Miami Seaquarium Reviews

Tampa's is better in my opinion. More displays and attractions there.

Sad sad sad. Tanks are to small for the animals they have in them. The water looks dirty un filtered. Charge for parking just like the big parks. This place is run down and well past its prime.

It's hard for me to negatively review any organization that is on a mission to help animals and I want to thank anyone and everyone that would subject themselves to such a job. Miami Seaquarium is a fun weekend gateway for a family that has a decent verity of animals but lacks in customer experience. I felt we were just left after purchasing the (overpriced) tickets and had no type of direction or guidance through the park. I would suggest maybe having an intercom that announces the various shows and events taking place. Overall I understand the tickets price because for crying out loud they have a Killer Whale but with that ticket price I expected a better customer experience. It was still a good time and I'd suggest it to anyone wanting to get together with sea life.

As a Chicagoans, we made the wrong assumption that the seaquarium was indoors. Obviously being in Miami, it's gonna be hot. There aren't many shaded or indoor areas, so you definitely need to come prepared. The dolphin show was fun, much more talking than we expected, the kids got a little antsy until the dolphin really performed at the end of the show. Like any other main attraction in a city, prices are steep for 1 ticket but we got them cheaper through Groupon. Worth a visit if you're in the area.

Went bc we had summer savings passes. Their exhibits are old and small for the animals. Before going please google Lolita at Miami seaquarium to see how this animal has been in complete Isolation for 30 years.
It's clear to see that it's just a money maker and they have no interest in the well being of the animals.
Will NEVER return

This place is a joke!!! Seriously... Save your money! Its dirty and small and all they have are penguins, turtles, stingrays, flamingos, and dolphins. The water smells so bad you dont even want to touch anything and you can't even see inside the tanks because they are so dirty. My fish tank at home is more exciting...

A little disappointed with the aquarium. It wasn't clean and the staff was rude. Save your money and watch the animals on Discovery Channel. You hardly see the animals. I expected something nicer. We ended up leaving early because it was not worth the stay.

We enjoyed very much with our 2 year old she really enjoyed the dolphins

I've been coming here since the late 80's and its still a good place to spend the day. A little bit pricey but what isn't now a days.

A delightful day and experience!
Thank you Melissa F and Marisely L for being so patient and informative with our breast cancer survivor group. Definitely a bucket list place to go!

It was nice to visit this place. But I like Sydney sea aquarium more. You can have more verity and entertain than this. But to visit this once is good option.

It's small, the Orca show was terrible, the food area was filthy to say the least, everything was dirty. The burd area smells bad. The only reason to go there is the water park but for the price there are better water parks. Will not visit again. Would not recommend.

It was expensive...
Learned a lot.

Had a great time. Perfect for a day camp trip. There is also a place ground with water activities if the kids want to get wet.

Loved going even though it was REALLY HOT (Miami weather what can we expect) overall, it was good

My 3 years old loved the whale show, still needs lot of work. Total ripoff for the pictures, $40??? That's crazy.

Nice place for children, adults, families and friends to come see different marine life, learn about whales, dolphin, turtles, stingrays and other marine life. The shows are awesome. There aren't a lot of resting spots which it should be because of so much walking people may need to stop and sit for a while. The food is extremely expensive so come prepared.

Same same same even less the wale show is no way worth keeping these amazing creatures of n this fish bowl ..

Awful experience. Small, outdated displays. Entire sections of the park still recovering from Irma more than a year after the fact. More than this, it really felt as if the entire park and concept belong in the past. Worst $56 Ive ever spent, don t think I stayed in the park for 45 minutes. Empty on a beautiful Sunday. This place won t be around much longer.

This aquarium is stuck in the 80's it's like going back in time when visiting some of the attractions, run-down. Overpriced too! You have to pay extra for! However the employees are super-nice. The guy at the seal's attraction really loves his job and took his time to answer questions!

The dolphin odyssey (meeting, swimming with, and getting a dorsal fin pull from a dolphin) is pure magic. You can really tell how much the staff love and respect the dolphins in their care, and that warmth and mutual affection comes across in all their interactions. Cobalt, the gargantuan juvenile (1/4 Pacific and 3/4 Atlantic) dolphin, is the absolute star of the show. This is a grand experience at any age... You'll feel like a kid again.

