Shasa catamaran

[ktraveler11]

Has anyone taken Shasa recently? We have a tentative booking (haven't yet secured with credit card), but are concerned about the small size. One of our party has sclerederma and gets fatigued very easily. Is there a place to sit out of the sun? The boat looks very small from the pictures.

 

Also, it appears you board from the beach. Is it difficult to climb aboard?

 

The Calabaza cat looks quite a bit larger. It's also more expensive. Can anyone comment on either?

[hockeynut1033]

Has anyone taken Shasa recently? We have a tentative booking (haven't yet secured with credit card), but are concerned about the small size. One of our party has sclerederma and gets fatigued very easily. Is there a place to sit out of the sun? The boat looks very small from the pictures.

 

Also, it appears you board from the beach. Is it difficult to climb aboard?

 

The Calabaza cat looks quite a bit larger. It's also more expensive. Can anyone comment on either?

 

I just got back from a Shasa cruise, it was amazing. There is an area in the back of the catamaran that is covered. You do board from the beach, but it is not bad. (I have had 3 knee surgeries and did it :) ) The captain and crew are great with people that have not snorkeled before, and very aware of people that are not comfortable in the water, etc. It is very personalized and great experience! I can't wait to do it again.

[50something]

We went with Shasa recently. There was quite a swell so boarding from the beach wasn't that easy. Also if you intend snorkling be aware that the ladder into the water isn't that easy to get up or down. The water was murky when we went and I felt uncomfortable snorkling off the boat. It also rained heavily and the 5 hour trip was cut short. The boat is small and although there are awnings we didn't have much shelter. My husband spent more time in the water than me and thoroughly enjoyed seeing turtles.

[scole2]

We also were on a Shasa cruise in April. Our family of 5 had a great time. It was cloudy for part of the time, and rained a bit, but since we had already been in the water it wasn't a big deal. The snorkeling was very good, especially the numerous turtles who swarmed about our group. We also enjoyed the home-cooked lunch, which we ate on the boat just off of a quiet residential section of the beach. After lunch we swam to the beach and walked about 1/4 mile. There were only two other people on that stretch of the beach.

 

I agree getting on the boat from the beach was a bit more effort than we expected, but not difficult. If other guests help Jason steady the boat while the rest are embarking, it's an easy hop up.

 

One thing I especially liked about the tour was the size of the group. I always prefer smaller groups on excursions. Our group started off with 11 guests, but 4 didn't stay for the lunch, so it was just our family and another couple, along with Jason and his helper during the afternoon.

[chfs_home]

We were on Shasa and I can agree with what the others posted. I do want to add one thing. We had 9 people on the boat and the water was a bit murky due to the heavy rains. Our tour was cut to 3 hours from the 5 hour lunch tour due to the rainy weather (who wants to eat lunch outside in the rain?). But, we swam with 10-12 turtles, some as big as a manhole cover. We were the only boat in the bay when we got there and were swimming. The turtles came so close you had to be careful not to kick them! As we were leaving, the ship's tour showed up on a large catamaran with maybe 50-75 people. On board that oat were our tablemates from the cruise ship. That night they told us that they only saw 4 turtles and all the people on the boat were trying to get to them at the same time. Where did the other 8 turtles go to? I do not know, but I assume they get spooked with so many people in the water. I would go with Shasa again in a minute and I also see good things on this board about a couple of other small boats as well. I am going to post a Shasa review now as well!