Catamaran Cruise, Negril Beach, Rick's Cafe, and Snorkeling Full-Day Tour

Disappointing - Not Value for Money

Really disappointed in the Negril Catamaran and Rick Café trip. Having done catamaran tours on other islands, which were fantastic days out, this one was not value for money and very disappointing. The advertisement does not reflect the experience. We were staying in Montego Bay and assumed that we would be getting on the catamaran there and then sailing to Negril. Not so. A mini bus picked us up and 9am and after all the other pick ups drove to Negril. 3.5hours on a bus with no water, snacks, anything! Once in Negril Bay, the bus stopped at a gift shop for 30mins which no one was interested in, but was just relief to stretch the legs! Then took us next door to a bar/restaurant - Margaritaville for another 1.5hours. At this point we realised that no lunch was being provided by this tour. At over £400 for a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids) we expected lunch to be included!!! At Margaritaville, you could get 10% off their massively overinflated prices for burger/chips etc. So now 5.5hours into the catamaran day trip and still have not set foot on a catamaran! We just felt shuttled from one business to another to spend more money over and above the £400+ we already paid for the day out. After finally getting on the catamaran, at 2:40pm, things got a lot better. The Cruise Director and all the crew were great fun and the snorkelling was really lovely. Drinks are provided, but the only food is crisps. We stopped at Rick’s Café (also in Negril, so not far!) for about another 1.5hours. It’s not really a place for families with kids – more an 18-30 party vibe, but it was an experience and you do get some lovely views and can watch the fearless cliff divers. Then back on the catamaran for the fairly short trip back to Margaritaville to catch your 3+hr bus ride back to Montego Bay :( So for over £100 per ticket you get: 1) Nearly 7 hours drive in a mini bus - not guided and no water/snacks/anything. 2) Chance to spend more money at a Negril gift shop. 3) No lunch - buy your own lunch at Margaritaville at massively overinflated prices. 4) Spend a total of about 2.5-3hrs only on the catamaran (including snorkelling and the trip from Margaritaville to Rick’s Café and back) Not value for money and I would not recommend.

FUN, FUN, FUN!!!

The catamaran was awesome! The water was beautiful. The overall experience was amazing. The crew was top tier. We had so much fun.

Unforgettable

The best part was of this excursion was on the boat. Attended the adult only Catamaran. The party was entertaining from the bartender DJ and crew. Nothing boring there. People were dancing, Black Thunder is the life of the party and best host. The day was cloudy and rained 30 minutes. Still had fun on the boat and folks got to snorkel. The stop prior to Negril’s Margaritaville on the beach front was fun with everyone participating in competitive games hosted by the DJ at the beach along with group dancing. The stop at Ricks cafe was nice but unfortunately short. Limited time for eating, swimming or making the iconic jump. If Rick’s café and 7 miles beach was longer this would have been a 5 star for me. Still a recommended excursion. The entire crew made every one super comfortable and made this cruise really unforgettable in Jamaica!

Last minute cancel

Our trip was cancelled 20mins before pick up time. This was booked ahead of time and on our last day in Jamaica. It was very disappointing and we missed out on experiencing an excursion.

It's an all-day Adventure but it's worth it

I have to say they squeezed a lot of Adventures and activities in this one Excursion. Advice I can give is don't plan anything for the rest of the day. Because this is a all day event. We left the hotel at 10:30 and didn't get back to 8:30 p.m. but the crew from the bus driver,Kevin, to the guys on the catamaran we're amazing... it was a real party! we got great discounts at the gift shop and and the meat patties for sale by that point hit the spot!

Great, until ot wasn't

The experience was awesome. Myself and my new Wife (on our honeymoon) Had a great time. Until it was time to see the pictures that were taken of us. Paid $40 for them. Gave my email, and still haven't received the 24 pictures promised at the time of writing this review. Would definitely have been a soild 5. But getting scammed out of our pictures brings it down to a 0 if possible.

