September 2023.
Naples, Florida.

A couple of years ago, on our way to visit Key West, Florida, we spent the night near Naples on the Gulf coast. Accompanied by my niece and her husband, Lynn and I took a cruise on the Double Sunshine, a monohull vessel explicitly designed for sightseeing and sunset cruises.

Lynn and I travel a lot, and I take lots of pictures. I processed a handful of sunset photos for a couple of posts and forgot to post about our sunset cruise experience. As I am writing this in 2025, I have processed the photos from that excursion and posted a full gallery on my Flickr site here. For this post, I’ll share my favorite pictures and describe the tour.

The Double Sunshine is a monohull explicitly designed for sightseeing and sunset cruises. Its twin-deck structure provides space for 149 passengers to enjoy panoramic views. We arrived early enough to get front row seating on the upper deck. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis, so come early for the best seats. We learned about the range of cruises offered by Pure Florida and noted their positive reviews. Pure Florida operates out of Tin City in Naples, Florida, and also has a location in Fort Myers.

The 1.5-hour cruise took us through Naples Bay and Port Royal, showcasing luxurious mansions, local wildlife, and the Gulf of Mexico. We enjoyed sightings of personal watercraft that Lynn and I can only imagine how much they must cost. The guide pointed out many celebrity mansions as we went by. While that was fun, I’ve long since forgotten who lives in what mansion. I was more interested in the sunset views to come.

These two vessels were almost touching. The red boat is a tug, and I thought it might be towing the blue boat; however, it looks like the boat’s engine was running. It could be that the two people were having a conversation.

This beautiful tree is likely a live oak, according to two plant identification tools using different AI products. Unfortunately, the leaf details aren’t clear enough for an accurate identification. In any case, it’s a beautiful old tree.

The open-air views from the upper deck were just what a photographer orders. There was plenty of room on this cruise for good photographs from any row if you sat near the side. The front view was also unobstructed with a minimum of vertical supports. We occupied the front row on the starboard (right) side of the boat.

These fishermen, in their small fishing boat, were enjoying their time on the water. Their poles were mounted, and they were actively fishing, but we wondered if they were paying more attention to the mansions than to their task.

As sunset approached, we headed out of Naples Bay to see the sunset. The Double Sunshine entered the Gulf of Mexico through Gordon Pass, a waterway that connects Naples Bay to the Gulf.

Just around that point, the Gulf of Mexico beckoned. The sun was low, and it was time to get a good view of the sunset similar to the view in my opening photo.

When we were in the Gulf, the captain brought the boat to a halt, and everyone had plenty of time to get good sunset photos. As the sun started dipping below the horizon, we headed back to Naples Bay. It was then that I was reminded that sometimes the best photos are behind you. This image is a two-photo panorama stitched in Adobe Lightroom Classic. The cloud formation was too large to capture in a single image.

Pure Florida is a family-owned and operated tour company specializing in water-based experiences in Southwest Florida. Founded in 2009 by Captains Lance and Harry Julian, a father-and-son team, the company offers a wide range of activities, including sightseeing and sunset cruises, dolphin and eco tours, fishing trips, jet ski rentals, and private charters. For their latest rates and scheduled sails, visit their website here.

About the photos: The images in this post were captured with my Samsung S23U or Sony RX100V. The Sony images were processed as three-exposure HDR brackets in either Adobe Lightroom Classic or Luminar Neo. AI technology was used in some pictures to remove distractions. The full gallery of sixteen images captured on this tour is posted in 2K HD on my Flickr site here.

John Steiner