Which snorkeling shore excursion?

[ScottVan]

My family and I (wife, daughters 9 and 14) will be in St. Thomas (via Carnival Liberty) in December and would like to book a snorkeling shore excursion. The ship offers the following 3 excursions, and I'm seeking feedback on your experiences with these (snorkeling quality, appropriateness for family, length of time in the water, whatever other info. you think might be helpful):

 

Captain Nautica's Ultimate Snorkel Expedition (visits "2 different remote lcoations"

Castaway Barefoot Sail & Snorkel to Shipwreck Cove (goes to Buck Island)

 

Two Island Power Cat Snorkeling Adventure (goes to Turtle Cove, Mystery Cove)

 

They all sound pretty fun based on the descriptions at Carnival's website. In case it helps you provide feedback, this will be the first cruise for all of us and we're all very comfortable in the water (we live on a lake, so we have to be). Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

[ptrainer]

I just got back from St Thomas and my friends and I did a wonderful full day sail with Rumbaba Charters. Captain Bobby offers full and 1/2 day sail and snorkeling trips. The food was fantastic and the snorkeling was pretty great too. The best thing about it, is he will go where the weather is good and the masses are not. Unlike most charters that have to go to a designated place no matter what the weather. If you are interested just google Rumbaba Charters. Good Luck.

[AlanAllyn]

My family and I (wife, daughters 9 and 14) will be in St. Thomas (via Carnival Liberty) in December and would like to book a snorkeling shore excursion. The ship offers the following 3 excursions, and I'm seeking feedback on your experiences with these (snorkeling quality, appropriateness for family, length of time in the water, whatever other info. you think might be helpful):

 

Captain Nautica's Ultimate Snorkel Expedition (visits "2 different remote lcoations"

Castaway Barefoot Sail & Snorkel to Shipwreck Cove (goes to Buck Island)

 

Two Island Power Cat Snorkeling Adventure (goes to Turtle Cove, Mystery Cove)

 

They all sound pretty fun based on the descriptions at Carnival's website. In case it helps you provide feedback, this will be the first cruise for all of us and we're all very comfortable in the water (we live on a lake, so we have to be). Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

 

We enjoyed the Three Beach snorkel (including a visit to Coral World) with Homer -- http://www.nightsnorkel.com/

 

This is snorkeling from the beach and is a very small group.

 

Alan

[RysMom]

We were in St. Thomas just last week with our boys, 8 & 11, and we just took a cab to Sapphire Beach on our own. If you are looking for an excursion with some sort of boat ride than this may not interest you, but we live on the lake as well, so a boat doesn't hold much excitement for my boys. At Sapphire we were able to snorkel right from the beach. There is a coral reef on either side, and turtle grass in the middle. There is a small dive shop type booth right there at the beach that rents equipment, and they were helpful pointing out where to swim to see what (turtles, rays, fish, etc.). They held our towel/bags for us as well, and had noodles for the boys to use to help them float (they had vests for rent but they didn't want to use them since they enjoy diving down). The day we were there it was raining in the morning, but we went anyway and had the beach to ourselves for probably two hours. It started to clear up in the afternoon and the tour groups arrived. It was pretty good snorkeling, too, especially considering that you were able to get in and out, or spend as much time in the water as you wanted.

[nschille04]

We did Captain Nautica's last year and it was AMAZING. There were some more experienced snorkelers there who said they had never seen such a variety of fish. The crew even took us to an extra sight so we could see some sea turtles.

 

I cannot say enough good things about this excursion. I think it was the highlight of our trip and defiantly the best excursion I have ever been on!

[hbj]

Save money and go with New Horizons Charters. They are only $80 pp and that is for a full day. The cruise ships rip you off, do not go in that direction.

This charter is awesome. www.newhorizonsvi.com

[The Flying Pirate]

Both of those tours go out to Buck Island, Turtle Cove is on one side and gets it's name from the resident turtles. Granted they are wild animals and there are no guarantees of spotting them, but I have been out there several times and have never been disappointed. We usually book the tour through the "Doubloon" because they are fun and we have gotten to know them.

