Tortola...........Snorkel at Norman Island

[orlandothebeagle]

Anyone done this??
Just wanted any thoughts and info, thankyou very much.

 

[BigHugsForEeyore]

I would like to know about this excursion too

 

[biggdawg67]

Anyone done this??
Just wanted any thoughts and info, thankyou very much.

in matter of fact i did this one on our last cruise it is a nice exscursion. short bus ride to where you get on the boat and then it's about a 20 min boat ride to the snorkeling location. they of course provide equipment. it is a nice location in about 20 feet of crystal clear water and they give you about 45 minutes to explore the location ... there are caves there also but they get very dark the farther you go into them. lots of sea live in the area from sea urchins too barracuda. then they will blow the horn to to get back on board the boat and head to another island with a beach bar and more snorkeling or just relax on threir beach and have a drink and they are there for about 30 too 45 minutes as well....then back onto the boat and another 30 minute ride back to where you get bus to go back to the ship...also be sure to take your sunscreen with you....i do have some photos i could post some time later.....

 

[oceanbec]

We also did this excursion and both my kids are still talking about it.

The previous poster gives a good description of the structure of the excursion.

Both kids loved it and now compare everything to it! We were in the keys last weekend and did some snorkeling that was really nice and they still said "I liked Tortola better"

We saw loads of fish and the visibility was great - we were there in September.

 

[Smileneyes]

We also did this excursion and both my kids are still talking about it.

The previous poster gives a good description of the structure of the excursion.

Both kids loved it and now compare everything to it! We were in the keys last weekend and did some snorkeling that was really nice and they still said "I liked Tortola better"

We saw loads of fish and the visibility was great - we were there in September.

I would have to agree. We took this excursion last June. This was by far the best experience that we've had five years of snorkeling!

 

[orlandothebeagle]

Thanks posters, I would love to see some pics, also, the excursion is described as" get the catamaran from same port as cruise ship? this makes me think its no a bus ride, also this is the 3 hour trip you guys are talking about? It seems a lot to fit into 3 hours.
Did you go in the am? when were you back on ship.

Thanks again guys.

 

[oceanbec]

We took the morning trip and it was really nice. The ride from the ship to the other dock was very brief. We were back to the ship in time to have lunch, so it must have been the 3 hour trip. It winds up seeming like more than that since you get to the meet up on the ship a while before the actual excursion time.

For us it was the perfect length - long enough that we didn't feel rushed or like we were missing anything, but not so long that the kids got worn out.

We really would've had time to have lunch (either on or off the ship) and poke around the port some since we took the early trip. We got on the ship to have lunch, clean up, and then look around near the port - but after snorkeling all morning, once they were fed and bathed they felt like just relaxing the rest of the day.

 

[orlandothebeagle]

We took the morning trip and it was really nice. The ride from the ship to the other dock was very brief. We were back to the ship in time to have lunch, so it must have been the 3 hour trip. It winds up seeming like more than that since you get to the meet up on the ship a while before the actual excursion time.

For us it was the perfect length - long enough that we didn't feel rushed or like we were missing anything, but not so long that the kids got worn out.

We really would've had time to have lunch (either on or off the ship) and poke around the port some since we took the early trip. We got on the ship to have lunch, clean up, and then look around near the port - but after snorkeling all morning, once they were fed and bathed they felt like just relaxing the rest of the day.

Thankyou for taking the time to post.

 

[carmie3377]

Not trying to hijack this threat but wanted to offer another option for Tortola. Another excursion for Tortola is the the Baths at Virgin Gorda. We booked this excursion on our own because DS was too young to book with Disney. We ended up saving quite a bit too as Disney's prices were around $100/person and we did it for around $125 for all of us. It was so easy to do on our own too.

Anyway, we took a ferry from Tortola to Virgin Gorda (probably 20-30 mins). Then we boarded Taxis over to the Baths and then it was just a couple of bucks to get in. We explored the caves, went swimming and took some great pictures of fish. It would have been a nice little spot for snorkeling if we had gear with us. Also, there may have been a place to rent gear but didn't see it. Anyway, it was gorgeous! We've even talked about doing this excursion again if we go back to Tortola. It was the highlight of port time! Let me know if you'd like to see some pictures

 

[orlandothebeagle]

Not trying to hijack this threat but wanted to offer another option for Tortola. Another excursion for Tortola is the the Baths at Virgin Gorda. We booked this excursion on our own because DS was too young to book with Disney. We ended up saving quite a bit too as Disney's prices were around $100/person and we did it for around $125 for all of us. It was so easy to do on our own too.

Anyway, we took a ferry from Tortola to Virgin Gorda (probably 20-30 mins). Then we boarded Taxis over to the Baths and then it was just a couple of bucks to get in. We explored the caves, went swimming and took some great pictures of fish. It would have been a nice little spot for snorkeling if we had gear with us. Also, there may have been a place to rent gear but didn't see it. Anyway, it was gorgeous! We've even talked about doing this excursion again if we go back to Tortola. It was the highlight of port time! Let me know if you'd like to see some pictures

Actually, Ive been thinking I need to check out local stuff on offer other than disney.

 

[Feebs]

Greetings
There was a ferry - a catamaran going to Norman island berthed in front of our ship earlier this year - so it was just a few steps from the ship.
We visited Tortola twice on our cruise earlier this year and we went to Virgin Gorda. It was an excellent trip though we only had about an hour at the Baths. There is snorkelling just off the beach - I really enjoyed it - but there are no facities at all apart from those at the carpark. So you need to take everything with you.
On all our Caribbean trips we found the same excursions available at the port and usually cheaper and sometimes but not always better. Its hard to know.
We had two half day visits there so we felt better taking the ships excursions.
I will say that when we sailed away from Tortola we spotted two whales - the best experience ever!