RCI tour Snorkel beneath the Pitons/your opinion?

[racnwdow]

Thinking about doing this tour. But not real impressed with the two pictures that RCI has down for the excursion.

 

Has anyone done this? Would you do it again? Do you wish you had skipped this one?

 

Opinions please.

[cheffip]

Thinking about doing this tour. But not real impressed with the two pictures that RCI has down for the excursion.

 

Has anyone done this? Would you do it again? Do you wish you had skipped this one?

 

Opinions please.

 

We're also considering this...anyone out there who has done it?

[pghsteelerfan]

Just saw your questions about RCI's "Snorkel Beneath the Pitons". I don't know which two pictures RCI is showing. In their description do they mention anything about Jalousie Beach (or Sugar Beach Resort)? That is the beach/Resort that is between the Pitons. I'm guessing this is the area that the tour will be. We were in St. Lucia in May, but with CCL. We did a private tour from one of the tour companies in St. Lucia. We went to Jalousie Beach and the snorkeling was at the base of one of the Pitons, Petit Piton. The beach/scenery there - very pretty. The snorkeling was some of the best I've seen. Lots of fish and the coral was very colorful. We were there early but waited till the sun was higher (and shining down on the snorkeling area) and with the sun out, the views were much better. I have pictures if either of you would be interested in seeing another perspective of the area/snorkeling (I have several underwater pictures too).

[cheffip]

Just saw your questions about RCI's "Snorkel Beneath the Pitons". I don't know which two pictures RCI is showing. In their description do they mention anything about Jalousie Beach (or Sugar Beach Resort)? That is the beach/Resort that is between the Pitons. I'm guessing this is the area that the tour will be. We were in St. Lucia in May, but with CCL. We did a private tour from one of the tour companies in St. Lucia. We went to Jalousie Beach and the snorkeling was at the base of one of the Pitons, Petit Piton. The beach/scenery there - very pretty. The snorkeling was some of the best I've seen. Lots of fish and the coral was very colorful. We were there early but waited till the sun was higher (and shining down on the snorkeling area) and with the sun out, the views were much better. I have pictures if either of you would be interested in seeing another perspective of the area/snorkeling (I have several underwater pictures too).

Yes, that is the resort and beach area. I've read mixed reviews about the quality of the snorkelling there but glad you found it to be very good. If you can post photos that would be great. :)

[pghsteelerfan]

Yes, that is the resort and beach area. I've read mixed reviews about the quality of the snorkelling there but glad you found it to be very good. If you can post photos that would be great.

 

Here are some pics

Jalousie Beach (this is Grand Piton, the larger of the two)

 

Jalousie Beach view toward Petit Piton. It's the smaller of the two, but closest to the beach (couldn't get the whole thing in pic) and the one we snorkeled right beneath

 

 

Snorkeling area from the beach (best snorkeling is farther out, where all the people are)

 

Snorkeling area from the boat - doesn't look that big, but it is. It's roped off for safety and protection.

 

Jalousie Beach from the boat as we were leaving for the day.

 

I'll post some snorkeling pictures in the next post.

[pghsteelerfan]

Snorkeling pics (from area right beneath Petit Piton). These aren't the best since I'm kind of new taking underwater pictures. The coral pictures came out the best since it doesn't move. LOL!!! I did get a few of fish. The pictures don't do all the coral justice - it was really colorful and looked best with the sun shining down on it.

 

I hope this helps. Again, I don't know which two pictures RCI's website shows so I hope these show more of what it really looks like. We were there for 4 hours and really had the best day.

 

 

 

This was really cool and never saw it before snorkeling here - it's "basket coral"

 

This is where it starts to get deep, near the ropes. Some of the coral here was pink.

 

 

 

[MommaBear55]

DH and I are generally not tour people but the price of this trip was much better than taking a cab. The scenery was breathtaking and a great way to see some sights. The snorkeling was well worth doing, especially if your are a novice snorkeler. We did not spend any time on the beach nor did we use the amenities so cannot speak to that. We would do this excursion again in a heartbeat.

[cheffip]

Many thanks pghsteelerfan...your photos are great and will really help us visualize the beach and snorkelling there.

 

And, MommaBear, did you do the ship's tour or one of the private tours that goes to the beach?

[MommaBear55]

And, MommaBear, did you do the ship's tour or one of the private tours that goes to the beach?

 

We did the ship sponsored tour. I think it was $56 a person. It was a large two deck boat, they supplied the snorkeling gear and on the way back the rum punch. They also did a running commentary about the sights. There was also a group that split off and did zip lining from the same excursion.

[NemoCrownie]

We did this excursion in February. The price was good but for all intents and purposes it was transaportation to and from the Marine Reserve with some narration on they way there and back and a quick run through Marigot Bay. The rum punch was Kool-Aid with rum in it and the snacks were a can of Pringles passed around.

 

Our first trip to St Lucia, we did Cosol which ended with time at Jalousie Beach. We didn't know about the Marine Reserve so didn't snorkel. How stupid were we?!! The snorkel beneath the Pitons takes you to the same place for about the same amount of beachtime.

 

I think Cosol was $80 vs. the $56 but you get a tour of the island, unlimited drinks, a very good food stop, snacks and time at the beach. If the extra cost isn't a deterent and you haven't been to St Lucia you might check out Cosol.

 

For next year I have inquiries in to Mystic Man and Herod's Tours to snorkel but neither has their minimum yet. We definately won't be doing the ship's excursion, though.

