Makani Catamaran

My group and I decided to set sail with Makani because it was a part of our Go Oahu pass. If not for the pass though, I would never pay $ 79/​person for this experience.
The weather was perfect during our trip so no complaints there. The staff were friendly — not overly complimentary nor rude. The ride was pleasant and peaceful but there wasn’t much to it. Didn’t see any whales or much of anything except the beautiful blue ocean water.
Tip: if you must go here, at least purchase the Go Oahu card so you can get the most of your money, and secondly, make this trip one of your last activities on vacation for when you’re too worn out to want to do anything exciting.

This was amazing. Did the afternoon sail from 1 – 3 and want to do it again before going back to Texas. We saw around 7 turtles maybe more and 3 – 5 whales out at sea. Drinks on board were very reasonable and the high tide drink is a must! Get the blue cup if you’re going to get more than one drink it’s worth it. You get twice as much drink for the same price after you buy the cup for $ 8. I boarded the ship expecting a great sail and not to see any thing extraprdinary yet left seeing whales and turtles. Amazing experience!

The worst. Seriously. I know they are here for tourist bucks, but when I asked if I could use the actual dollar value of a Groupon I had bought, not the expanded value, toward a trip they had available (the Groupon trip was not available), she very rudely said no. So I asked why and she said the Groupon didn’t apply to this trip. I told her I understood that, but could I just use the actual amount paid for the Groupon toward the cost of the trip that was available. Then she got nasty and rude so since we were already there (far from the waikiki hotels), I ponied up the full fare (higher unfortunately than the cats you could take right from waikiki beach!) and figured the Groupon was just moot. But then all the crew on the boat had the same nasty attitude. There are tons of companies that offer this. Do yourself a favor and choose another one that’s closer, nicer and less expensive.

We saw turtles galore!!! Was a beautiful sunny day, ride on catamaran to snorkel site was pretty. Great views of Waikiki and Diamond Head.
Snorkeling was wonderful, equipment was nice and clean, worked well. Got into the water and swam with turtles right off the bat. Saw over a dozen turtles, five underneath me all at once. They also surface a few feet away, swam 5ft away from a turtle. There are state laws about not touching or getting too close to them. Lots and lots of fish too! Experience of a life time, will never forget it.
Ride back; took us out on the ocean quite a ways. I sat out on the nets and ate my lunch. The food was pretty good, fresh. Sandwiches, chips, roasted potatoes, fresh fruit and choice of two drinks. This was totally worth the money, and reasonably priced. I would go again!

What can I say. Hubby and I went on the snorkeling adventure. Definitely worth every penny! The crew was very kind and courteous. We were able to swim and see a bunch of sea turtles as well as see schools of fishes. It was great! The boat was also very nice. Had a great area to lay and relax.
The hubby wasn’t feeling too well coming back but the crew took great care of him. Shout out to Stretch, the bartender. He made sure the hubby was well taken care of. Overall, we highly recommend the snorkeling trip! Thank you for such a wonderful experience!

The Makani is an amazing charter. The captain and crew truly give an amazing experience filled with aloha. Whenever friends or family visit I always ensure we take a trip on the Makani.

Let me start this off by saying if you get seasick this probably isn’t the ideal Sunset Dinner Cruise for you. Another caveat, my boyfriend and I probably wouldn’t have gone on the dinner cruise if it weren’t for a Groupon deal. That being said, we definitely enjoyed ourselves; me probably more than my boyfriend just because I truly love and enjoy the ocean.
We were shuttled to our dinner cruise from a nearby hotel. As we were checking in the… hostess (?)/​cashier gave us our boarding pass and two drink passes each. Talk about unexpected! Well, it probably states somewhere that you get a certain number of drinks, but I didn’t look too closely when we bought our Groupons and booked our cruise. As we got underway the bar opened and we ordered our first drinks — a Diet Coke for him and something called a High Tide for me. Now, this is why I’m not giving more stars — the cups for the sodas were the same size as our cocktails — about 5 oz? Those little plastic ones that you see a lot at cocktail parties. Now I totally understand a smaller cup for cocktails, but sodas too??? It’s a little bizarre but oh well.
We picked up speed, and let me tell you it is hard to balance drinks and walk on a speeding catamaran! Thankfully I didn’t spill anything! Don’t even get me started on trying to walk with a full plate and eat once seated. The food was simple fare — spring rolls, rice, beef and broccoli, chicken, tofu wraps, and cookies for dessert. I probably would be complaining more if we didn’t use Groupon, but since we did… it was excellent and hearty. Undoubtedly, you’d have greater selection on a different cruise, but for what we paid and it being a catamaran… pretty good overall.
The crew was funny and attentive — they really made the effort to make sure that everyone was comfortable and well taken care of. My favorite thing that happened was on our way back to port — the bartender/​crew member had a few fishing lines off the back of the boat. We passed a couple of canoes and then suddenly stopped. We all wondered what had happened; well it turns out that the bartender did catch something. One of the canoes!!! He’d managed to hook one and we’d been pulling the canoe backwards with us! They quickly ensured she was unhooked and brought in the sails. Afterwards, everyone had a blast discussing how he’d caught a canoe — which of coursed lead to a conversation about the most bizarre thing he’d caught. i think the canoe won!
We had fun on this trip, but I’m not sure if we’d do it again without a Groupon. Maybe just to see what their other tours offer rather than their sunset dinner cruise. Worth a trip to visit, but just remember if you get seasick — DON’T GO! Oh, and work on your balance prior to getting on board — otherwise you might end up wearing your drinks or dinner.

This had potential but so many people got seasick within 10 minutes of setting sail on our sunset dinner cruise catamaran that it was pretty unpleasant until the puking subsided. After leaving this review the owners contacted me with information that at the time I went (mid-​August) the waters had been unusually rough and choppy.
IF YOU GET MOTION SICKNESS IN THE CAR OR PLANE OR BOATS, these are NOT THE BOATS FOR YOU! For the sake of your stomach and everyone else, please take a different kind of boat, or ask to find out what time of day the waters are the calmest for your needs.
Even with about a third of the boat puking in their smiley buckets all over the ship (inescapable!) it was a nice ride and the crew was really helpful to assist with my vegan dietary needs.
I recommend asking about the waters and rocky-​ness of the boat if you either get motion sickness or if you really get turned off by other people vomiting. If it doesn’t bother you, no worries.

Super fun activity on the ocean. It was a hot and sunny day out so the sail was perfect. Each passenger gets one complimentary drink so it was the ultimate luxury.
The sail picks up speed towards the end of the first hour which is the best part for me! However, if you get easily seasick, you should reconsider for your health. Recommended for families and big groups!

Had a Groupon offer and boy did we score a GREAT deal — we had a wonderful Sunset cruise. The drinks were tasty, and good sized (we did pay for the larger stadium cup). The buffet was solid — salad, rice, chicken and beef with broccoli, and cookies for dessert. If you are going on a sunset cruise looking for 5-​star fine dining, this is not it. BUT — if you want to have a fun, relaxed time with an attentive crew and captain then the Makani is for you.
I wish we had more time to schedule a snorkel and sail. Hopefully on our next visit to Oahu.

My family and I had a great time on their snorkeling excursion. The crew was attentive, professional, friendly, and told some corny jokes that I found rather hilarious. I was impressed at how great a job they did shepherding about forty newbie snorkelers – they had two monitors on surfboards that found turtles, pointed out turtles, provided a convenient place to rest/​float, and kept everyone safe. One of them even went so far as to ferry my brother (who was struggling badly) to a sea turtle, and also transported my sister-​in-​law back to the boat when she was too tired to swim. They really went the extra mile to make sure everyone had a great time and stayed safe. Very, very impressed, and very much appreciated that they babysat kids and adults! Lol. Later on, when my family members got seasick, they continued to help and check up on us. They scored all the cool points and got the extra credit. I made sure to tip the crew generously for taking care of my family and allowing me to enjoy the snorkel ride and ensuing cruise.
Drinks were pretty good – they offered a variety of well drinks and had some special rum and juice based island themed mixers.
They also provided lunch and snacks in the form of sliced fruit (pineapples and papayas, NOM), roasted potatoes, and sandwich making materials (ie sliced bread, ham, turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes). These really hit the spot after a nice swim session and was as much as can be expected from a casual, low key boat ride. The offerings, honestly, were better than I’ve had on most other boat rides, which often provide nothing.
Don’t forget to pick up a cool souvenir t-​shirt! I had such a blast!!!

