Silver Moon or Cool Runnings?

[scunny bunny]

Just can't decide between the two, both have good reviews. Cool Runnings is cheaper but do you get more for your money with Silver Moon. Can anyone help-please.

[woodofpine]

I went on Cool Runnings in late November and really thought they did a great job, very nice deck plan, friendly crew, good food and drink. We did a lot of good snorkling (the Bajan cat fleet pretty much does the same stops), but the kids had a great time jumping off the decks and swimming too. We ended up (alone amongst the cats) at the beach in front of Sandy Lane resort for lunch. I communicated with Silver Moon's owners earlier about chartering, we ended up with a 'group booking' on Cool Runnings because we snoozed on confirming a charter of Silver Moon.

 

Silver Moon's cats were nearby at Folkstone and were attractive (we got a good look), but I wouldn't have felt the need to swap - we were having too much fun!! Silver Moon like CR appeared to have a cabin open to the stern which is important in the tropics for this space to be useful. For instance, the cat Heat Wave's cabin is mostly enclosed, which I'm sure is great going trans-Atlantic but its just a hot box for excursions. Cool Runnings - like Silver Moon - unlike Heat Wave and Shasta limits the number of passengers (not crowded).

 

I've not been on deck with Silver Moon but I think they are're almost certainly very comparable to CR. In terms of pricing, you'll find that Silver Moon is cheaper to charter than Cool Runnings, but CR is a little cheaper booking 'a la carte'.

 

Head - you win; Tails - you win.

[drewdie]

We went on the Silvermoon last week, and thought it was a great excursion. There were 20 of us on board, and there was lots of room to spread out, plus a nice covered area. It was very laid back- we did basically the same things as Cool Runnings- swam with turtles and then anchored at the Sandy Lane beach. Lunch buffet was served, and we swam for about an hour. Open bar, including blender drinks on the sail back to dock. All in all, would definitely book again with Silvermoon.

[ohCanada]

After reading positive reviews we tried Silvermoon II last February and it was fantastic. What they do well is limit the passangers to 12 on the silvermoon I, and 24 on the silvermoon II. The hot meal that they serve is also outstanding. We loved it so much the first time, we did it again last December

[sj25]

looking how to contact Silver moon anyone can help?

[scunny bunny]

web address www.oceanadventuresbarbados.com

tel 2464382088

fax2464383650

don't leave it too late to make a booking. when we enquired there were 6 spaces when we decided to book all spaces taken. now on wait list. ( 5th march 08 )

[newcruisergal]

We did the Silver Moon I catamaran day sail which was frankly a disappointment after all the rave reviews I had read here. The best thing about it was that we had only 12 people, we saw some cats with as many as 50 and that did not look fun.

 

We did snorkeling with the sea turtles and it was awful…there were so many boats in the area and at least 200 people in the water…it was cloudy and crowded and very uncomfortable. I was not overly impressed with our crew on this sail (Danny, Calle and Gina). Danny was the captain and didn’t say two words the whole time. Calle was in charge of “helping” everyone but was too busy calling out to all his friends on the other boats that we got no info on the turtles, the island, etc. Calle made me uncomfortable, like he was forcing himself to be friendly. Gina was inside all day with the food and drinks (which were both plentiful and delicious, so she was doing a good job at least!).

 

Next we snorkeled over the ship wreck which was also crowded and really not that interesting. Calle did feed the fish bread so they swam all around us which was great. Lunch was fried flying fish (YUM!), green salad, pasta salad, sweet and sour chicken, coleslaw and fresh fruit. All were fantastic. The drinks were HUGE pina coladas, rum punch, colas, water or Banks, the local beer which was again very good. We anchored for lunch off the shore of a hotel for about an hour. Danny announced about 5 minutes before it was time to leave that we could swim if we wanted to…I would have had he give us more notice. Very strange.

 

We used only sails all the way back which was very relaxing and pleasant. The weather was cloudy so it was a bit cool. What I had liked best about the reviews I had read here were that if the snorkeling areas were crowded the crew would go do lunch first and then stop on the way back. I was really disappointed that we didn’t do this. We also didn’t get any information on the island like most tours give you, ours was just not a chatty crew. I would definitely not recommend this excursion over any of the other cat day sails unless you just want to be on a smaller boat.

