Miserable experience traveling on the Flyer from Avalon to Newport Beach this last Tuesday. Boat completely oversold, more than 20 people standing up for the entire 1.5 hour voyage. Some people sleeping on the bulkheads inside, one guy sitting on a folding chair outside the secure door. No air conditioning in the main cabin. A complete cluster getting off the boat, with people pushing their bikes in same line as people trying to get to their luggage...just a complete MESS. Crew not enforcing that vacant seats NOT be taken up with passengers putting their back packs on the seats (making more available seating to those standing.). Just a complete MESS..I feel these practices are UNSAFE, and at the least, make for a miserable crossing. I will never go with the Flyer again.

Catalina FlyerNewport BeachA great trip to Catalina for some ebike riding. Catalina Flyer crew was helpful and friendly.1026089681The Catalina Flyer was great. We caught a good day on the water with little wind. A great ride - friendly crew. The rest of my review is to help ebikers get out to Catalina via the Catalina Flyer for some great ebike riding.Riding Your ebike on Catalina Island – Lessons Learned1. The extra cost for taking your bike to Catalina is $20 if you are taking the Catalina Flyer. The Catalina Flyer has fewer times and departure ports available compared to other Catalina transport services which have more restrictions, including wanting you to remove your ebike batteries from the bike for the trip. I took the 8:45AM from Newport to Avalon and then returned at 4:30PM on the same day. That 75-minute trip is going to get you to the island at about 10:30AM and you will need to line up for the trip back at 4PM. This will give you about 5 hours for riding, picture taking, exploring the shops and grabbing a bite to eat.2. The Catalina Flyer has Groupon coupons available that offer a substantial savings on your ticket.3. Bring a bungee cord or two along to secure your bike for the trip. There were only 1-2 bikes onboard during my two trips.4. The ramps to board on both ends have some substantial inclines. If your bike has a Walk feature - Practice using the Walk function (holding firmly onto both grips, hold down “–“ button for a few seconds on a Lectric bike) to help you climb those ramps.5. Once on the island, go to the Catalina Island Conservancy to get a map.6. If you prefer to leave your Lectric bike at home and rent a bike when on the island, that is an option. Bring your own helmet, gloves, and any other familiar riding gear with you. Also, there are a number of golf cart rental vendors.7. There are a number of paved roads in Avalon that are available for sightseeing, and some get up pretty high before you enter the island interior. As you drive around town you’ll see “Scenic” route signs and if you follow those, you will be taken to some great viewpoints. Some streets are “One Way” so use caution.The island interior consists of some very steep grades, some of which your Lectric or other ebike may not be able to climb. To enter the interior of the island requires a special $50 Conservancy membership and a bike pass picked up at their location in Avalon. You can get up to some pretty high viewpoints without needing to buy the membership or getting the bike pass for the interior.

Staff working at ticket kiosk is super rude and hostile. They took advantage of my limited English fluency, aggressively gaslighted me and wrongly accused of being rude. They humiliated me in front of my children and other customers, and it left me feeling publicly shamed, traumatized and emotionally shaken. Based on other reviews this seems like a common practice for that place. No one deserves to be treated this way — especially because of a gender, accent or a language barrier. I do really hope the business like this won’t survive long.

It was fine. I should have read the reviews before booking. Didn’t know the smaller boat made that big of a difference. Big boat out for repairs. We had VIP tickets and benefit of boarding first was worth it as many people stood or sat on floor it seemed as it was super rough. But from reviews think the VIP experience was differ than big boat maybe. Highlight was Diane the volunteer who shared so much info with us and others. Again it was fine and would do again if on the regular boat from reviews. We really wanted out of Newport Beach so this was our only choice. Also captain slowed down to see whale, dolphin and sea Lion. Everyone was nice- there was a medical emergency my sons fiancé attended to and a crew member was able to locate first aid kit to help and emt crew was able to board quickly and get him so felt they were good in emergencies- Again it was fine - and we would book again just not on the Melissa Anne.

They canceled our tickets at the last minute without any explanation after we booked it more than 3 months in advance. We were stranded and will never choose them again.