Which Catamaran Tour?

[Lsimon]

Lsimon - it looks as if you have done quite a few catamaran trips. We will not be cruising to the Caribbean again until 2013, but of the following islands which island would you say would be the best island for us to do an all-day Catamaran trip - Barbados, St. Kitts or St. Lucia? We have not been to any of these islands but will probably want a relaxing sailing/snorkeling day at least one of those days. We also want to keep in mind which of these islands we would most want to do a land tour. We will also be in Antigua and St. Thomas, but already know what we want to do at both of those ports.

 

I wasn't sure which to suggest until you said the work "relaxing" and the answer to that would clearly be in Barbados. Now I don't know how a couple of the other cats being recommended here are but I do know how the Silver Moon is and it is the most laid back and enjoyable catamaran trip we've taken (all 6 times). We've also had a lot of fun on the ship's fan-ta-sea catamaran excursions in St. Kitts which are run through different subcontractors with different cats. That is a more typical cruise line tour, much more crowded, but loads of fun. Fairly good snorkeling, a basic picnic grilled lunch (something like hot dogs and chicken with rice and beans and salad) on a beach. Then a real party atmosphere that is fun enough to get even non-dancers up and dancing or at least having fun watching others do so (the rum punch helps a lot).

 

I've never heard of a catamaran ride which is quite so much fun in St. Lucia. But St. Lucia is a fantastic Island for an Island tour. There are a number of operators that do similar tours up and down the scenic western coast. Look through the Cruise Critic port of call forum for a lot of recommendations there. St. Lucia also is very well regarded for snorkeling and diving but the couple times we've done it there conditions were less than ideal. The best we've seen there was a brief stop on our land tour.

 

I have photos of all these trips on our photos site including one land tour in St. Lucia, 6 trips with Silver Moon and 4 or 5 catamaran trips in St. Kitts - look through it and if you need me to point the way to some of the photos then email me.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I wasn't sure which to suggest until you said the work "relaxing" and the answer to that would clearly be in Barbados. Now I don't know how a couple of the other cats being recommended here are but I do know how the Silver Moon is and it is the most laid back and enjoyable catamaran trip we've taken (all 6 times). We've also had a lot of fun on the ship's fan-ta-sea catamaran excursions in St. Kitts which are run through different subcontractors with different cats. That is a more typical cruise line tour, much more crowded, but loads of fun. Fairly good snorkeling, a basic picnic grilled lunch (something like hot dogs and chicken with rice and beans and salad) on a beach. Then a real party atmosphere that is fun enough to get even non-dancers up and dancing or at least having fun watching others do so (the rum punch helps a lot).

 

I've never heard of a catamaran ride which is quite so much fun in St. Lucia. But St. Lucia is a fantastic Island for an Island tour. There are a number of operators that do similar tours up and down the scenic western coast. Look through the Cruise Critic port of call forum for a lot of recommendations there. St. Lucia also is very well regarded for snorkeling and diving but the couple times we've done it there conditions were less than ideal. The best we've seen there was a brief stop on our land tour.

 

I have photos of all these trips on our photos site including one land tour in St. Lucia, 6 trips with Silver Moon and 4 or 5 catamaran trips in St. Kitts - look through it and if you need me to point the way to some of the photos then email me.

Thank you for your reply. I was beginning to get the feeling that Barbados would be our best bet. I am hoping we will not miss too much there if we don't do a land tour, too.

 

I was thinking first of doing the catamaran tour in St. Lucia, but did not see any there that looked as good as the Silver Moon and some of the others mentioned in Barbados.

 

I will check out your photo site. Thank you again.:)

[Stevesan]

We are running into a problem in finding a good catamaran excursion in Barbados. Our ship, Emerald Princess, does not get into port until 10:00 a.m. We want to do a longer excursion (5 hrs.) and most excursions seem to be leaving at 9:30. Can anyone recommend an excursion that leaves a bit later.

 

Contact Ocean Adventures/Silver Moon

I booked the Silver Moon Deluxe for Nov 23, also on Emerald with a 10AM dock time. They apparently adjusted the pick up time:

 

We have received your confirmation, thank you.

 

We ask that you meet our representative at Gate 2 in the Cruise

Terminal for 10.30am. Allow 15 minutes to get from your ship through

the Cruise Terminal. Remember to bring towels and sun block with you.

We look forward to having you sail with us.

 

Please be advised that Silver Moon Cruises sails promptly at 11.00am.

We cannot be responsible for any late arrival at the Gate and no

refund will be given due to lateness.

 

 

[sangoofy]

The crew on our catamaran were awesome (Ryan and Chris especially). Friendly, funny, knowledgable and most of all extremely caring. Ryan personally helped calm my fears which allowed me to experience one of the coolest things I have ever done- swim with the sea turtles and pet them as well. The food was delicious, the drinks plentiful and the entire experience is one my husband and I would definately repeat on return visits to Barbados. We both highly recommend this tour company and their awesome tour. Well worth the money and a highlight on our 7 day cruise. We had a total of 23 people on our tour. Some stayed below, some on top in front and others on top in back so never felt crowded when on cat.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

The crew on our catamaran were awesome (Ryan and Chris especially). Friendly, funny, knowledgable and most of all extremely caring. Ryan personally helped calm my fears which allowed me to experience one of the coolest things I have ever done- swim with the sea turtles and pet them as well. The food was delicious, the drinks plentiful and the entire experience is one my husband and I would definately repeat on return visits to Barbados. We both highly recommend this tour company and their awesome tour. Well worth the money and a highlight on our 7 day cruise. We had a total of 23 people on our tour. Some stayed below, some on top in front and others on top in back so never felt crowded when on cat.

Do they have steps that extend into the water for access?

[sangoofy]

Yes they did have stairs that extend into the water making access in and out a breeze.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Yes they did have stairs that extend into the water making access in and out a breeze.

Thank you! That is good information to know.:cool:

[markland0409]

I have been on Calabaza twice in the last 3 years with my family of 4 - two adults, two late teens. We loved it both times. Great personal attention from Gina (the hostess) and her son the captain. Food is amazing, plenty of drinks of all kinds plus they take you out just before the other tour boats so you are ble to enjoy in relative peace. Maximum passenger load I believe is 12 so a nice small group.

 

Contact Gina directly - she normally responds in less than 24 hours.

 

Enjoy - it is a great day