Calabaza or Silver Moon

[Spanky My]

Trying to decide which 12 person Boat to go on ? Those who have done either ,your thoughts???

[calgal729]

We went on the Silver Moon 24 person catamaran last year in December 2009 and loved it. We enjoyed swimming with the turtles, the crew and food were really good, overall we had a wonderful day! If you prefer smaller and more intimate excursions than what the ship offers, you'll really enjoy this.

[capriccio]

Trying to decide which 12 person Boat to go on ? Those who have done either ,your thoughts???

 

 

I can't compare them since we've only been on Calabaza (last week) but I can recommend Calabaza unconditionally. It was a wonderful day of snorkeling, eating, and drinking on a a lovely catamaran with an exceptional crew. Gina even sent us her recipes via email when one of our group requested them.

[sharkwl]

We just came off the Emerald (Oct 19-29) and had booked the catamaran cruise with Calabaza. Gina (the owner) was a superb host and we had a wonderful time! A wonderful boat, with only 12 guests, a huge lunch, free rum punch (awesome!), beer, 2 snorkel stops ( feeding turtles and a reef) including gear. This was an awesome trip and worth every penny! We would highly recommend Gina and Calabaza tours!

[Rozg105]

We did the 24 person catamaran with Silvermoon at the end of October. It was a fantastic trip. The crew was friendly and attentive. The catamaran was not crowded. The food was delicious. This excursion was worth every penny.

[lanabanana]

We did a tour with Calabaza last week and unfortunately, they lost their boat in the hurricane. They are still operating with a rented boat and we had a wonderful day, but I just feel badly for them. They showed it to us, upside down, in the harbor waters as we sailed out. We have done a number of excursions like this, in various islands, and Calabaza has a top notch crew. They really know how to go out of their way for you. Barbados waters are beautiful and the snorkeling is great. It's a wonderful way to spend a day on the island.

[agelessgram]

We just returned from a cruise on the Emerald Princess and booked with Silver Moon 12 passenger. It was the highlight of our cruise! The staff on the Silver Moon were outstanding. Stacy was our captain, and the two Nicks were great. We swam with the turtles and over ship wrecks. At no time did we feel rushed to get back on the boat. The lunch and banana bread (homemade) were wonderful. You must try the pina colata - great!!!! It is well worth the price - a fun filled relaxing day away from the hustle and bussle of the crowds. Have a great time.

[Spanky My]

I think we will go with silvermoon 12 passenger trip . There have been several good reviews and the most recent one from agelessgram sealed the deal for us....Spanky

[constantlearner]

Sorry to hear about the hurricane destroying their boat. We have an excursion with them booked for January. Is the rental boat they are using adequate? Is there any reason to cancel?

[MsDolly]

I too was on SilverMoon from the Emerald with agelessgram, and I have to say we've done lots of Cat tours and this was the best I'd ever been on. Definately the highlight of our trip.

 

Bel

[jstarling]

We will be on the Emerald the week of January 7, 2011 and can't figure out which excursion features the Calabazo. How do I choose?

[TraceyP]

We will be on the Emerald the week of January 7, 2011 and can't figure out which excursion features the Calabazo. How do I choose?

 

It's a private excursion you book--not through the ship. Search this board for Calabaza and you'll find her website--or google it.

[wes3607]

Sorry to hear about the hurricane destroying their boat. We have an excursion with them booked for January. Is the rental boat they are using adequate? Is there any reason to cancel?

 

We just did the excursion with Calabaza in the rented boat on Nov 27, and it was amazing! No reason to cancel at all! The crew was awesome, and Gina know how to keep the rum punch flowing! :)

[hayloburger]

We did Silver Moon and it was fantastic! The crew is wonderful...top notch. They are there to take care of you and they make sure you have a good time!

[DieselP65]

We sailed with calabaza last week and it was the best trip I have ever done. Even though they were still in their rental boat there was plenty of room for the 12 passengers and they should have their new boat operating by the time you go. Gina and her crew are fantastic, the food is all homemade and there is lots to choose from as well as a wide range of drinks which get topped up as soon as you finish one! As mentioned previously Gina will send you her recipes to try afterwards and send everyone an e-mail on their return home to thank you for sailing with them. Can not recommend this highly enough.

[shakes the clown]

I was on the Calabeza Dec 14 and it was as amazing as every here has said. Great time, great food, great crew and those local Banks beers go down way way too easy. Andrew from the crew offered me one at 9:30 and I said sure why not. After that it was basically a non stop assembly line of beers being shoved into my hand the second there was an opening. At one point Andrew even convinced me to let him feed me two beers at once through a snorkel. I guess you could call that an island beer bong.

 

The food was amazing, the banana bread at the begining was the best I've ever had. And the snorkling was sensational, was face to face with a huge turtle about 3 inches away...very cool. The other passengers were really laid back and a lot of fun.

