SNORKELING EXCURSIONS?? CASTAWAY CAY vs. NASSAU???

[JLSE50]

The list of excursions we just got says that Castaway Cay now has a snorkeling excursion. When we went to Nassau on Royal Caribbean (only once for them and back to DCL) and we went on a snorkeling excursion that was to a small pile of rock and rubble in the middle of a sandy harbor that they are trying to develop as an artificial reef. Yes there were fish, but the area was so small we kept getting hit by flippers of other snorkelers.

I can't tell if that is were DCL takes snorkelers at Nassau. Does anyone know?
Has anyone snorkeled both excursions?
What do you recommend?

JLSE50

 

[LadyZolt]

We just went snorkeling at Castaway Cay and we LOVED it! It was DH and I, and we never snorkeled at Nassau, but we have in the past snorkeled at Hanauma Bay and other spots in Hawaii. First, at Castaway Cay, they have a well-designated snorkel area and they have lots of fun stuff in the water that is not only entertaining to swim by, but it attracts fish. There were several fish who swam right up to our masks! Not the least bid timid there! It was amazing -- I can't wait to do it again! If you like to snorkel, don't miss doing it at Castaway Cay. There is definitely magic in them there seas.

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

 

[justmestace]

I think LadyZolt is talking about the snorkeling that you can do at the family beach...which is a great spot for beginners, but not what you're looking for.

We were on the Magic's May 27th sailing, and we did go on the Seahorse Catamaran Snorkel (at Castaway Cay). The catamaran takes you out to a reef that's much larger than I had imagined. People were allowed to spread out and (for once) we didn't have anyone yelling at us from the boat to "Stay in the area!".

We are all open-ocean snorkelers with a ton of trips under our belt, and as far as I'm concerned, the Seahorse Snorkel was much better than most places we've been, and that was a total surprise. I can see where it might not be quite so pleasant if there were rough seas, as the coral reef is very shallow, and that would mean that you couldn't swim over the top of some of it. But there were so many fish of every kind and color!
I've booked this for our DCL cruise in September, I liked it so much!

We did do a DCL snorkel in Nassau that basically planted us in the middle of the harbor, with other boats going by and also got kicked in the face. I'll never do that again! The only fish we saw were some ugly silver things that came when one of the guides got in the water with food. Otherwise, we only saw a tire at the bottom. Whoopee.

 

[OhioTony]

I would snorkel in Nassau..It will keep you from having to go ashore and get haggled to DEATH.. on castaway Cay we got the package providing a bike ride, snorkeling & floats & we had a great leisurely time on the island!

 

[georgina]

Nassau excursions -

My Passporter says the catamaran sail takes you to "a coral reef". It was rated 8 out of 10 by people who participated. I have reserved the caribbean Queen snorkel tour, which says it takes you to Athol Island and was rated 9 out of 10. I will let you know our opinions after we return in July.

 

[nextcruz]

April 2005 we did the Caribbean Queen snorkel thru DCL in Nassau, and my DH and I really enjoyed. We went just off Nassau to a small island, Athol Island, and they put us over a reef in about 20 ft of water. It was not crowded, and was a quick, easy trip past the Atlantis, a little history involved, then into the water. We saw some pretty cool fish, especially lots of the black and yellow Rock Beauties, and other angel fish. Even got a photo of a sawfish. My DDs were 7 & 11, it was their 1st snorkel trip, and dropping them into the ocean to snorkel was VERY imtimidating! Castaway Cay was much more their speed. It was a great place to learn as you could just walk in off the beach to snorkel. Although, we saw very few fish at Castaway, it was a lot of fun. We did not do the snorkel tour off Castaway.

ps - the crew was very kind to the kids - let my daugter "drive the boat" on the way home!

 

[disneycruise05]

My friends and I did the Catamarian Sail and Reef Snorkeling in Nassau and had a GREAT time!!! The location that they took us was about a 45 minute sail from the port. They provided all the gear needed and explained how to use it for all those that were new to it. The reef that we went to was really nice. We saw plenty of fish in the clear water. We really enjoyed the excursion. Plus, on the way back to port, the catamarian had complimentary rum punch which was very good. Free water was provided both to the reef and back.

HTH!

 

[georgina]

We're just back, and did the Caribbean Queen snorkel excursion in Nassau, and the kids and DH snorkeled in Castaway Cay. We enjoyed the Caribbean Queen excursion, but from reading the above posts, it looks like the catamaran one might be better. It is a fairly narrowl area to snorkel, with boating lanes on either side, and the reef is not particurlarly colorful one. We did see lots of fish, particularly when they brought out the food. Toward the end a storm blew up and the water became a little choppy. Still the kids had a good time and enjoyed the snorkeling.

They liked the Castaway Cay family lagoon snorkeling better. The water was calmer and they said they saw more variety of fish. They did swim all the way out to the ends of the snorkel lagoon and were pretty tired afterward.