Catamaran Cruise to Ile Aux Bénitiers: Dolphin watch, Crystal Rock & Transfer

SHODDY OLD CRYSTAL CRUISES CATAMARAN WITH BLARING MUSIC - ILE AUX CERF

Too loud music and really old and shoddy Crystal Cruises cataraman for the ile aux cerfs catamaran tour. The views were great with turquoise water and the waterfall was nothing special, but nice. However, in the boat, music was played really loud . Also, the catamaran was quite crowded with people and there was only the back of the boat exposed to the sun availablefor the last passengers. The lunch was ok (rice, pasta, salad with grilled fish, chicken and sausages, drinks (water, soft drinks, beer, rum) were included. However, they ran out of Coca-Cola!! Snorkeling wise, there was very little to see at the spot they stopped. Have been on a few of these cruises before and this Crystal Cruise Company is by far the worse. Other cruises' boats were in far better condition, the snorkeling sites were far better and their music was not so blaring. So, choose your Cruise Company carefully to have the best experience.

The dolphin..

my daughter book this trip for our wedding anniversary and it was an amazing gift! best catamaran cruise to relax. we board to a big catamaran with approx 25 people. the staff was very cool.. always serving us cocktails and beers :D. we saw many dolphins and the great view of le morne. very nice island to explore. great catamaran tour!

Good

Very friendly staff and the trip was overall fun, the only issue I had is that the boat was way over booked, we were around 30-35 people and it was too crowed and uncomfortable. If we were around 10-15 it would have been way better.

Amazing Mauritian Catamaran cruise

What an amazing day out. We can highly recommend this Catamaran Cruise. We saw a lot of dolphins, experienced beautiful views of Crystal rock, had a great snorkelling experience and had a fun trip to Ille Aux Benitiers (the markets and coconut cocktails were a great suprize). Definitely value for money.

Great

This cruise met all that it was advertised to be. We only had 8 people on the cruise and it was advertised to not have more than 20 individuals which is why I was happy to pay more. The crew was attentive and we had a great swim at the Chrystal rock and the food was good. I would only mention that we had prepared a tip for the team but they never really provided us the opportunity to give it to them!

Old Rusty Catamaran - Avoid

We booked this trip prior to arriving on the island as we only had a few days there. We booked it solely off the nice pictures and long list of what's included. When we arrived we spent almost an hour waiting around an alleyway next to the Marina. There were many nice catamarans so we were excited. Finally when it was time to get going, we had to run along the rocks to get the Marina only to see that we were getting onto a smaller boat to bring us out to our catamaran (if you could call it that). This was much smaller boat than the others and in tatters. The plastic tarp was falling a part, dirty and covered in rust so we couldn't see out. The plastic cushion covers were all wet and cut open so the sponge was showing, there was some cockroaches below deck and the toilets were simply awful, located next to heaving diesel engine fumes. The boat had rust on the canvas from the chain and they never took the sail out.....doubtful it even worked. The only saving grace was they kept our glasses filled and the staff were nice. The BBQ to be fair was also nice. The boat was simply not designed for tourism in my opinion. This advert does not reflect reality and does not show an accurate image of what you'll be getting. We will be seeking some sort of refund.

Overall a good day

The tour started quite late, about an hour after our due departure time. We were unsure of the reason, we just milled around waiting but we finally did get on board. The staff were very friendly and helpful for sure, but at first it was like a teenage party boat, the music was so loud it was distorted and many of the passengers were running around screaming and yelling. It was not a peaceful experience to start, however, after a while people settled down, the music was a great level that you could hear and talk to your companions at the same time. We then had a very enjoyable remainder of the trip. The weather was unpredictable but we still made the most of it. Note to travellers, if you are not a strong swimmer, the snorkelling can be quite tricky as the current off the boat was strong the day we went, and the seabed was 3 metres down, so there was not much to see. Our driver to and from our hotel to the trip (Mangesh) was fabulous. The lunch and drinks served were great.

It was a very wonderful...

It was a very wonderful experience. Every people are friendly and full of fun. Foods were very delecious also, I definitely can say that the most fascinating tour in Moritius! Of course with Viator team.

Not a bad day out, but it's not worth the money

Lovely staff and team on board, although we did depart 1 hour late and was expecting more from the food, not quite a 3 course meal as lead to believe. Overall experience was nice as we saw the dolohins in the sea.

Trip on a catamaran

Great service nice food and drinks the weather was ok but no dolphins or whales spotted, which was a shame but that is nature

Fantastic fun!

