Bluefoot Pirate Adventure: THE Best Boating Adventure in South Florida for Kids!!

This is a sponsored post. I worked with Bluefoot Pirate Adventures and US Family Guide to be able to bring you this quality information. All opinions stated in this post are genuine and my pirate-loving own.

The best adventure in South Florida for kids!

I have found THE best thing for kids to do in south Florida! It's located in Fort Lauderdale, it's reasonably priced, and it's entertaining from start to finish!! I suspected Bluefoot Pirate Adventures would be fun before I even got there, but lemme tell you, when you take this pirate ride, you are in for a treat!

It's important to make your reservations ahead of time, because only so many people can go out on the boat at once. That being said, it does accommodate a fairly large group and would be perfect for field trips, birthday parties, summer camp visits, etc., and the boat runs multiple times in a day (check the schedule online to see which days they are open, and what times they have available).

When you arrive at the dock (excellent directions are given when you make your reservation), you'll see the big silver truck (maybe it's 'pirate gray?')  with the Bluefoot Pirate logo. Head on over to it and get your registration information filled out. This takes a minute. While you're waiting for the rest of the crew to show, the captain, dressed in pirate garb, will offer a little entertainment (and if your captain is Kris, you'll get flips and jumps too...a pirate has to have good agility you know, it's perfect for keeping other pirates off-guard in a battle).

A pirate vest and belt will be provided to each child. They return these at the end of the ride. You can also opt in for a pirate bandana for your little one to wear on his or her head (they have black and pink), a pirate patch & sword...the whole three pack is sold for under ten bucks and your child will get to take it home. We also opted for a shoulder parrot (those of you who visit here regularly know my son loves stuffed animals, and as soon as he saw the parrot, that's what he wanted). There are other novelties for sale as well, and you can also purchase bottles of water for a buck (at the silver truck or on the boat).

Rogue Wave is keeping it real (pirate's gotta have a mustache!).

While you wait your little pirates will be offered face paint. Here you see the mustache going on. Rogue Wave let him pick whatever he wanted and she did a good job too.

My son got a scar, a mustachio and a little beard action. Cute, I mean fierce, right? When it's time to board, children are told to line up and the captain and first mate provide them with some general rules and reasons why those rules are in place (example: Captain Kris had them name things they knew were alive in the sea. Then he told them we wouldn't want to harm any of those things in their own home, and that's why absolutely nothing at all, ever, could be tossed over the boat). Nice touch.

Adults got to sit in the shaded stern of the boat where Captain Kris gave a most excellent tour.

Then it was time to board. Parents were given the option to sit in the back of the boat and listen to the captain. He offered them information about the area, including a bit of knowledge on some of the waterfront homes as we passed them (the Miami Vice house was on this tour, you could see the swimming pool running through it). Captain Kris did an amazing job at keeping us entertained (and he's got a great singing voice too!).

The children were put at the bow of the boat (a term they all knew from the lesson given before boarding), where the first mate, or in our case, Rogue Wave (her pirate name, arrr!) took the kidlets. Parents were up high and could see every move their little ones were making on the boat, while at the same time being able to relax and enjoy the boat trip on their own.

Then the real adventure began!! There was a treasure hunt, with a real treasure map! The kids went from activity to activity (no time to get bored on this trip), and had a blast (figuratively and actually speaking)!!

There was a bad pirate, mm hmm, but he wasn't all that scary. He came in on another (much smaller) boat and had a Nerf water blaster for a weapon. He let loose on the kids, and boy did they let back (because he had the key to the treasure chest)!!

The cannons on each side of the boat really shoot water and the kids get to fire them. There are quite a few cannons, but if there are still not enough for everyone, the first mate will make sure everyone switches to the other side, so every child gets a chance. Good move, Rogue Wave... good move (we don't want tears on a trip like this one, and nothing causes tears faster than to be the odd man (or girl) out on a water cannon ;) ).

Never take the word of a pirate, even if he's smiling.
Barnacle Bill lost the water shoot-out, but he didn't give over the key!

Barnacle Bill was the 'bad guy' and he made a deal with Captain Kris to turn over the key to the lost treasure, if he lost the water gun battle. He lost, but varmint that he is (he's a bad pirate remember), he 'threw' the key in the water when he lost, hoping it would be lost to sea forever.

Fortunately, Captain Kris and Rogue Wave had another plan up their pirate sleeves, and the key to the treasure was found by pirate magic, and an adorable little two-year-old who happened to be standing right next to it. ;) Each child was doled out a little treasure to take home (fake coins, not chocolate...thank goodness, it's hot in south Florida) and a certificate to render them official.

This trip was FUN!!! From the second we arrived to the very end, we all had such a good time. I'm going to go all out and say this is THE best thing for kids to do in Fort Lauderdale. We drove down from a couple hours away and it was worth it and then some to take this ride.

My Tip (lol) to You: Bring cash for a tip (it's mentioned at the end, they're definitely not at all pushy about it, but for this, you'll want to leave one!).

I'm one of those people though, who never has cash, so I was left feeling like 'aww man' when I walked off of the boat. It was definitely one of those times I felt a tip would be well-warranted!! The captain gave us lots of great insight about places to eat, play and more, and he made the trip very personable and immensely enjoyable. Rogue Wave likewise kept the children excited every single second of the trip. My son is 8 and  he LOVED it! My daughter is 17, and though she didn't partake in the pirate adventure (she sat with the adults), she loved the trip too!

Other perks of the trip...

• The breathtakingly gorgeous views like you see above:

I'll take one in any color, please

• The information on some of the waterfront homes, like the one you see above. If I'm not mistaken, this one is the one that looks like a butterfly from the sky. Whether it is or not (I was paying attention to the kids instead of the adult side when we went by), I'll take one in any color, please. ;)

• The looks on the people's faces beside us on a boat when ours let loose with the water cannons (bahahahaha, great sports they were, and they were cracking up!).

• Seeing the priceless looks on the kids' faces (all of them!) and hearing their comments that let you know they were delighted. There was one boy who was worried Barnacle Bill was going to come back (he wasn't that scary, but to a child, a bad guy is a bad guy, lol). His mom needed to get up but he was scared rascally Bill would return in her absence. She poo-poo'd him (I'm not trying to be funny with my context here, but I made myself laugh) and went to the potty (yeah, one of those on board too ;) ). I leaned over and told him I could see Barnacle Bill eating lunch waaaay over there on shore, so there was no way he'd be making a return. I'm a mom, and an adult, so he believed me. ;)

• Everyone involved was good at what they did, and they seemed to enjoy it too!! Find a job you love, and you'll never work a day in your life. That's what came to mind for me. :)

Captain Kris is on the right, and I suspect that's Barnacle Bill on the left. ;)

Little man is at the pirate gear box.

I suspect this is really Barnacle Bill. He was there when we left, and when we came back. What a fun job!!

http://www.bluefootpirates.com

This adventure lasts a little over an hour and a half. Tickets are $25.00 a piece for each person aged 3+, and $5 for children 2 and under. You can learn more about Bluefoot Pirates by visiting their website. You can also follow them on Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram.

I can't recommend this place highly enough. This is a professionally thought out, well-orchestrated fun event from start to finish. If you do one thing with the kids in Ft. Lauderdale, this is the thing to do!! Five out of five stars from me, and now I'm headed over to Trip Advisor to say the same.

Thank you Bluefoot Pirates & US Family Guide 
for a most amazing trip!