Used the Go Oahu card as one of the activities for the afternoon sail.
The Go Oahu deal for the afternoon dial didn’t come with food, only 1 free drink ticket. But you can bring your lunch with you.
Crew was friendly, nice & professional.
They took us out along the coast & we got to see all of the hotels along the coast, diamond head & koko head crater.
It was really fun sitting in the front where the black net was because every time there was a big dip then there’s be big sprays.
Overall, a fun little trip =)

Crew was outstanding. Included with our ride was one free drink, alcohol included. The captain was awesome, allowing my son to take a picture on the wheel.
The ride was smooth and very calming. We sailed pass surfers on the way out. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of whales, but we didn’t. We did sail with a group of Dolphins.
This is definitely a must for anyone who wants to get that Hawaiian feel.

A ‘Cattle Car’ experience. I purchased a Groupon for the Makani Catamaran afternoon sail and was looking forward to the sail (June 10, 2015). I was disappointed.
I have been on three other commercial, tourist-​oriented catamarans sailing off Waikiki. Select one of them. When I attempted to engage the crew in conversation by asking questions, I was given curt replies that were also not helpful. The pre-​sail ‘chat’ was scripted and delivered in a deadpan, rote manner. Not one person working on this boat or in the booth seemed happy to be there. Nor did they seem pleased to have any of their ‘guests’ on board. From another review: «the crew was not really interested in being nice.»
On a plus note, the woman I spoke with on the phone to book the sail was very pleasant and sailing the sea is always wonderful, even with this inhospitable mentality.
This sail is pricey compared to others… all of which are far and away a better experience.

I bought this susent dinner cruise on groupon for $ 49 a piece. I was not expecting much for the price so i went in with low expectations. The cruise is full of people which was discouraging at first. Once we set sail everyone dispersed on diferent corners of the boat and we didnt feel so overcrowded. The views of the city and the sunset is amazing. The food was ok, nothing special with a few items to fill your stomach. The 4 free drinks included on your ticket made up for that. The captain also lets you take the wheel and steer the boat upon request for pictures. I highly reccomend taking a sunsent cruise in your next visit to oahu or any of the hawaian islands!

We decided to do this because we had the Go Oahu card. I definitely would not recommend this place to anyone who does not have the card as it’s pricey and not really worth it.
We were limited to the afternoon cruise. And make sure you don’t bother to show up too early as the unhappy woman who sits in the booth will just shoo you away and point to the sign that says come back at 2:30. And don’t bother asking where to park. Just read the sign on the booth. They don’t indicate any of this on your confirmation email. And somehow don’t want you to ask the unhappy woman in the booth.
The sail was fine but I felt the crew was not really interested in being nice. The bartender was the only one who seemed to enjoy the crowd. There wasn’t much to see. The ride was fun. But not worth the full price.

Wanted to swim and snorkel with turtles– so booked this one through my hostel. Started well with roundtrip hotel transport to the wharf. Set my eyes on the beautiful vessel with my group and we had a relaxing sail through Hawaiian waters. Wish I could have seen dolphins and whales as well! We did see a few turtles though and got to swim around them!
Love that it’s eco friendly with a full service bar for your needs. Comes with complimentary build your own sandwich bar with sides and two complimentary drinks. Tried the High tide alcoholic beverage– mix of Cruzan black strap navy rum, Cruzan coconut flavoured rum and other island juices. Quite strong, be warned! Also a restroom on board with covered cabin seating area and cool net at the back, outside– for you to sit above the waves and salt spray getting a tan.
Great captain and crew– said we could take the reins for pics– fun! Helpful to put on their snorkel gear and jump into the water. Beautiful views of the island and the iconic Diamond Head, decent turtle sighting (wish there were more though!) and lovely sail.

I have not been blown away with my 2 sails with Makani. For the Groupon price, it is ok but I would NEVER pay full price. During our last sail on Easter, the captain also ran the ticket booth before getting on the boat. He was not friendly by any means. The first mate and bartender were also not very friendly. The boat ride however was more enjoyable that time.
I also went on a sail in January. The staff was much friendlier but the ride took us down to the airport and was not the prettiest ride.
Before our next guests come to visit, I will be researching to find a better ride.

