Love this boat. They know how to take care of every dive group they take. They treat PowerScuba…read moremembers really nice. Highly recommended.

Still a great boat, all these years later. They no longer help transport gear from your car to the…read moreboat, but that's a minor quibble. The Pac Star is, first and foremost, focused on safety. That's what matters most to me when I charter a boat. (I run the largest scuba group in California.) The captain and crew are pleasant and the food is good. (Their breakfast burritos rock!) For overnighters, the sleeping accommodations are good, though some of the bunks are a bit cramped if you're anything larger than a small man. They coax their fill system to get you to at least 3,000 psi, though its more comfortable filling LP steel tanks in multiples. Excellent pricing, especially if you book through their main charter customer, Power Scuba!

Cooke's a solid local guy and has a good team. You don't want lowball clowns taking care of your…read moreboat. He is fair, reliable, and knows his stuff.

Awesome 5 star service if you are in need of a fast friendly diver!!! I highly highly recommend…read more Thank you Cooke diving service!!

My son wanted to get his SCUBA merit badge for the Boy Scouts so he could go diving at summer camp…read morein Emerald Bay on Catalina. After 9 hours of classroom and 9 hours of private pool lessons at Sports Chalet, it was time for the boat dive. Three boat dives to be precise. We got hooked up with the Magician to take us to Catalina for our first open water dives. We were grouped with 2 or 3 other classes on this boat. 28 divers and a crew of about 8. We pulled in at 5:30am and took off at 7am. The layout was like other fishing charters I have been on. The crew was terrific, all friendly, experienced and willing to help us newbies. All you could eat hot breakfast, unlimited drinks, fajita burrito lunch, cake and ice-cream. We got to Rippers Cove for our first two dives then, during lunch, we moved on to Lulu's Cove. My son and I dove with one of our instructors. We had a great experience, saw tons of critters in the kelp forest and made some new friends. We got back to the dock at about 4:30. An awesome way to spend a Sunday. One more beach dive in Laguna and we are certified open water divers. I highly recommend this outfit for your day boat diving.

The most unprofessional and reckless dive outfit I've ever come across, globally. I booked a 3 tank…read moredive to Catalina Island on the Magician. Anyhow, dive day comes round I arrive to find The Magician in bad shape, very dated and in need of some refurbishment and suffering from severe rust on the bow. There are also 22 people crammed onboard. When it was time to dive we were told aggressively that there was only 20 minutes to get in the water, yet due to the cramped conditions (and a lot of new divers) it's impossible to gear up. You have to wait for other divers to get ready which takes an absolute age. The crew then gets agitated when the reality is they've clearly overbooked the trip versus the time constraints. Critically, when they give the dive briefing the dive masters just point and say 'you can dive somewhere over there or around there or maybe there' and do not guide the dives or even get into the water. You are not anchored at the dive site either. You are expected to swim to a dive site they simply half heartedly gesture at and seem unsure about. To my absolute horror the majority of the divers on the boat had a single digit number of dives under their belt and were expected to dive without any guidance. Yes, they're certified but it's dangerous to have new divers out without an experienced guide, especially as this area witnesses strong currents, poor visibility, kelp that can entangle, boating and kayak traffic and low temperatures. As a solo diver I was buddied up with a much older gentleman who had only 8 certified dives. You then become responsible for a new diver's safety without knowing the area, depth and currents due to the fact no staff members enter the water. I've never seen such behaviour globally. It's absolutely shocking. I witnessed 5 divers get into severe difficulties and get swept away by the currents, even out of sight, who then spent the best part of an hour trying to battle their way to the boat, without any assistance whatsoever from the staff apart from being yelled at via a megaphone. My dive buddy suffered from fatigue early in the first dive and we had to abandon and I pulled him to the boat. We did not dive for the rest of the day because we did not feel safe. The skipper and the staff member who is of short stature with a gap in his teeth were informed about the other struggling divers (they were inside talking and had to be notified) and I heard the skipper say "shall we leave them there?" without any kind of humorous tone. The attitude of these two people was truly abhorrent with all manner of things said when they thought no one was in ear shot and some comments about guests I daren't repeat. The staff even later told someone (I overheard the conversation) that on a previous trip, almost all of their divers got swept out by a current in the same location and that a competitor's dive boat had to rescue three of their divers. They seemed almost proud of this and said 'you could see the current coming in to take them out'. I have serious concerns that there will be a very preventable and tragic fatality with this outfit due to their negligence and a total lack of supervision. They have no idea which divers are where or where they plan to surface and when someone eventually disappears, they will have no idea where to even start looking.