We went on the cruise with our 12 and 14 year old and we all had an amazing time. All of the boat's crew were fantastic, always checking up on everyone to make sure they were happy, safe and just generally walking around and making an effort with all of the passengers. The on-board BBQ was fantastic, well planned out and tasty - especially the fish! They came prepared with numerous soft drinks and beers/wines so everyone was catered for, there was a really nice atmosphere on the boat and everyone in the group seemed to leave very happy at the end - even when we had torrential rain for the last 10 mins - everyone just enjoyed the music and had a dance! We were unlucky and didn't see any dolphins but that's nature for you and they made it clear from the start that this wasn't something they could guarantee - the snorkelling more than made up for it as we saw lots of fish and it was in a beautiful location.

Our best cruise so far!!

Our best catamaran cruise so far!! our children had a great time in the catamran. we see the dolphin which was amazinng. the local food was absolutely fantastics.. a relaxing experience in the catamaran. we enjoy the snorkeling.. we had some cocktails.. very nice

Misleading tour description - overcrowded and poor servixe

The description on viator is misleading. They promise snorkelling and a guide, but there is very limited equipment on board. And guide does not even offer to help beginners with snorkelling or swim at the sea. The benitiers island experience was also bad. The food was served on board instead of the island and the island was basically a very dirty place to do any activity. The catamaran itself was overcrowded and preference was given to larger group. For couples like us we did not have space to sit inside and it was scorching hot outside. Food was below average as well. We selected an English guide, but ended up in a Creole / french guide group and had to depend on other travellers mostly for translation.

Absolutely fantastics!!

Our driver Keshav recommend us this trip and we book it instantly. I must say we had a brilliant day to benitier island.. great landscape to see the le morne mountain . we saw many dolphin. We enjoy snorkeling as it was our second time. The food was absolutely delicious. Great ambiance in the catamaran!

Boat & crew poor, scenery amazing

So first of all I want to say the driver we had to the catamaran was fantastic, his name was Rishi but unfortunately that was nearly the best thing about this trip. The boat was incredible worn down and tired and well the toilets were disgraceful. The crew gave us no idea what we were doing and explained absolutely nothing in english, so we had no idea what we were doing or seeing. As far as the "dolphin" watching it involved a lot of boats chasing a small pod which made us feel very uncomfortable and we saw them for maybe 5 seconds. The scenery was amazing and the sea near crystal rock was definitely worth seeing. The other thing which was incredibly disappointing was the food, it was basically inedible and as for the alcohol that was provided, it was served out of plastic beakers (even the wine) and it was barely drinkable it was that bad. I 100% would not recommend this boat but if you can find a better crew and boat then crystal rock is worth the visit for the views.

Choose a different operator

Our cruise was cancelled last minute due to engine failure, this should have started the alarm bells ringing. We manage to get on the cruise the next day. The catamaran bears no resemblance to any of those in the pictures, it was tired, shabby and run down. As for the toilet!! We were never given any of the local folklore that was promised and as for Mauritian music, correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought Bob Marley was fro Jamaica. The food was not great, all cold, and I came down with one of the worst cases of diarrhoea by the time we had got back to the hotel. The area is in itself beautiful, and the dolphins great, even though you don’t get to swim with them as suggested in the photos, I throughly recommend the trip, just book with a different operator

Brilliant Trip

Great staff, very friendly and the drinks flowed the whole time. We saw the dolphins and crystal Rock and experienced the Marleta on Ile Aux Benitiers

Not value for money

Not as described. It certainly is not a 3 course lunch and the boat was very shabby with lots of areas needing repairs - the toilet was very interesting!!. the crew just didnt engage with us at all there was no explanation of where we were or what we were passing - Thought it was very poor and not value for money at all . The best thing about it was a taxi transfer where we had a fantastic driver or told us so much about the island.

Chillaxing

Relaxing outing. Fellow travellers were Mauritians, very friendly and jolly group. Selim our transfer driver was very friendly and on time. Catamaran crew were professional and served a delicious lunch.

A Day of Dolphins

The crew were fantastic. Food was delicious. You need to amend that snorkelling gear is no longer provided.

Great day

Samad was a really good driver, waited for us when we were late but still got us there on time. Very friendly and have lots of information about the local area. Would definitely recommend and use again :)

Literal torture - don’t book!!!

Trip from hell!! Terribly organised. Waited an hour on the shore with no information. On the boat, zero tour guide info about where we were or what we were looking at. Joined loads of other boats chasing a few dolphins which we could see in the distance. Moored up … one snorkel for 20 guests so didn’t bother to go in the sea. Didn’t stop anywhere interesting anyway. Awful, cold BBQ with uncooked chicken. But the worst bit was 7 straight hours of banging music to night club level. Requests to turn the music down were ignored. By the end of the day I literally wanted to jump in the sea and swim home. It was an awful, terrible day. Everyone looked so miserable by the end. Couldn’t wait to get off the boat. Really … don’t book this tour.

