Best way to travel to Catalina. - The Catalina Flyer is so nice! Super comfortable and smooth ride and accommodating staff. It's quite a luxurious experience at an affordable price. Beautiful boat. We are booking again for a birthday party and are so excited to ride on The Catalina Flyer again soon.

Get away - Great experience, we loved Catalina Island ❤️ rent a golf cart and see the whole island, it was so fun. Great little town full of beautiful houses and businesses

Great Ride to and from Catalina Island - The Ferry offers a fun ride to and from Avalon. We found comfortable seats in the Commodore Lounge, and were offered free beverages as part of the package we purchased. Seas were a bit choppy but definitely had a good time. Restrooms are clean and accessible.

Beautiful memories made. - I took my family from Cincinnati to Catalina Island and they loved it. We and took the glass bottom boat tour and the buffalo tour. Unbelievable scenery but we didn’t see any buffalo! Anyway, it still was gorgeous and we loved it.

Nice easy ride to Catalina Island. - Nice ride over to Avalon / Catalina Island. A few things I wish I would have known and might help other travelers. First, it did get cold on the boat. Bring a jacket and try to sit inside or the cover area on the second floor. Second, it fills up fast. If you want your pick of seat (or to get a seat) get in line at least 45 minutes before departure. There is a snack bar, full bar and restrooms on board. The staff is nice and helpful. Boat is clean. Plenty of room for luggage. Would utilize this service again.

A catamaran ferry ride that got us there and back on time - Since we got the discount on Groupon, we decided to purchase the priority boarding which allowed us to pick our seats at a table inside on the second-level deck where there was bar service. Masks were not required so there's no issue with that. When the ferry was on its way and it became cold and windy, a few people came in from outside to sit at tables with others. As long as people were willing to share seats at the tables, there's not an issue for the requirement of 4-6 people at the window tables either. As mentioned in other reviews, they were on time in both directions. The only schedule is 9;00 AM from Newport Beach and 4:30 PM from Catalina. We parked at Balboa Pier Parking Lot and used Park Mobile App to pay for it. Total cost for parking was $31 for 10 hours ($3.10/hour). The ferry appeared 80% full so get there early as there were already people in line when we got there at 8:15 AM.

Good experience, would do it again - Overall, good experience getting to and from Catalina/Newport Beach. The vessel was clean and leftarrived on time. A few things to note: the indoor window tables (only tables, no seats) are for parites of 4-6 only so if you're a couple and want to sit at a table, you'll have to sit near the middle, away from the windows and without a view. Also, I was told upon parking in the structure that I could get a validation which would bring parking cost down from $30 to $16 but I asked three different crew members on the Flyer how to get that validation and they all told me something different (I had to do it on the boat, I had to do it at the office upon returning, etc.). Ultimately, no one validated the parking. You'd think if that were an option, the crew members would all be on the same page about how to do it and when. The arrival time on Catalina (around 10:30am) meant missing several of the tours. The CF leaves promptly at 4:30pm so don't plan on having dinner in Catalina. It'd be nice if it left a little later. At $75 r/t per person, you only get about 6 full hours on the island. Embarking and disembarking process was smooth and efficient. You can buy cocktails and snacks onboard as well. It's a little bumpy when the water is choppy, so if you get sick easily, I recommend sitting outside. Bring a jacket as it does get cold and I was really happy I'd brought a beach towel because where I was sitting on the way back, I was splashed often enough that the towel ended up being wet by the time we returned to Newport. I suggest arriving early because the lines are long and the boat does fill up, otherwise your party may not get to sit together. Buy tickets online and print them to expedite the boarding process. They do offer a senior discount.

Won't be back - The boat they advertise is not the boat you get. No notice or explanation about this. VIP upgrade is only worth the priority boarding. 2 tickets for a drink and snack on a roundtrip ride is laughable. I'll have my snack now and my drink on the return trip. 🤣 Crew were not rude but not the friendliest bunch either. They seemed extremely bored with their job. The female employee who checked us in was very nice hence 2 stars instead of 1

RACIST! Racist! - I am extremely disappointed and appalled by my recent experience with the Newport Catalina Flyer. The behavior of some of the staff was blatantly racist and completely unacceptable. From the moment we arrived, we were met with rude and dismissive attitudes that only worsened as the day went on. It's disheartening to see such discrimination in this day and age. I will not be returning and would advise others to think twice before using this service. Management needs to address these serious issues immediately.

Boat and Switch - All you should know is the boat on the website is not the one you will be taking to Avalon. Apparently the boat on the website has been getting fixed for a while. This tactic is the good 'ol boat and switch. This speaks to integrity in business unfortunately. It's a very uncomfortable boat, very small, very rough and very old. I would suggest taking the ferry out of Dana Point, Long Beach or San Pedro.