Help me decide — Catamaran Lunch Cruise

Looking for a nice Catamaran Lunch/Snorkel in Barbados. All tours (and there are many) that I’ve looked at offer the same type of trip (turtles, shipwreck snorkel, lunch, drinks and sail — number of Catamaran tours are little overwhelming — and to top it off, trip advisor reviews are all about the same). The two on here that have recently gotten great reviews are Calabaza and Silver Moon. Calabaza is booked, so off the list. Silver Moon leaves too early, ship doesn’t get in until 0900, so will not make a 0900 meet time, so off the list unless they make a time change. All are within $25.00 difference pp (so no big deal breaker). Specifically looking for a nice sail (clean, modern, some shade/sun areas, mechanically safe, facilities — i.e., bathroom), nice snorkel (we are average skill level), nice drinks/wine (but not a booze cruise), nice music, great lunch, informative/fun crew. If you have done this type of excursion previously, which one would be your top pick?

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Following.

Barbados is the one day I have not figured out. Not sure if I want to do a catamaran, Glory Tours to check out st. nicolas abbey/Bathsheba/island in general or just hit Boatyard and have a fun chill day in the middle of an extensive port filled cruise (7 in 7 with no sea days).

Heard great things about Calabaza and it is swaying me but the DW doesn't really snorkel though we did something similar in Bonaire and she had a good time. Will be our 15th anniversary the day we are in Barbados.

Thanks

I just did Calypso cruises catamaran in November and it was wonderful!! Food, never ending drinks, turtles, I recommend them.

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We have been with Silver Moon....Great time! Loved it!

My hubby doesn't snorkel either...but does enjoy the sail. Friend of mine has been on Elegance several times & only had good things to say about them.

JerseyGirlatHeart & kdawg954,

A lunch cruise on a catamaran (9:00 to 2:00 or 10:00 to 3:00, approximately), which generally includes swimming/snorkeling with the turtles, swimming/snorkeling at a wreck (they all go to the same dive sites so it can get quite crowded there - boats tend to stagger their times), a general swim around near a beach, lunch and an open bar is good fun even if you don't snorkel or swim. If you don't swim you can stay on board, or if you want to go into the water and are not a strong swimmer you can wear a flotation device or use a noodle, and, in either case, the crew will look after you. A strong rum punch or three will help to calm you down. They also provide a cab, included in the excursion price, to get you to and from the Cat's mooring location.

You will be sailing in the sea so the water can get quite deep, you're likely to be in over your head.

I don't believe that you can have a bad Cat Cruise. The number of passengers probably determines the onboard atmosphere. Check your Ship's roll call.to see if any other cruisers are looking at this activity and check Trip Advisor for other snorkeling with turtles tours.

See below for a partial list of those Cat Cruises that are highly recommended on Trip Advisor and on these boards.

Cats that take 8 to 16 passengers are Calabaza, Silver Moon, Elegance, Good Times, Calypso, Shasta, etc. Larger Cats that take 30 to 40 passengers are Cool Runnings, El Tigre, Jammin', Tiami, etc. All of them are likely to oprovide what you are looking for. Check the CC & Trip Advisor reports to see how party friendly they are, boats with less passangers tend to be more sedate. The larger Cats and Cat cruises organized by the cruise ship tend to be more crowded.

I have been on both Calabaza (a 9:00am departure) and Elegance (a 10:00am departure), each meet your requirements and offer a similar experience, we had a great time on board and I can recommend both of them.

By the way, Calabaza has two cats, where they both booked fort the day you are in port?

Call or email a couple of them to check for availability (or use their websites), and ask them the same questions you posted here. Some of them may be flexible on times, after all there could be a lot of potential customers on the cruise ship you are on (their flexibility may depend on the total number of passangers in port that day and the ship's docking times).

If you dock at 9:00am, and allow 30 minutes to clear whatever they do before you can get off, you will be able to make a cab pick up at the port at 9:45am/10:00am and a cruise at 10:00am/10:15am. You need to allow 15 minutes to get to the pick up point if it is in the port and 30 minutes if it is outside the port.

NAGooner

We liked Shasa Catamaran tour!

I've been on Silver Moon twice, last time was last month. They take 12 passengers. Have you asked if they're willing to leave a little later? They're very accommodating and it's the best cat experience I've ever had!

I've been on Silver Moon twice, last time was last month. They take 12 passengers. Have you asked if they're willing to leave a little later? They're very accommodating and it's the best cat experience I've ever had!

Yes, they will contact me if time changes. Hope I hear from them.

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We went with Calypso and loved it! Nick and his crew are great. Only 6 passengers including us when we went so we had the run of the ship. We saw some of the larger cats and while they are lovely, I prefer fewer people!

I agree-- go with Calypso! Nick will sale with as little as 6 people, and no more than 12, so it is never crowded. You get treated like Royalty, and entertained at the same time.

Silver Moon! Excellent food, adult drinks and limited to no more than 12 for a large cat. We’ve done it five times!

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Just got back, went on Moon Dance with Silver Moon. It was excellent!!! Highly recommend!

Go with Sliver Moon we did them and it was great the other C well Just a warning-if you are not a good swimmer they do not watch! DH had a very bad experience. When I told the head office they did say they gave the crew their walking papers because it was unacceptable. But DH will no longer go on a cat. I told the crew he needed to be watched, and we have swim all over the world but this time the crew was not what we had hoped for. just saying.

Calabaza is 1st class, great food and crew.

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