We have been to St. Kitts and Nevis twice on a cruise and both times haves taken the catamaran from St.Kitts over to Nevis.
The first time we went to St. Kitts we booked a catamaran trip without booking through the cruise ship. The company was Leeward Island Charters and they were amazing! We made a mistake with the time the cruise ship was arriving and ended up arriving an hour later than expected. They waited for our party of 4 to get there and we ended up being the only cruise passengers on the catamaran. There were less than 30 of us on the catamaran and we had a ton of space to relax on! The catamaran took us to a great snorkeling site, and then took us to Nevis where we had 2 hours on the beach. The water was crystal clear and it was a beautiful day. After the first snorkel stop, the crew hands out free beer and rum punch and even bring it to the beach for you to enjoy. The trip was amazing and Leeward Islands Charters was great.
(Nevis Beach looking towards St.Kitt)
The second time we went to St.Kitts, Leeward Island Charters was not available. We ended up booking through the cruise ship and the company was Blue Water Safaris. While the crew was great, the day was a bit disappointing. It ended up being a very rainy day and Blue Water Safari didn't cancel their trip. We ended up sailing towards Nevis in the pouring rain. Most of us tried to hide under the Catamaran top as this one was much larger than Leeward Island Charters, but many of us got wet and were really cold. Right when we were going to head to Nevis through the passage, the crew saw how large the waves were and said we weren't going to be able to make it as it was unsafe. We were okay with this. The catamaran ended up having lots of free rum punch so we drank away our sorrows with that! The sun ended up coming out right towards the end where we were able to snorkel and catch some sun but the tour ended 1.5 hours earlier than expected. They ended up refunding us 1/2 of what we paid for the tour which we were happy about.
(The snorkeling spot at St.Kitts)
Comparing the two catamarans, I would go with Leeward Island Charters. They have a smaller catamaran and fewer people which we like.
If you have questions about visiting St. Maarten or want to book your next vacation, you can visit www.thegypseatraveller.com and click on "Schedule Consult" to choose a date/time to zoom with Libbi, The Gypsea Traveller
