Great island - We liked the island more than the Saona trip as it was not so crowded. The island is very beautiful, not so clean, but still great blue water and white sandy beach.

Good , but go on sunny day - Weather could of been better but not captain or trip fault, could tell captain had a touch of homophobia but he bit his tongue! Hope he knows the tourists payed for his boat, but overall good trip

deplorable and lousy excursion - yet we are used to making excuses - hello, we went to Catalina on March 15th, horrible day. departure from the hotel 7:15 a.m. arrived at the IKEA parking lot waiting before changing buses and picking up other people (for 3/4 of an hour without any explanation). finally departure for Catalina around 10 a.m. on a boat) where we had very high steps to go down (so we had to go up again on the way back). small catamaran for 60 people - arrived at the diving site above the seagrass beds (belt required) so no fish most people came back up very quickly and others didn't even come down. the WC without flushing horrible a stench) - finally departure for Catalina where we were transferred to another boat in small groups to get off on the beach very complicated - a hatch with stairs in the 2 hulls washed up on the beach or You have to squat to go down, which results in different dangerous falls. finally on the heavenly beach in name only (rocky) demarcated by buoys. sun lounger. in total 2 hours on the island with frugal meals so very little time for swimming. departure at 2:30 p.m. with another complicated transfer. return to the departure beach with stairs everyone on the bus departure 4 p.m. short day (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) in Catalina (this is not an excursion worthy of the name rather a boat trip for 116 euros) a little expensive the trip - return to hotel - luxury tropical prnicesse bavaro where we bought this excursion - (stop in souvenir shop) arrived at the hotel at barely 6 p.m. Expected return time 7 p.m. . we would like a commercial gesture by return. (to do with Sebastien responsible for excursions sold by FRAM at the hotel. thank you for your response

Catalina Island excursion is a terrible experience - The experience on the Catalina Excursion in the Dominican was absolutely awful. We have done many excursions in so many other countries but this was by far the worst experience ever. We started the day at 7:30 from the hotel going to a meeting point where we were transferred twice in different vehicles. When we got to the boat same experience we were all loaded on one boat of about 30 but they decided we needed to cram more people on another boat so was removed off of that one to the other that already had at least 30 on it. We finally left 3 hours later on the boat packed like sardines. Get to the snorkeling spot and was told we only have 30 minutes now to snorkel because of all the delay so by the time all 60 people unloaded to snorkel and I was ready to get in they told everyone to get out of the water heading to the island. Upon arriving out a ways from the island we anchored where they had to send 3 different boats out to get all the people off the boat which again packed like sardines and took for ever to finally get on the island. We had 2 hrs 30 min to spend on the island where the bar was setup like what you would consider in the states like a kids lemonade stand. The alcoholic drinks were for the most part premade. Also the cups given for water or awful sangria was in small Dixie cups! They did have two bottles of alcohol and the beer did not show up until 1 hour after being on the island. The sand was extremely hot and the ocean was so full of large rocks that you couldn’t get out farther than knee deep water which we didn’t experience either at our resort in Punta Cana. There was no alcohol on the boat at all to or from the island. The restrooms on the boat had no way to flush so they were pretty bad by the time we reached the island. All we wanted was a fun filled day of snorkeling and beach time but quite honestly the time for the trip could not come fast enough as we were so upset and disappointed to spend the money on a very miserable excursion. Waste of money and to be quite honest feel like we should be refunded our money. I am certainly not the guy that is looking for anything free in life but this was ridiculous.

The Excursion from Hell - I am an honest person, so I am going to tell you the truth; the good, the bad and the ugly. My husband booked this snorkeling excursion for for a fun getaway from the hotel through Trip Advisor. It was midway through our vacation and we were looking forward to it. The good.... the crew was friendly, hardworking and polite. The captain had driven boats for 27 years, so we felt safe on the large boat under his guidance. Once we arrived at the beach for lunch, the water was very pretty. The bad.... When snorkeling, they make you wear a life jacket the entire time. This has never been our experience on any excursion, anywhere. While I appreciate safety, maybe they should base it on swimming ability. (and yes, the water was calm) The belt of the life jacket was cutting into my neck the entire time to the point that it hindered my breathing through the snorkel (and we had brought our own good snorkels and masks) My husband was so frustrated, he just went back to the boat, and most others quit snorkeling and just sat on the life jacket. Maybe instead of just sitting in the boat, the staff could have been active watching the snorkelers to make sure they were okay, and not on their phones, or asleep; then the participants would not have to wear life jackets. When snorkeling, you have to stay within 10-12 feet of the boat the entire time. They do not want you anywhere else. If there are fish there, that is great; if not, too bad. We looked at the same 10 black fish the entire 45 minutes in the water. While we were snorkeling, the other half of the boat went scuba diving. Part beginners, part advanced. The advanced group did not see 1 single fish. The beginners were with us. Pretty boring experience. The ugly....After snorkeling, we headed to the island for lunch. The snorkeling group would eat, while the diving group went on a second dive. Meaning we would be there an awfully long time. To get to the island, the large boat stops, and puts the passengers in a small boat to shuttle in. They combined us with another large boat. This put 28 people in a small pontoon boat to get to the shore. I cannot tell you how many times we almost tipped over. No life jackets required for that part. Even though we were moving toward shallower water, this was not safe. Once on shore, of course other people were already there. There were plenty of lounge chairs, but only shade enough for about 5. Lunch was served buffet style. We started eating. A nice family from Germany that spoke English sat down across from us. As we chatted, the lady pulled a live white maggot out of her spaghetti and put it on the table. I almost lost it. My husband and I promptly quit eating; although we did not have the spaghetti. We had to wait another 2 hours after that for the scuba group to get back and for them to eat before we could leave the island. We were shuttled back out, and given rum drinks on the boat back to the dock before going to the hotel. Ruined trip....My husband got sick that night. I became ill the next day. The rest of our trip was ruined. All remaining 4 days. We could not eat; could hardly even drink water. I lost 7 pounds between Thursday and Sunday morning, and I am not a big person at all. We arrived home Saturday night and were at Rapid Med Sunday getting bloodwork tested and IV fluids. Our first solid meal was Thursday (a week from the Thursday I got sick) We are still waiting on tests to see if we have a parasite. Although we did not see anything in our food, clearly it may have been maggot eggs, or poor handling of the food that made us sick. We always go on excursions, and have been to at least 20 different countries plus the Caribbean the past 25 years in row, and this has never happened to us. Do not book this excursion and ruin your vacation! Not only will you regret it during your trip, but when you get home as well. And there is the honest review.

Snorkeling Tour is dangerous - My review does not apply to Catalina Island, the Island was beautiful, the food amazing, but the Snorkeling Tour, was dangerous, we were sent to the water with only our snorkel mask - no flippers, we had life jacket on attached to our waist, the sea was a little rough but they guarantee it was safe to go in, once in the water we were taken far away from the boat by the strong current, we could not make our way back swimming, none of the crew were in the water, another boat had to come to us to rescue us from were the current had taken us, it was a nightmare of a trip, it was the first time I felt fearful of being in the water, none of the crew seem to be professionals hence why is dangerous.