Parasail Catalina — Attraction in Avalon

Review for Disappointing Experience with Parasail Catalina: July 15, 4:30pm

I am giving Parasail Catalina 1 star, not because of the company, but due to a particular staff member who marred our experience. Let me begin by acknowledging that the company's other employees were amazing and very helpful throughout our visit.

This review primarily focuses on our interaction with one person, who made our time unpleasant. We were a group of friends, including my first-timer friend and two children aged 8 and 9, all eager to try parasailing for the first time. As we waited for our boat to arrive, I, being the one who booked the experience, was keeping an eye out for it. Strangely, there was an announcement saying, "This is the last call for 4:30 parasailing," which confused me since the boat had just arrived. However, I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and quickly gathered my group to board.

Upon reaching the boat, there was no greeting or warm welcome, but we brushed it off, thinking it must have been a busy day for them. We were excitedly chatting about our upcoming adventure when suddenly, a crew member singled me out and asked us to leave, accusing us of being disrespectful. This came as a shock to us, as we had experienced parasailing with the same company before, and it had been an enjoyable time. But the surprising part was that this crew member continued to be rude and disrespectful, not just once, but more than three times, even when I chose not to respond to him.

Despite this unpleasant encounter, I decided not to engage in an argument, understanding that it could ruin the day for everyone. Instead, I chose to ignore the rude crew member and make the best of our time. However, I feel the need to express my disappointment in this person's lack of basic etiquette, especially in a customer-facing role like this. If they are unable to treat customers with respect and courtesy, perhaps they should consider a different line of work.

My biggest concern was that the encounter made my 8 and 9-year-old children quite scared, affecting their ability to fully enjoy the experience. They were whispering their excitement to each other, worried about the situation.

If there were an option to rate below one star, I would have chosen it for the experience with this specific crew member. I strongly advise against booking with this individual if you plan to parasail with Parasail Catalina on Catalina Island. I am attaching a picture of the person for reference.

Overall, the experience with Parasail Catalina would have been much better if it weren't for this one staff member. I hope the company addresses such issues, ensuring that all their customers have a pleasant and...

Buyer beware! DO NOT GIVE THIS PLACE YOUR BUSINESS! On the morning of our appointment, we drove out for 5 minutes before the driver drove back to shore stating that he felt like there was something wrong with the engine and would rather be safe than sorry. Since no one in the group got to sail, my husband and I were told that we can reschedule for another time without an additional charge. 1 week later, we see that they charged us for both appointments. We called them several times and left a message each time without any answer so we filed a complaint with our credit card company. Parasail Catalina then sent the credit card company an invoice with both appointments so now we can not re-dispute since they said those charges were correct and have “proof”. We tired calling parasail Catalina again and finally got front desk Alex who immediately gave us an attitude and accused us of calling the credit card company instead of them so now they can’t do anything about it. She was extremely rude to us and said she wasn’t the manager and can’t help us but would leave a note for the manager (whose name she refuses to disclose). Another week passes by, we follow up again and once again she says the same thing while screaming at my husband that she wasn’t “the manager or the credit card company” and even though she sees that we were inaccurately double charged, she can’t help. As of today, we are still charged for something we didn’t get to do despite their initial promise. These people are thieves and this is fraud. After this review, I’ll be sending my complaint to the BBB. Don’t give them...

Stayed at Catalina island Sept 8th-15thwith my husband and made ash appointment to go parasailing Thursday afternoon. Grayce was the one who made the appointment was nice and friendly, I told her a was literally dragging my husband worn me to do it. It was so fun, I asked about the photos they offer and Grayce let me know we could check the photos out real quick to see of we wanted to purchase them or we had the choice to decline. I lived the way the photos came out and I definitely wanted to have memories because I knew it would be a cold day in hell before my husband would ever go parasailing again. Well when we got home Friday I went directly to my camera and inserted the SD card into it and there were no pics in it, so I tried it with my computer with the dame problem. I called and spoke with Grayce again and she was so understanding and nice about it, she quickly refunded me the $30 and asked me to seems theSD card back for her to try and retrieve all 96 photos. She went even further and offered a certificate for a free parasail for my husband and I, then she said she remembered my husband was really scared to go the first time and dais if she couldn't retrieve the photos she would refund the whole thing. I was really grateful for her offer and she knew I was a little sad that all I really wanted were or photos. I sent the SD card back and she called me within a few days and she was able to retrieve all the photos!!!! I cannot thank Gracye enough for her customer service, friendliness and all-around exceptional experience. Grayce went...