Princess Ultimate Snorkeling

[loves2cruz]

Has anyone done this tour? I'm wondering if one of the stops is at the Wall. I understand the big drop off is quite spectacular.

 

Trying to decide between this and Blue Island Divers.

 

Did the boat feel crowded?

 

Thanks

[Putterdude]

I did it with Blue Water Divers and 3 other folks from the Grand in January. We had a great time, Mitch took us out by ourselves so there was no crowding at all. Audrey is super to deal with. You don't have great snorkeling at the wall because of the 7000 ft drop but it is quite an experience. He first takes you out to a spot where you are in about 12 ft of water so the snorkeling is terrific there then he offers you the option of going to the Wall or to another spot...we choose Wall. You do have to take a cab to their shop at the Osprey Hotel...$5 pp each way. For sure I will use Blue Water when we are at Grand Turk again this year.

[M&MCruisin]

I was just getting ready to write a review on the "Princess Ultimate Snorkeling Tour" we took last month (April 2010). I recon this is a good place to do it.

 

When you get off the ship, you go through a store at the end of the pier and then come out to the courtyard type area where there are shops all around. There are signs everywhere for different tours. Find the sign with the number that matches your ticket and head that way. The friendly tour operators then moved us off to the side to get away from the crowds, which for us was off to the right between two buildings.

 

The Staff

Excellent staff we had! They were so nice and humored us by taking individual pictures with some of the group. They made everyone sign in and then we walked to a small pier on the beach where we borded the boat. There were about 25 people on our tour and we did not feel too cramped on the boat. We had some that could not swim with us and one of them paniced when they got in the water even though they had a life jacket (everyone is required to wear it per Princess rules). Anyway, one of the tour guides spent the entire first stop in the water helping my mother n law and eventually got her to snorkel on her own. He was a huge help! A++ for the staff.

 

On the Ship

After you take off, they drive a short distance and stop to have a briefing about what will take place, advise you of the restroom onboard, talk about safety and start passing out equipment. I will say that the captain does NOT like it when you are talking while he is trying to give instructions. He will stop and fuss a bit, but to his point, it is rude to talk while he is giving instructions. They do not want you to put the fins on until you are in the water. You have to wear the snorkel vest, which you will want to when I tell you about the snorkeling.

 

The Snorkeling

Let me just say....Wow...not necessarily in a good way. I was actually very surprised by the snorkeling because I had read rave reviews about it, so I was a little dissapointed, but I still had fun. Let me explain.

 

Stop #1 - The water was really rough. I was very surprised how hard the waves were pushing here. This was located at a large wall which was extremely deep. Im not sure it its normal to be so rough here, but it was difficult to swim and i made the mistake of not taking the fins at this location. I was pushed all over the place by the waves and worked twice as hard to stay over near the part of the ocean that wasnt as deep. The water here was not very clear, likely because of the rough water. There were several silver fish, but not alot else here except a 2 foot baracuda that I managed to snag a picture of. The picture just doesnt do it justice. The tour operators were in the water putting food in the water to attract the fish. They would yell to everyone when they saw the baracuda to come see. A++ for the workers! Now, getting back on the boat was sooooooo hard. The water being so rough would smack you up into the side of the boat. If you didnt have a life jacket...i swear it would have pushed you under the boat. They had a long rope in the water and a life preserver for my mother in law to hang on to which made her feel better even though she had the life vest. You used the rope to pull yourself in to the steps and you needed it, but again a little smacking into the side of the boat wasnt all that fun. It didnt hurt, it was just annoying. Once it was your turn to grab the steps, it wasnt that hard to get out, although those who had fins had to get them off, hang on to them while they tried to get out of the rough water. (This all sounds negative, but really it wasnt that bad, just making you aware).

