The buffet opens at the dock, the sun closes the bay.
Hand-picked by our editors — only the best 6 sailings from 212 reviewed.
Verified partners for Cape May Dinner Cruise tours, free cancellation where available, and instant confirmation on every booking.
2 hr
Cruise the Delaware Bay at dusk, spot dolphins, and watch a glowing sunset over Cape May.
Reserve
2 hr
Early morning 2-hour cruise around Cape May to spot dolphins, enjoy breakfast and coastal views.
Reserve
2 hr
Sunset boat ride along Cape May with dolphin sightings, pizza, hot dogs, and coastal landmark views.
ReservePrices from verified partners. Availability updates in real time at checkout. Free cancellation policies apply where shown.
The landmarks, rooms, and views travelers on Cape May Dinner Cruise tours remember — all visible on a single visit.
This 110-foot vessel serves as the primary ship for the cape may dinner cruise, featuring climate-controlled cabins and open-air decks.
The dinner service on the cape may dinner cruise is catered by Lucky Bones Backwater Grill, offering a variety of menu options.
During the cape may dinner cruise, guests often spot Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins in their natural habitat while enjoying the coastal sunset.
The cruise provides a unique vantage point of the historic Cape May Point Lighthouse from the water.
The route of the cape may dinner cruise encircles the island, offering panoramic views of the Jersey Shore during the golden hour.
Every Cape May Dinner Cruise tour side-by-side — duration, what's included, how you redeem.
| Experience | Duration | Rating | Lunch | Guide | Free cancel. | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Standard Entry Most popular
Cape May Sunset Cruise & Dolphin Watching Tour
|
2 hr | ★ 4.7 | — | ✓ | ✓ | €35 | Book → |
|
Standard Entry
Cape May Dolphin Watching Cruise
|
2 hr | ★ 4.9 | ✓ | — | ✓ | €32 | Book → |
|
Standard Entry
Cape May Sunset Dolphin Watching Cruise with Food
|
2 hr | ★ 4.7 | — | — | ✓ | €35 | Book → |
All prices from verified partners. Availability and exact terms confirmed at checkout.
They complement each other; most visitors who choose a cape May dinner cruise tour prefer the dynamic maritime environment, while those choosing land-based options prioritize the quiet stability of a seated meal. The cape May dinner cruise tickets offer an active evening on the water, whereas land-based dining provides a stationary alternative.
| Feature | Top pick Dinner Cruise | Fine Dining |
|---|---|---|
Atmosphere |
Open-water maritime breeze | Quiet and climate-controlled indoor space |
Dining Setting |
Communal buffet and deck seating | Private table service |
Flexibility |
Fixed departure and return times | Open reservation slots throughout the evening |
Scenic Value |
Panoramic Atlantic Ocean and sunset views | Cityscape or garden views |
Price |
84 USD per adult | 60–150 USD per person |
Duration |
Approx. 2.5 hours | 1.5–3 hours |
| See tickets → |
Verdict: Choose the cape may dinner cruise tours if you prioritize ocean views and a casual atmosphere, or select land-based dining for a longer, more intimate conversation.
Choose your ticket, select your date, and reserve in under two minutes. Secure checkout handled by our verified partner.
Instant confirmation by email, with a mobile voucher you can save offline. No printing, no queuing at a collection desk.
Arrive at the entrance, show your voucher on your phone, and walk in. Most tickets include priority or skip-the-line access.
Practical details for Cape May Dinner Cruise tickets straight from our verified partners — hours, access, rules, and how to get there.
Casual attire is recommended for the Cape May dinner cruise. Bring a light jacket or sweater, as temperatures can drop significantly on the water in the evening.
Small personal bags are permitted on board. Security reserves the right to inspect items before boarding the Cape May dinner cruise.
Photography is encouraged during the Cape May dinner cruise. Please be mindful of other passengers while capturing the sunset and marine life.
The vessels used for the Cape May dinner cruise feature ADA-compliant boarding ramps. Staff are available to assist guests with mobility requirements.
Mobile phones are permitted. Keep ringer off inside exhibition spaces.
The Cape May dinner cruise is a family-oriented experience suitable for all ages. Children under 6 sail free on many excursions with a paying adult.
The Cape May dinner cruise includes a dinner buffet provided by a local partner. Outside alcoholic beverages are not permitted, but a full bar is available onboard.
Pets are not allowed, with the exception of service animals with appropriate documentation.
Last entry is typically 1 hour before closing. Check the specific ticket for timing.
