Chose Sergeant Cay through Carnival - Anyone take this recently?

[2Okies]

We were signed up for cavetubing, but someone here at home told us they had taken it, and the water was really cold. We go next week, and since its January, I was a little concerned about that. I've been snorkeling in one of the Caribbean caves before - and it was cold. Not sure I wanted to be cold for that long....

 

Anyway, we changed our excursion to the Sergeant Cay Snorkeling through Carnival. It had pretty good reviews on the Carnival website. Has anyone done this excursion recently? We love to snorkel, and since we ARE going to the great barrier reef, we hated to lose that opportunity. I just hope we picked a good place.

 

We would love to hear from someone that has taken this excursion recently. We will be there next Thursday (Jan 23).

 

Thanks!

[littlered87]

following

[Mamatothree]

Following, too :)

[QueenofEverything]

We were signed up for cavetubing, but someone here at home told us they had taken it, and the water was really cold. We go next week, and since its January, I was a little concerned about that. I've been snorkeling in one of the Caribbean caves before - and it was cold. Not sure I wanted to be cold for that long....

 

Anyway, we changed our excursion to the Sergeant Cay Snorkeling through Carnival. It had pretty good reviews on the Carnival website. Has anyone done this excursion recently? We love to snorkel, and since we ARE going to the great barrier reef, we hated to lose that opportunity. I just hope we picked a good place.

 

We would love to hear from someone that has taken this excursion recently. We will be there next Thursday (Jan 23).

 

Thanks!

 

Um.....you do know that the Great Barrier Reef is in Australia, right?

[blue_water]

Um.....you do know that the Great Barrier Reef is in Australia, right?

 

Queen I'm sure 2Okies wasn't referring to the Great Barrier Reef as he didn't capitalize the words as you did.

It is indeed the largest barrier reef in the Western hemisphere and longest in the world and quite spectacular along with the three separate atoll reefs.

 

And the GBR is northeast of Australia, not in Australia :)

[2Okies]

Yes - I misspoke when I said great barrier reef - as it I know that is in Australia. But, Belize is known for its amazing reefs, and we were hoping to see get some good snorkeling in. We were disappointed.

 

I did a review on Sergeant Cay in another post that has had no comments. We took the excursion last week thru Carnival, and we were on the Magic.

 

It was very convenient to have them pick us up at the ship so we didn't have to tender into the island first. The trip out to the reef was only 25 minutes or so, and was an easy ride in a big ferry-type double-decker boat. They insisted we wear the snorkel vests, and said to just blow them up slightly - just enough to keep you buoyant. They did say if you were experienced, and after you were in the water and were confident, you could release the air. However, I was glad for the vest, as I'm not the strongest swimmer, and the current and waves were a little much, and I got tired easily. We had about 40+ people on the boat, and the guides preferred we all stay in basically the same area, so I got kicked and knocked around a bit. It was pretty crowded. (Which is why we usually try to go w/private excursions, but we couldn't find one of those either!) We were in about 15-20' of water I would guess. It may have been deeper closer to the breaks, but I didn't go out that far because of the current & waves I was struggling with. As for the snorkeling, there were a few formations and coral hit & miss in the water w/a few fish. But, I didn't think the formations were that pretty. We had been in Roatan the day before & snorkeled & it was absolutely gorgeous and there were 1000's of colorful fish! This did not compare to that beauty at all. My DH said he went out to the breaks, and the coral was more plentiful, was a little more colorful, and he saw a few more fish.

I swam back to the boat after about 45 minutes because I was exhausted - and I wasn't the only one who did. The boat already had a dozen or so people on it. My DH stayed out almost for the entire time allowed - probably an hour or a little more. I heard others commenting on how strong the current was, and others had struggled in the water as well.

The Carnival excursion page said this went to a beach, but we never went to land. We passed a deserted looking island that had chairs & some facilities, and the guides said they take "some" excursions there. I don't know why we didn't stop there. But, it was all good. They took us directly back to the ship. We had plenty of time to clean up, and we took the ship tender into Belize to shop at the small port for a while.

