Bahama Bank Boat Escape or Tropical Reef Safari Snorkel at Lookout Cay?

[mumford1]

Has anyone been on either of these excursions recently? I’d love to hear any reviews or comments. We currently have the Tropical reef safari booked but it leaves at 11:45 and we’ll miss lunch on Lookout Cay. Since it’s our first time there we would like to try the food. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Ncmomofthree]

I hope you get some responses because I’ve been trying to find this answer everywhere and can’t, I think it’s just so new there’s sing a lot of feedback yet

 

[AquaDame]

We had the same problem - only the 11:45 was available, but I wanted lunch...! I hope someone can answer for you. I did notice the earlier time opened up about a week before sailing, but by then we'd already decided not to snorkel that day.

 

[mumford1]

We ended up having to divert from Lighthouse to Castaway Cay for our trip due to high winds, so sadly I have nothing to report. All excursions were cancelled on Castaway, as well.

 

[AquaDame]

We ended up having to divert from Lighthouse to Castaway Cay for our trip due to high winds, so sadly I have nothing to report. All excursions were cancelled on Castaway, as well.

They diverted from Lighthouse?? I would have thought the pier would make it really easy to park. It was really windy when we were there a few weeks ago too. I'm sorry you missed it (assuming it was important to you)!

 

[mumford1]

Yes , I was surprised too! I’ve heard of people missing Castaway due to high winds a lot so it never occurred to me we could end up there. The captain explained the seas south to Lighthouse would have been a very rough ride and he decided to change the itinerary for everyone’s safety and comfort. I will say the previous night from Port Canaveral to Nassau was not fun for anyone. The worst conditions I’ve ever been in on 18 cruises. Castaway was beautiful and they docked easily, thank goodness!

 

[Dug720]

Any port can be missed due to high winds. If winds are high enough - and/or there are strong enough undercurrents - it is not safe to even pull a ship alongside the pier. There have been several cases of piers being taken out when a ship docked when winds were too high.

Castaway just has the added issue of you entering a specially dug canal to be able to dock right at the island rather than tendering in. (Which wouldn't necessarily be a better solution since tender ports are even more likely to be cancelled in the event of strong winds or currents.)