Best time to go, insider tips, nearby landmarks, and the cancellation fine print — flip through to skim what matters to you.
Flexible, no hidden fees.
All sales are final. In the event of a trip cancellation issued by the captain, a refund is possible within 30 days of the canceled trip.
The Cape May Whale Watcher entered service in 1993 with capacity for roughly 300 passengers, making it one of the largest excursion vessels ever berthed in a New Jersey resort harbor. Its slip at 1218 Wilson Dr sits on Schellenger's Landing, a working dock shared with commercial draggers and charter fleets.
A Cape May dinner cruise tour therefore begins beside ice chests and gill nets, not a boardwalk turnstile.
The harbor itself is younger than the town. Cape May took its name from Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, the Dutch captain who charted the bay mouth in the 1620s, and spent the nineteenth century as a steamboat resort for Philadelphia and Baltimore. The Cape May Canal was cut in 1942, allowing coastal traffic to slip between bay and ocean without rounding a point then patrolled by German submarines. That channel created the sheltered basin the evening fleet still uses. Visitors searching for a cape cod dinner cruise, or comparing cape cod dinner cruise prices, often arrive here instead; the two capes share a silhouette and a season, but a cape cod river cruise runs inland water, while these sailings open onto a bay mouth roughly eleven miles across.
Three decks shape the vessel: an enclosed lower saloon, a mid-level with galley service, and an open upper deck used for photography. The standard westward route passes the 1859 Cape May Lighthouse at Cape May Point, the concrete freighter Atlantus half-sunk off Sunset Beach since 1926, and the channel now worked by the Cape May–Lewes Ferry. Bottlenose dolphin pods feed in the same rips the captains read for current, which is why a cape may sunset dinner cruise so often doubles as a wildlife sighting. A cape may ferry dinner cruise is a different animal entirely: scheduled transit, not a loop.
What persists is a nineteenth-century habit. Cape May's summer trade was built on arriving by water, and the evening sailing preserves that arrival in reverse, with the Victorian rooflines of Beach Avenue seen from the bay rather than the street. The whale-watch fleet funds a second life as a research platform; onboard naturalists log sightings for regional cetacean surveys, and those logs now run across three decades. Cape May dinner cruise tours sit at that intersection of resort history, working harbor, and marine science, which is rarer along this coast than it sounds.
"Cape May's summer trade was built on arriving by water, and the evening sailing preserves that arrival in reverse."
A step-by-step walkthrough of Cape May Dinner Cruise tickets — what you'll see, how long each stage takes, and the details that matter.
You turn off Lafayette Street onto Wilson Drive and park at 1218 Wilson Dr, where the ticket shed stands between two fuel docks. Arrive between 17:30 and 18:30: boarding opens thirty minutes before the 18:30 departure, and seating is sorted at the gangway.
The counter runs 09:00–20:30 daily, so a same-day question gets answered in person.
You step aboard, hand over your Cape May dinner cruise tickets, and choose a deck. Downstairs, the buffet line sets up along the port rail, covered by the 84 USD per adult. Regulars on the Cape May dolphin dinner cruise claim the bow benches first. Lines come off at 18:30 and the hull swings past the Coast Guard station within four minutes.
You eat while the boat runs west down the canal. By the time plates clear, the Cape May Lighthouse stands off the port side and the crew drops to idle for the last twenty minutes of light. You scan the chop for dolphin wakes. Then the bow comes around, the Victorian rooflines of Beach Avenue turn gold, and you are back at Schellenger's Landing before full dark, with the charter fleet's lights switching on behind you.
The Cape May Whale Watcher is open 09:00–20:30 daily.
The vessel for your cape may dinner cruise features ADA-compliant boarding ramps to assist guests with limited mobility.
Bring your cape may dinner cruise tickets, a camera for sunset photos, and a light jacket for the evening breeze.
Yes, this is a family-friendly excursion, and children are welcome on all cape may dinner cruise tours.
Outside food is permitted, but outside alcoholic beverages are prohibited; a full bar is available on your cape may dinner cruise.
Trips sail rain or shine. If the captain cancels the cape may dinner cruise due to severe weather, you may reschedule or request a refund.
We recommend an arrival window of 17:30–18:30 to allow for boarding 30 minutes before the 18:30 departure of your cape may dinner cruise.
Yes, free parking is available onsite in the designated lot for all cape may dinner cruise guests.
All sales are final, but if the captain cancels the cape may dinner cruise trip, a refund is possible within 30 days.