 

If I ever go back to Barbados I am definitely going to do it again. It was about as perfect a day can be.

[jkek]

We have done the 12 person Silvermoon in the past and loved it, but it is not available for this trip. We have considered Calabaza, but the other 9 people that have booked are a single party. Are their any other cat tours similar to the Silver Moon 12 person and the Calabaza?

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Can anyone tell me if the ladder to get back into the boat goes deep and is sturdy with handrails on both sides? I love to snorkel, but arthritis in my knees means that I need a ladder that goes fairly deep in to the water.

[WaggesAZ]

Can anyone tell me if the ladder to get back into the boat goes deep and is sturdy with handrails on both sides? I love to snorkel, but arthritis in my knees means that I need a ladder that goes fairly deep in to the water.

 

Yes, the ladder on Silvermoon was below the water, with handles on both sides. I found it very study and it was very easy for me to get into the boat. I did make sure my husband wasn't too far the first time getting back in, but I got in and out several times during the day by myself. Merry Christmas!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Yes, the ladder on Silvermoon was below the water, with handles on both sides. I found it very study and it was very easy for me to get into the boat. I did make sure my husband wasn't too far the first time getting back in, but I got in and out several times during the day by myself. Merry Christmas!

Thanks! That is good to know.:)

[CaribQween]

We're really interested in doing a catamaran sail and turtle snorkel excursion with an independent operator such as Silvermoon or Calabaza because we're afraid that doing one through the cruiseline might be cramped and overcrowded. Can anyone tell me a little about the catamarans used by Silvermoon and Calabaza such as whether the 24 person is much larger than the 12 person catamaran? We've never actually been on a catamaran so I'm not familiar with them. Are the catamarans a size where you can actually walk around them with seats and everything or do they really just sort of have the trampoline sections outside and then the inside area? I looked at both websites and it sort of looks like the catamarans used by Silvermoon might be larger. The 24 person is definitely larger and seems like it does have a lot of room to move around.

[tjschwalm]

Hey Michelle ,

 

Though they all differ a little , most cats have under roof bench seats in the galley which is all on the same level and bench seats all around the back and up the side a ways , lots of room to sit along the rails and some operators let you sit on the mesh over the front steps , some don't . That's been our experience on 7 or 8 different ones . Never have been on a 12 person but can tell you on a 24 person it's still very roomy , plenty of seating options . In Barbados we use Captain Ron , he like the others you mentioned is top notch ! Beautiful boats , catamarans you'll be hooked for life ! lol Have fun !! Ted

[TraceyP]

We went with Jason from Shasa on December 18th and had a great day. He has a small cat--maximum of 12 people. We had our group of 7 plus another couple on that day. Jason was a great host, and made sure we were all happy, safe and otherwise taken care of. He is a native of Barbados so he has a lot of information and is very knowledgeable.

 

He takes you to a different turtle location than the ships' tours so it's very private. When we were there it was just us for almost the whole time. It was amazing! There were about 8 huge turtles swimming around us. Great pictures and memories.

 

He also took us to a reef area for more snorkeling. The seas were a little rough that day following the storms on the US east cost--but the snorkeling was good there too. Jason came in with us and pointed out a lot of fish and things.

 

I highly recommend Jason and Shasa.

[joycefnp]

My sister and I sailed with Silvermoon about 2 years ago after reading all the positive reviews. I can't say that I would do it again. The boat was lovely, and the food was wonderful. However, we are experienced snorkelers, and we were constantly being herded into the group. I while I know this is petty, I quickly got tired of being called honey and sweetie. I also didn't like it that they feed the turtles. I have never seen obese turtles until I went to Barbados. May consider one of the other boats if someone can address these concerns.

[NnJ2010]

Oops just read the note to not start a new thread but to add to one...

 

 

This probably isn't the best place but since someone else metnioned shasa:

 

I posted this in my full trip review on the celebrity board but since I get pretty much all my excursion info from CC ports boards I wanted to share my experience -

 

Barbados – can’t say enough…… if you want to snorkel – book Shasa! Shasa is an independent company with a husband and wife owner. They are a great couple and hard workers! We opted for the 3 hour snorkel but everyone else on the cat opted for the 5 hour. The 3 hour had 2 snorkel stops plus lots of great sailing. The 5 hour had 3 snorkel stops and a homemade lunch. Definitely one of our better excursion bookings. And Jason and Tess are such great hosts that you will have a very enjoyable time! (Plus I love booking with ‘companies’ that are folks who are trying to make their own business flourish.) Jason has been sailing for many many years and has worked for many of the other big name companies over the years in Barbados but about 5 years ago they decided to start their own. Drop them an email and Tess will respond very promptly and answer all your questions! I don’t recall who I booked in Barbados the last time but I know it was a bigger boat and more crowded than I’d like. Our cat this time had 12 people total on it. It was quite comfortable. And we went to spots that there were hardly any other folks in the water at - and still saw turtles and the reef, etc.