Did you know that there are TWO companies offering submarine tours in Catalina? Neither did I. The one I booked, Catalina Island Company Undersea Sub Expedition (the red boat), was the more expensive tour. This is ironic because the boat didn’t seem so well maintained. Seaweed was growing around the edges of the windows, and the glass had goop marks and haze from stuff growing on it. We were booked for a 1:00 p.m. cruise, and they requested us to be at the dock in line by 12:40p. Then the crew made us stand in line, on the dock in the sun with no shade, while they finished lunch. We watched one of them eat a sandwich. We waited twenty minutes, outside at midday, something that I would never do normally. So I was subsequently surprise-sunburned pretty bad.
After we boarded, I was disappointed to find that the submarine windows were caked and framed in seaweed, growing outside of the sub window seals, and waving with the water into the window. My window also had a large glop of algae in the middle.
The semi-submersible tour was pleasant enough. The captain of the sub is a local who grew up on Catalina. He and the crew kindly offered a narrative of the fish and the reef as we motored about the bay. The experience of seeing fish in a natural setting is really quite lovely, once I was able to ignore the seaweed swirling and flopping about NOT on the ocean floor but around the edges of my window. Everyone was friendly. But next time I’ll book the other company (the yellow boat) and hope for a better overall experience.