Great experience

Great crew, safety measures were respected and overall good time. Very professional and made sure everyone had a good time

Transportation mishap

I’m giving a four star only because of the transportation. The driver actually was there on time but left because HE CLAIMS the excursion was not labeled as “Sunset Catamaran” After a 45 min wait, we reached out to support and also called to only find out the driver was incorrect. He therefore had to come back for our group. The excursion was fun and rainy

Party Boat

This was super fun, I don’t drink but my friends do and it seemed like they enjoyed the drinks. When getting on the boat you do have to walk in the water, about waist deep so make sure you can keep your belongings dry. The dj was good, everybody had a good time.

Bachelor party weekend

Had a lot of fun. The staff was on time to pick us up and made sure that we were having fun. I will definitely book this trip again if I came back to Jamaica

Negril Catamaran Cruise

Great trip out to Negril ! Kids had the time of their lives and everyone we encountered was amazing! Fun trip that occupies your entire day!

Take this tour at your own risk

What was described as an 8 hour tour turned into 12 with a 40 min delay to be picked up due to mechanical issues with a bus, stopping at what felt like a dozen hotels to pick up and drop off passengers, and then stopping at a souvenir store for 45 mins. To make matters worse I was robbed of 70$ on the catamaran, which was packed with people. Make sure your belongings are secure which is hard to do while snorkeling.

Entertaining Excursion at its Best

Enjoyed every part of this tour, the Catamaran Cruise was very entertaining (never a dull moment) and Rick's Cafe topped it off. Be prepared to be out all day.

Best excursion EVER!

From the start to finish was absolutely GREAT and FABULOUS. Kevin was the BEST driver and helpful. He was especially patient since we screwed up our pick up location. The cruise host lifeguard and bartenders so fun and watching out for your safety at all times. The rough waters altered our trip a bit but we still had the greatest time. Totally recommend and thank you for having us

All day sun and fun

Our tour guide was absolutely amazing .. funny.. kind… even went out of his way to bring me my souvenir purchase I left on the bus and brought it to me the next day !! Such a kind wonderful man !

I was robbed!

O stars because I feel like I was robbed. I paid one of the staff members for my snorkeling pictures and she said they will be emailed to me within three days. I never received them and I live for making memories and I don't have my pictures. She showed me my pictured on her laptop and she had great pictures but I didn't receive them! 😡

MUST ATTEND

I had an amazing time on this experience!!! You must do this activity when coming to Jamaica !! The workers are fun and amazing and made sure we had a great time ! You cant go wrong with unlimited drinks on the boat and music.. Ricks cafe was a very fun experience i highly recommend this experience I would do it again!!

Fun experience

The experience was great, the captain and crew were great and on point at all times. Even when some of the passengers were struggling. I would do it again and make sure not to eat less than 1 hr before catching boat. Thanks again for being so attentive and fun!

Organized and fun time

The boat ride the stop at Rick’s cafe and everything in between was great! Even if you go alone they’ll be others there to mingle and have fun

So much fun

Trip was nothing short of AMAZING our tour guide was so fun and made sure we were kept safe, price was perfect.

Fun!!!

Our driver was great! We arrived at Margaritaville in Negril and hung out at the beach for about 2 hours. The catarman experience was great. The music was good, the staff was enteractive. The waves were rough so we couldn't dock at Rick's Cafe. We had to go back to Margaritaville and take a bus to Rick's Cafe which was about 15 minutes away. Also at Rick's Cafe, they were playing music and enteracting with the guest. People were jumping off the cliffs into the water, that was fun to watch. I had a great time overall.

Don't miss this!

Our entire experience, from the bus drive, with Tony, to the catamaran crew and all the folks at Margaritaville and Rick's Cafe, we had an amazing time. They were all so warm and accommodating. They made us feel right at home. On the catamaran, we had rain, and the crew still made sure we all had a great time.

Our trip was AMAZING!!...

Our trip was AMAZING!! The boat was on time and ready for our pickup. The crew was very excited, helpful and organized. I am not a swimmer and I totally felt comfortable snorkeling. ChoColate Thunder made the cruise fun. The views were priceless on the way to Ricks cafe and the Captain was very attentive drove the boat so carefully. Highly recommended tour!

This trip was so so fun!...

This trip was so so fun! Our driver tony was amazing! He kept us entertained the entire drive and was fun to talk to the entire time! I highly recommend this experience!

