Skip The Line: Mel Fisher Maritime Museum Admission Ticket And Audio Tour

I paid the exorbitant admission price expecting to see something about Mel Fisher and the Atocha. There was virtually nothing about either!

This museum has much improved since I visited it 30 years ago. The exhibits on the first floor from the Atocha shipwreck are well displayed with good signage, and not too fully packed in too few cases. The second floor focuses on the Henrietta Marie shipwreck. There is great video on the investigations of this site. The main focus on the Henrietta Marie was the slave trade, and many shackles are the main artifact focus. The subject is treated respectfully. Worth a couple of hours from the heat to see this collection of fascinating treasure recovered from the ocean.

Museum was really interesting. My husband had seen a few different treasure shows on Discovery and even though he kind of rushed me he still enjoyed it. I think the audio is nice, but if you don't mind reading you could skip the audio.

Extensive history 1500 Spanish ship wrecks and tons of info on life and cargo. The detail in the silver and ceramic plates. The silver/copper used to create coins. History of coins. In the 1500's used slave labor. Spent about an hour. Excellent layout of artifact and description to read.

This is a very interesting museum with a great history and interesting audio guide. Well planned and great exhibits. We learned a lot about Key West history. We walked right in!

Can't say enough about the museum and it's staff. Mel Fisher was an amazing man who lead an amazing life and won it all. We originally booked the platinum ticket for Oct 24 but hurricane Milton delayed our trip for a month. We ended up at the museum on a Sat when the conservation lab was closed. The staff still took us back for a personal tour and answered all of my historical questions. I really appreciate their accommodation and high recommend this museum.

Very poor ! I expected better and when you advertise audio we thought it would be headphones. Instead it’s a stick you hold and hit a button for each room and then hold the stick to one ear.

First of all there was no line. Second there was no record of my having paid for entrance, let alone enter…. Since I was there, I offered to pay a second admission. I will be hard pressed to use your service in the future.

The museum and the artifacts are great. The museum provides a ton of information about Mr. Fisher, his operation, and the history behind the Atocha and Margarita shipwrecks. I am deducting 2 stars from my review however, due to the Museum and staff not being "parent friendly". We were not allowed to use the handicapped platform lift to get to the top of the stairs outside to enter the building with our 2 small children and stroller, and there is no ramp alternative to enter the building. The employee that notified us that we were not allowed to use the lift was very snarky and rude when telling us that "it's for Handicap only" and then walking away before we could ask if there was another way to get our stroller up the stairs. She stood there and watched as me and my wife lifted the stroller and our 2 kids up and walked them up the stairs. I don't understand why we were not allowed to use the platform lift to get up the stairs to enter the building, but we were allowed to use the actual handicap elevator inside to get to the second floor exhibit. The blond lady with the Australian accent that gave us our audio guide devices and offered to take us to the second floor on the handicap elevator was very nice, courteous, and professional. The other two that day however were not. After we finished the tour my wife took the kids to the bathroom to change diapers while I browsed the gift shop. The courteous blond employee must have had to step away from the podium where the audio guides were handed out, so the employee outside (the snarky one that said we were not allowed to use the platform lift) stepped in to man the podium. While I was walking around the gift shop her and the other employee that sold the admission tickets were "gossiping" (to put it politely) about me and my wife wanting to use the platform lift. I poked my head around the wall of the left side of the gift shop where I could be seen and they knew I could hear them and they didn't say anything else. The fact that they were "gossiping" about me and my wife is the whole reason I am writing this review. The museum was excellent, and while not being able to use the platform lift to get our stroller and 2 kids up the entrance stairs of the building was an inconvenience, if that's their rules, it's their rules. Even if it's a silly one that leaves parents in the position of inconvenience and possibly safety concerns lifting children, stroller, diaper bag... up the stairs. But to blatantly "gossip" about 2 customers for doing nothing more than trying to enter a museum with their children in the middle of a gift shop, is unprofessional. I wish the museum the best and don't wish to "tarnish its name" for lack of better phrases with this review, because the museum certainly is spectacular, and I will still return to visit it again as we visit the keys every October.

I found this dory fascinating and the articles in the museum intriguing. There is a great deal of history in Key West and this museum provides a unique piece.

Amazingly driven man and family. Great museum with outstanding artifacts from the treasure fleet that sank. Well laid out and only takes about 1.5 hrs to see it all. Great displays and descriptions. Bringing kids would be pushing their level of interest to the max, better to tie them up outside or leave them with the crazy uncle you are traveling with. “Today is the day”

great lesson in perseverance (he looked for so many years) exhibits are good and audio adds to the value.

