Dreamer Catamaran Sail & Lagoon Snorkel--rccl excursion

[georgiacrzr]

Dreamer Catamaran Sail & Lagoon Snorkel--rccl excursion

 

Has anyone done this excursion?

 

Dreamer Catamaran Sail & Lagoon Snorkel - FY37

 

Set sail on a state of the art 53' sailing catamaran while enjoying Montego Bay's colorful coastline as you relax on the front nets. Sail to the Bogue Lagoons Fish Sanctuary, where you can swim & snorkel. You will see a variety of coral & fish with interesting commentary provided by the guide. Enjoy relaxing music while sipping on ice cold drinks from a complimentary Jamaican bar.

 

 

 

 

Begin your adventure on a state of the art 53' sailing catamaran while enjoying Montego Bay's colorful coastline as you relax on the front nets. Sail to the Bogue Lagoons Fish Sanctuary, one of only two sanctuaries in Jamaica. Guests have an opportunity to swim or snorkel. Receive an orientation and instruction prior to entering and also learn about some of the coral and fish you will see. The experienced guides will point out interesting coral to look for & also to avoid. After snorkeling, enjoy a cruise through the Bogue Lagoons while listening to the informative fish sanctuary commentary and seeing some of the luxury homes in the Lagoons area. Enjoy easy relaxing music while sipping on ice cold drinks from the complimentary Jamaican bar featuring Red Stripe Beer on tap, rum punch, fruit punch, rum, vodka, sodas & bottled water. This tour is ideal for all ages and nature lovers, to experience this marine wonderland.

 

Guests should consider their physical fitness level and medical history when determining whether this tour is appropriate. Guests with cardiac conditions, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, other heart or respiratory conditions or any other medical condition should take particular caution when selecting a tour with snorkeling/swimming elements. Guests who have concerns should consult with their personal physician before engaging in any activity that may be strenuous for them.

[kdep2002]

I posted a similar thread in reference to the same FY37 recently. I see there have been some views but no replies. The family really enjoys snorkeling but am not sure about snorkeling in Jamaica compared to Grand Cayman or Cozumel. Sounds fun but haven't booked yet.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1374098&highlight=

[georgiacrzr]

It sounds good to me.

 

RCCL said that the catamaran leaves from the ship....I wonder how close to the ship?

 

I'd love to hear from someone who has done the excursion.

 

Thanks!

[jacksmom09]

Anyone else try this??:confused: We are trying to decide on an excursion, but are finding it difficult!:eek:

[georgiacrzr]

Has anyone done a boat trip out of Falmouth?

[cruisefrk]

We just enjoyed this excursion while aboard the Oasis (June 2011).

 

The bus ride is about 45 minutes to the beach. There is a bathroom right before you board the catamaran. The water is absolutely beautiful, the 2 Cats that they have are in excellent condition and the crew was very friendly and helpful. They served drinks from start to finish (rum punch, punch and water). They had an outstanding homemade raisin bread with cheese as a snack. The bread was great -odd with the cheese however. But its not advertised to have food so it was nice to have a little food in your stomach as it was a bit rough on the way back.

 

We sailed to the snorkel site first. It was not too far from shore. We snorkeled for about 45 minutes. The boat was pretty full but you could find seats in the shade or the sun. (There is a head on board but you have to go down steep stairs to get to it). I have snorkeled in all the Caribbean ports and found this to be a very healthy reef, much better than any I have seen in years. After the snorkel the crew took us for about another 45 minutes to see some of the coastline and they stopped to pull up some sea cucumbers. Then we sailed back with the sails up - we had fun as it was a bit rough and the water was coming up over the bow. The crew were excellent seaman.

 

The busdriver did stop on the way back at some run-down local gift shop area for 20 minutes. We stayed on the airconditioned bus and noticed most people came back on the bus without puchasing anything. Our guess was his friends owned the building.

 

You end the tour right by the ship in the new port they have built. Its still under construction right now but looks like it will be a great shopping stop eventually. You could walk across the street to the local straw market (if you dared)...

 

Pros; The reef was OUTSTANDING!!! It was a very healthy reef. We saw some amazing colorful fish, Sea Cucumbers, Sea urchants, some cool caterpilar thing and so much more that I dont even know what you call them! I was very impressed with the health.

 

It was not too rough of a busride. Sometimes these roads can be rough making you sick. But I didnt think it was too bad. Thankfully they did not squish people into the buses that hold about 30.

 

The crew was fun and helpful.

 

Cons:

The Bus driver (Biggie) tried to be a comedian on the ride to the Catamaran. He was very loud and did tell some jokes that may be offensive to some, he played some of his music so loud I felt bad for the man with the hearing aide. (He did share some information about the area and you can tell he loves his home.)

The crew on the boat did not provide good direction to the guests about snorkeling. Some idiot kept standing on the coral/reef. I have to admit this was my first snorkel trip that they served alcohol prior to snorkeling.

They did not have enough masks for everyone on the boat. I think it was about 3 or 5 people that did not get to snorkel and planned to get their money back (rightfully so).

 

Overall - I found it a great afternoon.

[momneedsrest]

Thank you thank you thank you Cruisefrk! Your thoughts about this excursion are so helpful. I have been concerned about the amount of travel time from the port to the cats. I get the feeling this did not pose a problem, though which will help us make our decision.