Enjoyed all! Kids loved the shows. It was hot but plenty of shade in areas.

Extremely expensive. To see shows and worth the money payed is preferable to arrive before 11h. Few options to eat. Bring your own food.

Negatively, this place was so over price for how small it is and how little it offers. This place is known for their shows with dolphins, killer whales, and sea lions. Yet their hours for each shows is two hours apart. Doors opens at 10am, waited in line for tickets and didn't get through till 11:20am. First show was the dolphins at 11:30am. We missed it so we thought to wait till the next show at 3ish. This is thinking that we would catch other shows in between we wait till 3pm and thinking there will be more fish to look at. Killer whales shows at 12:50, turns out all they did was educated us a lot on how to keep the ocean clean and safe for the whales. The whales did jump, swim around and splash the front center row. But that was it, it was not how in the picture, where a trainer is on the top of the whale's mouth coming out of the water. After 20 mins of that, there was nothing else to see. Another thing, their dolphins encounter and swim with the animals were an awesome idea, however; again over price as well. You have to buy addmission tickets (45.99) plus 110 to encounter with an animal. This was the most disappointed, wasted of money places ever!

I recently did a sea trek encounter and absolutely loved it!!! I highly recommend I never thought I would be able to experience something like this. Best encounter there is and the crew was the best the Divers Jimmy, Chris, and Drake were hilarious and made sure everyone was having a good time and comfortable. 10 out of 10 in my opinion!!

Free Lolita!

When people complain about the high prices, the owner states that it's to care for the marine life in their care... But sticks an orca in a tiny shallow tank. Hang your heads in shame! You have organisations at your doorstep willing to free her of her misery, but this would affect your profits. One reviewer gave a one star review because the whale only jumped 2-3 times... That's because the whale can just about fit in the tank you *****.

Never in my life will I visit another 'seaquarium'.

Great place for an outing with the family. Fun for all ages! Pricy food, though, as usual at these kinds of attractions. We got annual passes, so we'll definitely go back!

Fabulous place! A lot of different animals and shows

Tremendously overpriced, with lousy food and ridiculous $10 parking fees on top of Disney Park-like admission ticket prices. That said, if you can stay away from the terrible food (particularly the lousy BBQ, or $5 pizza slices outdone only by the slowest-ever service), remember that you are there to see the abundant aquatic life and water mammals. There are now fewer shows, especially for Lolita, but they are no less spectacular than you remember it. Alas, one gets the feeling that another economic hit to Miami might push Seaquarium into insolvency, like Parrot Jungle Island.

It was not worth the money. The food is expensive the shows where to far inbetween.could not hear. A lot of shows were not open. Just all a round not worth it

The shows are fantastic. Went with some friends from out of town!!! Loved the shows and the lemonade was delish!!!

Nice size, alot to see, ticket line on a Friday had only 2 cashiers. Food was ok but over priced. Waited 15 minutes for the ketchup to be refilled & of course the fries got cold. Groupon gave a great deal on the price.

Fun to see the shows but outside of that nothing spectacular. If you're from out of town and have nothing better to do then go for it. We watched the 4 shows first thing in the morning, looked at a few of the exhibits and were out of there in just over 4 hours. We we're able to take our own food and drink in. The water slides they advertise were not good at all, don't waste your time on those. My 5 and 7 year old we're not impressed. Overall it's worth a 4 hour trip to check out the shows then get out of Dodge.

I loved this place... The shows, the penguins, manatees and birds even, but especially the dolphin encounter! I highly recommend. Great, friendly and knowledgeable trainers & staff. Thank you Head Dolphin Trainer Jenny for the extra explanation about the dolphin. Glad to know they're OK now.

Very nice and educational. I recommend eating ahead of time. The food is over priced and mediocre at best.

I'm not sure if it totally deserves full four stars but I definitely wouldn't give it three stars. All of the shows are pretty cool when the animals decide to show up. We had some dolphins on The Flipper Show that decided they didn't want to participate and we actually went to two different shows during the day and both times they didn't show up. We went to two other shows however and all of the animals were very active and playful and fun to watch. The family enjoyed all of that. On the downside, all of the little extras that you can sign up to do (the animal experiences) are incredibly pricey. It would have been fun to do a couple of them, but at $150 a person, it just wasn't a possibility.