Captain Jerry demonstrates the pinnacle of customer service. He was courteous, attentive, welcoming…read moreand friendly. We instantly felt at home on his boat. He had prepared breakfast for us and after our first two dives provided a delicious dinner. His boat was considerably faster than others that left at the same time allowing him to provide us with the best diving location without any competition for the space. His years of experience in the area around long beach and Catalina was invaluable. We will absolutely be booking him in the future.

I had such a great one on this charter as always Captain TJ and his beautiful crew taught us how to…read moresnorkel and how to catch fish (so much fun!) we got to just relax and have a few drinks with each other while enjoying the ride and the crew the were the absolute best! Anyone who joins this crew for a charter is guaranteed to have an amazing time! Thank you so much for such an amazing awesome, and entertaining experience! I can't wait to see yall again! Perfect way to relax on a day off!

Capt. TJ and Jacob were most astute and accommodating. We took my Dad out for a half-day fishing…read more From their ease I could tell they had dragged 94-year-olds onboard more than a couple of times! My Dad caught the first fish, as is his tradition, but I ended up catching more than he did. A first! Pretty sure TJ arranged this somehow to goad my Dad into returning sooner rather than later as I had told him we're trying to lure my Dad into moving out here from Arkansas. All in all, it was a fantastic success and I can't recommend the Kamryn Dawson more highly. Thanks again, Capt. TJ and Jacob. We will see you again real soon!!!

We went with our friends on weekend cruise with Quantum of the Seas. Check in process was smooth…read more You can drop off your luggage before parking. Paid $23/day upon leaving parking, day of return from cruise. Once aboard, we walked throughout the ship to check out amenities. Make sure to schedule your dinner in Main Dining Room early. Spots fill up quickly. SeaPlex- kids/adults enjoyed this area. Downside is that there are not enough courts for pickleball/basketball based on numbers who showed up for open play. We didn't do bumper cars, but it seemed fun. Shows- Sequins and Feathers was fun to watch. Kira Soltanovich show was funny. She had a great exchange with few of the guests. Bingo-fun but pricey. They have electronic cards, too. No black out game. Just two parallel games and one diamond. Bring your dabber. Food-You will not go hungry. Sometimes, we ate at the main dining room then headed to Windjammer to check out buffet. Don't get prime rib at main dining room. Stick to the steak. Best dish was chicken adobo (secret menu) on the last day. Appetizers tend to be on cold side. Skip the desserts, except ice cream. Beverage-I stuck to water and iced tea. Beverage package deals happen before the cruise so if you like soda, pre-order for savings. Ensenada-you can book excursions. We caught a shuttle bus downtown for $4 round trip. Honestly, you can just walk. On the bus, there are guides that give you some tips about currency and optional excursions. We did a discounted excursion to La Bufadora. Flea market not great. Get tacos from Lidias taco and mojitos from the stand in front of it. Overall, nice weekend cruise with friends. Great crew. My favorite part was sitting in whirlpool at Solarium at 5am. Probably, won't go on this cruise again.

This is the second time I've cruised with Royal Caribbean on the Quantum of The Seas…read more The first thing I need to highlight is the food. It was either overcooked or bland and sometimes inedible. I just ate the food so I can eat something but our excitement of the food quickly vanished. We've tried the sandwiches, soup and desserts in Two 70 and these were not good at all. I had the three cheese sandwich which has blue cheese (ugh) & Classic Turkey sandwich had too much bread with barely any taste and hardly any meat. I also had the crème brûlée which was more like a Panna cotta. I only had one bite. I had the Thai Salad, they just threw it on the lettuce and it doesn't look like what was described on the menu. Chicken soup was like Campbells soup, tasted canned and reheated. As for the main dining room, I had multiple dinners here. The best thing here was the steak, which was perfectly cooked but not enough seasoning. I also liked the Indian dishes. All the other American dishes were underwhelming. We returned the salmon and immediately they were concerned. One of the chefs came out and said he would make us Filipino dishes for the rest of trip - which were delicious! The dessert cakes were good and light. I didn't like the sugar free vanilla ice cream since this tasted like it had frost bite to it. Not any options for late night dining except for Sorrento's pizza. The pizza is only decent if it's fresh. The crust is tasteless and hard. In the pool area, there was only one soft serve station, so if they have to refill one of the flavors, it's out of that flavor for awhile. The adult area had a few pools to sit and relax in. There's a few jacuzzis but they weren't that hot. At one of the pool bars near the main pool area, they hard sell you the drink package. We were under the impression that it was $94 dollars per person, so we got it. So we were shocked when presented with a 1k bill! We immediately asked for a refund. The bartender explained that we save money since each drink is $18. So according to his math, if you drank 5 drinks a day, we're saving money. But when I got a poolside Mojito, it was $14. I also can't drink 5 drinks a day, that's way too much alcohol especially if you go out to the port cities. I did one excursion, the hiking one, which had two waterfalls and natural pools to wade in. We stopped by a local spot to get fresh empanadas before the hike and then another local restaurant for amazing shrimp tacos. The drive up was 1 hour and 45 mins. Long but the hike was amazing. Definitely a moderate hike due to the rocks that you climb. The shows were pretty cool, I liked the one with the Earth Harp and dancers. The comedian was funny and Mo5iac acapella band was great. I also played the Price is Right, which was a really fun interactive game. Multiple photo ops but the poses they make you do is super generic and stiff. Plus the packages are overpriced. There was some decent shopping options such as vintage luxury goods and beauty. Disembarking was smooth especially if you take your own luggage out. All the employees were super friendly and helpful, which made the experience enjoyable. Definitely a mixed experience.

The Los Angeles Maritime Institute runs an amazing youth program for middle school students. The…read morefull program has the students go on day sails during the school year. And during the summer, the students go on a several day voyage around Catalina Island. I've volunteered with this organization for several years. And now that I'm on the other coast, I'm still able to help out by helping with online projects. Anyone who knows how to sail or would like to learn how and wants to work with kids should consider volunteering at LAMI.

This is a great place to volunteer, I've met such amazing and kind people and they all love what…read morethey're doing. The environment is very ambitious which makes me feel like doing more for them.

It was our first charter trip and although we had a good time and good food, there was one member…read moreof the crew that was just rude and bitter the whole time. Had absolutely no manners at all and was very disrespectful toward my friend who also caught the biggest yellow tail of the day. He had told her that the fish was going to win and that she wasnt going to catch it! He had also made the same comment to another fisherman who told us that he said the same thing to him. Like who says such discouraging things like that. Especially when its your first time! He lucky i don't post a picture of his face. But whoever his manager is should really get rid if him. He's a skinny hispanic short hair looking dude with glasses brown/yellow dock boots and looks like a kid. And if he is an adult he's very unprofessional, immature, and shouldn't be working at a place where you're suppose to give customer service cause he def lacks it. Having over 9 years of management experience customer service is very important to me and i wouldn't want a bitter person representing my company like that!

I rarely leave negative reviews, but after my overnight trip on the Freedom out of San Pedro from…read moreJuly 7-8, I feel other anglers should know what to expect. The trip got off to a bad start with an unexpected fuel surcharge, even though fuel prices have recently dropped. That immediately left a poor impression. The captain's attitude throughout the trip was disappointing. Instead of helping anglers improve or offering constructive advice, he often blamed passengers for losing fish because of their drag settings. At one point, he even commented that he doesn't like eating fish and was only there to make money. That isn't something you want to hear from the captain of a sport fishing boat. The crew also seemed disorganized. There were three deckhands, but they weren't wearing sport fishing shirts or uniforms, making it difficult to tell who was working. Two of the deckhands appeared to be very new and inexperienced. Rather than training them professionally, the cook, Eduardo, publicly scolded one of the new deckhands in front of all the passengers because the wrong sodas had been stocked in the refrigerator. It was uncomfortable to watch and embarrassing for the young employee. The food was another major disappointment. The tacos were bland and lacked any seasoning. The breakfast burrito I received contained undercooked eggs, and I even found eggshells in it. The way the bar tab was handled also raised concerns for me. I personally drank two beers the first evening and four beers the next day, but I was charged for nine beers. Since Eduardo handled the tabs directly, I questioned the charge, but it left me feeling uncomfortable and with little confidence that the tab was accurate. The captain announced that Eduardo would make a "last call" for food before the kitchen closed. That never happened. My brother and I went to order cheeseburgers while the kitchen was still open, the food was still out, and nothing had been cleaned up yet, but Eduardo refused to cook for us while he sat on his cell phone. When we brought our concerns about Eduardo to the captain, his response was essentially that nothing could be done because of Eduardo's family connections. That was frustrating and not the kind of accountability customers should expect. Throughout much of the trip, the captain and co-captain spent their time fishing instead of assisting customers. They kept the fish they caught and never offered any to the passengers. The ride to San Clemente Island was smooth, but the fishing itself was disappointing. We left the fishing grounds earlier than expected so we could return to the dock by 7:00 p.m. When it became apparent we would arrive too early, the boat slowed down and took a longer route around Catalina Island, making it feel like time was simply being wasted. Overall, this trip felt more focused on collecting money than providing a quality fishing experience. Between the captain's attitude, the inexperienced crew, poor food, questionable bar tab, and lack of customer service, I cannot recommend the Freedom. There are many excellent sport fishing boats in Southern California, and based on my experience, this would not be one I would choose again.