[albatros]

Hey guys sorry to hear you didn't have a good time, we had a fabulous time, like you said the food was excellent. Can't say we had the same crew experience like you, Danny was an excellent skipper and told us some real funny stories. Calle was very helpful and assisted and looked after everybody in the water. Our snorkel stop was a bit crowded too, Jena had told us from the start that they normally try to avoid the crowds for all the stops if possible. When we went they already had other boats at the next stop with the reef and Danny had explained to us that you are not allowed to drop anchor there as it is a protected underwater park and it seems they only have so many tie up spots available. So in our case it wouldn't have mattered, we would have been crowded at the reef had we gone there first too.

I think for you having gone in January which is the busiest time in the Caribbean it probably wouldn't have mattered either. We usually go to the Caribbean in November, early December or April and May. There aren't that many cruise ships and tourists about then either.

I definetely recommend the trips on Silver Moon even if the stops get a bit crowded once they have all the cruise ships. Just the luxury of having only 12 and a lively crew of three to cater to our needs does it for us. Try it again and see.

Al

[spirit rev]

We throughly enjoyed our day on the Silver Moon. We were on the same sail as newcruisergal. True, the swim with the turtles and snorkling reef were crowded, others in our group did not seem to be concerned with the crowd. As others have said, there were five ships in port that day. Yes, I do wish they had told us we could swim at the lunch stop. This particular sailing had 4 couples from the Gem, one from Seranade and one from a hotel. I heard no complaints (other than the crowded stops from one who had done this sailing before) from anyone once back on the Gem.

 

DH and I enjoyed the crew. They were attentive to our needs and were always asking those of us who stayed at the back if we needed anything and often called up to those lounging in the sun up front if they wanted anything. The food was wonderful and plentiful. Gina gave me hints about what would be best to buy on each of the next two islands we would be visiting. Kellie could act like a clown but he was also a knowledgable and helpful member of the crew who knew what needed to be done and how to do it when it needed to be done. He was helpful to me as I moved about the boat while we were moving.

 

Once we returned to our ship we were able to watch several very crowded tour boats return to port. We were so grateful to have been with only a few others.

 

Yes, we would spend a day with the Silver Moon crew again.

[newcruisergal]

Hey guys sorry to hear you didn't have a good time

Al

 

I definitely did not say that we didn't have a good time, it was a very nice day. I am simply pointing out that I didn't feel the tour warranted all the over-the-top reviews I had read about it on these forums. I think it's important for people to realize that about all they are getting for the extra cost of this excursion versus other cat tours is a smaller boat...you get all the same stops, lunch, etc.

 

We did have one gentleman on our trip who had done Silver Moon I the previous year and he said that this year's tour was MUCH watered down...they used to take you further up the coast and have more spots for swimming and snorkeling. Not that it was a bad trip, just that is has changed in the last year so people should be aware of it.

[barneysail]

Had an excellent time on Silvermoon, been four times already, twice with the kids and the other times just me and my better half. I only remember once going to another stop for the turtles and snorkelling which was far up the coast, but then the wind was very strong, lost my hat that day. To be fair, I think they only have a limited time available and advertise the shipwreck, reef and turtles as their stops. The last time we went was December 2007, my children loved it and so did we. We will come again Silvermoon, you gave us a great day out. You can't please everybody, we know you try

[highlandmom]

We were really interested in booking with Cool Runnings but now I read that they wouldn't let another poster book because their ship arrived at 9am and they wouldn't make the 9:30 departure. Disappointing!

We are on the NCL Jewel 03/28 and get in at 9? There are only 2 ships in port that day according to cruisecal. Has anyone been able to book this day trip or even the silvermoon one which looks similar.

[spirit rev]

We arrived in port at 9:00 AM. Silver Moon was willing to "charter" the boat for the day if enough folks from our ship (Gem) would be interested in taking it - gauranteeing that it would leave later than normal. (Come to think of it, this may have contributed to being in the "crowd" at the turtle and reef sites.) Another person brought it up on the roll call and there were a total of eight of us who took it. Of the other 4 on board that day one couple was staying at a hotel and the other from another ship in port that day.

 

Suggestion: Contact them and see if that might work with your sailing.