YOU THINK THAT 40 YEARS IN A TANK THE SIZE OF A BATHTUB FOR THIS ORCA IS ACCEPTABLE?? THAT TANK IS ILLEGAL AND A DISGRACE!!

ANIMAL LOVERS WHAT DO YOU SAY???

FREE LOLITA!!! FREE HER TODAY!!!

DO NOT VISIT!!!
Lolita has been held captive here far to long!!!
This is cruel. Release her to her family now!!!!
Her mom is still alive and it has been over 40 years since she was taken from her family.

PROTEST PROTEST PROTEST....

great place to came with the family and look at all the amazing animals

If I could give 0 stars I would. This establishment should be shut down immediately. The spaces where wildlife are kept are extremely inadequate and the people caring for them should be ashamed. I would never recommend this place to anyone!

A good place to pass a few hours but wouldn't maje a trip for it

Was very disappointed in our recent trip to the Miami Seaquarium. Place needs many, many updates as it's very 1970's like. But the part that was the most disappointing was the exhibits. The animals are truly in enclosed spaces that are very small. Especially the manatees and penguins. It really makes you feel sorry for them and I honestly left there feeling sad. I've never seen conditions like that - as Seaworld Orlando, Discovery Cove, and many other aquariums have way better conditions for the animals. I would hate to see what happens after dark. I can only pray that the animals are treated with the utmost best care, but from the outside looking in - it did not look good.

To our bad luck it was raining during our visit . Still the guys did their best . Nicely choreographed shows though lil Kiddish . Good place to take small ones

Magic memories photo place sold us $40, 3 pictures and they give us the recipe and it says $20!!!! It is very weird

Beautiful place for the family, dolphins, whales, they added several aquariums! I loved the flamingo exhibits, brought back beautiful childhood memories!

Great for kids but price for food is really high. If anything make sure you see all shows to really enjoy

Amazing aquarium. Nice to have fun with family. Specially for kids

The staff all over the park is incredibly friendly from my phone interaction that morning to the parking attendant, to the entrance, to the vendors and cashiers and shop! It was also a big deal to me that the animals all looked exceptionally healthy and well cared for, the trainers were energetic, upbeat, and knowledgeable, and appeared to genuinely love what they do. The shows were on time and exciting and well organized.

My family had so much fun! Not a moment where we felt bored or that the animals we sad! So great for children all ages !!

This is a horrible park, which keeps a poor orca in the smallest space of captivity you can ever imagine. Go and do something else, do not give money to such a place. If you'd seen whales in their natural habitat, you wouldnt like it either.

My family had a great time got to see a beautiful seal he knew so many tricks & then we saw the whale he was hugh & the dolphins swallow a fish whole no chew at all lol..prepare to get wet so bring a towell.

Amazing experience, specially interactions with dolphins, it's unforgettable experience
The place is good but what makes it amazing is programs with dolphins. The trainer is awesome he makes your experience even more fun
His name is Ryan, make sure you ask for him when you visit.

Mostly outdoors. No refund if its raining. Great animal shows.

The place needs major upgrades. It s the dead of summer and they should ve installed fans everywhere. Misting stations all over the park is a must in Florida. Yes, they have slides with water for the kids, but what about the dolphin station in the front? There is zero ventilation in there. The food stand inside at the beginning of the park is disgusting. The women in the front cashier don t clean up their area. I mentioned to them that it was gross and why didn t they clean it up. One of them told me she didn t have time. I told her it would take one second to wipe it up. She argued with me that she had no time. She had time to argue with me , but no time to get a wet napkin and clean up the cashier station which was disgusting. I had to grab a napkin and clean it myself. There place is not kept clean. The whole place is just dirty. The only places that look clean are the animal areas. They seem to have clean water and their habitats are clean. Not going back to this place. People have made it a nasty place to visit. The Hispanic community is destroying Miami.

The bathrooms at this place were disgusting. Not to mention the in humane captivity of endangered sea mammals. Grow up

Honestly seemed a little rough at first, but once people started arriving and shows started it was a really good time. Clean and well kept. Food in the Manatee cafe is decent. And the greatest dolphin shows we've ever seen, especially with there being so many of them.