Brilliant day and swimming with dolphins was a dream come true

We booked the trip with freshverde after talking to our driver Sam, who we used on a couple of occasions, Sam was brilliant and punctual. Had an early start but got to the location with plenty of time to spare and had a fantastic day, swimming with and seeing dolphins in the wild was magical, great day and well worth the money

Fabulous day on the water!

Really enjoyed this experience and the lovely staff aboard the catamaran. Lunch was delicious and the day was all we wanted and more!

Great experience in Mauritius

The crew was very friendly and helpful, the lunch was delicious. It’s very relaxing experience and everyone could enjoy.

Amazing time but does not match description

Went on this trip with two friends and had an excellent time on board. However, the trip was not what we thought we booked as it did not reflect the description very well. First off, we were picked up at eight in the morning at our hotel and then dropped off at a very peculiar place in a harbor, where we waited with no instructions on what to expect for more than an hour. Luckily, the locals were very friendly and we ended up finding and boarding the boat. On board, there were at least 20 people although the description stated a maximum of 15. The small, more private experience was one of the main reasons why we booked the trip, so that was disappointing. The last thing not matching the description was the lunch which was a nice buffet but not the 3 course meal described. But! Even though everything did not match our expectations we ended up having an amazing time! The crew is extremely friendly and helpful and the other people on board were festive and very welcoming. We got to see lots of dolphins and enjoy the crystal clear waters of Mauritius and thanks to the crew we were never low on punch or cold beers. It was a lot of fun!

Vacation

Courteous skippers on board, numerous Dolphins to see, beautiful snorkeling spot, sumptuous BBQ lunch on board, crystal creek, turquoise colored lagoon Island and good tasting rum and juice.

Magnifique journée

Nous avons eu une magnifique expérience. Tout était parfait, le Transfert, le barbecue, les dauphins, la plongée, l’équipage, et l’ambiance. À refaire! Nous recommandons

Recommended

Very nice tour with beautiful views of the catamaran. We were able to spot dolphins and had plenty of time to snorkel in between. We didn't need the loud music and certainly didn't need to ask for an extra tip on top of the price (we prefer to decide this ourselves...) All compliments to our driver Belinda, who took us back and forth safely with a pleasant chat!

An unforgettable experience

A wonderful and unforgettable experience on the Catamaran Lady Anne with an excellent crew. The dolphins are also fantastic experience in their natural habitat. The driver Manu also knows his trade and he takes you back and forth to the location. Aad and Roos

Geht so...

Vorab: WG. (angeblichen) techn.Defekt downgrade auf Speedboot. Kein Preisnachlass auf Anfrage. Zwischen -Stop Schnorcheln super enttäuschend. Kaum Korallen oder Fische. Die Begegnung mit den Delfinen: na ja, Tierschützer würden uns verklagen. Glauben nicht das das den Delfinen gefallen hat. Die waren eher auf der Flucht vor uns. Wer glaubt das das ein Event für Mensch und Tier war, der auch an den Weihnachtsmann. Der Aufenthalt auf Benitiere und Besichtigung des Diamond Rock ernüchternd. Essen und Getränke gut. Mannschaft des. Bootes bemüht, aber stark routiniert .Wir haben fast 200 € für einen Katamaran gebucht. Sind aber froh (wegen vieler negativer Rezensionen) das das nicht geklappt hat. Super enttâuschend die magere Fisch und Korallen Population. Da sind Seychellen und Malediven um 5 Klassen besser.

Amazing

Gorgeous! A big thank you to Mangesh for the transport, and to the boat captains for their welcome!!

Great

Excellent catamaran trip, view of dolphins, crystal rock, clams. Meals and organization at the top. Very touristy but you can't escape it. Departure from our house with a driver, thank you Manu for the punctuality and the journey. To do !!

Cristal rock

Bonjour, Manger en face du cristal rock fut très appréciable. La beauté de l eau fut agréable. Bonne soirée.

Not too bad

Not up to the price the advertising is not compliant We are made to understand that life is hard and that this job is poorly paid, so we are already well prepared for drinking. 192 euros for the cruise is excessive especially for the service really disappointed We will not return to Mauritius, people are embittered by this 2-speed society, too bad the poor people have such a hard time surviving 🤔

To escape, tourist trap

41 people (excluding crew) on board when it says "20 people maximum per group"; music that will make your ears bleed all day long; 20 minutes, not one more, stop on the Ile aux Benitiers before returning to the boat to eat sausages and cold meats cooked in deplorable hygienic conditions.... And the icing on the cake, we made us disembark at a different place from the boat location "it's easier for us"...so we walked 10 minutes, with three young children, on the road among the cars brushing past us. legs to find the taxi. No exchange with the crew, bordering on friendliness. It's clearly a catch-all, run away.

