we decided to rent out the Calypso Queen for our wedding reception.
No regrets here.
For our small reception party of 40, this was a great choice. This boats offers two interior decks on the lower levels, and one open deck up top. She’ s slow and steady on the sunset cruise, so it was really enjoyable for all.
The murals on the exterior of the boat were hand-​painted by a local artist. Yay for local!
Having planned weddings for others in the past, I typically dread the reception portion. Venues aren’t always the easiest to deal with. However, the coordinators for this vessel were MORE than accommodating! All the way from making sure the tables were outfitted with white linens to letting me to pick the color of the linen napkins… They even allowed me to drop off items (like our centerpieces and our cake) the day before our wedding, then set out everything EXACTLY how I had requested — all for no extra charge! This was no small feat, so I was über impressed.
The food and drinks were actually reasonably priced, and the food was pretty darn good. Dealing with so many types of diets, I assumed meal planning would be a nightmare. Fortunately, it wasn’t. I was given many options, and ultimately decided for an extensive buffet to suit all tastes. It worked, thankfully.
The crew was very friendly to us and all our guests. They did everything quickly, as scheduled, and did not permit a dirty dish to sit on a table for any length of time. We didn’t need to hire a DJ since he’s a part of the crew, and he did an amazing job.
Why only four stars? PLEASE update the décor from «Old Florida», then Calypso will truly be a winner in every aspect. (Keep the fiber optic palm trees though. Even though they don’t really fit, they’re tacky and fabulous.)

Great for lazy afternoon, plenty of sun, plenty of free drinks ;)