There IS decent snorkeling in Labadee!

[bltpyro]

I couldn't find much information about snorkeling in Labadee. Almost all I heard was that the Grand Cayman and Cozumel were much better so don't waste your time. Well, I came to Labadee with the expectation that it would just be a good practice spot before the other two places. Although I would still say that GC and Coz are better in general, I actually regretted not taking as much advantage of Labadee while we were there.

 

You get to see some big and cool things in GC and Coz, but it is all in 10' to 40' of water. The coolest part about Labadee is that you get to see everything in 1' to 5' of water! You actually have to swim around coral in many places (be careful not to touch any of the coral or step on it). There is a lot of cool coral, some really big brain coral, and a good variety of fish. There are lots of urchins including some big basketball size ones. It is a unique experience you don't get at the other places.

 

Where?:

Inside the green circle is where the snorkeling is, off of Adrenaline Beach on the north east side. If you go past that red line the beach patrol people will whine at you with their whistles to come back.

 

TIPS:

Wear water shoes or fins. It is very rocky only 5'-10' off the shore with lots of sea urchins. We saw several people step on them. They said it felt like a wasp sting. Not a good way to start a vacation where you walk a lot (well... we walked a lot).

 

Go out early. Because is is so shallow, most people just go and walk around everywhere and kick up a lot if dirt. Later in the day it gets very hazy. Unfortunately with my inexperience with underwater cameras my lens fogged up the first time we went out so I didn't get any usable pics/video. When we went back in later the visibility was much worse.

 

Pics:

Even with the bad visibility I got some OK video. These are some cropped screen captures from the video.

[deezee28]

bltpyro:

Great information.....it's just what we were looking for. Thanks to you my husband will have a great day in Labadee after all.

The pictures are really nice too.:)

[bancytu]

Did you take your own snorkel equipment or did they have it there to rent? When we were on our honeymoon 7 years ago you could rent the snorkel equipment for like $15. So far I haven't seen that you can do that anymore and I was wondering if you still could. We loved snorkeling there and got tons of cool pictures with our underwater camera.

[bltpyro]

I forgot to mention that, thanks for asking. They no longer rent snorkel gear to snorkel from the shore, so you will have to bring your own. The only snorkel gear they have is for the boat excursions. On the up side, you are not required to use a vest when snorkeling from shore.

[bancytu]

Thank you so much for letting me know! I will now be on the look out at home for the equipment to take with us. We loved snorkeling the last time we were there. I can't wait to go back!

[Kevin's girl]

We are considering one of the cabanas while we are visiting Labadee. Does anyone know if that private beach has any decent snorkeling? My DH and DS love to snorkel and it would be so nice if we could snorkel from our cabana.

[beddibi]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this info. I thought it would be hopeless to be able to snorkle while in Labadee. I hope you dont mind that I posted your info on our meet & mingle forum.

[gram2trips]

I couldn't find much information about snorkeling in Labadee. Almost all I heard was that the Grand Cayman and Cozumel were much better so don't waste your time. Well, I came to Labadee with the expectation that it would just be a good practice spot before the other two places. Although I would still say that GC and Coz are better in general, I actually regretted not taking as much advantage of Labadee while we were there.

 

You get to see some big and cool things in GC and Coz, but it is all in 10' to 40' of water. The coolest part about Labadee is that you get to see everything in 1' to 5' of water! You actually have to swim around coral in many places (be careful not to touch any of the coral or step on it). There is a lot of cool coral, some really big brain coral, and a good variety of fish. There are lots of urchins including some big basketball size ones. It is a unique experience you don't get at the other places.

 

Where?:

Inside the green circle is where the snorkeling is, off of Adrenaline Beach on the north east side. If you go past that red line the beach patrol people will whine at you with their whistles to come back.

 

TIPS:

Wear water shoes or fins. It is very rocky only 5'-10' off the shore with lots of sea urchins. We saw several people step on them. They said it felt like a wasp sting. Not a good way to start a vacation where you walk a lot (well... we walked a lot).

 

Go out early. Because is is so shallow, most people just go and walk around everywhere and kick up a lot if dirt. Later in the day it gets very hazy. Unfortunately with my inexperience with underwater cameras my lens fogged up the first time we went out so I didn't get any usable pics/video. When we went back in later the visibility was much worse.

