My summary of private snorkeling in several ports

[Bethany Beach]

Just back from a cruise on which we snorkeled in seven ports: Antigua, St. Croix, Virgin Gorda, St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Martin, and St. Barts. In six of the ports, I had prearranged private snorkeling trips. The weather was perfect and the water temps warmer than expected for this time of year but, unfortunately, the seas were rough in most ports and water somewhat murky. We also typically land vacation and have been to several of these places before plus the much better snorkeling sites in St. John, Bonaire, and Roatan. Knowing ahead of time that the snorkeling wouldn’t be that great at each island, all we do on vacation is snorkel, so we thought it would be fun to snorkel, no matter if mediocre; better for us than sitting on the ship. Also, we took a cruise a few years ago to the S. Carib and we took ship snorkeling excursions and pretty much hated each one, even though the conditions were perfect for snorkeling. It isn’t easy to find this info on CC search – I know I spent hours trying while planning this trip. So, to hopefully help others, here is my info to share:

St. Croix: Arranged a shore snorkeling trip through N2theblue dot com which is right in Frederiksted where we docked. We decided against going to Buck Island where everyone else goes. Also, the other popular operations couldn't accommodate us from Frederiksted. We had been curious about St. Croix as a possible land vacation as we like to ride around islands and do snorkeling from the shore. So, this sounded great. However, due to the rough seas, we cancelled. I would recommend N2theblue, however, because the person took us to the site that she thought would have the most potential and let us make the decision for ourselves whether to go in or not. She was fully prepared either way but she was honest in her assessment that it probably wouldn’t be a very enjoyable experience. We have enough experience to know by the look of the surf whether it is worthwhile and as much as I wanted to go in, we decided against it. Another, nice thing – no charge. Really nice people. Also, we were the only two to show up, and she was still fully prepared to take us snorkeling. Some places need a minimum number of people.

St. Lucia: Arranged a private trip for just the two of us through diverfairhelen dot com. I paid extra to be picked up right at the dock where our ship was docked. I didn’t want to mess around with waiting around for their van pickup and possibly taking time to pick up other people and then driving to their launch site. That was definitely worth it. For their private trips, they use an inflatable type boat which you can see on their web site. I was a little concerned about this type of boat particularly since you reenter from underneath the boat. Turned out, that it was very easy; I just took the snorkel out of my mouth, ducked my head under water and came up at the hatch. It is easy to lift yourself up – but the captain is there to help you. The boat had a nice smooth ride and a nice sized shade canopy. The only concern I would have is that I believe they take up to 6 people in this boat. It was just me, my husband, and the captain. I can see two more people fitting in okay, but six plus a captain would seem crowded to me. Also, the captain came in the water with me at each stop. The person we had was Ben and he was extremely nice, helpful, and fun to have as a snorkel guide. He also brought a nice homemade lunch of chicken, etc.

St. Martin: Arranged a private trip for just the two of us through octupusdiving dot com. Our ship tendered in Marigot and on a Sunday. I had other options that were recommended, but Octopus was the only one operating on a Sunday and on the end of the island to which we would tender. I could not arrange pickup at the port, so we took a taxi to Octopus which is in Grand Case. The taxi ride was about 15 minutes and cost $15 US each way. After checking in at the dive shop, it is a short half-block walk to where the boat is kept. Now, this is something I never though to ask about. We had to wade into where the boat was anchored several yards off shore. It wasn’t that big of a deal, but there are small waves with undertow and it was over waist deep. It was hard to keep one’s balance and carry stuff without getting it wet at the same time. I was glad that I had my dive shoes. The boat captain took us to two spots and came in the water with us each time. He did an excellent job and even though we had a little trouble understanding his French accent, he really tried hard to make sure that we had a good time.

