Tiami Five Star Catamaran

[Duncan28]

Has anyone done this excursion? The description is: sail on a catmaran to a bay where you will have the oppurtunity to swim with wild sea turtles. Instructors will also lead a tour of coral reefs - which is optional. We are thinking of booking this on our next NCL cruise.

 

Any information that you have would be great!

 

Thanks.

[Toto2Kansas]

Has anyone done this excursion? The description is: sail on a catmaran to a bay where you will have the oppurtunity to swim with wild sea turtles. Instructors will also lead a tour of coral reefs - which is optional. We are thinking of booking this on our next NCL cruise.

 

Any information that you have would be great!

 

Thanks.

 

Yes, we have taken this tour twice. Although it is a lot of fun, it is VERY crowded and we have found it takes a long time to get in and out of the water with this many people onboard a cat. The cat is large, no denying that one, but with that many people, you waste a lot of precious water time.

But if it's the only option you can find, it is pretty good. You will get to know many onboard the cat very well, and most will probably be from your ship.

[Ballwin Babe]

Has anyone been successful in contacting Tiami via email? We've tried unsuccessfully over the past month. We sent a reservation request, and two follow up emails, none of which have been acknowledged.

 

I was wondering if their office had storm damage.

 

Anyone had any luck in contacting Tiami?

[Toto2Kansas]

Has anyone been successful in contacting Tiami via email? We've tried unsuccessfully over the past month. We sent a reservation request, and two follow up emails, none of which have been acknowledged.

 

I was wondering if their office had storm damage.

 

Anyone had any luck in contacting Tiami?

 

Tiami normally has a contract going with the cruise lines which will not allow them to book private excursions with cruise passengers. I wonder if that might be why you have not heard back from them? Just a thought.

[Duncan28]

Yes, we have taken this tour twice. Although it is a lot of fun, it is VERY crowded and we have found it takes a long time to get in and out of the water with this many people onboard a cat. The cat is large, no denying that one, but with that many people, you waste a lot of precious water time.

But if it's the only option you can find, it is pretty good. You will get to know many onboard the cat very well, and most will probably be from your ship.

 

 

Thanks for letting me know that - I will definitely take that into consideration. I am most excited at the chance to swim the turtles. I know that they're wild, so they can't guarantee it but that is what we are most excited about it. Did you actually get to swim with the turtles?

 

Also, we are going in January - do you think the crowds might be less? We heard that middle January is an off-time but I don't know that for sure.

 

Thanks!

[Toto2Kansas]

Thanks for letting me know that - I will definitely take that into consideration. I am most excited at the chance to swim the turtles. I know that they're wild, so they can't guarantee it but that is what we are most excited about it. Did you actually get to swim with the turtles?

 

Also, we are going in January - do you think the crowds might be less? We heard that middle January is an off-time but I don't know that for sure.

 

Thanks!

 

Since they feed the turtles, it's kind of like going to stingray city, the turtles aren't going to miss their pre-planned meal, and I have not heard of any time they didn't show up at the appointed time. ;)

 

When we took the Tiami, we could get into the water and swim around them while watching them with our snorkel mask. But, as said previously, with that many bodies in the water, it can get a bit crowded, even in the ocean, at times.

 

On the Silver Moon, we were there before the crowds so it was much easier to get those up close and personal views of the turtles.

 

We have often done this in January, and if that isn't the busy time, I would really hate to be there when it was. Lots of cats, boats, everything you can think of all merge on the site, many at the same time. The turtles stick around each boat until the food runs out, then they move to the next one that has a better offering.

 

It really is a great experience, so your excitement is definitely warranted.

 

Enjoy!

[Duncan28]

Thank you for your reply! We will have to balance out the lots of people factor with the turtles. The turtles may win out though!;)

[drakes2]

We did the Tiami 5 Star Cat when we were in Barbados in 2006 and loved it. I'd like to do it again but DH can't snorkel in deep waters anymore due to a heart condition. They are contracted out to the cruise lines so we had to book through them.

Thank you for your reply! We will have to balance out the lots of people factor with the turtles. The turtles may win out though!;)

[Toto2Kansas]

They are contracted out to the cruise lines so we had to book through them.

