Which Catamaran Tour?

[kenzie]

Any feedback on which catamaran to choose, my choices are Silver moon @ $92 with 24 places, Calabaza with 12 @$100 and Barbados cruise excursions @ $80 with 24 places. Any recommendations to help me decide which to book.

Really appreciate help.

[RJHNorthyorks]

We loved Tiami - but having not done the others nothing to compare with

[travelplanner4thefamily]

We just booked for March with Calabaza with 12 @$100 . Would have done Slivermoon if they had the 12 person boat. Love the idea of a small number of guest and reviews where great. Will be interested in what otheres say.

[psantho]

We did the 12 passenger catamaran with Silver Moon last November and it was fantastic. Is that not an option for you? If it is, I highly recommend it--beautiful boat and great crew.

[teacherman]

We have done them twice, and will be going with them again in December. First class all the way.

[Lsimon]

We've done Silver Moon 6 times and have the 7th booked. It is our favorite excursion in the Caribbean. Last year we took the larger Silver Moon III that they use for the 24 person trips for the first time and loved the boat.

 

Here is a link to our photos and a short review:

The short description at the top my photo gallery has links to pictures from our past Silver Moon trips too.

[Pilot70D]

As an alternative let me suggest the catamaran El Tigre. She is a larger cat and the offer two day sail packages. One is a half day and the other is a day sail with lunch. In each case they make a couple of snorkeling stops including one with the turtles. We have been on El Tigre six times and it's always been so much fun that we keep returning.

We got hooked up with El Tigre by accident. Some years ago aour ship pulled in to Barbados and I didn't make any advanced reservations for a tour, snorkeling or diving. The lady at the information desk in the terminal suggested El Tigre and called them for us. The rest as they say is history. They pick people up right outside the terminal building an return them to that same point after the excursion.

The lunch is a really good lunch and included in the price is an open bar. For some this is a booze cruise and for others a pleasant day of sailing, snorkeling and beach fun. We are divers so we usually dive in most Caribbean ports but we have always had so much fun on the day sails that we keep coming back to El Tigre.

El Tigre does have its own website and reservations can be booked directly through their website.

Hope this is helpful. Have a great day.

:):):)

[baby]

have done alot of reading about catamaran cruises

 

have done silvermoon before but not el tigre

 

which would you choose

 

el tigre is $88 including lunch

 

silvermoon is $115

 

not accounting for money - which would you choose?

 

thanks carol

[czez]

Well Carol...If I may jump in here...I have done El tigre 3 times and was never disappointed. The 5 hour tour is a must. The lunch is fantastic and the crew is great! They serve you and cater to all your needs. I highley recommend this tour. We are sailing on the Carnival Victory in Feb. 12, 2012; and I will talk my 3 girlfriends into taking this tour. Well worth the $88. Oh...and did I mention it will be my B-day in Barbados! What a way to celebrate!! If you need more info.let me know

Carla from Ottawa, Canada:p

[Peter Birks]

El Tigre is a great option for sailing in Barbados, but its nothing like Silver Moon or Calabaza and to an extent even Cool Runnings. It's excellent in its own right no doubt, and I've heard great things about them. But in my experience either you are the kind of person who wants a more relaxed day with a semi-private crew then there are two clear winners. If you want the best price possible and are willing to give up some frills there are many excellent choices of which el Tigre is most definitely one of the better ones! It's just not in the "luxury group".

[Katiekakes]

We are running into a problem in finding a good catamaran excursion in Barbados. Our ship, Emerald Princess, does not get into port until 10:00 a.m. We want to do a longer excursion (5 hrs.) and most excursions seem to be leaving at 9:30. Can anyone recommend an excursion that leaves a bit later.

[Peter Birks]

This is sometimes a problem, but many operators shift times around when a cruise ship is in to accommodate unless they have arrangements with ships who are in earlier already. What date will you be in Barbados exactly?

[baby]

just e-mailed cool runnings

they say they still take cruise passengers out

 

any current info on them

 

carol

[KAWS]

Carol,

 

I'd be interested to know too. I just booked with them for next March. They do get good reviews on Trip Advisor.

[baby]

heard back from them

 

they only now have the larger cats that take 46 or so people out at once

 

so i think i will go with calabza or silver moon and hopre there is still room

for my oct 29th sailing of princess

 

carol

[Vehorn]

You definitely would not be disappointed with Calabaza. It is the best Cat that we have been on in the Caribbean. You get a lot of attention because of the small number of passengers and a great lunch and drinks. The crew is fantastic. Believe me, it is ranked No. 1 for a reason and I can't wait to make another sail on it.

[Crazy Cruzer]

You definitely would not be disappointed with Calabaza. It is the best Cat that we have been on in the Caribbean. You get a lot of attention because of the small number of passengers and a great lunch and drinks. The crew is fantastic. Believe me, it is ranked No. 1 for a reason and I can't wait to make another sail on it.

 

Have you sailed on Silver Moon? Has anyone sailed both? I'd love to hear a comparison from someone who has sailed on both.

 

Who has ranked Calabaza #1? Is there a report or review that has them ranked as #1? Or is this just your opinion?

