Marco Island Princess

The Marco Island Princess has been cruising out of Rose Marina since 1984, making it one of the longer standing tour operations on the island’s waterfront, and its scale sets it apart from the smaller charter boats and center consoles that dominate much of the local fleet. The 90 foot yacht carries up to 149 guests and includes two full service bars along with onboard meal preparation, giving it a capacity and level of amenity closer to a small event venue than a typical sightseeing boat.

The vessel runs a rotating schedule of themed cruises through the day and evening, including a sightseeing, nature, and history focused lunch cruise, a Captain’s sunset dinner cruise, an upgraded Admiral’s sunset dinner cruise, and sunset cocktail cruises for guests who want drinks and views without a full seated meal. This range lets the Marco Island Princess serve a wide variety of occasions in a single fleet, from casual afternoon sightseeing for vacationing families to more formal evening dining experiences for couples and larger celebratory groups.

Beyond its scheduled public cruises, the yacht is a popular venue for private charters, weddings, rehearsal dinners, and bridal events, leveraging both its large guest capacity and its distinctive on water setting for wedding photography against Marco Island’s coastal backdrop. Group accommodations for up to the vessel’s full capacity make it one of the few options on the island capable of hosting a genuinely large private event entirely on the water rather than splitting a big group across several smaller boats.

Operated under the Sunshine Tours and Charters name and docked at Rose Marina, the Marco Island Princess draws heavily on Southwest Florida’s boating tradition and its own four decade operating history in its marketing, positioning itself as an established local institution rather than a newer entrant to the sightseeing cruise market. That longevity has allowed it to build relationships with local wedding planners, hotel concierge desks, and repeat vacationing families who return to Marco Island year after year and treat a Princess cruise as a standard part of their trip.

Because the vessel’s size allows it to run in conditions that might ground smaller charter boats, the Marco Island Princess can offer more schedule reliability during the shoulder seasons when wind and chop pick up on the Gulf side, though trips can still be affected by significant weather events. Reservations, particularly for themed dinner cruises and any private event bookings, are recommended well in advance given the vessel’s popularity and its long operating history on Marco Island’s waterfront.