I have a question about snorkling on the eastern

[minimouse43]

I have a shore excursion booked for the 5 star St. John snorkle and one for the Castaway Cay seahorse catamaran snorkle. Is this to much? I mean once you snorkled is it worth it to do it again? Do you see the same stuff again? I am trying not to keep my teens for saying "I am board, we have already done this, we should have done something else!" Bratty teens anyways!!
Thanks in advance!

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

It's hard to say. You know your kids. We like to snorkel on two of the three stops on the Eastern, usually at Castaway Cay and then on one of the other two islands. I'd suggest trying it at St. John and then asking the kids if they want to go again on Castaway Cay. You can always cancel the second excursion and get a refund. They can also always go on their own once on Castaway Cay, if they change their minds, although I hear that teens rarely do so.....

 

[minimouse43]

Can you cancel?
On the confirmation I got from DCL it says on the bottom "Changes or cancelations of shore excursion reservations are allowed until 2 days prior to your embarkation date. Within 2 days of your embark date, shore excursions are final and tickets are non-refunable. " That's why I was a little worried about doing 2 snorkle trips. I didn't want to get stuck paying for the castaway cay one if it is the same type of excursion as the st. john.
I just wish castaway cay would have another option like the swim with the dolphins that st. martin has. I bet that would be real popular!
Thanks for the response!

 

[abitjaded]

Once you have snorkeled once, it is hard NOT to snorkel again. We took the Five Star but did not go to St John due to a "high Northern swell" that supposedly made the visibility lousy. But we did go to St James and saw new things. We saw tons of large conch, something I had only seen as dead polished shells in shops or salad on a plate. It was also the first time we had ever seen amazing blue and purple sea fans. We also saw star fish and manta rays. We have seen many different things at Castaway Cay, including a spotted eel being chased by the other fish. Every place you do a "water face plant" you have a chance of seeing something new. We have stayed several times in Maui and snorkeled the same small reef dozens of times. Every time we got in the water there we saw something new. Snorkeling is addictive. Not just what you can see the first time, but watching the fish over a long time you see interesting behavior and come to know the territory and defensive behavior of each fish. The environments of the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands are very different. Diving and snorkeling are not something to do just once, but can be a lifetime hobby. We started over 15 years ago and still look forward to every opportunity. Our kids are 7 and 10 and enjoy every chance they get to don a snorkel mask.

That said, it is easy enough to snorkel Castaway Cay on your own. And every minute on this island is precious. Get off at first chance and make a day of it.

Good non-leaky gear goes a long way to making the experience enjoyable. Practice before you go. It is hard to learn how to be comfortable in the amount of time some excursions give you. Learn how to get your fins on and how to keep your mask clear. Just about every city has a good dive shop. You can often get a free swimming pool check-out from them. They can teach you how to do it right. Look in your yellow pages under "scuba".

Carla

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

I've always thought you could cancel up to the day before the actual excursion happened. That may have changed, it's been a couple of years since we booked excursions through the ship. We now just go it on our own when in port.

 

[makaylee]

minimouse, You are right. You do have to cancel 2 days before your sailing. If you're not sure your kids would want to snorkle twice I would maybe cancel your CC snorkle (not the 5 star, I heard its the best) and if at CC you decide to do it again you can try to pay for the excursion right there. There is a good chance it might still be available. You could also just rent the equipment and do it on your own, this is very easy at CC. I didn't go to serinity bay but I hear it has the best snorkling on the island. Have fun!

 

[minniesota]

We just returned from the 1/24 eastern (I have trip reports up on that board if interested!) We were on the 5 Star too, and we were also "detoured" because of rough seas and poor visibility. And we were also taken to St. James island which we found very disappointing. The beach there also left a lot ot be desired. The funny thing is that after we returned to the ship and home, we found out that others on our cruise did go to Trunk Bay and it was clear and beautiful! And they were at Trunk Bay the exact same time we were supposed to be there! We think the 5 Star must get "detoured" not because of rough weather, but because they get aced out by other excursions or some other reason. We are writing a letter to Disney to complain about this. I'd consider a different excursion to St. John/Trunk Bay. There's a thread on this on page 2 or 3.

 

[eye R.N.]

Not for me. But you might want to just follow the snorkle trails on CC with those of your family that get hooked on it. Costco has some reasonably priced gear. Our family brings our own, so we know it fits well and we are comfortable with it.