ure..glad you asked. i'll give you the run down and then advice:
we met off the boat. he has a couple charters that go out. one meets at the dock and goes out. the other group meets at a taxi and goes out. the taxi is additional money...but the boat is more a sale and more relaxing versus all power.
We then went to cooper island. This was great. you get snorkle gear and have the option to snorkle. Joe told us about ofllowing a rock formation adn go out as adults to snorkle. not worth it. the walk is long and slippery. just snorkle at hte first sight he points out where the underwater camera is (you willsnorkle at the baths too adn much better coral there)
the bar at cooper ilsand is great..buy a painkiller.
for our kids we brought bagles and cream cheese adn they ate that for lunch. my wife adn i each ordered..but the poritons were huge. i had the largest fish and chips i ever had and it was so good. i hate paying to. but since we dock at their dock, i guess it is "expected'. so just order something for you and share iwth kids or birng something from the disney buffett.
we then head to the baths. this is tricky. yes you can swim into the baths..but if you want to go "in" the baths and see the cathedral formation...bring water shoes and just walk in/climb in and climb out. once you get to the "cathedral" there is apath that goes back to a different parking lot and you can talk a longer walk back to the main beach joe drops you off at. Joe told us to climb into the baths and snorkle out. it was beautiful. but SO DIFFICULT to walk in bare fee. i asked about water shoes and he said no. but we shoulda brought them. instead i was carrying 4 sets of snorkle flippers walking across narrow bridges, rope supports and slippery rocks. so my advice is take water shoes. swim to shore. leave all your snorkle stuff and towel at the beach. climb into the baths. get to the cathedral..then follow the path out behind in the sand and take a longer walk back along the sand/shore...but not in the baths by the parking lot. or climb back..up to you..
if i could od again. i would totally relax at cooper island..don't snorkle...or only snorkle fora few minutes..cause the Baths snorkeling was so much better.
in terms of the boat...i brought a back pack..you will be fine to pack cover ups and such. plenty of room to store. you can ride on deck or below. we kept everything below adn it stayed dry. you only get wet if you sit way up front froma few splashes..but it was fun.
as far as keepign stuff dry as you snorkel to the beach..can't. no need really. the kids can play in teh rocks there are some fun hiding spots right there they will enjoy. i bought a camera underwater proof bag and kept my sunglasses and camera in that so we could snorkle but take it out for the baths photos. so invest in one of those.
Joe was short that day...and ran the boat himself. i did tip him $30 total. he also waived our taxi fee. i have a boat so i helped joe with ropes and docking and tying off the anchor. i always try and tip on excursions. usually $10 or $20. so if there are two crewman i would tip each like $10 for the family. but since joe took care of our taxi to (which woulda been $60) i guess he didn't convey the taxi cost to everyone..so i gave him $30.
i would reach out to Joe adn ask him which boat you are on. Try adn be on with JOe as captain. he goes out of his way. but he's not a guide really for snorkeling or in the baths. you are really on your own. he stays with the boat.
Coopers island restaurant/bar does accept credit card..so don't worry about cash for that