[KAWS]

heard back from them

 

they only now have the larger cats that take 46 or so people out at once

 

so i think i will go with calabza or silver moon and hopre there is still room

for my oct 29th sailing of princess

 

carol

 

Ohhhhhh I thought Cool Runnings had a smaller amount of people. I don't mind say up to 25 but 45 is pushing it.

 

I guess we were a bit nervous of taking just a 12 pax catamaran. Not that we want a PARTY cruise but don't want it so subdued that it's boring either. And I'm not sure what the sizes of the cats are. El tigre says they have a 60' and they "limit the amount of people" whatever that means. I have been on the 24' Silver Moon, but we're bringing friends that haven't been before and we wanted a bit of a different experience too so don't want to repeat exactly.

 

Now I'm rethinking my CR reservation. I'm wondering if I should have gone with calabaza or el tigre. I'm alright with luxury or non-luxury. Just want to have a good time. I guess right now what is making me lean towards el tigre is their easy access to the water. What's the set up on calabaza? Is it off the back or do they have the steps down from the middle of the cat too?

 

Lucky for me CR only took a credit card to hold the reservation, so I can cancel if need be. Sometimes opinions are so helpful and sometimes they just wind up confusing me even more (when they are all so wonderful). :o Perhaps that just means that no matter what we choose it's going to be great! Now that's the better way to look at it. :p

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I want to do one Catamaran trip on our next trip to the Caribbean and out of our ports we are visiting Barbados seems to have the best reviews. My problem is access. Being a slightly "fluffier" person with bad knees & hips I need easy access - steps &/or a ladder that extends into the water so I can step on it well below surface level and good railings to pull myself up with. Also, no dingy to get to the boat - I need a dock or beach landing with a ramp. Most catamarans fit these requirements. Regular sailboats do not. I have found that out the hard way.:eek: How are the boats recommended on this thread for access?

 

In the water I am as light as a feather and a strong swimmer! We love to snorkel.

[KAWS]

Ginny,

 

I have trouble with stairs too. I'm tentatively booked on Cool Runnings but honestly didn't check it out thoroughly before I did. I have an email out to the so hopefully that will clear things up.

 

In the meantime, I did some checking on other places. El tigre has a 60' boat that has access from the middle of it (rather than at the back). If you go to their site: http://www.eltigrecruises.com/ there is a promotional video that shows what I'm talking about.

 

I'm thinking if CR doesn't work out for me, I'm going to book here. Book soon though. I already was told by Calabaza that they are booked for my March 2012 date!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Ginny,

 

I have trouble with stairs too. I'm tentatively booked on Cool Runnings but honestly didn't check it out thoroughly before I did. I have an email out to the so hopefully that will clear things up.

 

In the meantime, I did some checking on other places. El tigre has a 60' boat that has access from the middle of it (rather than at the back). If you go to their site: http://www.eltigrecruises.com/ there is a promotional video that shows what I'm talking about.

 

I'm thinking if CR doesn't work out for me, I'm going to book here. Book soon though. I already was told by Calabaza that they are booked for my March 2012 date!

Thanks for the info. The pictures on Calbeza's website looks as if the steps stop just at the top of the water instead of extending into the water. I'm not sure if theyre is another extension that would go into the water of not. If not, it would be a no go for me.

[kitkat9438]

Have you sailed on Silver Moon? Has anyone sailed both? I'd love to hear a comparison from someone who has sailed on both.

 

Who has ranked Calabaza #1? Is there a report or review that has them ranked as #1? Or is this just your opinion?

Calabaza is rated #1 on tripadvisor. We have sailed on Silvermoon and it was top notch. This December we will try out Calabaza so I will report back with my comparison of the two.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Calabaza is rated #1 on tripadvisor. We have sailed on Silvermoon and it was top notch. This December we will try out Calabaza so I will report back with my comparison of the two.

I will be looking forward to the review. If you could check out &/or take pictures of the ladders for me I would appreciate it.:)

[Fourseventeen]

Of those I would do Calabaza. The larger boats with more people just make everything to crowded, especially on the snorkel stops. We used "Small Cats" and were very happy with them. Keep in mind ALL of these places book up fast so book early or you wont get to take a tour with any of them. We booked 2 months in advance and silvermoon and calabaza were both booked by that time. Small Cats was our choice by default but we were happy we ended up with them.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We've done Silver Moon 6 times and have the 7th booked. It is our favorite excursion in the Caribbean. Last year we took the larger Silver Moon III that they use for the 24 person trips for the first time and loved the boat.

 

Here is a link to our photos and a short review:

The short description at the top my photo gallery has links to pictures from our past Silver Moon trips too.

Lsimon - it looks as if you have done quite a few catamaran trips. We will not be cruising to the Caribbean again until 2013, but of the following islands which island would you say would be the best island for us to do an all-day Catamaran trip - Barbados, St. Kitts or St. Lucia? We have not been to any of these islands but will probably want a relaxing sailing/snorkeling day at least one of those days. We also want to keep in mind which of these islands we would most want to do a land tour. We will also be in Antigua and St. Thomas, but already know what we want to do at both of those ports.