Eastern Itinerary Allure Snorkeling?

[Jmcphillipsjr]

Which stop on the Eastern Tour would you recommend for the best Snorkeling?

[tahqa]

The St Thomas Turtle Cove Sail and Snorkel is pretty good.

 

Neither St Thomas nor St Maarten are great for scuba diving (good, but not great) and of the two I'd say St Thomas was better. So the snorkeling is probably pretty similar.

 

Scuba in Nassau is top-notch, but snorkeling is done on the opposite side of the island so I really can't speak for snorkeling there.

[Jmcphillipsjr]

Thanks for that. Is there anyone else with an opinion?

[hubofhockey]

Thanks for that. Is there anyone else with an opinion?

 

If you have your own snorkeling equipment, there is pretty good snorkeling right off the beach at Orient Beach in St Martin. No need for any excursion. Just take a taxi to the beach and enjoy the day. If you take a ferry out to St John, the snorkeling there is also pretty good. There is actually a trail for snorkeling. Easy.

[karena1]

If you want good snorkeling and don't want to spend the time/money to go to St John, then go to Sapphire Beach in STT. The snorkeling there is really good. Just grab a cab, no reason to do an excursion. We have seen sea turtles and tons of different fish/plant life there. Coki is good also, but I like the beach at Sapphire better.

 

We don't think Orient has good snorkeling at all, to much activity in the water there. That is a great people watching beach and tons of water sports there. We love Orient and go there all the time but would not snorkel there.

[hubofhockey]

We don't think Orient has good snorkeling at all, to much activity in the water there. That is a great people watching beach and tons of water sports there. We love Orient and go there all the time but would not snorkel there.

 

There is a reef near where Pedro's is on Orient Beach which has some pretty good snorkeling. That's where to go in St Martin. Pinel Island has decent snorkeling and some ballyhoos as well. But Orient Beach is a more fun beach and that reef in front of Pedro's is a good spot. Of course, it's close to clothing optional part of the beach.

[karena1]

There is a reef near where Pedro's is on Orient Beach which has some pretty good snorkeling. That's where to go in St Martin. Pinel Island has decent snorkeling and some ballyhoos as well. But Orient Beach is a more fun beach and that reef in front of Pedro's is a good spot.

 

We have been to Pinel when we stayed at Orient for a week and did not think the snorkeling was very good there. I agree with you, Orient is more of a fun beach, just relax and enjoy the day.

[hubofhockey]

We have been to Pinel when we stayed at Orient for a week and did not think the snorkeling was very good there. I agree with you, Orient is more of a fun beach, just relax and enjoy the day.

 

The water at Pinel isn't as nice either. We stayed on the French Side righ on Orient Beach for a week as well. Pinel was just okay.

[sharod]

My hubby went snorkeling before SCUBA diving at Coki beach in St Thomas. Lots of fish. They eat dog biscuits out of your hands.

[dohertm1]

Which stop on the Eastern Tour would you recommend for the best Snorkeling?

 

Best snorkeling by far was on St. John at Trunk Bay. Amazing, beautiful, serene crystal clear waters, unlike Orient on St. Martin, which has lots of waves and is not great for snorkeling. Trunk Bay is part of the park system on St. John and it has an underwater snorkeling trail. We went there on our own after our ship docked in St. Thomas. We took the ferry to St. John and spent about 5 hours at Trunk Bay. Fellow passengers on Freedom of the then Seas took the ship's snorkeling excursion to Trunk Bay and got only 90 minutes in the water. We like to do our own thing and this was one of the best memories of our cruise!

 

The snorkeling on Royal's tiny private island in the Bahamas is just OK - water was a bit cloudy - but there were lots of fish the farther you swam out. Bring your own snorkeling equipment and you will save a ton of money in the long run.

 

If you ever take the Western itinerary, the snorkeling on Cozumel is fantasic because the reefs are close to the shore. Have fun!

[Az's Cruising Nana]

I second Turtle Cove it was a great excursion and the guides did a great job. We snorkeled in the Bahamas many moons ago. It was not off the RCCL private island. That also was some of the best snorkeling we have done.

 

Sue