Catalina Express

Worst company EVER! They charged me 3x to get back to Long beach from Catalina island and refuse to give me my money back of $ 200. The boat is disgustingly dirty and DONT upgrade your seats for $ 15 a person no point they say u get a free drink and better seats but the drink are $ 7 so u get two drinks for that cost. They charged me $ 15 for a 3 week old baby that didn’t even sit in a seat or drink. Such a messed up company, complete robbery and I have to go through so much just to get my money back!!!

There is no «Berth 95» as a street address in GPS. Get it together, Catalina express.

It’s a nice ride to Catalina! The boats are comfortable and fast, with inside and outside seating options. Bathrooms are clean and the staff’s attention is great. The crew was excellent both directions and it was so efficient that we didn’t notice the time. We were busy studying up on the island via the many brochures and magazines they provide! Before we visited, my mom researched the many Catalina transportation options and the most popular and affordable is the Express. Their terminals are well designed and comfortable and they even had exhibits about the Island (my mother loved it). I just wish they had better options in the food court (see where my interest lies). Not much to see in that regard and I would’ve given anything for a cup o’ Starbucks before the ride!
Food court aside, I’d definitely recommend them for your Catalina visit!

Catalina Express .is top notch !
Easy parking at both Long beach and San Pedro
The staff is friendly… a nice bunch of people
Usually my family and I leave from San Pedro since we normally go to Two Harbors.
This last trip we took to the island we decided on Avalon so we departed from Long Beach .
Even At 6 am… The parking was easy, the coffee was hot and the boat ride was so smooth I fell asleep. Can’t recommend this enough!

The boat ride was great, however we parked our car in the lot for 3 days while we were in Catalina. When we came back to our car, someone had siphoned the gas from our car.

****I love Catalina Express****
This is a wonderful experience to get to Catalina Island! I have taken the ride from both San Pedro and Long Beach and enjoy the ride both inside and outside (as long as the weather permits). For San Pedro, there is a beautiful outside waiting area that has a covered tables and the beautiful view of the St. Vincent Thomas bridge. When you first take off from this location, you can see the Ports of Call (which will be getting a huge update in the near future) and view all the other cruise ships and other harbor cruise boats (with everyone waving of course) There is a bar/​snack area on the bottom floor and bathrooms on both levels. I have enjoyed all my rides back and forth and cannot wait to go again on my birthday :)

I enjoyed the entire experience, from check-​in and the wait area, to the I hour ride over. There was even a whale sighting but I missed it! Great service and a fairly smooth ride.

we took the fast cat to the island and back, and it was very good. what else is there to say. departed on time, comfortable ride. seemed like a nice bar and snack shop.

It was my Birthday on Wednesday
May 4, so I decided to see some of Catalina Island. We took the 12:45
Skyline drive tour with Steve as our driver and guide. Very nice young man and very knowledgeable about the history of Catalina island. I and many others were very impressed and a very good driver. Only got to see a very small Fox at the airport no Bison.
Thanks
Barbara

Went there on a friends birthday– free trip for him round trip for the ocassion. They had great customer service, especially when I needed to change our reservation times just a few days before the trip.