Sunset Dinner Cruise (5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.)
Yesterday (April 8, 2015) I got the chance to be on board the Makani Catamaran. First of all, I get sea sick really easily so I bought motion sickness pills from Longs. Took TWO and still felt a bit dizzy, but that’s better than being totally seasick. I just have to take one more to probably avoid it. We’ll see the next time I’m out at sea.
The Makani Catamaran is Ewa side of the pier, the parking look is at the Diamond Head of the pier. It’s a dollar an hour, cash only! They accept quarters too. This is only if you plan on driving to the location yourself. For those visiting in Waikiki, they do offer a shuttle service when you book, but that will be an additional cost per person in your party.
It is recommended to arrive 30 minutes prior to sail, so get there on time! We checked in at their Makani Catamaran booth, given boarding passes and were told to wait in line before we were let on the catamaran. They are quite punctual and close up the catamaran at exactly 5:00 p.m. I watched O_​O
Before sail, they introduced themselves: Captain Johnny, Trevor (Bartender) and Amy (First Mate). Amy went over safety, located bathrooms (in the cabin area, down the ladder to the left, if you’re facing the front of the catamaran), do’s and don’t’s, etc. Trevor went over the bar. Drinks are on the rocks, there are no blenders and they had a blue souvenir cup for sale. Unfortunately, by the time I decided I wanted to purchase one, they were sold out. :(
A friend recommended their High Tide to order. Trevor had a different drink he made, which I thought tasted better than the High Tide. Ask him! It had white rum, with pineapple juice, orange juice and a splash of triple sec. We were given two (2) complimentary drink tickets each. After that, non-​alcoholic beverages were $ 2 and alcoholic drinks varied from $ 6 – 7. Miller Light on special for $ 4. So you know what to use those tickets on ;) PS bring cash and your ID, he does check!
At the beginning, as we left dock, we sat within the cabin area, but others were all over the catamaran, picking the spots they wanted. As we were leaving the harbor, we got up and walked around to see what was there. We stayed at the front of the catamaran most of the time. There are two sunbathing nets upfront, which a lot of the passengers, mostly the children, took to seating right away. Holds up to three (3) adults, I think. I stood by the railings, trying to take photos and making sure my phone wouldn’t go overboard! It’s much better to be out in the fresh air than sitting in the cabin.
Dinner was an island-​style buffet. We went back into the cabin to eat since it was getting windy.
+Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Breast
+Island-​style beef & vegetable stir fry with sweet onion, zesty carrots, & crisp celery
+Steamed white rice
+Vegetable spring rolls with sweet & sour dipping sauce
+Curry tofu & vegetable wraps
+Rotini pasta salad with zesty carrots, spiced red onion, & grated parmesan cheese
+Macadamia nut & chocolate chip cookies
If anyone has allergies or needs a specific menu, make sure you mention when you book, if not, OH WELL. Get drunk. I didn’t eat much but what I had was good (chicken, beef, stir fry, and salad).
It being a sunset cruise, I didn’t think I would need sunscreen, but I think you need! Since the sun was still up as we headed out towards Diamond Head. It’s also windy so a light jacket is needed, if you get cold easily.
Attire: casual, just depends on you and your party. There is a chance of getting wet, so be careful, especially if you have a drink in one hand and a phone in the other, haha. As for bags, try not to bring your over-​sized ones or ones that don’t zip up, just in case it falls over and things start falling overboard.
It felt crowded with forty-​seven people on board, the catamaran holds up to sixty-​five. I’d probably want to go on when there’s less people signed up.
Some of the views on board, I tried to make my photos straight:
Ocean Views:
Fishing:
Sunset:
Unfortunately we saw no wildlife :(

This review is for the snorkeling trip. Three stars for only seeing one type of fish and a few turtles and not much else.
Now if this trip was just for a relaxing boat ride with views, I would give this maybe four stars. They take you along Waikiki beach and get great views of the ocean as well. We even saw a whale!
I think higher ratings would need better food. They could get away with charging $ 5 more and getting higher quality ingredients. The other thing is the ride could be longer and really take you further around the island toward other beaches and bays. Obviously getting to see more would get a higher rating for the snorkeling which is what my trip was for.