I visited this place with my friends good place to enjoy more fun activities

Kids playground with splashpad is not nice, my kids don t even want to go, too small and not much to do. Place in general is kind of small, you definitely wont need the whole day to do it all. we arrived at 2 pm and left at 5/6 pm which was just enaught. Le lionsea show is the best one for the kids to enjoy and be comfortable compare to others where you have to stand there during the whole time. Beverage and food are way too expensive, bring yours!

Need improved show the trainers talk too
Much and the shows are too short

Prices too high! The place is in dire need of restoration updating and friendly employees. The cafeteria is a joke and the food is garbage small menu nothing healthy was available the organic chicken wasn t even an option. The dolphin/orca show was cool though my kids enjoyed that. All the food stands were closed it was a ghost town the fish touch tank by the flamingos was a huge hit with my kids.

Please don't come here! Don't teach your children cruelty to animals is amusing. The organization is savages.

I'm a 30+ year Florida resident and visited for the first time. No, it was not Sea World, and that's reflected in a $40 price versus $70 plus. It's much smaller. but has an orca, a few sharks and three manatees. A plus were the sea turtles -- nice setting on the boardwalk.
But as an "aquarium" not much in terms of sea life exhibits. They do try with shows, but ... if you've never seen a show like that, it would be fun. If you have seen a large show with sea animals, you would immediate recognize the sets are way to small for animals of that size and temperament.
Overall, sadly, the seaquarium was a disappointing experience mostly because of the facilities, which were terrible. And while the owners will say, "Hey, we are an old institution," I disagree that is the problem. No, the problem is terrible facilities management. The restrooms, and there are not many, were absolutely filthy. When getting food at a cafe, I peeked into that kitchen area and didn't like what I saw. Even the cash only carts seemed old, dirty and run-down.
The shaved ice carts speak volumes about the seaquarium. The shaved ice machines are broken in many places, the handling of the ice (which is in a leaky, old, dirty igloo) is hygienically questionable, and staffers are standing in puddles of disposed ice too close to electrical cords.
While staffers seem nice, it just seems like there is no pride in ownership. Much of the clientele were out-of-country tourists, which makes me wonder if the seaquarium views its clientele and thinks, "take their money and never see them again." That is simply an observation, and I believe nothing will get better at that institution if it does, indeed, have that "carny" type of attitude.
So Florida residents, know that it is pricey from the parking to the food to the admission price. There are better bangs for your bucks. Try the Florida Aquarium in Tampa or Sea World Orlando.

Super nice, recently renewed, great place to brings the kids for a fun day.

It has been one of the best places i have visited in the city, the kids had the time of their lives. A place you should visit for sure.

I love this place. I went there for my birthday and bought every interaction. I swam with the dolphins. I went for a dive in the tank on the Sea Trek, and I got in the water with the seals. It was literally one of the beat days of my life. I highly recommend getting as many if those add on as you can afford. My favorite was the cheapest one, the Sea Trek dive. I pet an eel, and some rays. I saw the sea turtle swim by, and I did a feeding. It was great.

Free Lolita. This animal has spent 46 years in a bath tub - 36 of them without another orca. They will tell you she can't be released into the wild. Of course they would - Lolita makes them $$$.
Please free her to a sea pen. This is animal cruelty at its most sickening!

The kids had a lot of fun. Prices a little high,but we used a Groupon. Definitely worth it. Staff was very friendly. Might come back.

Not a lot to do or see. Shows are ok. Animals seemed to be treated well and cared for.

This was the most depressing aquarium I've ever visited, and we pretty much visit an aquarium everywhere we travel so I've seen a wide variety. I would call this more of a prison than an aquarium. The manatees exhibit in particular was so sad. The tank was tiny with three manatees in it. The manatees were covered in algae, and the tank was filthy. The Sea Lion show was, to put it nicely, lame. Very low energy, low production value, just not very entertaining. The food options were poor and facilities not well-maintained. I did like the tropical birds exhibit and that my daughter could feed raw shrimp to a sting ray... but if your'e going to sell raw shrimp to a 3 year old... you'd better offer soap and water for hand-washing, much closer than the nearest bathroom. Hand sanitizer doesn't cut it.

The one good thing I can say is that the cafeteria employees special needs individuals, which is heartening.

All in all, though, I think this aquarium should be shut down. I agree with the protestors at the entry (who were only there when we were leaving or we might have thought of a different plan. They still have killer whales in captivity for heaven's sake. I thought that sort of thing was now universally reviled.