Good Snorkeling Excursion?

[Bronco Joe]

I got the following info from the castawayclub.com web site. Has anyone gone on any of these snorkeling excursions? Any we should avoid? Is an afternoon excursion or a morning excursion better? Anyone have a hard time making it to an 8am excursion? Any ideas on feeding the family prior to a morning excursion? Any problems with an 8 year old on the exursion or with the equipment?

ST. MAARTEN

Golden Eagle Catamaran: Sail across the sparkling Caribbean waters in a catamaran, and enjoy swimming and snorkeling off a pink sandy beach. Pastries and an open bar are provided, after the guests snorkeling adventure. Three and a half to four hours, leaves at 1:30 p.m. $59 per adult, $36 per child.

Pinel Island Snorkel Tour: (age 5 and up) Enjoy shallow or deep water snorkeling, swimming on a beautiful beach, exploring this tiny, uninhabited island, and visitng local boutiques. 3 and a half hours, meets at 7:40 a.m. $35 per adult, $30 per child.

Shipwreck Cove Snorkel Tour: (age 5 and older) Experience the snorkel adventure of a lifetime at Shipwreck Cove, where you can hand feed a variety of marine life and wide array of fish that inhabit sunken ships. 3 and a half hours, meets at 1:15 p.m.. $39 per adult, $33 per child.

ST. THOMAS

Buck Island Sail and Snorkel: Learn to harness the wind from a knowledgeable 2-person crew as guests cruise along on an exclusive 6-person yacht. Drop anchor in Turtle Cove at Buck Island and snorkel among the vibrant coral garden. Snacks and open bar are provided after snorkeling. $50 per adult, $45 per child.

Doubloon Sail & Snorkel Tour: Join the excitement! Help raise the sails of Doubloon, a 65-foot classic schooner that will take guests to Turtle Cove, near Buck Island. Here, guests will anchor and have time to snorkel and swim among a coral garden. Snacks, beverages and snorkel equipment are included. $42 per adult, $30 per child.

Spirit of St. Christopher Sail and Shipwreck Snorkel: Sail to Buck island, just a few miles from St. Thomas harbor, on a 76-foot catamaran. This fast and comfortable ride brings guests to a snorkeling site, where they will explore the crystalline water for one hour. Unlimited fruit and rum punch is provided, after snorkeling. $45 per adult, $30 per child.

5-Star St. John Snorkel and Beach Adventure: On this adventure, one of our most requested excursions, guests will board the 115-foot Leylon Sneed, which will transport guests from St. Thomas to Trunk Bay in St. John. Once anchored, guests will have 1 1/2 hours to snorkel, swim and sunbathe. Snorkel equipment is provided, as well as fruit punch and run punch, after snorkeling. $45 per adult, $30 per child.

 

[4myguys]

I was also thinking of doing an afternoon snorkling instead of early am. That way we could enjoy the somewhat empty ship and pools in the morning.
With your 8 year old, it depends how they are in the water. Mine did not have a problem with the equipment, but was afraid the fish would bite. You might want to go on one that goes to a smaller beach just in case they would rather play in the sand.

 

[fergfam]

We snorkeled at Pinel Island our first cruise. Did the Golden Eagle Catamaran the 2nd time and last time we snorkeled on first trip for the excursion on Castaway Key. They were all great. I liked Golden Eagle because the little island we went to was beautiful and secluded. I don't enjoy snorkeling as much as my dh, ds16 and dd11, but I loved the one on Castaway Key! It was very beautiful and the place the excursion took us to was very untouched! It was easy to see that many hadn't been there and sort of "trampled" the wild life.

 

[S. C.]

Just want to say Bronco Joe. We are just about neigbors we live in stockbridge.

Please post & let us know which one of these you choose & how you like it when you get back. We just got a quote today for the eastern cruise for next june.

 

[floridaminnie]

I'll want to try the snorkling at CC sometime, but probably not at the upcoming Dec. trip. I thought that water was too cold for me in March, so I don't know what Dec. will bring. (July was perfect though!)

