Snorkelling in the caribbean comparison with Australia's reefs

[ozliz]

Hi

I am trying to decide what do do in the ports of my eastern Caribbean disney cruise next year and while I would like to swim at some point I am not sure whether I should bother with the snorkelling. I have snorkelled plenty in Queensland and also Thailand and wanted to know if the snorkelling over there is any better than Australia or whether I should try for something more unique to the area.

Anyone snorkelled on a disney cruise and also here in Australia?

 

[PrincessInOz]

Okay. I'll bite.

I haven't snorkeled in the Disney Cruise area but I have snorkeled off Cancun and heading down towards Puerto Adventuras.
I've also snorkeled in the lower reef area near the Whitsundays. Again, not quite the upper reef area.

Both areas were nice; although the lower reef was better. But then, that part of the Yucatan peninsula is not really known for great snorkeling anyway. You have to head out past Cozumel to get to the true reef. It was still lovely, though.

I think this will come down to what your other alternatives are if you don't do the snorkeling. If you didn't snorkel, what would you do?

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I snorkelled briefly off a beach in St John, decided it was rubbish, and so decided to just enjoy the beautiful clear water instead.
I also checked out a few videos and photos of the type of fish you can see snorkelling at Castaway Cay and decided that also wasn't worth bothering about, and instead hired some water mattresses and tubes and just enjoyed the beach (which is gorgeous by the way).

At St Thomas I did a day tour with Bernard's. It was my favourite day of my whole holiday and I would pick that tour again over a snorkelling day.

I haven't snorkelled in Australia, but have snorkelled quite a bit in protected reefs in Fiji where the ocean was like an underwater kaleidoscope. Unfortunately it has spoilt me and I now find places with only a small handful of different fish species boring.

I'm sure there are wonderful snorkelling locations in the Caribbean, but I didn't find them on my cruise. What I did find, however, was some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I snorkelled briefly off a beach in St John, decided it was rubbish, and so decided to just enjoy the beautiful clear water instead.
I also checked out a few videos and photos of the type of fish you can see snorkelling at Castaway Cay and decided that also wasn't worth bothering about, and instead hired some water mattresses and tubes and just enjoyed the beach (which is gorgeous by the way).

At St Thomas I did a day tour with Bernard's. It was my favourite day of my whole holiday and I would pick that tour again over a snorkelling day.

I haven't snorkelled in Australia, but have snorkelled quite a bit in protected reefs in Fiji where the ocean was like an underwater kaleidoscope. Unfortunately it has spoilt me and I now find places with only a small handful of different fish species boring.

I'm sure there are wonderful snorkelling locations in the Caribbean, but I didn't find them on my cruise. What I did find, however, was some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen.

That was the same down at Puerto Adventuras. But the reef was decent enough and there were a few pretty colours.

 

[BecBennett]

We went scuba diving out at the reef past Cozumel, it was beautiful, but not as nice as Australia. Even the guides were asking us why we'd go scuba diving out there, if we were Australian

Having said that, I love snorkeling and scuba diving, so will do it any chance I get.

 

[Charlie_Y]

I grew up in the Whitsundays, and cruised to the Caribbean earlier this year. We snorkelled at St Martin, and my husband dived in St Thomas. Possible due to being a high-use tourist area and the short amount of available time meaning we had to stay close to port, but the St Thomas & St Martin stuff was a bit sparse, and the colour nowhere near as good as the Whitsundays. More soft corals, thus the duller colours.

The water was great, though, and the St Martin snorkel was in a fish nursery (our guide gave us bread to attract them, too, so it was like swimming through the shoal), which is something not usually allowed in Queensland marine parks.

My kids & I ziplined in St Thomas while my husband went diving - I enjoyed that more than snorkelling!

 

[ozliz]

Thanks everyone. I am leaning towards snorkelling at one stop and doing some sort of walk (eg rainforest) at the other. I will just not get my hopes up too high on the snorkelling and maybe I will be pleasantly surprised.