Free Radical Catamaran

[TnWildcat]

Hello Everyone, I just wanted to see if anyone has recently taken the Free Radical Catamaran and what your thoughts were http://www.svfreeradical.com The Trip Advisor reviews sound great! Thanks!

[TurtleTagger]

Went in February. Nice boat and very nice crew. Food is very good. Snorkeling wasn't the best. Tour did not go to the destination as planned due to rough seas, so turned out to be pretty expensive for what it was. All-in-all, still a worthwhile excursion.

[Liketogo]

My DH and I have tentatively reserved when we are in Roatan on Carnival Dream , 4/18. We need 2 more people to go for a minimum of 6 that they will take out. I have not used them before but I see they get good reviews when I researched. The outfit looks similar to a catamaran we took in Barbados that was one of the best excursions we have ever taken. It may be a little pricey for some but is well worth every cent! Crossing my fingers that we get 2 more so we can sail!

[Sabiney]

We sailed her in January. There were 7 guests total which made for an absolutely fantastic day. It was very peaceful and relaxing and worth every penny. We will definitely try to book again for any return trips to Roatan. Great owners and crew.

 

Pat

[saraferd]

we sailed her in March and it was a great excursion! I highly recommend them, we had 13 total and it was like having our own private tour! Captain Ed & Julie were great to work with ahead of time, i felt very comfortable booking with them. The staff and food was second to none, great snorkling, and very reliable transportation. No worries!

[Anita Latte]

We recently sailed on The Spirit of the Free Radical during our Spring Break cruise. Saraferd (above poster) was on the same sailing. Like she said, we had 13 on board for our sailing. The group was my family of 5 (my parents aka Grandma and Grandpa, DH, DS11, and myself), another extended family of 6 (Grandma, Mom and Dad, 3 teen-aged sons), and a couple.

 

Looking at the website, the videos and the photos that they show are a good representation of the catamaran.

 

Captain Ed IS a good storyteller. He and his wife have circumnavigated the globe and they have great stories to share of their experiences on their travels and how they come to land in Roatan from Canada. The crew are also friendly and willing to open up and talk about life in Roatan. Talking with the various crew members was a highlight for my DH.

 

Ed and Julie own a 14-passenger van, which is relatively comfortable for the 45 minute drive to the East side of the island. Jensen is their driver whom they have hired to drive the van to and from the ship port to their catamaran location. The driver is very nice; he can talk about the island as you drive along. He doesn't narrate the entire time...he has to virtually yell for the back row to be able to hear him. The drive itself is interesting; you will get a feel for the island, see huge estates and hovels, resorts, shopping, etc.

 

Captain Ed and Julie greeted our van with its 13 passengers when we arrived at the catamaran. At this time, there was general discussion as to when we needed to be back to the ship; Captain Ed arranged the pick up time with Jensen. The Captain introduced the crew, talked a bit about safety and other information about the catamaran. We climbed on board and we were off.

 

The catamaran is nice. It is Captain Ed and Julie's home. The catamaran is prepared for rainy weather, which we did experience during our sailing.

 

Snacks were served as we set sail for the "Calf and Cow" which are two very small islands pictured in one of the videos on their website. Island supplies vary, so there is no guarantee regarding what you may be served. We were told that spring was great for fruit. We had fruit kabobs with fruit that was extremely ripe and wonderful...pineapple, melons, grapes, etc. Homemade peanut butter cookies. Homemade salsa and chips. The blender was cranking out pina coladas and the ice chest was stocked with pop and local beer and bottled water.

 

At the Calf and Cow, we were outfitted with snorkling gear, including masks, breathing tube and swimming fins. The young men that are crew members join in with the snorkeling. They will dive down to the bottom and grab everything that they can see. They found conch, other shell fish/creatures, star fish, lobster, etc etc. The area between the islands is shallow and is a perfect haven for all manner of coral and fish. Around the "Cow" there are some extreme shallow areas with little sea foliage so that you can stand on the bottom of the sea.

