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Restless Native Catamaran Sunset Cruise


13cheermom
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We have this excursion planned for a cruise at the beginning of October and wondered what the temperature will be like for this time of the year. I have read that the water temps are still warm for swimming but just wondering as the sun goes down how cool it might be in the evening. Trying to figure how also what to pack for this cruise, not a typical caribbean vacation (shorts all day long). Any help or suggestions from experienced cruisers during this time of the year would be greatly appreciated!

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DD and I did a cruise three years ago at the end of October and the weather was wonderful. We wore shorts all day long and swam in the ocean. No problem. The temps were in the low 80's and no humidity. The only time we put an extra layer on was aboard ship in the evening. The AC was so cool that we needed sweaters around the ship but not out on the outside decks. It was still warm even in the evening. We sailed on October 30th through November 6th. I would say to be prepared with a sweater but you, more than likely, will not need it.

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DD and I did a cruise three years ago at the end of October and the weather was wonderful. We wore shorts all day long and swam in the ocean. No problem. The temps were in the low 80's and no humidity. The only time we put an extra layer on was aboard ship in the evening. The AC was so cool that we needed sweaters around the ship but not out on the outside decks. It was still warm even in the evening. We sailed on October 30th through November 6th. I would say to be prepared with a sweater but you, more than likely, will not need it.

 

Thanks for your reply and helpful information. I guess I'm just thinking of the weather we have in Myrtle Beach that time of the year (which can be cool) and comparing it to that. Actually our cruise is the beginning of October so hoping for warm weather also. I usually pack sweaters for the MDR, since it's always cool in there to me even in the summer months. Really looking forward to this 1st and hopefully not last cruise to Bermuda. :D

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We were on Restless Native last week. Had a very enjoyable 3.5 hour sail.

 

We booked with them directly and saved about $18 per person from what NCL wanted for the excursion.

 

Actually we booked the sunset cruise which is only about 2 hours, but booking directly with them saved us $25/pp from Carnival's prices. Since we overnight there 2 nights I'm not too concerned about missing the boat, lol. How was the crew you sailed with?

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Actually we booked the sunset cruise which is only about 2 hours, but booking directly with them saved us $25/pp from Carnival's prices. Since we overnight there 2 nights I'm not too concerned about missing the boat, lol. How was the crew you sailed with?

 

Very good and informative. The owner/operator will ask what people want to hear about and take it from there.

 

Rum punch and chocolate chip cookies.

 

What Carnival ship is stopping there? Splendor?

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Hi--We were on the Restless Native in July. It was wonderful!! I have cut and pasted the section of my review specifically about the excursion. I hope it helps. If you have any questions, just let me know. I'd definitely do it again in a heartbeat. With better weather, we would have anchored at a different location and had a different experience.

______________________________________________________

 

I booked this on our own a couple months in advance on their website. This same excursion was offered through NCL for roughly $20 more per person.

 

Before we booked, I did a spreadsheet comparing three snorkel trips based on reviews on the Bermuda board. I compared: Restless Native, Rising Son II, and Jessie James. We ultimately decided on Restless Native for a few reasons--less guests than Rising Son II--20-30 guests compared to 75 guests. yes, it was a smaller catamaran as well, but it was still plenty big. The price was a bit cheaper than Rising Son, and Rum Swizzle(s) and warm fresh chocolate chip cookies were included too! (boy, they were delicious!)

 

We met and checked in at the Dockyard area close to the ship. They had moved the catamaran close to the ships for easy access. (Did I mention it had been cloudy and looked like it was going to storm? again? !)

 

When we got to the catamaran, the captain (Xander) said he checked the weather and it looked as though the storm was going the opposite way, but he didn't want to make anyone go who didn't want to go, so offered to people to back out because of the weather. One family of 3 did, but the rest of us were in!

