Weight restrictions?

[CruiserN1]

I was just browsing shore excursions for our November sailing on Summit and noticed that several of the catamaran snorkeling excursions said that the weight limit for participating is 250 pounds. You have to check a box saying you meet this requirement in order to book the excursion. I have never heard of such a thing and was wondering if anyone has seen it enforced on an excursion.

 

DH is right around 250 but depending on what he had at the breakfast buffet could be over that by excursion time. I don't want him to be embarrassed by a weigh in or being removed from the excursion if we booked it and they told him that he couldn't go. He would be there just to enjoy the sail because he doesn't snorkel but I do. We have been on many such trips in many different locations and weight has never been an issue.

[neverbeenhere]

No scales available in the Caribbean. Don't worry about it.

 

 

9 feet high, 6 feet wide, soft as a downy chick

Edited July 13, 2016 by neverbeenhere

[RickT]

I've seen those type of restrictions many times. From what I've seen your husband would have to exceed that weight by a lot before they would even consider checking.

 

The last time we saw it was on a tubing excursion. Anyone over 250 lbs would have been dragging their butt on the river rocks :rolleyes:

[bigbenboys]

I have seen a weight limit on zip lining.

[ORV]

I have seen a weight limit on zip lining.

 

And helicopter and flight seeing planes.

[CruiserN1]

Thanks everyone. I also have seen it with flight seeing and helicopter tours, but never for a catamaran. The best I can imagine is perhaps it is because of the life jackets they carry on board, which might have a weight limit. But as long as they're willing to take his word for it, that's fine.

[thyme2go]

Why not contact them independently to find out what the weight limit refers to? I'm guessing it may be the capacity of the catamaran under sail and/or life jackets as mentioned--or even whether that person can go out on the net. Every comment is speculation until you understand the reasoning--and it could even be a coast guard (or Caribbean equivalent) requirement...........

Edited July 14, 2016 by thyme2go

[blizzardboy]

I was just browsing shore excursions for our November sailing on Summit and noticed that several of the catamaran snorkeling excursions said that the weight limit for participating is 250 pounds. You have to check a box saying you meet this requirement in order to book the excursion. I have never heard of such a thing and was wondering if anyone has seen it enforced on an excursion.

 

DH is right around 250 but depending on what he had at the breakfast buffet could be over that by excursion time. I don't want him to be embarrassed by a weigh in or being removed from the excursion if we booked it and they told him that he couldn't go. He would be there just to enjoy the sail because he doesn't snorkel but I do. We have been on many such trips in many different locations and weight has never been an issue.

The ladders used getting on board are probably their concern. If you read the warning label on regular step ladders, you'll see a similar weight restriction on a lot of aluminum units. I wouldn't be surprised that marine ladders could be similarly restricted.

[K.T.B.]

In all seriousness, a couple of weeks prior to the cruise, have him go on a small diet. Lose about 5-10 ponds. It doesn't need to be a permanent thing, more like a "just to make sure" thing. :)

[CruiserN1]

Why not contact them independently to find out what the weight limit refers to?

 

Who would I contact? Celebrity phone center probably won't know and the name of the excursion provider isn't in the listing. I've looked at other catamarans on the same islands and they don't list a weight requirement, so I can't figure out who it would be.

[CruiserN1]

In all seriousness, a couple of weeks prior to the cruise, have him go on a small diet. Lose about 5-10 ponds. It doesn't need to be a permanent thing, more like a "just to make sure" thing. :)

 

Have you ever tried to convince your spouse to go on a diet? That would not go over well in this household. :eek:

 

Honestly, he'd reject the shore excursion if I told him about the weight restriction. Looks like we will have to book independently since there's no mention of this restriction on any of the independent operator websites for the islands we are visiting.

[Nashna]

Have you ever tried to convince your spouse to go on a diet? That would not go over well in this household. :eek:

 

Honestly, he'd reject the shore excursion if I told him about the weight restriction. Looks like we will have to book independently since there's no mention of this restriction on any of the independent operator websites for the islands we are visiting.

 

I have found that the independent operators are usually much lower in price so you might be better off going on your own. We just had the same weight issue with renting a jet ski for two in Bermuda. The limit was 350 pounds on one jet ski. We were over by about 10 pounds which meant getting two instead of one.

[caladezi]

In all seriousness, a couple of weeks prior to the cruise, have him go on a small diet. Lose about 5-10 ponds. It doesn't need to be a permanent thing, more like a "just to make sure" thing. :)

 

Pull your head out. It must be hard to breathe.

[blizzardboy]

L m a o!

Edited July 14, 2016 by blizzardboy

[hcat]

Who would I contact? Celebrity phone center probably won't know and the name of the excursion provider isn't in the listing. I've looked at other catamarans on the same islands and they don't list a weight requirement, so I can't figure out who it would be.