[Sy-Snootles2000]

I am also maybe interested in booking this tour in October on RCCL Freedom. Any other suggestions/opinions?

[wolfganghowell]

Just the thought of wasting an hour and a half roundtrip on a bus irritates me. Why can't RCCL do some excursions that leave FROM Falmouth instead of having to go to OR or MoBay. :( I'd love the excursion itself but NOT being on a bus that long.

[Cruisin' R.N.]

We just enjoyed this excursion while aboard the Oasis (June 2011).

 

The bus ride is about 45 minutes to the beach. There is a bathroom right before you board the catamaran. The water is absolutely beautiful, the 2 Cats that they have are in excellent condition and the crew was very friendly and helpful. They served drinks from start to finish (rum punch, punch and water). They had an outstanding homemade raisin bread with cheese as a snack. The bread was great -odd with the cheese however. But its not advertised to have food so it was nice to have a little food in your stomach as it was a bit rough on the way back.

 

We sailed to the snorkel site first. It was not too far from shore. We snorkeled for about 45 minutes. The boat was pretty full but you could find seats in the shade or the sun. (There is a head on board but you have to go down steep stairs to get to it). I have snorkeled in all the Caribbean ports and found this to be a very healthy reef, much better than any I have seen in years. After the snorkel the crew took us for about another 45 minutes to see some of the coastline and they stopped to pull up some sea cucumbers. Then we sailed back with the sails up - we had fun as it was a bit rough and the water was coming up over the bow. The crew were excellent seaman.

 

The busdriver did stop on the way back at some run-down local gift shop area for 20 minutes. We stayed on the airconditioned bus and noticed most people came back on the bus without puchasing anything. Our guess was his friends owned the building.

 

You end the tour right by the ship in the new port they have built. Its still under construction right now but looks like it will be a great shopping stop eventually. You could walk across the street to the local straw market (if you dared)...

 

Pros; The reef was OUTSTANDING!!! It was a very healthy reef. We saw some amazing colorful fish, Sea Cucumbers, Sea urchants, some cool caterpilar thing and so much more that I dont even know what you call them! I was very impressed with the health.

 

It was not too rough of a busride. Sometimes these roads can be rough making you sick. But I didnt think it was too bad. Thankfully they did not squish people into the buses that hold about 30.

 

The crew was fun and helpful.

 

Cons:

The Bus driver (Biggie) tried to be a comedian on the ride to the Catamaran. He was very loud and did tell some jokes that may be offensive to some, he played some of his music so loud I felt bad for the man with the hearing aide. (He did share some information about the area and you can tell he loves his home.)

The crew on the boat did not provide good direction to the guests about snorkeling. Some idiot kept standing on the coral/reef. I have to admit this was my first snorkel trip that they served alcohol prior to snorkeling.

They did not have enough masks for everyone on the boat. I think it was about 3 or 5 people that did not get to snorkel and planned to get their money back (rightfully so).

 

Overall - I found it a great afternoon.

 

We are sailing in 4 days and would like to do the Dreamer, however when we try to reserve it shows a 9:30 excursion departure time yet the Oasis doesn't dock until 10. How does this work??

 

Thanks!

[wannasail4ever]

I'm looking at this excursion for October too. Glad to hear that there are actually fish there! Not particularly concerned about the bus ride. Just wondering if you spend any time on the beach at all.

 

Macy

[litljenj]

We just did this excurion last week. (7/13) We LOVED it. The downside is the looooonnnnnng trip to the catamaran. I suppose on the way back it was ok because I took a little nap...

 

Otherwise, the crew was OUTSTANDING, the ship was clean and comfortable, the view was incredible and the the snorkeling was great. A key point that my friends pointed out was that when we were in the water, the crew was in the water with us, keeping an eye out and experiencing what we experienced. That was was plus because they were able to relate those experiences into their "guided tour" of the mangroves. Also, the crew was totally into the guests, even offering foot massages on the way back. All the gals liked that.

 

Our group was small, so we didn't have the unfortunate experience of running out of masks or snorkels.

 

Finally, my friends took their 1 year old daughter and I took my 8 year old son. They both had a good time- easy enough for them to get a little snorkel/catamaran experience.

[neptune18]

We just did this, wouldn't do it again. Snorkeling was decent but afterwards you just sail around for an hour more. They sail up to a mangrove which is basically just a big tree in the water. They then pulled up a sea cucumber and a jellyfish to show everyone. It was really hot on the boat. If you wanted shade there was no airflow or breeze under the canopy so you had to choose between sun or heat. The timing was also bad as there was no food (but plenty of booze ) served but we didn't get back to ship until about 4:00. We had dinner reservations at 7:00 so we really didn't eat lunch, just a light snack.

[PeggyLovesCats]

I'm also hesitant to book anything so far from the ship. I'd rather get on the cat nearer to Falmouth. I don't want to spend hours driving with my 2 kids - I do that at home! :)

[Buckeyebrd]

:confused: I am with wolfganghowell on this one. Why can't Royal Caribbean figure out a way where you can catch your excursions at the Falmouth Port instead of a 30 to 45 minute bus ride to Montego Bay? We always just get off the boat and look at the shops and then back on the boat, but would love to have more options. We would love a Catamaran ride from the boat for a couple hours and not have to spend more time in the transportation back and forth than the excursion itself. Very frustrating. I guess we could choose a different boat so we don't have to go to Falmouth, but that is not what we want to do either.