Tiami Catamaran tours - GREAT!!

[TropicalSnowflake]

If you are in the mood for a catamaran tour, I suggest taking one of the Tiami cats.

 

They have several Cats and you can book directly through them http://www.tallshipscruises.com/, but we took a tour through our ship (RCCL) called the Tiami Five Star Cruise and Turtles. It was a 5 hour tour, starting with mimosa, crab cakes and sweet breads in the morning as we began our cruise. The crew was fun and got the people involved in the hoisting of sails. After the first sailing, we did some amatuer snorkeling at a beach (some folks just lounged on the beach). I say amatuer because the reef at this beach does not have much live coral, but lots of interesting fish inhabat it, and if you bring Cheerios (get them from the ship's buffet cereal area) the fish will swarm close around you and it's great fun!

 

Then we took a short cruise to where the sea turtles hang out (looking for food). I recommend being one of the first in the water there. The turtles know you are there to feed them and they come right over as soon as the boat arrives. You can get up close without others around if you are in first...or if you swin away from the main group a little, sometimes a turtle will follow you. We were told they do bite, but we touched a few and no harm done.

 

Next, we sailed back to the marina slowly while we ate a lunch buffet that included chicken, fried snapper, pasta, salad and some fabulous cakes for dessert. They also served coffee, tea.

 

Oh yeah, and it's an "all you can drink" open bar the whole cruise. People we definately talkative on the trip back to the pier!

[toothgirl]

Thank you for the review, I plan on taking this tour with my parents on our upcoming cruise. And it was soothing to read that you enjoyed the excursion...since it's not one of the cheapest ones one can book! :)

Thank you, and Happy New Year!

Kristin

[MLSonk]

I keep hearing such great things about Silver Moon (which is booked solid) and how the other cats are so crowded with passengers. I would love to book the Tiami if this is not the case. Not looking to fight for a comfortable spot for hours in the sun!

[riz]

We just did Silver Moon II on Dec 23.....it was wonderful and only 14 people on the catamaran. We saw all of Tiami's fleet as they left for their excursions for the day and they were packed....some ridiculously packed with people. Tiami sounds nice and have nice looking boats but if you are looking for something less busy and just as nice go with Silver Moon.

[MLSonk]

Silver Moon is all booked for the one day I am in Barbados and the others on my tour refuse to do Thriller because they really want a catamaran. How crowded is crowded when it comes to Tiami? I am from NY, so I am used to crowds, but I also have high standards for my vacations. Would I be better skipping the cat rather than going on Tiami? Are there any other tours comparable to Silver Moon? Help--I set sail on the 7th! :eek:

[skywalkervadar]

My BF and I were on the Silver Moon II with Riz and only 11 other passengers. She's right, Tiami was packed. I think we saw 2 Tiami Cats sail by and every surface looked stuffed ... sardine like even ;o).

 

We only had 14 and they had to have at least 40 to 50.

 

It's unfortunate that Silver Moon is booked for the day that you're there because the itineraries are pretty much exactly the same.

 

Our First Skipper (Made in Barbados ;o) even commented that that's what Silver Moon is about ... no crowds.

[tammythetwinsmom]

Superkewp, Did you feel that you were crowded? I assume that you are sailing for just a little bit and then out and about more time than not? Thanks for the great review!

[24butterfly]

We just got back from Barbados,and the Silver Moon I. It was $100 pp. First class service all the way; and met some nice people. Great rum punch, and I'm no drinker. The only thing I didn't like was that there was not enough time to snorkle--but they didn't call you in. I figured that since everyone was onboard, that it was time to go in. Snorkle time was about 15 mins. Lotsa fish; wider variety in Dominica....Lunch, I thought, was ok. Baked chicken, fried fish, salad, and I think, cole slaw. Wine served also. Soft drinks available also. Banana bread and pina coladas/strawberry daquiris on the way back, as well as choco chip cookies on the sail out. they don't go too far--probably about 30 minutes from where they started out. Wish the sail back to the dock was longer. THAT was b-u-tiful and certainly not long enough. After the snorkle is when they serve you lunch, after a 15 or so minute swim. The boat drops anchor 1 minute or so from the snorkle site. You eat lunch, then head back.

[IlliniCruiser88]

We're just back from our trip on RCCL's Serenade of the Seas (2/4/06 sailing). We took the 5-star Tiami Catamerann excursion on Barbados. This excursion was the highlight of our trip. I've read some reviews here that folks have heard the cruise excursion is too crowded. At first, I thought the cat was too crowded, but once we got underway people spread out and there was plenty of room. Still, it did appear that the cruise-sponsored cat had bigger crowds than the others, but it didn't bother me.

 

We had an absolute blast. We met some new people on board, enjoyed the excellent drinks, and lunch was really first rate. The sea turtle snorkeling experience was fun (although a little crowded, with everyone trying to snorkel to the spot where the turtles were located).

 

A great trip, whether you decided to do it with the cruise line or on your own. This particular excursion was very well executed by the tour company, so I highly recommend the 5-star Tiami catameran trip.

[Logie]

I also did the Tiami excursion through Princess a few years ago and it was a great day. I don't remember it being too crowded and the service and food was good. I am back in Barbado's for New Years Day and may try the smaller one, but if it is booked I would not hesitate to do this tour again.