 

Call Celeb and ask for the excursion dept. Or you can e mail them...That dept is usually responsive.

 

We went on tram excursion in Gr Cayman that listed a weight limit..We were told it was set b/c they calculated 4 across per seat...and if they had folks over the limit the seats would be overcrowded or not be sufficient for # of persons booked.

[DrivesLikeMario]

And helicopter and flight seeing planes.

 

And they do actually weigh you in before you get assigned a seat on those too.

[cb at sea]

Yep...on helicopters, you can't sit where you want...you are placed according to how much you weigh, to keep things level and even. Same on smaller catamarans!

Edited July 15, 2016 by cb at sea

[CruiserN1]

I contacted the Shore Excursions email address to ask about the weight restriction on the catamaran in Dominica. Here's the reply I received, just in case others also were wondering about this.

 

 

Thank you for contacting our Shore Excursions Inquiry Team.

 

We have reviewed your information. Please note there are certain excursions that for safety reasons, age, weight and/or height restrictions apply. These restrictions are imposed by the individual vendor, and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. must comply accordingly. Unfortunately, we are unable to make exceptions regarding restrictions.

 

Please note, for this particular tour, a weight restriction is imposed by the tour operator due to the maximum capacity of the Catamaran. Please reach out to our Onboard Shore Excrusions Manager, once onboard, for a possible arrangement.

 

Unfortunately, our system is designd to avoid any restriction exceptions and are unable to make an arrangement pre-cruise.

 

Alternatively we strongly recommend pre booking your shore excursions. Tour operators have a limited capacity to accommodate.

 

For any shore excursion inquiry please feel free to reply to this email.

 

Sincerely,

 

Mike Martinez

Inquiry Team Coordinators

 

So, not super helpful, but also seems like if it's a total weight issue, I weigh considerably less than 250 pounds so added together, DH and I would not weigh even close to 500 pounds. I haven't been able to find another catamaran snorkeling trip in Dominica so we might go ahead and book and see what happens.

[niborHS]

My friend's husband wants to do the Catamaran tour, so glad you posted this. He is 6 ft, but probably only around 200, and I am lower, however, my friend is severely overweight, my husband is definitely over 250 as well, and my brother-in-law could be a good amount over 250 also, his significant other is very short, so I can't really tell, but wouldn't be surprised if she was 250 or more. Would we all be thinking that they would say no when they saw our group?

[Maligator]

Learn from my FAIL. (November 2013)

 

The drive to the helicopter facility was about 10 minutes and upon our arrival, a scale waited for us in the lobby for a last-minute weigh-in. The weight limit was 215 lbs (I think) and my pre-cruise weight was a little north of that, but it’s just an estimate, right? Wrong. Learn from my failure, dear readers. I was called back to the lobby as the others went through the safety video and was told my combined weight (including my photo gear) was significantly off and I couldn’t go. My heart sank and I had to break the news to my wife, who was in tears. This was the one excursion we truly looked forward to. After some discussion, the staff told us they had an open flight later in the afternoon, but we’d have to buy a second seat for the extra 40 lbs of my butt and camera gear.

[niborHS]

Just as a follow up, FYI, on the Celebrity website the Catamaran and snorkeling tour has no restrictions, they just advice people with certain medical conditions to ask their doctor, and it is because of the snorkeling.

[proshopred]

250 may seem to be a bit unreasonable, but...... The catamaran owner may be worried about the safety of the other passengers.....Suddenly shifting too much weight could cause a boat to capsize.....More likely.....It's an economic issue.....It's more desirable to book 2 -175 lb passengers than one who weighs in at 350....I usually start thinking about the weight I gained near the end of the cruise...And never order more than two desserts on the last night...:)

[G.C]

I was on a zip line tour and the weight limit was 250. The man ahead of me was clearly a few rolls over the limit. He almost went off the end of the platform on the last stop. He could not slow down enough due to weight and he was shaken up pretty bad. There is never a good reason to be unsafe when you have the choice.

[hcat]

Call Celeb and ask for the excursion dept. Or you can e mail them...That dept is usually responsive.

 

We went on tram excursion in Gr Cayman that listed a weight limit..We were told it was set b/c they calculated 4 across per seat...and if they had folks over the limit the seats would be overcrowded or not be sufficient for # of persons booked.

 

Some catamarans and snorkel boats also have limited seating space and ships' excursions often book to the max...

 

Hope it works out

Edited January 17, 2017 by hcat

[CruiserN1]

Our cruise was a couple of months ago and we did end up doing one snorkeling excursion through X in St. Kitts that had a 250 weight limit. My husband is around 255, so not extremely over the limit. No one said a word to him or even asked his weight. However, the snorkel boat could have carried twice the number of people who went, so if the tour was full it might have been a different story. The official word from X is don't book the tour if you are over the stated limit.