Clearwater Marine Aquarium

Reviews 3

SH

Shanon Norman

A great place to visit, a great place to work. I worked there most of 2014 in Ticketing and I have nothing but the best of praise to give this organization. I see that there are some reviews from visitors complaining about what the aquarium offers as a tourist spot. I am saddened to see that people who really don’t know much about CMA would disparage them before becoming more educated. First of all, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a Non-Profit Organization. Years ago, before Winter and the aquarium, it was a marine-rescue hospital. Their focus was on sea turtles and they have a history of doing extraordinary work. A visitor ought not compare CMA to the likes of The Tampa Aquarium or other humongous aquariums they’ve seen, because that’s not what CMA is about. If you just want to see pools and pools of pretty aquatic life, then go to The Tampa Aquarium and you won’t be disappointed. But if you want an educational experience and to support a non-profit that is doing incredibly helpful work for marine life, then CMA is for you. While Winter the movie-star dolphin may have brought fame to CMA, she is only one of many living creatures that CMA has rescued. There motto, “Rescue, Rehabilitate, and Release” is a beautiful tradition for them and they live up to it. Some people complain about the price and I am appalled at that. It’s about $20 for an entrance ticket. They offer discounts for AAA members, teachers, military, through groupon, and with coupons in Valpak. Considering most theme parks charge over $100 for one person to get in, I’m surprised that anyone would call CMA expensive. The $20 ticket gets you into the aquarium (at Island Estates, where Winter is) and into their museum “Winter’s Dolphin Tale Adventure” (in downtown Clearwater)... it also provides FREE parking (unheard of today) and a FREE transport (either trolley or a lovely 20 minute pontoon boat ride) to and from both facilities. The boat ride alone is worth the ticket price. When I worked in ticketing, people would have a buy one get one free coupon and still want more discounts. I just couldn’t believe that they didn’t want to DONATE to a good cause. CMA is blessed to have many volunteers and contributors who believe in their cause and future goals. But tourists seem to be the worst visitors and the worst (uneducated) critics. There’s no rides and there’s no shows. These animals were once sick and are healing so don’t expect them to do back flips just because you spent $20. And be realistic about photographs. Everyone seems to think they can get a picture with Winter while they jump in the pool and pet her. Not going to happen. While they do offer similar photo opportunities,they are very expensive and usually booked way in advance because they can only do a very limited amount per day. Why? Because it’s not healthy for the animals and there is risk to the animal and the individual every time they do it. Your best value for nifty photos is at the Green Screen photo vendor. They give you a variety of shots and it’s all on a computer disk for you to use in many ways. (If you really want personal interaction and photos with dolphins, then you should research places like Sea World or Discovery Cove where the animals are healthy and the business is set up for that. Also less expensive.) As for employment at CMA, I very much enjoyed working there. The management was very professional and kind. They often show appreciation with gifts and parties. It’s not a place to work if you need to make a lot of money. And everyone starts out part-time with no guarantee of hours. So if you’re considering working there, know that you need to have a very flexible schedule and not require a beefy paycheck. I recommend retirees or first time jobbers or anyone with a true passion for marine life. Anyway, I just want to give CMA a great review because I love them and only wish them success.

JI

Jillian Lowe

My son and I came down to Ft Myers, FL from southern Ohio for a 5-day quick getaway, and given his love for the Dolphin Tale movies, I knew we had to make it here. I booked us for a the behind-the-scenes tour, as well as the Sea Life Safari boat ride. Total price for the 2 of us was $94 - sure, a bit pricey but a) this is probably our only visit, b) they are a non-profit so all finds go towards their mission of rescue and rehab, and c) we were going to do a boat tour anyway and it was more expensive to go elsewhere. Let me just say, we spent all day here (10am - 5pm), and it was well worth every single penny. Every single CMA person we encountered, whether a paid staff member or volunteer/intern, was exceedingly friendly and helpful. We were able to watch the trainers interact with all of the animals, multiple times. Its clear that these animals are well cared for, loved, and happy. The "show" with Nicholas (the male dolphin) is a definite must-see!! We were also lucky to be just 15 feet away from Winter as the trainers did some physical therapy with her, and then they put her tail on and swam with her. I had tears in my eyes, and a quick glance around showed many of the other adults did as well. If you are able, please indulge and purchase either the Sea Life Safari or Dolphin boat rides....ours was fantastic and highly educational. We chose the Sea Life Safari for several reasons, mainly I just wanted to be sure we would see many things and not be disappointed if we chose the Dolphin ride, but saw no dolphins. As it turns out, we were just out of the dock and alongside the aquarium when a small pod of wild dolphins made their appearance! There were 5 or 6 of them, and they came within feet of the boat to check us out. The other things we saw, and learned, were just as amazing....especially when we were taken to a small shell island and were allowed a good amount of time to walk around and hunt shells. On the behind-the-scenes tour, we were lucky to see not one, but three turtles given their medications and then fed. We learned a lot of history about the facility and their mission, but if you have smaller children I would advice you skip this option. All in all, we had a FANTASTIC time and were sad to leave. I am frankly quite surprised to see any sort of negative reviews of this facility. I assume that those people didnt understand the nature of what CMA does....this isnt a true "aquarium," or zoo. Rather, they are a rescue and rehab facility - dont come in expecting to be entertained, come in ready to learn! We watched an endoscopic procedure on a sea turtle, Winter getting rehab and her tail, medication administered, etc. I am very glad we did this, and my son hasnt yet stopped talking about it. Thanks, CMA, for making our experience truly memorable!

KE

Kent Trammell

I give one star because of my definition of "aquarium". CMA IS NOT AN AQUARIUM by any stretch of the general publics definition. Its original name, "Clearwater Marine Science Center", is far more appropriate. CMA facilitates the honorable purpose of rehabilitating marine animals. In fact, it was featured for this purpose in the film "Dolphin Tale". A fact which is relentlessly advertised throughout the property via posters and looping scenes from the movie. The problem becomes whenever I take my excited children to see hundreds marine species behind a labyrinth of glass walls and glass tunnels - the typical expectation for an "aquarium" at $20/person. However the CMA is a former water treatment plant comprised of 2 residential-pool-sized tanks with above ground and below ground access. And all walkways are tight which was a nightmare for maneuvering our stroller. Below ground the tanks are only viewable through 2x3 windows and cloudy glass (remember, a water treatment plant). Kids and parents are forced to crowd around these small windows for a chance to see a couple sharks and their dozen fishy cohabitants in one tank. The other tank is for the dolphins that occasionally swim within view. Above ground theres a couple sea turtles and otters but mostly its for the star dolphins. "Star" in that one, or maybe both, were featured in the "Dolphin Tale" film. Theyre rehabilitated with one missing a tail fin - a key plot point in the film. This means that theyre not capable of much that can be watched. The trainers will feed them fish and the dolphins can wave their pectoral fins. Besides that, the dolphins seem to spend most of their time in the "silent" compartments of the tank where they are best protected from human presence. And thats pretty much it. Theres a small animal hospital branch of the building that gives a glimpse into the rehabilitating work the CMA performans. The CMA is a great institution that seems to be making an admiral difference in the lives of a few marine animals. But again, it is NOT AN AQUARIUM by a long shot. Its like slapping a "zoo" sign on a farm. If youve seen the movie "Dolphin Tale" you may enjoy being "on set" of portions of the film and seeing the star dolphins. But if you havent seen the movie, like my family, $20 per person (2 yr and under are free) to see disabled animals in cramped tanks is frustrating. Hopefully this review will help you as you research the CMA. Which is something I clearly failed to do.

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