[magenta321]

I will second the Cosol tour. Best tour I've ever taken!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[pghsteelerfan]

OK, since we're naming private tours...we did Spencer Ambose's "Jalousie Beach Break". We met for tour right at cruise center at 8:30, took a speed boat directly to Jalousie Beach and got there at 9:30AM. Ours was the first group at the beach (besides those staying at the resort) and we had first picks of the loungers available to non-resort visitors that are under the trees by the snorkeling area. The resort also has "fancy" loungers, and I believe they could be rented for a fee. We had between 4 and 5 hours at the beach, plenty of time for snorkeling (we could snorkel all we wanted), beach time, lunch was provided at the beach (BBQ chicken, green salad, potato salad, green banana salad, two types of rice, and 4 root veggies with taro root being one). All VERY good. Also unlimited drinks (water, Piton Beer, rum punch, soft drinks). Got the "Sea Tour" on the return trip and were back at the ship at 3:45 (had to be back on by 4:30 for 5PM sail away), so plenty of time for cruise center shops. We chose Spencer's tour over the one offered by CCL because the CCL tour would only be at the beach/snorkeling for an hour and a half - not enough time to be able to get some decent snorkeling time AND beach time in. We wanted time to enjoy a good amount of time snorkeling and to be able to just relax on that beach (saw pictures ahead of time) and an hour and a half is definitely not long enough. We had a great time and it was one of the best excursions we've done while on a cruise.

[aimodels]

We Spencer's Beach Break tour last year. Here are some of our photos (start about 1/2 way through the album):

 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150709850545681.447350.567405680&type=1&l=f8f38f46d3

 

I found the snorkeling to be pretty good, and the beach is great.

 

Cheers, P:)

[pghsteelerfan]

We Spencer's Beach Break tour last year. Here are some of our photos (start about 1/2 way through the album):

 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150709850545681.447350.567405680&type=1&l=f8f38f46d3

 

I found the snorkeling to be pretty good, and the beach is great.

 

Cheers, P:)

 

Wow, love your pictures! I know in one of the snorkeling ones you got a picture of an eel, but was that a snake in the picture where you were near the rocks? So cool! Someone did a cruise review on the Carnival boards and they had a picture of a snake (could see the head and definitely wasn't an eel) that looked similar - brown with yellow spots. I was hoping to see one, but didn't. :)

[aimodels]

At the time I was convinced that it was a snake, but after doing some digging online I discovered that apparently sea snakes are not native to the caribbean (someone please correct me if I'm wrong)...

 

I believe the critter in that photo is called a sharptail eel.

 

Cheers, P:)

[pghsteelerfan]

At the time I was convinced that it was a snake, but after doing some digging online I discovered that apparently sea snakes are not native to the caribbean (someone please correct me if I'm wrong)...

 

I believe the critter in that photo is called a sharptail eel.

 

Cheers, P:)

 

Thanks - I just looked up sharptail eel - that's the one. :)

[merinski]

Thinking about doing this tour. But not real impressed with the two pictures that RCI has down for the excursion.

 

Has anyone done this? Would you do it again? Do you wish you had skipped this one?

 

Opinions please.

 

Do the Cosol day tour! We did it last year, it was great! The snorkeling was great! Bring some banana to feed the fish, from your stop at the banana plantation. The fish come like crazy!:)

[ryansmom]

OK, since we're naming private tours...we did Spencer Ambose's "Jalousie Beach Break". We met for tour right at cruise center at 8:30, took a speed boat directly to Jalousie Beach and got there at 9:30AM. Ours was the first group at the beach (besides those staying at the resort) and we had first picks of the loungers available to non-resort visitors that are under the trees by the snorkeling area. The resort also has "fancy" loungers, and I believe they could be rented for a fee. We had between 4 and 5 hours at the beach, plenty of time for snorkeling (we could snorkel all we wanted), beach time, lunch was provided at the beach (BBQ chicken, green salad, potato salad, green banana salad, two types of rice, and 4 root veggies with taro root being one). All VERY good. Also unlimited drinks (water, Piton Beer, rum punch, soft drinks). Got the "Sea Tour" on the return trip and were back at the ship at 3:45 (had to be back on by 4:30 for 5PM sail away), so plenty of time for cruise center shops. We chose Spencer's tour over the one offered by CCL because the CCL tour would only be at the beach/snorkeling for an hour and a half - not enough time to be able to get some decent snorkeling time AND beach time in. We wanted time to enjoy a good amount of time snorkeling and to be able to just relax on that beach (saw pictures ahead of time) and an hour and a half is definitely not long enough. We had a great time and it was one of the best excursions we've done while on a cruise.

 

We did this last week with Spencer. (just haven't gotten to my reviews yet)

 

First ones there and this makes a big difference! We arrived appx. 10am and left around 2:30pm. There was a lot more to see earlier in the day before the masses (land tour peeps) came and stirred up the water and chased some of the fish.

 

You DON'T want to do this through the cruiseline...it is too many people! :eek: Not only is it crowded, but more people stir the water up and 'chase' fish away. I don't think the cruiseline people made it until early afternoon. By that time, all the chairs are taken and you just don't see the things you could if you were there early.

 

We thought this was really good snorkeling and well worth the day here. If you are looking to snorkel, book this through Spencer. He wants to make sure you're the first there for the day. We were not disappointed.