 

Pics:

Even with the bad visibility I got some OK video. These are some cropped screen captures from the video.

 

How far is beach where u can snorkle from where the ship docks???

[bltpyro]

It is only about half a mile, 10 min walk at most. There is a sidewalk the whole way, and there is a tram-car thing that will take you close but there isn't much point unless you have extra trouble walking.

[kezza]

Great information, thanks for posting.

 

Kerri

[GinDon]

I know this is an old post, but it was SO informative............answered all my questions before I even had a chance to ask them. And great pics! Thanks for posting, and I'm sure many new readers will benefit from your help, as I did.

[carribbeanmic]

I hope the kids water park did not interfer with the snorkel options.

[JBone422]

Great information re: snorkeling, thank you so much! I was starting to question wether or not to take our snorkel equipment but we'll definitely be taking it now!

[rlpolobear9]

what a great thread thanks for the info

[Lionesss]

Does anyone know if the snorkel equipment you get at barefoot beach can be taken over to this area to use.

Safe travels.

[caribsun]

what a great thread thanks for the info

 

Thanks for finding this info. I will now bring my snorkel off the ship and head right over to this spot in the am.:)

[kitsVA]

Looks like snorkeling at Labadee is a hit and miss on somedays. We were there on Allure thanksgiving cruise and it was hard to see anything that day except sea weed. Then I came back to Nellie's beach as I read someone wrote positively about it. It was worse. I couldn't even see one fish here. I saw one gentlemen who went very further into the water and he said he couldn't see anything.

 

Chankanaab in Cozumel compensation for the lousy Labadee and Falmouth (Hilton Rose Hall) beaches. We told ourselves never to take any ship that has both these places in one trip. What a wasted opportunity where there are so many lovely beaches in the Caribbean.

 

RCL spent a lot to make Labadee beautiful but the water and beach is beyong their control and I really think they picked up a lousy area. I am sure bad beach and water is helping them make more money as we didn't know what else to do. So, rented floats and took kids to the Aqua park. More money RCL.

 

I thought NCLs Great Stirrup Cay was crowded but it at least has a great area to snorkel.

[Flacruiser123]

Does anyone know if the snorkel equipment you get at barefoot beach can be taken over to this area to use.

 

Safe travels.

 

A previous post indicated that there was no renting of snorkeling gear, but that was May 2010. Does anyone know if you can rent snorkeling gear at either/both Barefoot Beach or Adrenaline Beach these days?

 

I was in CoCo Cay about 1.5 years ago and RCI had all kinds of snorkeling gear, including wet suits, so I thought for sure they rented the same gear in Labadee.

 

Appreciate any update!!

[Ashland]

A previous post indicated that there was no renting of snorkeling gear, but that was May 2010. Does anyone know if you can rent snorkeling gear at either/both Barefoot Beach or Adrenaline Beach these days?

 

I was in CoCo Cay about 1.5 years ago and RCI had all kinds of snorkeling gear, including wet suits, so I thought for sure they rented the same gear in Labadee.

 

Appreciate any update!!

If you are at Barefoot Beach then you are in the private "suite" area and they do provide snorkel equipment for you to use anywhere...

[Flacruiser123]

...well, we won't be in a suite, that's for sure! :(:(:(

[Birdnutty]

So glad to find this thread! Thanks for the info. We have our own gear, so that's not a prob, and we're not in a suite, so at least we now know where to go!

 

Let's hope the coral hasn't been totally destroyed by sand being deposited on it, or by careless tourists kicking /stepping on it.

 

Please tell me they do NOT feed the fish...... that's one of the worst things you can do to a wild creature within a fragile ecosystem.

[Melissa at Mohair Meadows]

Does RCL have fins to rent onboard the ship? We are hoping to 'pack light' this trip and fins get cumbersome when traveling.

 

:D

[RACexplore]

I just wanted to say thank you for this post! This is exactly what I was looking for about Labadee. Has anyone been there recently? At the very least this can be a "practice" day. I am glad it is first, before we are spoiled by GC and Chakanaab snorkeling. :)

[lynncarol]

Sadly, the place where, IMO, had the only good snoreling at Labadee is where the dock was built.

[KSCPA]

This was a great thread back in 2010----has anyone been there recently and snorkeled---we do not have a suite----would like to snorkel with our own equiment---maybe they do not have equipment anymore because snorkeling stinks??? Hope not!!:confused: