You can fish on a cruise day in Mauritius, but not on the usual schedule. Ships berth at the Christian Decotter cruise terminal in Port Louis and usually arrive between six and nine in the morning, while most charter boats on the north-west coast leave between four and six. The trips that fit are a boat with a later start, a private half day agreed with the captain around your ship’s hours, or, if your ship stays overnight, the normal dawn trip on the second morning.
The short answer
There are no charter boats on Reelzy in Port Louis itself. The nearest fishing fleet is on the north-west coast, around Trou-aux-Biches, where seven of our boats are based, with two more in Grand Baie and one at Pointe aux Piments. That means a road trip out of the capital in the morning and another one back before all aboard.
So the honest plan looks like this. Pick a trip of four to six hours, not a full day. Choose a boat that starts later, or ask a captain to start a private trip when you can actually be at the jetty. Agree the time you will be back on land before you pay, and leave yourself a wide margin for the drive back through Port Louis.
Where the ships berth
Cruise ships in Mauritius come alongside the Christian Decotter cruise terminal on the Les Salines pier in Port Louis harbour, a berth that has taken ships up to 276 metres long since it opened in 2009. The port is not busy by Mediterranean standards: about 24 calls and some 24,000 passengers in 2023, so on most cruise days yours is the only ship in.
The schedules we checked for November 2026 show the pattern a fishing trip has to fit:
- Mein Schiff 6, 24 November, 07:00 to 17:00
- MSC Armonia, 22 November, 09:00 to 20:00
- Silver Muse, in from 08:00 on 20 November and away at 18:00 on 21 November, an overnight call
- AIDAstella, arriving at 06:00 on 29 November
A typical call is nine to eleven hours. Take off the time to clear the ship, the drive north and back, and the margin your cruise line asks for before sailing, and you are left with a window of roughly half a day on the water. Your ship’s own daily programme is the source to trust for the exact times.
Why the dawn boats do not fit, and the ones that do
Mauritian charter skippers like an early start. The sea is often calmer at first light, and the offshore grounds for marlin, tuna and wahoo are a run out from the reef. That is why the shorter trips on Reelzy look like this today:
- Pyramide: six hours from 04:30, back at 10:30
- Fishing on Ivan: six hours from 05:30, back at 11:30
- Baywatch: from 06:00, back around midday
- La Rochelle Fishing Charters: from 04:00
On a normal port day those boats have already left before your gangway opens. Three options are left.
A later start on the listing. Yan in Trou-aux-Biches lists a 09:00 departure, with a six hour trip and a longer one, for up to seven guests. Six hours from nine brings you back at three in the afternoon. That works with a ship that arrives early and sails at six or later, as long as you can be at the jetty by nine.
A private half day agreed with the captain. Every boat in the north-west on Reelzy runs private trips, so the whole boat is yours and the times are a conversation, not a timetable. Last Cast, Captain Belon’s Baymaster at Mont Choisy in Grand Baie, offers a four hour option alongside six and eight, for groups of two to four, and lists half day, sunset and custom trips. Fishing on Ivan says Captain Sebastian tailors each trip and that trips run from four to nine hours. Send your ship’s name, the arrival and sailing times, and ask what start time they can offer. If the answer is “no, we only go at dawn”, believe it and pick another boat.
The dawn trip on an overnight call. When a ship stays in port overnight, as Silver Muse does on 20 and 21 November, the second morning is a normal fishing morning. Sleep on board, take a taxi before sunrise and do the six hour trip everyone else does, back on land before lunch with the whole afternoon to spare.
Getting from the terminal to the boat
The road from Port Louis to Trou-aux-Biches and Grand Baie runs north along the coast, and the stretch through and out of the capital is the slow part, especially at rush hour. We do not quote a drive time here, because it depends on the hour and the traffic on your day. Ask the captain how long it really takes and when you need to leave the terminal.
Three Trou-aux-Biches boats tick pickup and drop-off on their listings: Fishing on Ivan, Pyramide and Big game fishing. That usually means hotel pickup on the north-west coast, so do not assume it covers the cruise terminal. Ask. Our guide to a fishing trip with hotel pickup from Belle Mare explains how pickup works on the island; a cruise passenger is in the same position as a guest on the east coast, a long way from the boats.
Before you book, settle these with the captain in writing, in the Reelzy chat:
- The start time and the time you will be back on the jetty.
- Whether they pick up at the cruise terminal, or where your taxi should drop you.
- What happens if the fish are biting at the turn-back time. The answer has to be “we go back anyway”.
Then add your own margin. Cruise lines set an all aboard time before sailing, and if you are late the ship does not wait. Plan to be back at the terminal at least an hour before that time.
What a half day can catch
A four to six hour trip from the north-west coast fishes the drop-off outside the reef and the nearer offshore grounds. Depending on the month that means mahi mahi, skipjack and yellowfin tuna, wahoo, barracuda and trevally, with a marlin always possible but never promised on a short trip. Fishing on Ivan lists bottom fishing, trolling, jigging, popping and drift fishing, so a half day can be a mix rather than hours of trolling.
The Mauritian summer, from November into the new year, is the main marlin season, and the cruise calls listed above fall right in it. Our post on the November marlin season covers what that month gives, and the half day or full day guide explains what you give up by going shorter. On a port day the short trip is not a compromise, it is the only one that gets you back to the ship.
Who it suits, and who should not try
A port day fishing trip suits a couple or a small group who would rather spend the call on the water than in the market, who are happy with whatever the sea gives in a few hours, and who will book a private boat. The boats on Reelzy in the north-west take from three to seven guests, so a group from the same ship can share one boat and its cost.
It does not suit anyone who gets badly seasick on small boats, since the Indian Ocean swell outside the reef is a different thing from a cruise ship’s stabilisers. Our seasickness guide for Mauritius has the practical advice. And it does not suit a ship with a short call, under about eight hours. Then the drive eats the trip, and it is better to keep the fishing for a holiday on the island.
If the weather turns and the captain cancels for unsafe conditions, you get a full refund or a free reschedule under our cancellation policies, but on a cruise there is no next day to move to, so book knowing that a rough morning may simply mean no trip.
Frequently asked questions
Are there fishing charters in Port Louis? Not on Reelzy. The nearest boats sail from Trou-aux-Biches and Grand Baie on the north-west coast, and one from Pointe aux Piments.
Can I fit a fishing trip into a cruise day in Mauritius? Yes, if the trip is four to six hours, starts when you can reach the jetty, and you agree the return time with the captain before booking. Most boats leave at dawn, so pick one with a later start, ask for a private half day, or use the second morning of an overnight call.
Will the boat pick me up at the cruise terminal? Three Trou-aux-Biches boats list pickup and drop-off, usually from hotels on the north-west coast. Ask the captain whether they collect from the Port Louis terminal before you book.
How early should I be back at the ship? Plan to be back at the terminal at least an hour before your ship’s all aboard time, and allow extra for traffic through Port Louis.
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