Great time

Had a wonderful time and the entertainment director was uplifting the only withdraw was loading and unloading. Should have a better process before someone gets hurt. If corrected this is a 5 star experience.

Amazing!

amazing catamaran experinece. dexta and crew were great. Bartender was great! The vibez from start to end was at an all time high.

Recommend

Amazing experience, beautiful sunset and beautiful beach. The catamaran was really fun and overall great energy

Catamaran Cruise & Snorkeling

This a great way to be introduced to Jamaica! 10 outta 10 experience. Our cruise director was great, the driver, Shane was awesome!

Tour company did not show up

The most memorial part of this experience was the fact that nobody showed up. We were told that because it was booked after hours that they did not get the booking and we should have reconfirmed the next morning, which we were not informed of so needless to say the four of us were extremely unhappy, as a travel agent, I Had lost confidence and the ability of Viator to guarantee to my clients that excursions will be handled properly

Very worth it

10/10 experience for those looking to visit Negril on a fun day trip. The catamaran was beautiful and Rick’s Cafe was awesome.

The Highlight Of My Trip

This was the highlight of my trip to Jamaica. I highly recommend it! Tony the driver was excellent, and everything went smoothly as expected.

Super Terrific Experience!

Very pleased with the overall experience. I requested prior to the trip to have an area for our party group to be together but was not honored. That certainly didn't stop the "vibe". It started with our tour driver "Tony"! He was fun, lively and very engaging. He kept us entertained to and from our hotel. Once on the Catamaran....the entire crew and captain were incredible!! The captain kept us safe the DJ Michael kept us jumping and moving every second of the trip and the bartender kept up hydrated in one form or another!! The snorkeling experience was great and needless to say the visit to Rick's Cafe was incredible. The sunset sail was breathtaking. We will definitely do it again! Thank you Viator for an amazing and memorable experience!!!

Unfriendly staff, trying to sell things the whole time

Arrogant staff, just a Sales Trip Most of the time. Not a very nice experience. Stopped at a gift shop where people were very aggressively selling things.

Don’t matter who you are or where you comin from! You’ll have a blast

This was lit! This trip was for our baby moon and we had such a blast even without partaking in the liquor! Such a great experience. The lot of us came as strangers and left bonded. The tour guide was frikkin awesome too

Not a good overall experience!

We have booked excursions with Viator before when we travelled to Italy and had a flawless experience so we decided to do it again for Jamaica, reserved a booking 1 month in advance. Unfortunately the experience was less to be desired and left us unhappy to the point where we spent $100 USD for a private cab ride back to the hotel in Montego Bay. Our pick up time was 9:30am but was informed that it would be 10am, which is fine because we were informed early via text message by the operator at 7:10 am . The problem started when the pick up time came and went with no further communication. The bus finally arrived , half an hour to 45 minutes later starting the excursion with on a sour note. The bus driver tried to make up for it by driving fast to the point where I was extremely nauseous. One of the guest on board actually threw up at a stopping point. Then instead of arriving at the destination point (Margaretteville) to enjoy 7 mile beach , we were brought to a souvenir shop, which was not in our itinerary nor were we asked or informed of this side trip/hustle. At this point my husband and I were livid since the tour operator told us we would arrive at approximately 12pm to enjoy 7 mile beach. The bus driver then left us for an hour and a half to go pick up other guests and when we were eventually picked up and the destination point was literally 1 minute down the street. At this point it is now past 1:30pm , told to ENJOY 7 mile beach , and the Catamaran will be boarding at 2:15pm with a departure time of 2:30pm. So it gave us 45 minutes for the rat race to try and order food and maybe eat it , let alone ENJOY the beach. There were first time travellers to Jamaica on the bus and some celebrating their birthdays so I felt horrible for their experience. The rest of the excursion was good, but to potentially arrived back at our hotel at 9:30pm or 10pm and not the estimated 8pm was the tipper for my husband. This is my 8th trip to Jamaica and my husbands 5th trip so we have done numerous excursions and are not strangers to this beautiful island and its island time and have stayed everywhere on the Island too but this was extremely disappointing and may again just book with the hotel or a private company when in Jamaica.

Awesome Experience

Method of embarking on the boat, location of snorkeling, time to snorkel, free drinks, good company, great vibes. Watched divers jump off cliff edge at Rick's Cafe.