 

Shipwreck Cove is also on Buck Island and is a cove on the other side of the island from Turtle Cove. (The Shipwreck is on the south side, Turtle Cove on the west side and the Atlantis Submarine operates in the waters off the north side of the island.) The shipwreck is the Cartanizer Sr. It is broken up into several large pieces and is in about 40' of water. The water is quite clear allowing snorkelers a good view of the wreck.

 

Both are a lot of fun but I am thinking your kids would enjoy the turtle cove tour a little more, since seeing the turtles is kind of fun. I will see if I can find some pictures and post them.

[The Flying Pirate]

Here is a picture I took of one of the Turtles at Turtle Cove, Buck Island, St Thomas USVI. I was free diving (about 15-20 feet of water - no scuba just snorkel) The picture was taken with my regular Canon A720 IS powershot camera inside an underwater housing.

 

[The Flying Pirate]

Here is another view of a turtle at Turtle Cove, St Thomas.

 

[The Flying Pirate]

Here is a small section of the reef in Turtle Cove, Buck Island, off St Thomas. This is one of our favorite sports to snorkel in all the Caribbean. There are other spots that are better for scuba diving, but for snorkeling the visibility in the water and the things to see make this a favorite for us.

 

[ts&md_fishcruisers]

Hey The Flying Pirate, very nice shots of the turtle and school fish! I should have put my camera in my AquaPak and used it. Just wasn't sure of the watertightness of it after a test in the pool! Anyway, I couldn't get down during our snorkle trip...the vest must have had a bit of air in it. We went on the Castaway Girl to Buck Island and Shipwreck Cove. Almost too many, divided into two groups but still fin to fin. Enjoyed the biologist guide, wish I could recall the crew names but most informative. Saw a Hawksbill turtle, lots of reef fish, the wreck and the sail to and from was fun. We would probably do what RysMom's family did the next time we go and just do a day off the beach. That's what we did in Grand Turks and enjoyed the time there. So many harvested Conch shells scattered on the beach (have to close my eyes to all the jetsam at the hightide line along the beach). Overall, just a wonderful time on the Liberty Nov 13, 2010 Eastern Carribean (except for the hush over the St. Thomas visit by the FBI the Curise Line doesn't want to talk about; That didn't affect us though it was a shock and sad for the family of the person.)

 

Post some more photos The Flying Pirate! Wonderful to see.

[pcjmom]

We just returned from a cruise last week and we did the St. John Sea Safari by PowerCat excursion. It was GREAT! The people that run it were so much fun and they did a great job. It goes to 2 different places- first to Turtle Bay then to another spot, where we could snorkel or swim to the beach. We jumped off the front of the boat into the water. They also offered a dingy to take you to the beach, which is how we got back to the boat after the beach. I think we had more than an hour there. The drinks were flowing freely- they offered unlimited soda's, beer and yes, the famous "painkillers". Our only complaint was that they had no food- not even chips/pretzels. We were cruise passengers, so going without any food for 4 hours was not easy!!! The ride back was nice. They played great music- some island and some country. It was a very nicely done excursion and I highly recommend it! Not sure if they are all the same for each cruise line, but our boat was called the Bimini Breeze.

[GEORGIA-LARRY]

Thanks to everyone for the informative posts. The pictures by Flying Pirate are great.

[katlen36]

Anyone have any info on New Horizons Charter???

[pokergirl34]

We did the Castaway Barefoot Sail and Snorkel. The crew was nice but I wouldn't do it again. There were too many people and they kept running into me when we snorkeled. No one seemed to be paying any attention where they were going during the snorkeling tour. Honestly it kind of ruined it for me. And the tour wasn't full so there would have been even more people running into me if it was full.

 

If I were you I would look into one of the small day sails where only 6-12 people are allowed on the tour. I think it would be worth the money.

[hcat]

Here is a small section of the reef in Turtle Cove, Buck Island, off St Thomas. This is one of our favorite sports to snorkel in all the Caribbean. There are other spots that are better for scuba diving, but for snorkeling the visibility in the water and the things to see make this a favorite for us.

 

 

Great shots--thanks for sharing them-- we will only have a disposable water camera with us but would love to get some nice pics.. yours are outstanding!

 

we will try our luck with the Castaway Girl excursion,,