Excursion mitigée

Nous avons apprécié le catamaran très confortable, peu nombreux c'était appréciable. Toutefois un peu déçu car le repas était sûrement très bon, mais la viande et le poisson froid.

No pagaría ni la mitad

Lo que nos encontramos no tiene nada que ver con lo que ofertan, no hubiéramos pagado ni la mitad Al llegar nos hicieron esperar sin dar ninguna explicación. Cuando por fin empezamos a movernos, no pudimos embarcar directamente al catamarán, si no que nos subimos en un bote y este nos llevó al catamarán. Por cierto, al bote le entraba agua por abajo, tenía una fuga El catamarán tenía los cojines para sentarnos rotos y mojados. Y el plástico para cubrirnos del viento y la lluvia estaba roto y sucio, por lo que no podíamos ver alrededor y era bastante incómodo A los baños mejor no pasar, dónde además olía un montón a gasolina y encontramos una cucaracha Quién nos atendió era bastante amable y la comida estaba buena. Aunque al reservar indican una serie de bebidas, de las que no disponen

Snorkeling

Equipage très sympathique, catamaran ancien mais spacieux, mais l'excursion confond snorkeling et baignade, trop peu de temps consacré à l'exploration des fonds marins, dommage .... Il serait judicieux plutot d'envisager des excursions ciblant des loisirs bien spécifiques

NICHT ZU EMPFEHLEN

Start um Sieben, Taxifahrer weckte uns um Sechs, Erster am Hafen als letzter gestartet, Katamaran alt und verrottet, keine Schnorcheltour nur Schwimmen, nur mit Vorsegel die letzten 20 min sonst nur mit Motor absolut nicht zu empfehlen

Tolles Erlebnis

Die Ganztagestour war wirklich toll! Insgesamt haben wir den ganzen Tag sehr genossen und hatten ausreichend Zeit für alles. Die Delfine konnte man leider nur weit aus der Ferne sehen, das war aber ok. Es waren alle sehr nett und freundlich und das Essen war auch gut. Einzig der Fahrer für den Transfer vom Hotel zum Startpunkt war katastrophal. Er ist gefahren wie ein wahnsinniger und hat jedes einzelne Auto riskant überholt. Dafür kann aber die Tour insgesamt nichts. Am besten sollte dieser Fahrer ausgewechselt werden.

On y regarde à deux fois….

Cette expérience est très mitigée. La veille au soir je reçois un message qui m’indique que les catamarans sont endommagés pour la sortie. En fait on comprendra par recoupement qu’il n’y a en réalité aucun catamaran qui assure ce type de sortie et que seuls les bateaux à moteur sont en mesure de « traquer » les dauphins. Il s’agit en fait de bateaux à moteur et on se retrouve à 15 bateaux qui se livrent une course effrénée pour suivre les dauphins. Au final oui on les voit mais une fois que c est fait check on enchaîne. Vite fait un peu de snorkling autour du bénitier et après repas sur l’île au benitier qui est un lieu de revente de marchandise à touriste. Point positif l équipe a réalisé un très bon repas convivial pour les participants. Ensuite pause de deux heures et retour au point de départ. Alors oui on a vu ( surtout aperçu) les dauphins, on a vu le benitier et on a eu le repas. Mais franchement vérifiez vraiment si le jeu en vaut la chandelle. Privilégiez une vraie sortie uniuement catamaran pour profitez et pour chiller plutôt que de vouloir entrevoir des dauphins traqués. Neanmoins merci à notre pilote du jour qui a fait tout ce qu il pouvait pour faire passer une journée sympa. Ah oui j’oubliais, deux heures de transfert avec un chauffeur de taxi qui sait pas lire un GPS Google map🤣🤣🤣🤣

Personnel très sympa aux...

Personnel très sympa aux petits soins mais le bateau n'a rien à voir avec la photo ! Et pas de langoustes au déjeuner

Ein herrlicher Tag mit einer freundlichen Crew und gutem Essen

Nette und aufmerksame Crew, leider keine Delfine gesehen, trotzdem schöner Ausflug, waren zu sechst auf dem Katamaran, viel Platz

Schöner Ausflug mit Startschwierigkeiten

Der Ausflug war grundsätzlich gut organisiert, sehr nette und stets sich kümmernde Bootsbesatzung. Leider wurden wir viel zu früh vom Schiff(Hotel) abgeholt. Die Zeit wurde am Tag vorher noch auf 6:45 Uhr statt 7:00 Uhr vorgezogen. Wir waren dann 7:30Uhr am Bootsanleger und mussten bis 9:00 warten, bis die weitere Verteilung auf die, dann nach und nach kommenden Catamarane , stattfand. Die eigentliche Tour begann erst 9:30Uhr!