 

Stop #2 - This was a much better snorkel spot. The water was still rough, but this time I used the fins and had a much easier time swimming around. We saw some awesome fish here. The water was not as deep, there was a ton of coral and some cool fish that I had never seen other than in a tank. As the waves would come through, the water would get a little shallow in spots and then deep again. I mention this because if you were over top of certain areas of the coral, you got close to it, but I didnt hit it once. The fins also helped keep you moving and kept my legs up so they didnt ever hit the coral. I chased several awesome fish here of various colors like bright blue, yellow, orange, silver and black. There was one of those fish with the spikes all over...I dont know what its called, but it looks like a tiger with the brown and white markings and has long spikes all over it. Someone told us it was poisonous, but my hubby didnt know that when he was chasing it around taking pictures. We did get an awesome photo of this one. I could post it later when I get home from work.

 

Anyway, overall, we had a great time, the crew was great and we enjoyed the second stop more than the first. I wouldnt call this "Ultimate" snorkeling though...its not that great and we wouldnt do this one again. We have had better snorkeling right off the beach in Bonaire. All things in perspective, they cant help that the water is rough and they did a good job, so I gave a nice tip!

 

Let me know if you have questions. Enjoy!

[M&MCruisin]

Ok...here are a photo so you can see what I mean. I am using the Olympus 8000 Tough Digital Underwater Camera. This is the picture of the Baracuda.

[M&MCruisin]

This stop was much more clear, but still rough water. Sorry, I dont know how to make the picture big.

[loves2cruz]

I did it with Blue Water Divers and 3 other folks from the Grand in January. We had a great time, Mitch took us out by ourselves so there was no crowding at all. Audrey is super to deal with. You don't have great snorkeling at the wall because of the 7000 ft drop but it is quite an experience. He first takes you out to a spot where you are in about 12 ft of water so the snorkeling is terrific there then he offers you the option of going to the Wall or to another spot...we choose Wall. You do have to take a cab to their shop at the Osprey Hotel...$5 pp each way. For sure I will use Blue Water when we are at Grand Turk again this year.

 

When with Blue Water Divers is there a nice beach to stay at by the Osprey Hotel after the snorkeling? Do you think it would be easy to get a cab back to the ship after spending a couple of hours at the beach?

 

Thanks

[loves2cruz]

I was just getting ready to write a review on the "Princess Ultimate Snorkeling Tour" we took last month (April 2010). I recon this is a good place to do it.

 

When you get off the ship, you go through a store at the end of the pier and then come out to the courtyard type area where there are shops all around. There are signs everywhere for different tours. Find the sign with the number that matches your ticket and head that way. The friendly tour operators then moved us off to the side to get away from the crowds, which for us was off to the right between two buildings.

 

The Staff

Excellent staff we had! They were so nice and humored us by taking individual pictures with some of the group. They made everyone sign in and then we walked to a small pier on the beach where we borded the boat. There were about 25 people on our tour and we did not feel too cramped on the boat. We had some that could not swim with us and one of them paniced when they got in the water even though they had a life jacket (everyone is required to wear it per Princess rules). Anyway, one of the tour guides spent the entire first stop in the water helping my mother n law and eventually got her to snorkel on her own. He was a huge help! A++ for the staff.

 

On the Ship

After you take off, they drive a short distance and stop to have a briefing about what will take place, advise you of the restroom onboard, talk about safety and start passing out equipment. I will say that the captain does NOT like it when you are talking while he is trying to give instructions. He will stop and fuss a bit, but to his point, it is rude to talk while he is giving instructions. They do not want you to put the fins on until you are in the water. You have to wear the snorkel vest, which you will want to when I tell you about the snorkeling.

 

The Snorkeling

Let me just say....Wow...not necessarily in a good way. I was actually very surprised by the snorkeling because I had read rave reviews about it, so I was a little dissapointed, but I still had fun. Let me explain.

