Catalina Island Ferry Avalon to Newport Beach

Vip is worth it on the way back to newport especially when water is choppy or if wind is high. Get in line early and arrive 1 hr in advance going and coming back. They leave ON time. It took 8 mins to load everyone in newport and they left exactly on time. In newport it took 12 mins to load and leave they are quick!! Park at balboa park parking 45.00 for the day unless you can find street parking

We enjoyed our VIP Catalina Flyer Ferry ride to and from Catalina Island (Avalon). We felt it was comfortable and fun. The staff was very helpful and professional. We were able to purchase an excursion from the staff so we didn't have to do it once we got to the island. I would recommend doing the VIP experience...we boarded first, had an air conditioned area and got drinks and food 50% off while on board. It was a full ferry so it helped to go VIP. The price was right.

I booked multiple things to enjoy for a birthday. In that effort one outing was the wrong date and tried to change it to the rest of my bookings but the support team denied it said all sales are final and disrupted the experiences planned. Worse was the lack of effort towards accommodating multiple bookings, now I will use a different service to enjoy future events. Not even an email explaining anything. Professionalism did not exist in my experience using Viator

The ferry ride was very efficient and relaxing. I will say that you definitely need to follow instructions and get there early. We ran late and even though we were 30 minutes prior to boarding,wound up having to stand through the whole journey.

Getting tickets online with Viator was easy; however I didn’t have a QR code to scan. There was a thing to scan but different than what others had. On the way there we had to set out of line and it took a second to figure out. On way back I could ask them to search by my name and it was quick and easy but with the lines so long it was stressful.

The Catalina Flyer people had no idea what Viator was. The ticket didn’t work, there was no place for “redemption” as the voucher states. It was a disaster.

We really enjoyed the ferry. It was evening and cold, so glad we had comfortable and warm seats inside.

Staff is nice and helpful. Best way to get to Catalina from Newport. (met the minimum character number)

Our crossing on this trip was smooth and easy. Luggage was handled efficiently, boarding and debarkation was smooth. Service was as expected and a pleasant experience overall.

Beware! Staff at Catalina Flyer have no compassion and will side with their own people, if if they're wrong. They look down on Groupon holders and punish them for not paying full price on their site. The day before I checked their site to confirm my departure time and it clearly states "8:00 am or 9:00 am", we arrived before 9 but we could not board. When I called, the woman on the phone said they are leaving at 8:45 am on the dot. I asked if there were other options, I was already on the way and had been driving for 40 minutes. She would not give me any options and gave me cold, short responses "no more boats today" "nothing we can do". I was frustrated and asked about afternoon or other dates and she said I could talk to the manager Dan and hung up. Since I was almost there, I drove to the office and was met by a slightly more friendly person but was still gaslit. He told me I could rebook but they would not honor my Groupon (which I spent over $100 for) and I would need to pay full price. When I explained about the woman on the phone and her attitude he said "we're human too and you probably were being rude to her". Wow, the flippant attitudes and inability to accommodate any other requests, even though I am still a paying customer, Groupon or not, confirms I will never patronize or recommend a company like this. This is not the way to attract or retain customers. Wish I could make this review 0 stars. Shame on Catalina Flyer.