Full-Day Catalina Island Snorkeling Tour from La Romana

AVOID !! The description does not match the excursion at all. The boat was a small buslike craft, one rum and coke, the beach at Catalina Island is horrible, rocky and boulders in the water. No water, no beer until lunch for some reason and no endless drinks. One rum and coke and sangria with a dismal lunch. Bathrooms had no toilet paper. We had to transfer from the bus boat to a row boat to get to the island. Literally over the sides in choppy water. And not enough life jackets either. No famous "the wall" snorkeling, and the ad said two snorkeling spots. We went to one dead reef with two species of common fish. Very disappointing. I always gave Viator good ratings too. Never again. Viator should remove this company from their website. Book from your hotel. Same prices,and do not go to Catalina Island. The cruise ships rent the nice side, beautiful beaches that you can't even walk over to. A guard stops you from trying. I've been on 6 snorkeling excursions throughout the Caribbean, this was the worst. I would like a refund please. Do not use this vendor.

Over-booked and over crowded. There was over 40 people on a catamaran and not enough snorkel or masks for everyone. Bbq chicken was horrible and dry looked like someone was eating what I was served and the pork was the size of half a spam slice. Not worth your time or money definitely book a smaller boat or trip. Plus we also left an hour and 15 minutes after it said we were gonna leave

WORST EXCURSION EVER! Nothing as described. Late pick up, 2 transfers, not enough seats in van. (We had to ride for an hour with 5 people in a row meant for 3.) Tour began an hour late. They never took us to the “wall” to snorkel. Snorkled on a dead reef right off Catalina. No snorkeling instruction given. The “open bar” was a bottle of rum the crew passed around and poured into plastic cups while they drank as well. Loaded us onto small boat with NO life vests and “ferried us” to the shallow water. 25 people trying to exit in the water with one older gentleman trying to help us. Waves caused my daughter to fall while trying to exit the boat with her toddler in her arms. When an English-speaking man tried to ask the captain a question, he kept repeating, “No English” and laughing. Then he (the captain) jumped over the side of the boat. When we finally got ready to leave the (way too crowded island), he attempted to start the motor using a screwdriver and dropped it overboard. Someone had to put on scuba equipment to go to the bottom and retrieve the screwdriver. On the way back to Punta Cana, they stopped at a souvenir store where they encouraged everyone to shop. We had to wait 20 minutes until they put us on another vehicle to go back to the resort. 8am-6:30 pm and we had one small meal. Travelocity/TripAdvisor wouldn’t even consider a refund.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY OR TIME. The description was totally false. It took 2 1/2 hours just to get to the marina. They did not take us to the wall to snorkel. We went to one dead reef off the island. Snorkel equipment was awful, and no instruction was given. Island was too crowded to enjoy. Open bar on the boat consisted of a bottle of rum they brought around with plastic cups. Worst Viator excursion I’ve done in 10 years. They should be ashamed to associate their name with this awful tour. “Captain”’used a screwdriver to start the engine. When he dropped it overboard. The had to send someone down with a scuba tank to find it. 10 1/2 hours total with a mediocre lunch, no snacks, a plastic cup of cola after we snorkels. We had kids with us, and they had 5 of us crammed into the backseat of the van because they do not have enough seats for the number of passengers.

Although the description and images showed a catamaran with slide, the reality was very different. Although we did not have the desired experience of spending a day in catamaran I must value as excellent the Service of the crew and their attention to our safety. The time for snorkeling is very limited as there were too many people and with a lot of swell from the other boats nearby it was almost impossible to enjoy the activity quietly.

