Half Day Catamaran- Champagne Sail to St. John

[Erykah101]

Hi there! I was wondering if anyone has done this tour. I am looking at booking it through Carnival. I was just wondering what to expect. My husband is not really into snorkeling (only in shallower water) but we were looking for a fun boat ride and to lay on the beach at St. John. I was curious to know if there was anything on honeymoon beach...like bars, restaurants, restrooms? Also is the catamaran pretty fun...or more laid back? Sorry for the hundred questions LOL :o

[tces4]

I'm thinking about booking this too. The reviews on the Carnival website were very positive and very helpful. I don't usually book excursions through Carnival, but this one looked really good to me!

[Erykah101]

I thought the same thing! I booked it today so I will come and report back :)

[santa24]

We did this last year when we were on the Solstice and although that was with Celebrity I would think the Carnival excursion and possibly catamaran would be the same. We had a great time, first time snorkeling and loved it but they did offer to take anyone in to the beach on the small zodiac they had or you could stay on the cat. Honeymoon beach where we were was only sand no restaurants or bars but they were serving drinks and snacks on the catamaran, especially on the cruise back. What a relaxing afternoon it was! Our most laid back and enjoyable excursion on our vacation. We're hooked now. We had to book catamaran excursions on our next cruise.

 

You also asked if it was fun or laid back...both in my opinion. The music was playing, the cat was sailing over the water, the champagne, rum punch and beer were ample and the crew were young and eager to please.

[johneeo]

Hi there! I was wondering if anyone has done this tour. I am looking at booking it through Carnival. I was just wondering what to expect. My husband is not really into snorkeling (only in shallower water) but we were looking for a fun boat ride and to lay on the beach at St. John. I was curious to know if there was anything on honeymoon beach...like bars, restaurants, restrooms? Also is the catamaran pretty fun...or more laid back? Sorry for the hundred questions LOL :o

 

The cat was a lot of fun. Here is a link with the pictures from our excursion in 2009.

 

Here is the cat:

 

[tces4]

The cat was a lot of fun. Here is a link with the pictures from our excursion in 2009.

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much for sharing! Looks like a great time!

[cruz guy]

Where do you pick up the catamaran at? Do you have to take a bus to the catamaran and how long is the ride? I was trying to figure out how much of the excursion time is spent on the bus ride there and back vs on the actual excursion.

[johneeo]

Where do you pick up the catamaran at? Do you have to take a bus to the catamaran and how long is the ride? I was trying to figure out how much of the excursion time is spent on the bus ride there and back vs on the actual excursion.

 

You do a cattle car to Red Hook. 30 to 40 minutes.

[forever cruise]

We did this excursion through carnival and it was fantastic. Honeymoon bay is beautiful but there's nothing but sand there. The cat ride was fun. The snacks were good and rum punch and champagne even better. The crew were fabulous and wanted us happy. It was relaxing and yet fun. I would love to do this excursion again.

[vmom]

You do a cattle car to Red Hook. 30 to 40 minutes.

 

Thanks for the info. I guess that means that 60-80 minutes of the total time of the cruise excursion is spent on a bus or similiar vehicle traveling to and from Red Hook.

 

That's a considerable amount of time given the total excursion time.

[johneeo]

Thanks for the info. I guess that means that 60-80 minutes of the total time of the cruise excursion is spent on a bus or similiar vehicle traveling to and from Red Hook.

 

That's a considerable amount of time given the total excursion time.

 

That is my thought. Especially in the morning, as you get to the cattle car, and we sat around waiting for it to leave for at least a half hour.

 

On our last cruise, we booked the Fury which left right from the dock. Gave us from 8 AM to 12:30 (did Paradise Point), as we did the afternoon excursion.

[LA_FadeAway]

How long do you actually stay anchored at the beach for snorkeling and beach time on the champagne catamaran tour?

[johneeo]

How long do you actually stay anchored at the beach for snorkeling and beach time on the champagne catamaran tour?

 

About 2 hours.

[LA_FadeAway]

Great, thanks! Did Trunk Bay on our own last time, so thinking about trying this to change it up a little. St. John is too beautiful to miss!

[gator326]

I am planning to do this on our December cruise. Is snorkeling equipment (snorkel/mask) provided or do we need to pack our own?I am thinking they provide but don't want to be surprised!

[helpmesailaway]

We were on an all day Princess excursion that went to Honeymoon beach for about 2 hours. The Catamaran anchored close to the shore, dropped down a ladder and you could walk a bit through the water to the beach.

 

Why did your excursion need the zodiac to get to the shore?

[johneeo]

We were on an all day Princess excursion that went to Honeymoon beach for about 2 hours. The Catamaran anchored close to the shore, dropped down a ladder and you could walk a bit through the water to the beach.

 

Why did your excursion need the zodiac to get to the shore?

 

You really needed to do a bit of swimming (not much) to get there, so if you wanted to take beach towels or camera, you would not want to swim it.

[helpmesailaway]

Thanks for the info.

 

The catamaran we took for our excursion was able to "park" a bit closer because you could walk to the beach without getting things wet by swimming.

 

We did an all day excursion and the catamaran picked us up right at the dock with no bus ride.