Beautiful ocean catarmran sail and loved Rick's Cafe sunset

Best catamaran excursion we've ever done in the Carribean. A proper sail from Montego Bay to Negril. Saw flying fish as the boat hit those waves. Amazed by the crew, who took great care of us, with food, drinks and music. We didn't have the best snorkely weather that day, but still super fun. Rick's Cafe, is celebrating their 50th year, and did not disappoint. Lots of options for cliff jumping from very low to higher and then got to watch the divers do the super high jumps. Sunset at the end was spectacular. The night drive back to Montego Bay had some nice views and napping opportunities too. We will do this excursion again on our next visit!

Over the top fun

An absolute blast. The crew was super fun and kept everyone safe at all times. Things get really wild as the rum flows but everyone has fun and no judging. If you dont want fun. Dont go

Great Choice.

The staff on the boat was phenomenal. The drinks were very good. Our Driver Tony was awesome. I would ask for him again.

Adults only - sure, but with kids or family its a pass

Its a VERY LONG almost two hours bus ride from Montego Bay to Margaritaville. But you stop several times and once for a completely unnecessary tourist trap shop. Margaritaville is ok but the music is NOT family friendly and the DJ is terrible. Yeah theres a couple of water trampolines in the sea but thats it for kids. The burgers are ok but not great and its not as good as other Margaritavilles in other parts of the world so you dont come for the food. You get about two hours at the Margaritaville to sit on the beach which is the only great part. From there its a super very crowded cattleboat to go snorkel. They dont even have enough equipment for everyone who goes it's so crowded and you may not get to snorkel or have to share equipment. You wade through chest deep water to get on the boat in murky water and then have to wadr off at night to get hack which seems stupid. Not enough places to sit in the boat it's so over crowded so some are sitting on uncomfortable deck that hurts if you don't have a towel to sit on. Very little shade the entire four hours. So many people were pissed that they had to stand almost the whole trip. You snorkel for maybe 20 minutes if that and they spot is nice which is why it gets two stars. So weird that you dont even get 30 minutes. By the time some people get in the water after standing in line waiting for snorkel gear it was time to get back on so several people were upset about that. And then you catamaran over to Ricks. Ricks is WAY overcrowded with a lot of very drunk people. The music is rap music with bad language played at deafening levels. You have to take a boat to get there. No live band.. Its so many super drunk people everywhere many wearing swimwear thats just trashy. Definitely not a family friendly place to bring kids. People were smoking pot everywhere it seemed. There were five or six catamarans there and you only get one hour they said or they will leave you. The problem is that its so overcrowded it will probably take you that long just to get to the bar to order a glass of water. Its impossible to get food. Since the cruise goes all day you basically get nothing to eat unless you ate at Margaritaville beforehand. But then its hard to get BACK to the boat because you have to wait in line for a boat back to the catamaran. We waited an hour !!!!! for a boat back to the catamaran which was already supposed To leave. Kids were crying and tired everywhere while others were so drunk they were throwing up. Its was very poorly organized and dirty. We think several never made it back because the boat line was so long and beware, its $150 US to take a cab. And the crew couldnt care less if you make it back or not. The cruise director was playing weird music like Beyonce for part of a song then changing it to Michael Jackson for a minute than part of another song like they couldnt figure out any vibe for the boat. I dont think he played an entire song and was constantly talking over everything so you didnt get to just enjoy music or the cruise. He seemed drunk himself or high and sometimes you couldnt understand him at all and people were laughing that someone should cut him off and take the mic away so we could just enjoy the cruise on the water or pick a song and let it play. He never played any reggae which seemed odd. We got back after sunset (and dont forget the wade back to shore in cold water) and then had a really long bus ride in your newly wet swsuit in the dark with almost passing out completely stumbling drunk people on the bus. Some were screaming at each other. I dont know how the poor driver could drive it was so loud. If this was a party adults only that was probably par for the course but this was the family one. People were cussing and oblivious to the kids. I would never take kids on this. Another couple with three elementary age kids were embarrassed their kids were exposed to such trashy sloppy drunks. Its was awful and if we could have gotten a cab home we would have. It wasnt fun. No real snorkeling. No good music. No place to sit. The bar was so crowded we got only one drink on the boat. Wish we had just done a private charter instead of a cattle boat and just skip Ricks as its a total rip off. This would be a one star but for the two hours on beach and the tiny bit of snorkeling was in clear water.