 

[Grumbo]

Has anyone used or been on Jester Sailing out of St. Thomas. I read the brief post Dave from Marietta passed on a few weeks ago and it looked great. Just wondering if anyone had any first hand experience with them?
Cheers,
Grumbo

 

[Bronco Joe]

Originally posted by sdoane
I'll want to try the snorkling at CC sometime...

I was thinking about doing the snorkeling at CC, also, but it is the last day of the cruise. I was hoping to have 1 or 2 excursions at our stops at port.

Anyone else done the snorkeling at CC? Has anyone taken a snuba trip?

 

[Bronco Joe]

We decided on Castaway Cay for snorkeling, and we will probably bring our own gear. Anyone else had lucj doing this?

 

[jwann]

I loved the snorkeling at CC -- go early -- first thing. The water will be clear and there will be lots of fish. The Disney folks have submerged lots of things to look at and for fish to swim around. Be on the look out for the submerged mickey. We've seen lots of pretty fish, a stingray, baracuda, conch, and a lobster. I will say that snorkeling on CC is probably my favorite thing on the whole cruise.

 

[JLSE50]

We are two middle aged adults who snorkel every opportunity. We have never taken children with us. We took our first cruise for our 30th Anniversary so I have no experience about children and snorkeling.

BUT

In Key West we did Fury Catamaran in 1999 and 2002. Great crew. Rocky coral reef. As with all excursions the snorkeling is best when the sun is out. Each time we take underwater cameras and that adds to the fun.

At St. Martin we did PINEL ISLAND in 2000. It was a sandy cove not a rocky reef so we did not see the variety of fish but it was still fun. We got to see some of the island of St. Martin on the bus to and from the excursion. It was a great reality check. Much of the world lives in despirate conditions. A cinder block home is a luxury for them as it will have a better chance of surviving a hurricane. Makes me appreciate all my blessings even more!!

We snorkeled Spirit of St. Christopher in St. Thomas. That was WONDERFUL! A rocky area--lots of fish and anemones or spiney sea urchins or something. Did not have a chart for identifying them, but now we do.

We did the snorkeling trail at Castaway Cay all three times. Enjoyed that too.

In 2001 we did a snorkeling excursion at Nassau but it was a small rocky area and a lot of people so we kept hitting or being hit by flippers.

In 2002 we went to Grand Cayman and loved the Shipwreck and Reef snorkel.

In Cozumel we got a taxi and went on our own to Chaukanaab National Park. Found some beach recliners and snorkeled along the sea wall. Lots of rocks and coral and fish. Saw some stingrays but not up close. We had our own equipment that year and that was more to carry but it was our stuff so no rental fee. It did not decrease the cost of the excursions, but it was mine and I knew who had used it last.

Any excursion has the chance of being less than great if the weather is poor. But a lot of it is your attitude.

have a great time,
Jan

 

[takemeaway]

Grumbo, I read that same post and was wondering the same thing. I wonder if we should start a thread asking if anyone else has used Jester Sailing.

I so want to book him when we go to St Thomas. The afternoon sounded like a great time. I would email him, but my cruise is 11 months away. A little too soon to be booking anyone.

 

[JLSE50]

PS: I forgot to say that we book our excursions in the morning. But, remember, we are adults with no children in tow.

We figured that we could get up, have breakfast, do the excursion, return to the ship for lunch and have the afternoon free for shopping or another excursion. We have done both.

but--each family or individual must do what works for them.
DH is a morning person. I am a night person but have to live in a world that starts "too early" each morning, so switching vacation time to later days is not always the best plan.

Enjoy whatever you do!
Jan

 

[prymsu]

my family did the St. Christopher shipwreck at Buck Island in St. Thomas and the snorkeling was wonderful.

The crew fed the fish towards the end of the snorkeling time and it was awesome. the water was crystal clear! I really enjoyed this excursions!