Land Ahoyyyyyyy!!!
Okay, so perhaps that was a bit corny. I’m definitely no «Johnny Depp» yet I suppose when compared to a number of other reviewers, having rated this establishment themselves, I’m a bit of a veteran — haha…
So…I’ve benefited from Catalina Express’s stellar service for a number of years now; departing from several ports from San Pedro down to the Newport/​Dana Point area and well…
My conjecture: IT’S ALL GOOD WHEN IT COMES TO THIS PLACE!!!
Offering «free birthday expeditions» to Avalon to assist with your annual celebration, alongside a number of other discount options (i.e.: senior) to those seeking to sail to and from the island while on a budget, I really do love these guys.
For those new to «the experience», the island of Santa Catalina — which is technically still Los Angeles County is located roughly 22 miles from the «mainland» of both OC and LA Counties. Home to 2 towns …(Avalon and Two Harbors); Avalon, while «tiny» is the only incorporated town and befittingly, there are only 2 methods of transport to travel to the island itself:
— - — - — By boat and by aircraft.
The Catalina Express would likely be the ideal method in making your way over and pricing can be a bit intimidating when reserving for larger parties. I digress as chartering a flight via helicopter is $ 100/​per person — one way.
Upon purchasing, I/​we tend to opt for the «Captain’s Lounge». This «VIP» area is directly aside the boat’s captain and is reserved for relatively large parties (although that’s not a requirement) affording them a bit of privacy, priority boarding and a hosts of extra amenities including a flatscreen television to watch movies, leather sectional for added comfort, complimentary champagne snacks and the pleasure of meeting the captain, him/​herself.
^ ^ Anticipate paying a surcharge of $ 80/​or so (each way) as this option is only priced for one way travel as well. Lol — I suppose that’s how they getcha’!
In any case, I’ve noticed a number of reviewers deducting stars based upon «rough and bumpy» rides.
Uhm…Okay?
Please accept this review as my formal mission in providing some solace and/​or increasing the establishment’s star rating for gratuitous star deductions.
SMFH. Some people.
I mean, really. Do you fault the pilot upon boarding Delta or Virgin Airlines and undergoing turbulence mid-​flight???
Come on now!!! Grab some darn Dramamine and have a seat!!!
In any case, the ride over is just above an hour and I find it to be quite an overdue sedative for all of us who’ve seemingly grown used to the daily «hustle and bustle», as travelers are able to «whale watch» and catch up with friends and fam– all the while marveling upon God’s splendor while decompressing and allowing someone else to do the driving.
There’s hardly much of anything to do on the island itself unless there’s a festival of some sort going on, or you’re just in need of a change in scenery yet I highly recommend everyone partake in this «voyage to Atlantis» at least once within their humdrum lives…
You can thank me, while removing it from your «bucket list» a bit later…

I am only going to rate this at 4.5 stars… I really want to do 5… but the smaller boat we took into Catalina was so rough and bumpy… Do you have any idea how hard it is to pee in a bumpy boat!!! It was a mission! On the way there, we saw dolphins, which was really cool. Sadly no Dos XX on the boat :(I love dos xx…
On the way back!!! WOOO HOOO!!! I loved it, we got the bigger boat, and it was WAAAAAAYYYY less bumpy and choppy, it was really smooth… and since we had been in the sun all day long, the little mist that the boat picks up off the ocean was gratifying. I love the fact that my wife got to ride for free, because it was her birthday. Thank you Catalina, for making it the most memorable birthday gift I got for my wife… Thank you!!!

Had a great ride and experience. The terminal had a place to order breakfast and get snacks before we boarded. The ride was fun and views were gorgeous.
The price is a bit scary especially for a family. I have to say it was worth it. It was beautiful and something you should see. It was a place where you can get away from the busy day to day and relax. I can’t wait to come back and spend a few days.
We sat at the beach for an hour and took a golf cart ride around the island. It was really pretty cheap for the fun and picture opportunities at the top overlooking the city of Avalon.
Great! Just go and see for yourself.

Great crew
people are really nice and the boats are pretty clean
the tickets can be seem expensive but its worth it.

All these many, many years, I’ve looked across the channel to Catalina and thought, «Someday».
Finally did it. The «Ride free on your birthday» offer was the incentive. We just had to pay the Senior Citizen discount price of $ 68 for a round trip for the hubby.
Note: They consider the age of 55 to be a Senior.
Parking was $ 16 a day.
The terminal was really nice!
There was also a café inside and a pretty courtyard with plenty of benches & tables outside.
The day of, the weather forecast wasn’t looking too good and the clouds were ominously dark. Aw well. We’re doing this, rain or shine!
Thankfully, it was in the middle of the week and not crowded.
NOTE: Best two seats on the bottom level. Right side, 4^th row, next to the door, no seats in front of you which gives plenty of leg room.
The ride over wasn’t bad at all in spite of the weather.
The ride back was a different story. The captain said something like «The weather’s getting bad, so don’t expect a great ride» and gave extra safety precautions.
Let me tell you how I got through this. I had broken a toe before the trip and at the end of day, my foot was throbbing. I popped a lovely prescribed pain pill an hour before and it turned me into a little kid riding the Indiana Jones ride like at Disneyland.
While mostly everyone was looking a bit green (hubby included) and a few were puking, I was all like «Woo hoo!».
The ride was so bumpy that I was surprised to find that an additional 4,000+ steps showed up on my pedometer!
Good times!
Thank you Catalina Express!