So good!!

Fun vibes!! Beautiful ride in the ocean! Workers were so nice and fun to be around! Best experience and feel so blessed to have had the opportunity

A full fun day

It was a fun day and we enjoyed this excursion. Like others have said the catamaran is very, but we knew this going in. The crew was very friendly and helpful. We enjoyed jumping at Rick’s café and the stop in Margaritaville for lunch.

Great time and beautiful sights

What a great time--Dex was an amazing cruise director and the fun didn't stop. We did the adults only cruise and loved the snorkeling and the partying--being able to jump off the cliffs at Ricks was incredible and I highly recommend. Great excursion, beautiful sunset and top notch service. Highly recommend

Best tour

Great crew lots of fun good drinks amazing time I would highly recommend best tour we did while in Jamaica

Not enough time at snorkel/ricks

I thought the snorkeling and Rick's cafe was great but way tooooo short. I had no idea we were going to Margaritaville for two hours to just hang out. I would have skipped that part completely. The two things we wanted to do was snorkel and ricks and both of those parts were only about 50 minutes each and we were gone for almost 10 hours. So much wasted time .

Excellent crew

Cliff jumping at Ricks and the staff members and crew. The booking process, hotel pickup, and overall experience was all on point !

Drama at sea

This tour was ridiculous. Where do I begin?? I was asked to meet at Margaritaville Negril “on the beach by the green fence with the white table, between 12:30-1:30pm, Boarding is 1:30pm.” No problem, I have a car. I showed up at 10am to enjoy the beach. 2pm rolls around, no white table on the beach by the green fence, no boat. Turns out the table was out front the restaurant, on the driveway, NOT by the beach. Boat showed up at 2:30, so it was super late. fast forward to snorkeling; it was underwhelming, tho we saw some pretty fish. While out snorkeling a fist fight broke out on board between 2 groups of passengers. (What is this, high school??) this resulted in a tense atmosphere the rest of the cruise. We were late leaving from snorkeling to Rick’s Cafe as the staff did what little they could do to diffuse the situation. We got to Rick’s late, and only had about 30-40m to get food then back on the boat. We were told the instigators of the flight wouldn’t be allowed back on board, that they had to take a taxi home from Rick’s. Boarding the boat back was another fiasco. Boat staff not only let the fight instigators back on board, but when others complained about it, those complaining were not allowed to board!! Once again another tense atmosphere on board. This was a terrible cruise and while the blame mostly lies with the idiots who can’t act like adults, cruise staff did not do anything to help the situation and even aggravated it further. I’d like my money back.

Fun snorkeling and beautiful sunset.

We booked the all day catamaran cruise with a visit to Rick’s cafe and snorkeling. Our pickup from our hotel went smooth. We got picked up at 1100. We ended up stopping at a souvenir shop on the way to the catamaran pickup. Every driver has deals with all of the shops to bring people by. The people that work at the shops follow you like a hawk and try to sell you everything. Our pick up point for the catamaran was at margaritaville. There are locals at the beach that will hound you to buy stuff from them too. Once we got picked up and in the catamaran we had a great time. The snorkeling was fun and the environment in the boat was cool. Once we got to Ricks cafe, we transferred to a smaller boat and shuttled over to the cafe. Rick’s was PACKED! Cool place to hang and have a drink but if you don’t like large crowds you will not enjoy it. The ride back to margaritaville and enjoying the sunset was great. After the day was over we went back to the hotel and enjoyed the rest of the night. This definitely doesn’t have to be an all day trip. We don’t load the boat until 2:30. I think it would have been a better trip if we showed up at margaritaville around 2:00.

Do this tour!

The experience was amazing. Our tour director was amazing and the day was beyond fun!!! The Cafe was better than I imagined and the ride home one of the most memorable trips I have had ☺️

Catamaran overbooked

The catamaran was way over booked. Lots of people did not have a seat. Not enough time at each destination and the driver was close to an hour late picking us up from the resort