Things certainly do change. With rising fuel costs, things have gotten considerably more expensive. For the next 2 late rainy season months with their often rainy afternoons the rate will be only $94 (ie still not bad at all) but after that it shoots up to $119 (Sept & Oct 2009 it drops back a little bit again but only to $109 if you book it now). Ticos or ticas pay $10 less than that. I suppose you can try asking for the tico rate like Royboy suggested but good luck actually getting it yourself since they specifically state they inspect cedulas. And to answer my other Tampa friend GT, the old man simply known affectionately as "Abuelo" still plays the marimba aboard at the ripe old age of 94.
The reason I know so much about this is because I recently looked into using the trip for something a bit different. Like others said taking this tour would be one really long and tiring day and the price now has risen considerably above most other day tours. However they also offer the tour from Quepos/MA for the same price (until 9/09 when they start to charge $10 more). What I tried to find out was, since you'd be making that really long drive to the coast from SJ, if one were planning to go to Quepos on some other day anyway, would they let you take the tour from SJ and then at the end of the day take their return van on to Quepos instead of returning to SJ. This way one could kill 2 birds with one stone by combining 2 days with a lot of driving (one with a really nice tour and one without) into just one day. I know you can already do this with rafting tours with some companies between SJ and Arenal or the Caribbean coast and with a combination boat and horseback riding tour between Monteverde and Arenal. You just leave your luggage in their locked van during the tour and usually there is not even any extra charge. The answer that I got from Calypso was somewhat mixed. Yes you can do that with them IF they have a van to Quepos that day. The problem is that while they usually do, they can't guarantee having other customers that are coming from Quepos every day and if you wind up beingthe only ones wanting to return to Quepos then you can wind up paying a very hefty surcharge (basically there is a 4 pax min to avoid the surcharge). Still I think this is an excellent idea to look into during the peak season when they are more likely to have full vans.
BTW, in case they didn't have enough people for a van to Quepos, I also checked to see if they returned to Puntarenas early enough to catch the last bus out. That could work if you were going from MA to SJ, but then you wouldn't need to take a bus as there are always full vans returning to SJ. Unfortunately they get back to port after the last bus to Quepos and those buses are "locals" anyway that take 3 full hours to make that run.
Some questions for vets who have done this tour than I didn't think to ask the tour company itself. You said you have to pay for whatever drinks you have at the bar. I don't know how many of their 22oz. Mega-Cocktails I could handle anyway (though daiquiris made with fresh tropical fruit do sound rather nice for having while out on the boat). Are the bar prices reasonable or is that another major profit center for them? Also, someone recommended spending extra for a watercraft to take them to other nearby islands away from the concentrated horde of tourist. I assume they're referring to some sort of jetski. How much more do they charge for those?
Here is their website link that offers a lot of info on the tour but also left a lot of those other questions unanswered.
http://www.calypsocruises.com
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