My family and I went to Catalina Island on my birthday! The best part is that if you prove yourself to be a birthday boy or girl, you get a round-​trip fare for free: D You even get a cute little ‘birthday ribbon’ that you pin on your shirt: D Ordering tickets is very convenient, as you just select your date, port, and time of travel and reserve online. You then go to the Catalina Catalina Sea & Air Terminal (we departed from the San Pedro location), stand in line (opens at 8AM), and pick up your tickets (as well as show your ID for the complimentary birthday fare & ribbon). While you wait at the Terminal, you can go to the information desk and check out any additional activities you may be interested in adding on (all additional charge) — there are scenic tours, food walking tours, ghost tours, under-​the-​sea tours, snorkeling/​scuba expeditions, etc. (we chose a scenic bus tour that came with free admissions to the miniature golf course!). There is also a list of ‘specials & discounts’ for the birthday passenger on the Island (such as a free scoop of ice cream, additional discounts for shopping, etc.). The Catalina Express is the only year-​round boat service that departs from San Pedro (there are other departure points in Long Beach and in Dana Point), and you ride for about 22 miles to the Island. This company has been around for over 30 years, and millions of passengers choose this company for the commute. The trip itself takes about an hour, which isn’t so bad (we all took a brief nap: P The boat captain and staff are all very friendly and safe in navigating, and the ride itself wasn’t all that choppy (you can take anti-​motion sickness meds to be safe). There are plenty of seats, all 2-​seaters, but I suggest in you grabbing ones in the back as that is less turbulent There is also a little food stand inside where you can get drinks and snacks if you’re thirsty/​hungry. You either arrive at Avalon (the main picturesque town) or at Two Harbors (the latter being the campgrounds/​beaches) — we chose Avalon as we were only spending the day. I loved that the staff on the boat all said ‘Happy Birthday’ as they’re really good in scoping out the birthday ribbons on passengers: D
+reserve tickets online (pick them up at the Terminal starting at 8AM)
+free roundtrip fare if you go on your birthday: D (and, you get a birthday ribbon to wear!)
+only paid parking available at the terminal for your vehicle
+about an hour trip to the Island
+check schedule for times (limited times on weekends)

Booked tickets on the Catalina Express it’s $ 74.50 per adult Round trip to town of Avalon, FREE on your Exact Birthday Day!
Got to San Pedro dock ok. You need ticket to pay for parking that’s extra like $ 1/​hr or max $ 12.
Check in, bathrooms available. Get tickets. Boarded boat. Later found out the 9:30am boat was cancelled and had to wait for another boat to leave before we could dock. We didn’t get on the island until like 10:15am.
Take dried ginger if you get seasick. I felt a bit queesy on the outside and it’s cold and windy, should have stayed inside. Some Indian lady barfed outside on the ship — so gross.
On the way back we stayed on the lower part of the boat inside, it was nice and comfy and I didn’t feel sick. Even got to sleep a bit.
Boat ride is 1hr15min and can feel longer!
TIP: FREE on Your Birthday!
if not another tip: Go to website below if your a member and save $ 7.50 off adult; $ 2.50 child! Print out Coupon!
Website where I found the coupon (to use after one I link expires):

So punctual! This was my first time heading to Catalina from San Pedro port, instead of Long Beach Landing. First of all, parking is cheaper here and it’s not as crowded as LB, but the downside is the trip takes about 15minutes longer and less frequent schedule.
Just make sure to arrive at least 30minutes before your departure to get your tickets from the counter and ready to board 15 minutes before the ship leaves. Also if you have a AAA card, print out a coupon from the website and you’d get $ 7.50 discount on your round trip ticket.
Overall, it’s a nice experience and on our way back, we got to see the Yellow Rubber ducky once again from the top deck. That’s a bonus for sure!

I usually drive to Long Beach to catch the boat and accidentally booked at San Pedro… This port is awesome! Quick parking and service. The drive isn’t bad at all. I like that the parking is right off the exit and the ticket counters are all within close quarters to the boats. The ticket counter is helpful especially when you forget to print your boarding pass. There’s also a nice café and comfy outdoor seats so you can chill while you wait for the boat or catamaran or whatever.
I advise leaving early on the 7am boat. Since most people want to leave at 9am, there’s a wealth of seats. Sit on at the bow where there’s a table so you can stretch out without armrests in the way. And more importantly, enjoy a $ 6 – 8 cocktail… Those wonderful bartenders have a heavy pour!

I don’t know why they tell you that the ride to Catalina is just over an hour. It takes over 90 minutes each way. The terminal is really nice with a very nice Bistro. We got there early, they told us to get there an hour early so we had time to eat at the Bistro.
The ride was comfortable, the boat is pretty stable. We got discount cards at Costco so we were able to get Commodore seating for basically the same price as the regular tickets. The view is actually better in the regular seating because you can see in front of the boat. We just had a view of the bar area.