Traveling on the Key West Express is something that I had been intrigued by for a number of years based on seeing the impressive boat in and around Marco Island. When the opportunity presented itself for me to take my college age children on the Key West Express from Ft. Myers, I was in!

The Key West Express ticketing process was efficient and the advanced directions were thorough and complete. We followed the provided directions exactly and arrived one-hour prior to the stated departure time to find that interior seats for us to sit together were already taken. We found exterior seats together on the partially covered middle deck. Our almost 4-hour trip to Key West was much cooler than expected. The primary drawback to this seating area was the strong exhaust smell from the boat and secondhand smoke from the lower level smokers’ deck.

The boat traveled at a steady clip, the South Florida shoreline within sight most of the trip. Our Key West Express cruise was mostly smooth and we were able to walk around the boat throughout the trip.

Overall my observation of the experience is that once on board, it was somewhat a “free for all” experience for passengers. Pre-sail seat selection/assignment, similar to some airlines and movie theaters, would have afforded a much nicer experience for travelers. Getting off the boat also took much longer than it should have.

Returning to the Key West Express terminal earlier than requested for our return trip was a priority for us to secure interior seats. This need seemed to loom over the limited amount of time that we had to spend in Key West on our day trip. We successfully reached the terminal and boarding queue early enough to obtain interior seats together. Wow, what a difference—the return trip was comfortable, and warm!

I am content with our experience but would not likely opt to travel on the Key West Express again.

I never write a bad review. But they just forced me to do it. Once you check in your luggage, you can't take it out. They don't mention that in their little instructions guide, nor was any announcements made. I went to take a jacket cause my mother was feeling cold and the guy was very rude and said You can't take anything out from you luggage just like in an airplane. The boat didn't even take of yet and I was only asking cause my mother was feeling cold. I am suing if anything happens to my parents. Writing in the boat waiting for the ferry to leave to fort Myers from key West.