 

Most cruises they are contracted out to the cruise line, so the only way to book the Tiami is through a ships tour, unfortunately.

[goneclear]

Most cruises they are contracted out to the cruise line, so the only way to book the Tiami is through a ships tour, unfortunately.

 

We booked Tiami together with some friends while on a land vacation last August. We drove down to their office at the dock and made the arrangements. They have several cats of different sizes.

[Toto2Kansas]

We booked Tiami together with some friends while on a land vacation last August. We drove down to their office at the dock and made the arrangements. They have several cats of different sizes.

 

That works well IF you are staying on the island. But if you are trying to book the Tiami on a day when a ship is in port, the first thing they ask you is if you are coming in by cruise ship. If you are, you will not be allowed to book the Tiami privately if the ship has it listed as an excursion. It's part of the contract they have with the cruise lines. ;)

[hcat]

is it less crowded nowadays!

 

What do they serve for lunch on board??

 

Is there any music?

[V n C]

Has anyone done this excursion? The description is: sail on a catmaran to a bay where you will have the oppurtunity to swim with wild sea turtles. Instructors will also lead a tour of coral reefs - which is optional. We are thinking of booking this on our next NCL cruise.

 

Any information that you have would be great!

 

Thanks.

 

My wife and I vacation in Barbados for 2 weeks at least every other year and we've done Tiami, Cool Runnings and Calabaza. Tiami and Cool Runnings are usually pretty crowded. We love Calabaza, they only take out 10-12 people max, the food is better, service is wonderful, etc. Plus with the smaller group you get to spend more time snorkling at each stop. They do the turtles, reefs etc. If you're going with a large group Tiami would be a good choice, otherwise Calabaza is the best.

[Aplmac]

.

There goes Tiami sailing out, right now!

 

 

Tiami cats stop for lunch at any number of West Coast bays..

This is Reid's Bay -sometimes referred to as St.Alban's Bay

 

 

 

Bays with unbelievable water like this..

where jetski dudes turn up to offer their services

.

[travellover39]

Love your pics:)

 

What kind of camera are you using? The water looks wonderful. Can't wait

to get there.

 

Thanks for the Monday morning gift:D

[Aplmac]

Love your pics:)

 

What kind of camera are you using? The water looks wonderful. Can't wait

to get there.

 

Thanks for the Monday morning gift:D

The water is wonderful -particularly the temperature of it.

 

Camera/s?

Most of those shots above were taken with a little Canon Powershot

although I now use a Nikon D60

.

[3LittleBirds]

When we took the Tiami, we could get into the water and swim around them while watching them with our snorkel mask. But, as said previously, with that many bodies in the water, it can get a bit crowded, even in the ocean, at times.

 

I agree with this 100%. We took this tour and there were WAY too many people packed on the boat. We did have a good time, and we did swim with the turtles, but it was so packed we took quite a few fins-to-the-head. We got out of the water early because we didn't feel like getting whacked with fists and fins anymore. It was like a feeding frenzy of "get out of my way - me first" in the water.

 

It's one of those tours that we said "it was ok, fun, but never again".

[travellover39]

The water is wonderful -particularly the temperature of it.

 

Camera/s?

Most of those shots above were taken with a little Canon Powershot

although I now use a Nikon D60

.

 

Well, what ever camera you used, the photos came out great:D

Thanks for sharing, makes me get more excited for our cruise in October.

[Marlenascruising]

I was leaning towards another Cat & the pic of the Jet Ski got me. I want my DS to Jet Ski (soon will be getting license) and haven't found many places that offer it. Are the jet skies usually around on this tour?

[Lsimon]

I agree with this 100%. We took this tour and there were WAY too many people packed on the boat. We did have a good time, and we did swim with the turtles, but it was so packed we took quite a few fins-to-the-head. We got out of the water early because we didn't feel like getting whacked with fists and fins anymore. It was like a feeding frenzy of "get out of my way - me first" in the water.

 

It's one of those tours that we said "it was ok, fun, but never again".

 

 

Take a look at the reviews for Silver Moon.