Catalina Marina Del Rey Flyer

I thought going to Catalina meant an entire day of travelling by the time you go to the ferry, parked, boarded, etc etc. I was wrong. The Catalina Marina Del Rey Flyer is super easy and convenient. It's located right in Marina Del Rey so it takes no time at all to get there. You park your car in a parking lot with ample parking and about a 10 second walk to the flyer. You board on time and there is plenty of seating. My favorite part of their entire service...they point out all the dolphins on the way over. I think we must have seen at least 20..i swear they must attract dolphins..never seen so many in my whole life! The ride was smoothe and quick. We went to Avalon and they drop you off right at the Harbor so you walk off the boat..and there you are..no taxi or anything needed. The ride back was easy, quick and on time. It's an easy day trip or even a weekend trip. The staff is friendly and helpful and always up for recommending fun places or things to do in Catalina. I highly recommend the Catalina Marina Del Rey Flyer..I give it a 5+ thumbs up!!!!!!!!

Pros: QUICK, FAST AND CONVENIENT

Posted 08/24/09

Recently took the Flyer out to Catalina and back. A gorgeous weekend in August, you better believe we weren't the only ones heading out for a nice time. I noticed right away that the staff was professional, friendly and helpful, which really set the tone for the trip. I was impressed by how smoothly everything went; there wasn't your typical waiting about that I've come to expect with the transport of lots of people. We were bringing our bikes out to the island, and the staff showed us where to secure them on the boat. The captain greeted us as we boarded and as we got underway told us about the safety features, which set me at ease. In fact, on the way home after an active couple days on Catalina I fell asleep for nearly an hour, which tells you something about how comfortable the ride is. I suppose on a day with bigger waves the boat might rock more, but it was fine for us. Can't think of what more you could want from a ferry service.

Pros: Smooth and efficient trip

Cons: none

Posted 08/17/09

When taking a trip to Catalina, leaving from LA or LB can be a bit overwhelming with an almost LAX airport feel to the departure. The Catalina Marina Del Rey Flyer (CMDRF) comes closer to LAX only in its geographic proximity. CMDRF is located conveniently in the quaint Fisherman's Village of MDR. Parking was about 50 yards from the gangway to the vessel (if you park adjacent to the El Torito @ $8/day); very convenient for luggage, bikes, etc.. Admittedly not the fastest from dock to dock (MDR is farther from Avalon than LA or LB), I would rather cover that distance on the water while admiring the South Bay and the Palos Verdes Peninsula as compared to battling traffic on 405.

Pros: Small crowds, nice atmosphere, close parking.

Cons: None to speak of.

Posted 08/16/09

Took this ferry over to Catalina for the weekend - and had the best bloody mary of my life on board. You need to have one. Or five. Seriously, they were that good. We left about 5 minutes late but arrived a minute or two early. Not sure who that happened. Looked like a new boat, and was much smoother than the one I took over as a kid. Stayed at the Avalon and had a great time. A weekend is probably the perfect amount of time to spend on the island. All we had was a small suitcase and carry-on, which they let us take on with us so we didn't need to check luggage or anything. Had acoupon for $5 off that they let us use for both tickets.

Pros: Closest ferry terminal to me (w. hollywood)

Cons: Only a couple of departures each day

Posted 07/27/09

What a treat it was to return from Catalina on the Marina del Rey Flyer. The staff, boat and experience was A+. We spent a few $ extra and sat upstairs in the "Admirals" Lounge. It was so nice to see the workings of the boat from a seat by the Captain. The Captain, Zac was very personable as were the rest of the crew. I would highly recommend this ferry. The location is much more convenient if you are traveling from Los Angeles or north (we were coming from Santa Barbara). The other option of Long Beach is much farther.
All negative reviews appear to be from 2007. They obviously have improved and deserve another chance!

Pros: Perfect convenient location

Cons: None

Posted 06/29/09

The comments here that are bad are out of date. This company is small and has grown into a great way to get out to Catalina. They have different ownership than in 2007 and new captains that care about service. I've been using their service and also catalina express for years.

I choose Marina Del Rey because I can take all of my camping gear out without worrying about wight or amount of bags like when I take the express ferries. They pretty much let you bring what ever you want on this boat including kayaks.

They help you on and off the boat, the crew is top notch. They care about their customer service unlike the other companies that feel more like an airline. I've had positive experiences will both main companies that go out to Catalina but Marina Del Rey is by far the best. Not once has the other company helped me carry my luggage on and off the boat.

Pros: Can bring all your camping stuff, other companies limit lug

Cons: None

Posted 05/20/09

I've never written a review for citysearch before, but after the experience I had today with the Catalina Ferries and the Flyer, I felt compelled to. You see, I'd reserved some tickets the other day and then last night I decided to check out reviews of the company on City Search. I found it and read for horrendous reviews. If you've read them, you'll understand that I freaked out and thought I was copletely screwed. I panicked when I read that there was various sorts of human waste scattered about and that they were rude and everything didn't work, etc.

But...

For all the worrying I did, everything went just fine. We left on time, we arrived on time, the ferry plodded along just fine as ferries do. The staff were nice enough. Things were clean enough. I just sat and rode it and arrived and went about my business in Catalina, then came back. Easy. So, really, it's not as bad as these other reviews make it out to be. Though maybe this was just a particularly lucky day. So if you read those others and start fretting like I did, take a breath and you'll be okay.

If you're around the west side and don't want to jam all the way down to Long Beach, this should be fine for you.

Pros: Got me where I needed to be comfortably enough

Cons: It wasn't a winged dolphin

Posted 08/08/08

This company is provides an inadequate service! I used their ferry service, before I saw their poor history on other websites, and it was a horrible experience! My return ferry was delayed over an hour b/c the stabilizer was broken, which explained the rough trip over. The worst part was that the stabilizer must not have been fixed properly b/c the return trip was soooo much worse. Everyone on the ferry was terribly ill. People were throwing up in the bathroom and laying across the seats. I felt sick for 2 days. The company refused to give me any sort of reimbursement. They need to learn to maintain their equipment and better customer service. Please take my advice and go elsewhere!!

Pros: saw some dolphins on the way over

Cons: Everything else

Posted 10/22/07

Funny that they call their boat "Flyer", because the ride was excruciatingly slow!

Terrible customer service. Rude employees. When I called, they said the boat to Catalina would take an hour and 20 minutes. It took over 2 hours to arrive at the island! Not only that: they said they would leave Marina del Rey at 9am. We did not start moving till 9:45am. Which ruined a lot of our travel plans that day.

Save yourself the stress: Leave from San Pedro or Long Beach to Catalina.

These people do not deserve your business.

Pros: none

Cons: rude employees, dirty boat, slow service, delays

Posted 07/04/07