 

Once we got the safety information and other tidbits, we were underway. About half of the group was sitting above on the front of the catamaran, the rest of us were down below on benches. When it started pouring, the rest of the group came down--seating for everyone down below. We shut the windows and hunkered down. The captain came down and asked what we thought--if we wanted to go out or not-in his opinion it wouldn't be worth it and not a fun time, so we took his advice and said we'd go back. Then, about 5 minutes later, the sun came out and it stopped raining again. He came down again and we all were chuckling at this crazy weather by this point....

He offered to go back to the docks to let anyone off who wanted to go then extend the trip by 1/2 hour to 1pm for the rest of us. I thought this was really generous! No one wanted to go back--we were all in! So, we continued to our snorkeling location. It was pretty close actually. On the way out he talked to all of us about Bermuda-- He said it hadn't rained in 6 weeks before we came and it was hardly ever windy (like the day before). He had canceled several trips because of the weather that week and he didn't usually have to do that in the summer. Figures!!

 

Turns out Xander is Michael Douglas's cousin. Michael Douglas's mother is from Bermuda, so he has citizenship there. He also talked about the rich and famous who have houses in Bermuda, and the various records Bermuda holds, along with the rainwater collection system through the roofs. Very interesting!

 

We ended up at a little cove with a small beach and a few caves. He encouraged us to look for sea glass and paddle board (2 of them available), kayak (two available), or snorkel. He gave us all either swim noodles or snorkel vests to wear while snorkeling and let us enjoy a couple hours in the area!

 

I tried snorkeling while we were on our honeymoon in St. Thomas. I enjoyed it, and didn't have any reason to think I wouldn't on this trip! Unfortunately, since having kids I've become claustrophobic. As soon as I put my face in the water with the mask covering my nose, I knew snorkeling wasn't for me. I encouraged my husband to go with our friends and I would be fine. I ended up just swimming around with the noodle, taking some pictures, and looking for sea glass. I found a couple pieces of blue and lots of green, and a couple pieces of brown sea glass. I talked with a mom and her two grown daughters about their time on the Summit as well.

 

While we were there, Rising Son II came up (with music blasting and all 75 people, LOL). I was concerned our quiet, secluded little cove was going to be overrun with people. Surprisingly enough, they kept to their side and we kept to ours--they were close, but they didn't really snorkel on our side.

 

Rinsing Son looked like lots of fun, but for this trip I was looking for something a little smaller and more calm.

 

I personally didn't try paddle boarding or the kayaks but my husband and my friends all paddle boarded. I wasn't sure with one two of each if everyone who wanted a turn would be able to, but it seemed like by "last call", everyone had had a turn who wanted a turn. They said the snorkeling was alright, but that there were some kids who were splashing a lot and kept scaring the fish.

 

We headed back on the boat where a pitcher of rum swizzle and warm chocolate chip cookies awaited us! The cookies were delicious! We also enjoyed the rum swizzles. It was a bit confusing, because they said you get a complimentary drink and additional ones were 2/$5 (a great deal). You also got complimentary water and juices. They were offering everyone more rum swizzles (complimentary), so I guess they finished up the pitchers they made then started charging? I'm not sure I ever saw anyone pay for them. On the way back, he also offered people shots of something in a swim noodle. A few people tried it, but we didn't.

 

It was a great excursion! We came back at 12:30, which was still plenty of time to finish up shopping in a few stores (Glassworks and Bermuda Outfitters for a t shirt) AND head back to the ship in time for our 3pm departure. I would definitely recommend Restless Native and plan on going again if/when we head back to Bermuda with the kids.

 

We ended up getting on board about 2pm then made our way to the Garden Café to snag a window seat and people watch as it got closer to departure time.

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Very good and informative. The owner/operator will ask what people want to hear about and take it from there.

 

Rum punch and chocolate chip cookies.

 

What Carnival ship is stopping there? Splendor?

 

We are taking the Carnival Sunshine out of Port Canaveral for 8 days, porting 3 days in Bermuda, with 4 seadays. :D It will be our first trip to Bermuda, really looking forward to it! Have heard and read a lot of good reviews about Restless Native, can't wait.

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