Very interesting to see and hear about Mr. Fisher’s treasure hunting expeditions! Not a large exhibit, but packed with great artifacts and information. Great family fun!

Very interesting museum, we both did the audio tour for an extra 2.00 and it was well worth it. Enjoyable visit, highly recommend.

A Native Floridian and frequent visitor to Key West.. I have walked, drove, and biked by this museum. Did the audio tour which was really informative. I actually learned things. A must see.

A wonderful story of a dream a family, and a long journey. Real gold and silver, tragedy and success.

We did the additional lab tour and it was well worth it. So informative and neat! It just shows you how the artifacts are cleaned and preserved after salvage but the work they do it so historically necessary. I thoroughly enjoyed the museum and was dumbfounded to find out that the museum is a non-profit so they are operating an very limited funds and don’t even have an x-ray machine to do their work. This museum is also a must see on your Key West visit.

As one would expect, a good portion of the museum is dedicated to Mr Fisher, his life's journey and the abundant treasures. What might surprise you is the extent of information on pirating and slave transport that is covered as well. Don't miss the second floor !!

Admission a little expensive 19.50$ for general admission and audio tour. Audio tour is a handheld device, you push buttons and listen as you walk through the exhibits. Audio tour didn’t add much. Museum very interesting with a lot of shipwreck treasure on display. Also have intestine exhibit on pirates and slave trade.

This museum was not on our radar but after hearing it referenced by 3 different people during our trip, we decided to visit on our last day. We really enjoyed learning about the ship discovery and seeing many of the artifacts. Plan for a 90 minute visit and pay the additional $1 for the audio tour.

The history lesson was cool but the tour was short and kinda boring! Not what we expected at all.. But, it was only $20.

Very thorough museum with excellent array of artifacts and knowledge, not just of Mel Fisher and the Atocha but also navy technology of the time, diving technology of the time, and details of piracy of the time. I took my time and read as much as I could and I think it took me 3 hours or 4 hours. I've visited dozens of history museums and this is one of my favorite.

Mel Fisher Museum was totally worth seeing. Would suggest adding audio tour so you can enjoy displays without all that reading. Only issue would be that 2nd floor did not have audio tour available. Previous reviews mentioned how rude staff was, found everyone very helpful and friendly.

We really enjoyed this museum and the audio tour. The story of Mel Fisher's quest and ultimate find of the Atocha shipwreck is well presented and fascinating. The treasures displayed are very impressive! The upper level of the museum contains information and exhibits that are not specific to Mel Fisher or the Atocha and is also very interesting and educational. We were happy that we decided to visit this museum, which is unlike any we've visited before.

This is an inherently interesting museum. The personal story of Fisher and his family, who essentially dedicated their lives to finding the Atocha is one of dedication and dogged persistence. The treasures recovered are fascinating, showing the cultural priorities of the Spanish Empire, and all the tools, cooking implements and navigation instruments are also educational. The explanatory materials are well done. Our only downcheck is the organization of the audio tour. The numbers are not in order, and some of the exhibits are missing numbers, which made the experience confusing.

I was really disappointed as I was last at the museum was the when Mel Fisher was there and even met with customers. The jewels, stone and gold were amazing. Now that many things have been sold I was so surprised to find there was more narrative about the wreck than the incrediable treasures that were found. Then to find out that things were not real but replecates was very disappointing. I will stop recommending this as a must see

We opted for the audio tour as well as the lab tour. So much history into one building. The lab tour goes into how they are working on pieces currently. Hint they have found a ship! The process is amazing.

This is the real deal. It's the story of years invested, many disappointments but in the end half a billion in treasure discovered. Do watch the 10 minute video at the start and do get the audio stick that lets you get details on various exhibits. I had read about this discovery and knew parts of the story but it totally came alive. Two days later, taking the ferry to the Dry Tortugas I thought about this treasure that might still be down there as we passed out beyond the Marquesas.

Surprisingly, we were the only ones in the museum at opeing time, which made the self-guided audio tour even more enjoyable. The hunt for a treasure-laden spanish galleon, a 15+ year adventure, is the focus of the museum. You can actually buy some pieces of the $400 Million treasure in the adjacent jewelry store. A good place to cool off, slow down, and learn about this famous treasure hunting family