 

Back on board, the gas grill had been fired up. Chicken and shrimp were grilled kabob style. A buffet was set up with that and homemade sweet and sour meatballs, rice, and salad. Maybe there was more. There were three different dessert options...a chocolate cheesecake, carrot cake, and banana bread.

 

Cautions:

 

I wouldn't call these negatives...just things to keep in mind.

 

When my family booked the catamaran. We booked a private sailing. We paid extra for this...but there was an understanding that we would be consulted if anyone else inquired about sailing with us. Our rate would also be reduced if anyone else came aboard. When the group did expand to the 13 we had, we had asked Julie to please set up a concrete meeting time for when we should get off the ship and meet the driver. We thought it would just be common courtesy for everyone to be on the same page. Also, we were a bit concerned with the fact that the ship was maintaining Central Daylight Savings time which was one hour later than the time in Roatan because they would not be observing daylight savings time until April.

 

Our inquiry for a concrete meeting time was interpreted in a negative way by Julie and she thought that we should not go on her catamaran. She offered to give us our deposit back and expressed the idea that we should find a different excursion that would offer a more predictable outcome. Further email communication set everything straight, but we still did not have a meeting time for our group. It was left with the idea of getting off the ship as soon as we could to maximize our sailing time with them. We were able to contact our fellow passengers on the ship and set a general time to get off the ship between ourselves. The caution here is this: don't be concerned if you get the same thing...lack of concrete timing. This outfit is trustworthy to do what they say they will do.

 

It was raining this day. The place that you wait for the driver is not necessarily covered. We were able to share shelter with a local woman with a beautiful name (which escapes me now) and have time to talk a bit while we waited for the driver. We did wait for the driver for a bit. When the driver arrived, the van was not parked near to us. We followed the driver along the road to where he had parked the van a ways away. If anyone had mobility issues, I'm sure that the van could have been brought closer to the port. We did walk in the rain through puddles and along the roadside. If you are prepared to get wet, this is no big...but again...if you weren't going to participate in swimming...you might care.

 

You will need to climb onto the catamaran. It's been a long time since I have been on a catamaran, but just to bring this up...there isn't a ramp or other easy way to get on the boat. The boat is just parked closely right next to the dock and you have be able to grab a hold and swing yourself up and onto the catamaran. The crew is helpful, if needed.

 

The ladder to get back onto the catamaran from swimming MOVES. It does not lock into place. My father (who had polo as a child) has limited use of his left hand; he fell HARD getting back onto the catamaran, TWICE. The ladder swung out and he smacked into catamaran getting severe bruises all over his legs, arms, and lip where his head hit. WARNING. It took two crew members to help my Dad get back on board and he had the bruises on his legs for weeks following.

 

I recommend the Free Radical. Even in the rain. LOL. The people were all fantastic. Captain Ed and Julie. The crew. The driver. The cook. The food was excellent. The drinks were plentiful. The snorkeling was wonderful. The location that they take you to is excellent. I was very pleased with the variety of fish and coral that we were able to see. The catamaran is very comfortable and well kept.

 

I'll keep checking back here...if anyone has any questions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[j4cruise]

Thanks Anita. We booked something similar in St. Johns many years ago. It was the highlight of the cruise. We have been looking for something similar on this western cruise.

[usrpah]

We have reserved the Cruise Ship Snorkel with Radical in Roatan on NCL Dawn 4/5/2018. We need 2 more people to make our a minimum of 6 people. Hope we can find 2 more so we can sail! We’re a fun group!!

http://www.svfreeradical.com/

Edited February 1, 2018 by usrpah
typo

[Gray Vine]

We'd love to do this next week (4/24 - Carnival Glory) but we need a minimum of 6. Anyone else interested in joining us? We need 4 more interested... http://www.svfreeradical.com/adventures.html#cruise

[sunny2runner]

We'd love to do this next week (4/24 - Carnival Glory) but we need a minimum of 6. Anyone else interested in joining us? We need 4 more interested... http://www.svfreeradical.com/adventures.html#cruise

 

You should post on your roll call to see if you can get someone from your sailing?