Sea Cross is the deep sea fishing name in Miami with the longest, cleanest record in the field, an owner-run sportfishing operation that has worked the Gulf Stream off Haulover for more than 30 years. Captain Rafael Mayans, a lifelong Miami angler and an International Game Fish Association member, runs the boat himself, which is the single biggest reason it sits at the top of the port: the person you book is the person who meets you at the slip. The trip menu is wide, the record across hundreds of reviews is steady, and the only real mark against it is that the rates are not posted on the operator’s own site.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 8.0 Sea Cross is the strongest private charter in Miami and a clear first call for a group that wants the whole boat. It earns the spot on consistency rather than flash: an owner-operator captain who fishes the same grounds day after day, a full slate of trips from a short half day to a night swordfish run, and a long record of satisfied anglers. The caveat is value and transparency, not the fishing. You have to call or open the FishingBooker listing to see a price, where a rival like Double Threat posts its rate card outright. Book Sea Cross for a private day on a proven boat with a captain who knows the water. If you want a cheaper way out, the Miami ranking lays out the party boats too.
The boat
Sea Cross runs two Hatteras sportfishers, each licensed for up to 6 anglers and each air conditioned with a flybridge, a fighting chair, outriggers, a live bait well, and a head. The standard boat, the Sea Cross II, is a 45 foot Hatteras built in 1979 and restored in 2020, which is the one most of the published reviews ride on. There is also a larger, faster 55 foot luxury Hatteras for groups that want more room and a quicker run. Neither boat is new, and the listings carry a 45 versus 55 foot length conflict on the smaller hull that the operator has not cleared up, but reviewers consistently describe both as clean, comfortable, and well kept rather than tired.
The fishing and what you target
The draw off Haulover is how close the Gulf Stream runs to the beach, so Sea Cross is fishing within about 15 minutes of the dock. The trips troll and drift live bait for the Miami pelagic spread: sailfish through the cooler months, mahi mahi from late spring into the fall, blackfin tuna and king mackerel through the year, and wahoo in the fall and winter. The boat also bottom fishes the reefs and wrecks for grouper and snapper and runs a night swordfish trip and longer Bimini and Bahamas charters. The captain matches the trip to the season rather than promising the same catch year round, which is what you want.
Trips and prices
Sea Cross sells by the whole boat for up to 6 anglers. On the Sea Cross II the published FishingBooker rates are $850 for a 4 hour half day, $1,250 for a 6 hour three quarter day, and $1,600 for an 8 hour full day. The bigger luxury boat runs well above that. Rods, tackle, the fishing license, live bait when available, and fish cleaning are included, and a 20% mate gratuity is described as customary on top. The weakness is that the operator’s own site shows no rate table and routes you to a phone call, so the clear pricing lives on the booking platform rather than with the operator. Our cost guide puts those private boat numbers in context against a shared seat.
The crew
This is the heart of the score. Captain Mayans owns and runs the operation, and reviewers across FishingBooker, TripAdvisor, and Yelp consistently describe a friendly, knowledgeable captain and mate who put first timers and kids on fish and share local advice freely. More than 200 FishingBooker reviews run heavily positive on the crew, which is the deepest steady record in the port. The honest limit here is on the other side of the ledger: the open review platforms were hard to read in volume, so there is less visible negative sentiment to weigh than the sheer review count first suggests. Nothing recurring surfaced against the crew, but read recent reviews yourself before you book.
Booking and what to know
Book by phone or email direct, or through the FishingBooker listing. The operator posts a clear cancellation policy: cancel a single boat 7 or more days out with no fee, and weather cancellations carry no charge, though it notes a small craft advisory is not treated as severe. Bring your own food and drinks, since the boat does not run a galley, and a soft cooler for your fillets. No fishing license is needed, as it is covered, and the mate cleans your catch at the dock.
How we scored it
Sea Cross scores 8.0: the most consistent captain and crew and the cleanest track record in Miami, on capable if aging sportfishers, with a wide trip menu, marked down on value and transparency because the rates are not posted on its own site. Captain and crew and track record are its strongest factors. See how we scored this boat for the full rubric and weighting, and compare it against the rest of our Miami rankings.