Fan Ta Sea with Carnival??

[LynnAnne]

Has anyone booked this excution with Carnival?? Would like to see pictures of the boat and beach. Any info would be great. DH and I thinking about booking this for our cruise next month. Thank You!! Lynn

[1stcruiser1]

anyone??

[Lsimon]

I've taken the Fan-ta-sea from Celebrity ships five times - we just love this excursion and it is one of a very few ship sponsored excursions we do in the Caribbean. On our 5 trips we've been on three different boats. The name of the tour is generic and whoever does the ship's excursions there subcontracts to 2 or 3 different catamaran operators depending on how busy everyone is and how large the excursion group is.

 

I have a link to all 5 sets of my photos on this site:

http://lfsimon.home.comcast.net/~lfsimon/cruiselinks.htm

[1stcruiser1]

thanks! looks like pretty good snorkling too!

[LynnAnne]

I've taken the Fan-ta-sea from Celebrity ships five times - we just love this excursion and it is one of a very few ship sponsored excursions we do in the Caribbean. On our 5 trips we've been on three different boats. The name of the tour is generic and whoever does the ship's excursions there subcontracts to 2 or 3 different catamaran operators depending on how busy everyone is and how large the excursion group is.

 

I have a link to all 5 sets of my photos on this site:

http://lfsimon.home.comcast.net/~lfsimon/cruiselinks.htm

Thanks, Loved your pic's!! Can I ask how much you were charged for this, I think Carnival charges 129.00. Are the Catamarans easy to get on and off?? Do you think it is worth the price?? Thanks again, Getting so excited!!! Lynn

[Lsimon]

Thanks, Loved your pic's!! Can I ask how much you were charged for this, I think Carnival charges 129.00. Are the Catamarans easy to get on and off?? Do you think it is worth the price?? Thanks again, Getting so excited!!! Lynn

 

Our prince on Celebrity last March was $115. Do I think it is worth it? I've done this tour 5 times!

 

One interesting point: We did this tour in 2008 with two cruise friends who've never done it before. The catamaran was a little more crowded than usual that day and one friend hated the excursion - felt it was too crowded. The other loved it and thought it was his favorite trip in the Caribbean. Go Figure.

 

Has a nice combination of scenic sailing, snorkeling, beach time and a nice party atmosphere on the way back. The crews do a great job of getting people up and dancing on the return trip - fun to either participate or watch.

 

Two tips: The snorkeling at the snorkeling stop doesn't jump out at you. You need to look around and relax and watch the rocks a bit and you'll see some nice stuff, so take your time. Bring some inexpensive flip flops in your beach bag. No shoes on the catamaran so they collect everyone's shoes. But take some basic flip flops that can get wet with you off the CAT to the beach as the beach sand sometimes gets very hot!

 

Not too bad getting on & off. They lower a ladder/stairs into the water and the crew is there to help. Great crew!

[cruise pup]

I did the Fan-Ta-Sea with Celebrity in December. It was good, but I had some issues. The snorkeling was pretty good. You had to swim a bit to find the reef but they give good directions. The snorkel stop is at the very southern end of St. Kitts. This wasn't a group snorkel which was fine since I hate groups where you get kicked in the face with flippers. Entry in and out of the water wasn't too bad. We sailed across to Nevis and they dropped the ladder again into the water. The surf was a bit rough and the sand on the beach is also rough. Plus there is a big drop once you walk into the water. I needed a hand to get back out. But the worst was while sitting at the picnic tables for lunch my feet got covered with ants and I was all bitten up. One month later I still have scars where the scabs were. So bring some Off with you. Because, as already said, they take your shoes when you board the catamaran. Once we got back to the dock they put the shoes out...in the pouring rain. Needless to say the walk back to the ship wasn't very pleasant. The barbecue lunch was okay. The food was already prepared and just set out. This was not one of my favorite catamaran excursions but you did get what you paid for.

[Polomom]

If you just wear flip-flops, do they take these too? Or can you put them in your bag for the beach?

[Lsimon]

If you just wear flip-flops, do they take these too? Or can you put them in your bag for the beach?

 

You can not wear them on the boat. You need to either leave them in a basket before you get on (they'll put them on the dock at the end of the excursion) or carry them yourself in your beach bag.

[LittleYiaYia]

We just returned from our cruise which included a stop in St. Kitts. I can not answer your question about Carnival but we were on Celebrity and did the Fan-Ta-Sea Catamaran. It was the best excursion that we have ever taken offered by a cruise ship. It cost $109/adult $69.75/child. We found the crew to be most helpful and concerned with our safety. The lunch provided on Nevis was good. We enjoyed the beach stop (it is rocky, make sure you get your shoes before you head up to lunch) we spent about 45 minutes on the beach. They take your shoes when you get on the catamaran and when you arrive for lunch at the beach they put them out again. If you do not want them to take them I don't know why you couldn't put them in your bag. You just can't wear them on the boat.

[alilspunk]

Does anyone know what company Carnival uses??

[mafig]

Re: FanTaSea with Celebrity.

 

I've been on a couple of these catamaran sailings and enjoy them a lot. My favorite is the one from St. Thomas (I think it's called Champagne Catamaran or something like that).

 

Anyway, I'm not a big snorkler, enjoy just "noodling" around. Will that be OK?

 

Also, I have developed arthritis in my hip and wonder if there's anyplace for me to sit that's not hard fiberglass? (Perhaps I should bring a pillow).

[Lsimon]

Does anyone know what company Carnival uses??

 

I've taken this cruise several times with Celebrity and they've used three different catamarans run by at least two different companies. Since they are all marketed under the name Fan-ta-sea I suspect that name is used by a local promoter who subcontracts to one of several catamaran operators depending on the day and size of the group.

 

Re: FanTaSea with Celebrity.

 

I've been on a couple of these catamaran sailings and enjoy them a lot. My favorite is the one from St. Thomas (I think it's called Champagne Catamaran or something like that).

 

Anyway, I'm not a big snorkler, enjoy just "noodling" around. Will that be OK?

 

Also, I have developed arthritis in my hip and wonder if there's anyplace for me to sit that's not hard fiberglass? (Perhaps I should bring a pillow).

 

Sorry but all the ones I've been on have just had fiberglass seating, except for the netting/webbing area in front between the pontoons. We usually sit on our towels but that isn't going to give you much cushioning. I don't recall seeing noodles on these but they might have them or you can just swim around with a snorkeling vest or life preserver (they _might_ let you use one of those as a seat - but I don't know if there is any way to find out beforehand. I'd be aware that the odds are than a pillow you take would get wet.

[mafig]

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly, Larry.

 

Still undecided between this one and the railroad. Sitting on a hard surface isn't going to cause me excruciating (sp?) pain, it's just uncomfortable for a long period of time.

[1stcruiser1]

We were in St. Kitts last week and didn't want to book the Carnival catamaran because of it being crowded. We instead booked Leeward Island Charters catamaran sail to Nevis. When we got off the ship we had a short walk over to the marina. We then sailed to our snorkle stop and then over to the beach on Nevis for lunch.

 

There were plenty of drinks from the time we set foot on the catamaran till we returned. Snorkling was good and lunch was very good. It was an awesome day and I would do it again! It was only$87.00.