Dominica: Arranged a private trip for just the two of us through jcoceanadventures dot com. I paid an extra $50 to be picked up in Roseau where our ship docked. I just assumed that I would be picked up by the boat, but instead Jorge was waiting there for me when we disembarked with a sign with my name on it. Then we walked about a block or so to his parked car and then we drove about 30 minutes to the resort where he keeps his boat. It was still better than having to deal with taxis, but I wasn’t prepared for a car ride. Then, it took him at least 20 minutes to paddle out to his boat and bring it close to shore and load in the things. We had to wade out about waist deep or more to get into the boat. He had an assistant who kept an eye on things while we were all in the water. The boat really didn’t have much shade. The first stop was at least another 20 minute boat ride (ironically, we could see our cruise ship from that stop). The water was so murky and the snorkeling horrible. I tried to make the best of it but finally said to go to the second stop. That stop turned out to be Coral Gardens right next to the resort which was our beginning place. That was a little better but still not good. So, finally I just said I was done. He was a very nice person and worked hard to see that we had a great experience, I just wasn’t prepared for all the time getting there and getting into the water and then again waiting for him to drop us off to wade back in and then for him to unload and get the boat back out to be anchored and then paddling back in to drive us back to the port. We had been to Dominica once before as a cruise stop and went to the popular Champagne site – didn’t want to do that again. So, I don’t know if the snorkeling is typically just bad in Dominica or due to rough seas was just too murky.

Virgin Gorda: Arranged a snorkel trip through sunchaserscuba dot com. We stayed for a week on Virgin Gorda last spring so I knew there was good snorkeling in the area. I had difficulty finding a place to take us out at all. Sunchaser runs a dive trip that takes snorkelers along – so I had to go with that. In addition, in order to guarantee that the boat would go even if there were no other snorkelers, I agreed to pay additional money. It turned out that we were the only two on this huge boat. Our captain was Angela and what a great person she was. The water was very rough – so disappointing as we were really looking forward to our first stop – George Dog. She decided to drop us off so we could drift snorkel to the other side. But, after 10 minutes in the water, it was just so bad that we could barely make any progress and kept getting pushed into the rocks, etc. We gave up. She was determined that we have a good time, so she tried two other stops – I jumped in to check them out – both too murky and not good. She said she had one more place to try – the Nursery. My husband decided to not bothering going in, so she tied to a buoy and came in with me. It was a great spot with somewhat better visibility. But, since this was our last day to snorkel I stayed in about 30 minutes and then called it a day. But she was so nice and fun that it made the disappointing day not so hard to take.

St. Barts: This was one port where I just couldn’t arrange anything private. The one outfit that I did find did small groups only and the return time didn’t work with our departure time. So, I had to go with the dreaded ship excursion. The catamaran motored out just about 5 minutes to a pretty decent site. We had about an hour in the water and then motored back. Not bad snorkeling – but a captain with a terrible attitude. Plus we had to sit through the usual 15 minute talk about how to snorkel, etc.

Antigua: At this port I arranged a private snorkel through fishingantigua dot com on their boat Mystic Amara. I was a little concerned about this one as I had to wire Amy $175 US to hold my reservation as they don’t take credit cards as a hold for reservations. I had never wired money to anyone much less to someone I didn’t know out of the country. I did it and hoped for the best. Amy was excellent at emailing, etc., and she did get the money. I must say that I honestly was really hoping that someone would be there to get us at the port. I again paid extra to be picked up directly at the tender dock, and right on time Captain Leroy pulled up right next to the pier in his boat. We almost canceled and took a loss on the money, however, because the seas were SO rough that I didn’t think the ship tenders would make it in. I knew that snorkeling would be hopeless. I couldn’t imagine going out on a small boat in those waters. Captain Leroy assured me that he knew a reef that would be calm. With doubts, we climbed in and took off. He was an excellent captain as he managed to make the 20 minute boat ride through very high swells without jarring us out of the boat. And, amazingly we ended up at a large reef with calm fairly clear water. I couldn’t believe it. He attached the boat to the buoy, and in we went. I followed him around the reef and was so glad that he came in with me as it was shallow in many places and it was nice to follow his lead. He found a few conch shells for me to inspect, nice variety of fish and a huge barracuda to follow for a bit until the barracuda started acting a little erratic then we backed off fast. BUT, the highlight for the entire cruise for me was when about a 4-5’ nurse shark swam right in front of us. My dream has been to someday see some type of shark in the wild and not sleeping under a rock. And, there it was. After I initially panicked and verified that it was just a nurse shark, I just drifted there and watched it swim by without giving us a look.

So, in every one of the trips that I arranged, we were met on time, and had people who sincerely wanted us to have the best experience possible. It was just bad luck that we had rough seas in every port with mostly murky water as a result.

I don’t know how much I’ll be on these boards as we are finished with cruising. I am going to post each paragraph separately under the appropriate ports as well. However, if anyone has questions, I love giving and getting info. My email is judy9909@gmail.com