Catamaran Cruise and Ricks Cafe

[lhenry]

Hi all,

I have read that the sunset booze cruise takes you up to Ricks cafe but does everyone get to go and hang out there for a bit or is there just time for some swimming and then off again.

Is it worth it to make a seperate trip to Ricks if it's not included in the Catamaran stop? I've heard that it is just amazing to be there at sunset...

Tks for the info.

L.

[dank120]

The cat cruise goes to Pirate's Cave, which is just up the coast from Rick's Cafe. Same type of scenery and everything with local cliff divers (who don't harrass you for tips, like the Rick's divers). You can swim into the cave and climb up a narrow stairwell that is in the rock and you pop out on top of the cliff. From there, you jump about 30ft back down to the water and repeat as desired. There is an outdoor bar at the top, but most of the participants just stay in the water and swim without climbing up. I was feeling adventurous and jumped 4 times. If you're not afraid of jumping from heights into the sea, it's a huge adrenaline rush and so much fun. The cat ruise is a must-do, and from what I heard, Rick's has some great sunsets, but you get harrassed a lot by divers for tips.

[Bart and Bug]

lhenry,

The catamaran cruise did not stop at Rick's Cafe when we were there last April. It goes past Rick's then turns around and follows the coastline back. Along the way back you stop at a place where you can slide off the boat and/or swim into some caves.

We did not try the trip to Rick's so can't speak for the sunsets from there. We were at CSA and the sunsets were absolutely amazing right from the beach. Here's a link to one to give you an idea: .

Enjoy!

Bart & Bug

[melody]

You just go past Rick's and look at it. The place you get out is a different. The first time we went to CSA the catamaran cruise was a lot more exciting as you could go up to the sunset bar, there were cliff divers and people would get drinks and drink them in the cave. There seemed to be a lot more people there in general and a lot more activity. It's still nice but there just isn't very much action.

[Billy_Audra]

We've only been to Rick's once, but some of the best sunset pictures we have are from there. IMHO, it is way past "worth it" to make it to Rick's for sunset and drinks.

One Love,
Billy

[amyheffington]

Definetly visit Ricks separetly! It is awesome! Get there well before sunset so you can see it and take pics! Bring $1 's so you can tip the cliff divers. You can dive from the cliffs as well if you like. There is also a pool there so bring your suits. We just got together with several other couples we met and all shared a cab from the resort. It was great! The booze cruz was the highlight of our trip. Bring your water proof camra so you can take pics inside the cave you get to swim into. Also we wish we had brought our own mask and snorkles for the vacation.

[mariposa]

We were there last week and the cruise took you along the shore just as far as Ricks where we all stayed on the boat. They stayed there for a few minutes so you could see a couple people jump off and then it turned around. As short distance back to the resort it stopped again at some caves where you could get off and swim if you wanted (it was very cool inside the cave). You were there for about 15-20 minutes and then it headed back to the resort.

We took a cab from the resort ($30 for 2 people round trip) to Ricks by ourselves since we didn't want to go on the shopping/Ricks trip they offer daily. We thought it was worth it for sure - very fun! Obviously you have to pay for beer/food while you were there but there is also a swimming pool you can hang out in while your there. If we knew that, we would have probably stayed longer but we had to tell the taxi driver what time to come back and get us before he dropped us off.

[rjammin]

The cruise will stop at the caves and you have the option of jumpping off the boat to explore & swim. The boat does not stay there long enough to go to Ricks. When you head back to the resort, either CSA or CN, you'll be back just before the sun totally sets. Ricks is a seperate trip by car/van.

[Paul & Sue from NY]

The cat cruise that we took last March left CSA at around 4:30 pm and returned about 6:30 pm. We did sail down to Ricks but did not get off the boat there, instead we anchored the next cove over and went swimming at that location, the sliding board off the catamaran is really neat..

[softail19]

Its been 3 years since we were at CSA but we stopped at pirates cave and got to swim and jump from the top. They don't do that anymore I don't think. We then cruised to ricks and just watched for a while. We always take a cab to ricks for a sunset and a couple of beers. It is always fun but bring small bills as you will get Jamaican J's for change. I think at that time it was about 15 dollars PO for the ride.its always a highlight of our trip. Have fun. Also bring so tip money on the cat cruise as they are not couples employees

[aceswild]

Our catamaran took us past Rick's cafe and stopped for a minute or so, but we were not able to get out at Rick's. We got off the boat at a different location and were able to swim around for about half an hour. It was a lot of fun. We considered going a second time during our stay.

We thought Rick's was definitely worth a separate trip. It's a fun atmosphere... the cliff jumpers are entertaining and the sunsets are beautiful.

[drbcwp]

Last time that we took the cat cruise it did not stop at Rick's, I think the area we stopped at was the cliffs. You could climb a rope and jump but I think they charged a few $$


Rick's is pretty cool, food is overpriced now, but the atmosphere is good, great place to watch a sunset and have a drink, watch the cliff divers and the drunk tourists jump. If you only have a few days I would not go but if you are there for a week then it is worth the trip.

The first time that we went is before the hurricane destroyed it and it was small and the food was really good, now it is much bigger.

[Bebella]

I want to bump this up because I was wondering the same thing...how long does the Catamaran stay at Ricks??

[jendoc]

No they stop so you can take pictures, but you do not get to go there...You get off at a cave and are able to jump off and swim into cave.....Its a fun trip...just got back last night I wanna go back....................

[drbcwp]

I answered this last week, not sure WHY it did not post.

Our last cat trip from CN, we did not stop at Rick's but the cliffs where you can climb up and jump or swim/snorkel.

Rick's is ok if you are going to be in Negril all week. I would not go there if you have a short stay.

The only cost is cab fare (approx $30 rt) and whatever you eat or drink. Great place to watch the sunset and cliff divers.

I thought the food was not as good now as it was before Rick's got blown away by the hurricane several years ago.