 

Stop #1 - The water was really rough. I was very surprised how hard the waves were pushing here. This was located at a large wall which was extremely deep. Im not sure it its normal to be so rough here, but it was difficult to swim and i made the mistake of not taking the fins at this location. I was pushed all over the place by the waves and worked twice as hard to stay over near the part of the ocean that wasnt as deep. The water here was not very clear, likely because of the rough water. There were several silver fish, but not alot else here except a 2 foot baracuda that I managed to snag a picture of. The picture just doesnt do it justice. The tour operators were in the water putting food in the water to attract the fish. They would yell to everyone when they saw the baracuda to come see. A++ for the workers! Now, getting back on the boat was sooooooo hard. The water being so rough would smack you up into the side of the boat. If you didnt have a life jacket...i swear it would have pushed you under the boat. They had a long rope in the water and a life preserver for my mother in law to hang on to which made her feel better even though she had the life vest. You used the rope to pull yourself in to the steps and you needed it, but again a little smacking into the side of the boat wasnt all that fun. It didnt hurt, it was just annoying. Once it was your turn to grab the steps, it wasnt that hard to get out, although those who had fins had to get them off, hang on to them while they tried to get out of the rough water. (This all sounds negative, but really it wasnt that bad, just making you aware).

 

Stop #2 - This was a much better snorkel spot. The water was still rough, but this time I used the fins and had a much easier time swimming around. We saw some awesome fish here. The water was not as deep, there was a ton of coral and some cool fish that I had never seen other than in a tank. As the waves would come through, the water would get a little shallow in spots and then deep again. I mention this because if you were over top of certain areas of the coral, you got close to it, but I didnt hit it once. The fins also helped keep you moving and kept my legs up so they didnt ever hit the coral. I chased several awesome fish here of various colors like bright blue, yellow, orange, silver and black. There was one of those fish with the spikes all over...I dont know what its called, but it looks like a tiger with the brown and white markings and has long spikes all over it. Someone told us it was poisonous, but my hubby didnt know that when he was chasing it around taking pictures. We did get an awesome photo of this one. I could post it later when I get home from work.

 

Anyway, overall, we had a great time, the crew was great and we enjoyed the second stop more than the first. I wouldnt call this "Ultimate" snorkeling though...its not that great and we wouldnt do this one again. We have had better snorkeling right off the beach in Bonaire. All things in perspective, they cant help that the water is rough and they did a good job, so I gave a nice tip!

 

Let me know if you have questions. Enjoy!

 

Thank you so much for giving such a detailed report. Now I have to try and decide between Blue Water Divers and the excursion from Princess. It does sound like there may be more flexibility with Blue Water Divers. I would like to see the wall, but if they know that the water is rough that day I might request a second stop in a calmer more shallow area.

[Putterdude]

When with Blue Water Divers is there a nice beach to stay at by the Osprey Hotel after the snorkeling? Do you think it would be easy to get a cab back to the ship after spending a couple of hours at the beach?

 

Thanks

 

There were a couple of cabs waiting at the hotel when we finished our snorkel excursion so we had no problem at all. There are lots of cabs on GT and if there wasn't one waiting at the Osprey I am certain they would call one for you. You are correct, it is a lovely beach and I would have loved to have spent some time there but DW had the credit card and was hanging around the port facility...now there is an idea, next year I am going to have her come to the hotel, have lunch on there patio by the pool while I go snorkeling.:)

[WillieD13]

On the Ship

You have to wear the snorkel vest, which you will want to when I tell you about the snorkeling.

 

A question: is this an inflatable kind, or a permanent flotation vest? :confused: When I snorkel, I like to go down 10 feet or so. It will be really annoying :mad: if I have to wear a vest that keeps me on the surface.

[M&MCruisin]

A question: is this an inflatable kind, or a permanent flotation vest? :confused: When I snorkel, I like to go down 10 feet or so. It will be really annoying :mad: if I have to wear a vest that keeps me on the surface.

 

Inflatable. There was another person on the tour that was diving down. They may have taken the air out once in the water.