My wife and I are staying in the DR for our baby moon. We read that snorkeling is a pregnancy safe, and even encouraged, activity. The ride from our resort to the dock was just fine. No problems there. The problems began when we got on the boat. We were packed in like sardines. Way too many people on the boat. Not enough seats for everyone. When we arrived at “the wall” for snorkeling they handed out masks and snorkels to everyone. Well, not everyone. Only about half the guest got to actually snorkel. My wife and I did not get to snorkel! When we asked for snorkels the staff just shrugged and brushed us off. We paid to snorkel! The people who did snorkel only got to snorkel for 30 minutes. No where near long enough. We then boarded another boat to take us to shore, and once we arrived at shore there was no organization. There were many different groups all mingled together and no guides to help. After about 30 minutes we found where we were supposed to go. They said lunch would be in about 30 minutes. Lunch looked really delicious, but there was not enough for everyone. When you go thirsty you got a tiny plastic cup to fill with water or coke. The kind of cup your teacher would give you for water in preschool. Very tiny. The website says there is snorkeling at the beach/shore, but our boat guide gave away the snorkels to another boat before we headed to shore! So no snorkeling again. My wife and I sat in the shade in our barely held together loungers just wanting to head back to the resort. On top of all that we paid for the VIP experience. This is what they said was included with the VIP experience: snorkel equipment, lunch, unlimited drinks, a boat ride. So everything everyone else got! When I went to one of our guides and asked him what our VIP brackets got us he said we got a special lunch. The “special lunch” was a burnt lobster. I’ll leave a picture of the “special lunch” To wrap this all up, do not book with this company or any company that takes you “snorkeling” to the wall or to Catalina. I will be having my credit card company refund the charge. 0/5 stars Do not recommend

It is written that the snorkeling equipment is included and you can snorkel in two different points. Well… the snorkeling equipment was in miserable conditions and we could only snorkel in one point. They wouldn’t provide the equipment for the second point - the beach. The beach is fantastic, by the way.

I had a great experience them. They provided snorkeling, lunch and extra swimming time. I recommend this place to everyone!

Of the worst beaches in the Caribbean, only rocks, full of flies, the bar very basic, the worst is transport, bad organization

This Catalina Island "full-day snorkeling trip" was hands down the worst excursion I’ve ever booked—and it truly put a damper on our entire vacation. What a scam. The day started at 6:45 AM with a terrifying ride from our hotel. The driver was reckless, swerving through traffic and speeding the entire time. We genuinely feared for our lives. After that, we were dropped off at a random strip mall to meet up with other confused guests, only to be crammed onto a mini-bus like sardines for a long, uncomfortable ride to the dock—4 hours and 15 minutes after we were picked up. From the mini-bus to the boat, we were constantly packed in with no personal space. The boat was so overbooked that guests were literally sitting on each other’s laps. They advertised English-speaking guides, but not a single crew member spoke English. From the bus to the boat, we had no idea what was happening at any point in the trip, and it felt completely disorganized from start to finish and very scary. When it was time to snorkel at “The Wall,” we were just handed snorkels with no instruction—but there weren’t even enough life jackets or snorkels for everyone on the boat. The gear that was available was disgusting and clearly unsanitized. We were in the water for a rushed 20 minutes, and the snorkeling site itself was full of trash littering the sea floor. It was nothing like the experience that was promised. They then packed up the snorkels as soon as we loaded back onto the boat and passed them off to a nearby vessel for reuse. There was no further snorkeling for the day, even though more was promised at the island. After that, we were taken to Catalina Island for a mediocre lunch served on plates and with silverware that had been washed in a bucket of dirty water. We sat on the beach for about an hour, constantly being harassed by local vendors trying to sell us things. There was nothing relaxing about it. We were then taken back to the dock, where we sat on the mini-bus for over an hour waiting for the scuba boat to return. We used the bathroom at the port, which was not only in a sketchy area but was also the most disgusting facility I’ve ever had to use. We finally left the dock area at 4:00 PM and weren’t dropped back off at our resort until 7:30 PM. That’s nearly 13 hours of stress, confusion, and disappointment. This trip was unsafe, overcrowded, unsanitary, and completely misrepresented. Save yourself the money and the headache. If you want to feel ripped off and miserable, this is the excursion for you. Otherwise—RUN.