Would I recommend this excursion? Probably not. There may be better places to snorkel in Belize. However, before the cruise, I had problems getting anyone to reply back to any of my inquiries about snorkeling spots around Belize to get any recommendations. So, good luck to you in finding any information about snorkeling.

We were originally signed up to do the cave tubing, and now I kind of wished we had done that. A couple at our dining table did it and said it was great.

So...maybe next time.

Edited January 29, 2014 by 2Okies

[IDKaren]

Thanks for your review!!! Princess has a barrier reef excursion and I have posted on that board PLUS this board trying to find details.. and have not had any answers! I have been thinking of canceling due to too many people kicking me and the sand we are experienced snorkelers so we are used to be on our own. Now I think we may cancel :(

 

Yes - I misspoke when I said great barrier reef - as it I know that is in Australia. But, Belize is known for its amazing reefs, and we were hoping to see get some good snorkeling in. We were disappointed.

 

I did a review on Sergeant Cay in another post that has had no comments. We took the excursion last week thru Carnival, and we were on the Magic.

 

It was very convenient to have them pick us up at the ship so we didn't have to tender into the island first. The trip out to the reef was only 25 minutes or so, and was an easy ride in a big ferry-type double-decker boat. They insisted we wear the snorkel vests, and said to just blow them up slightly - just enough to keep you buoyant. They did say if you were experienced, and after you were in the water and were confident, you could release the air. However, I was glad for the vest, as I'm not the strongest swimmer, and the current and waves were a little much, and I got tired easily. We had about 40+ people on the boat, and the guides preferred we all stay in basically the same area, so I got kicked and knocked around a bit. It was pretty crowded. (Which is why we usually try to go w/private excursions, but we couldn't find one of those either!) We were in about 15-20' of water I would guess. It may have been deeper closer to the breaks, but I didn't go out that far because of the current & waves I was struggling with. As for the snorkeling, there were a few formations and coral hit & miss in the water w/a few fish. But, I didn't think the formations were that pretty. We had been in Roatan the day before & snorkeled & it was absolutely gorgeous and there were 1000's of colorful fish! This did not compare to that beauty at all. My DH said he went out to the breaks, and the coral was more plentiful, was a little more colorful, and he saw a few more fish.

I swam back to the boat after about 45 minutes because I was exhausted - and I wasn't the only one who did. The boat already had a dozen or so people on it. My DH stayed out almost for the entire time allowed - probably an hour or a little more. I heard others commenting on how strong the current was, and others had struggled in the water as well.

The Carnival excursion page said this went to a beach, but we never went to land. We passed a deserted looking island that had chairs & some facilities, and the guides said they take "some" excursions there. I don't know why we didn't stop there. But, it was all good. They took us directly back to the ship. We had plenty of time to clean up, and we took the ship tender into Belize to shop at the small port for a while.

Would I recommend this excursion? Probably not. There may be better places to snorkel in Belize. However, before the cruise, I had problems getting anyone to reply back to any of my inquiries about snorkeling spots around Belize to get any recommendations. So, good luck to you in finding any information about snorkeling.

We were originally signed up to do the cave tubing, and now I kind of wished we had done that. A couple at our dining table did it and said it was great.

So...maybe next time.

[2Okies]

Thanks for your review!!! Princess has a barrier reef excursion and I have posted on that board PLUS this board trying to find details.. and have not had any answers! I have been thinking of canceling due to too many people kicking me and the sand we are experienced snorkelers so we are used to be on our own. Now I think we may cancel :(

 

You're welcome. I had the same problem on the Belize board - no good information.

I don't know if you're ship is going to Roatan, but the snorkeling there was absolutely GORGEOUS! Breathtaking reef, coral & fish!

We snorkeled at Maya Key where we snorkeled at the end of a pier and we could only get that excursion through Carnival. I'm not sure if Princess cruises go there or not. However, I read a lot of people go to West Bay and snorkel from the beach, and say it is beautiful as well.

 

Belize may be a great "diving" place, but I could never get anyone to comment on any snorkeling excursions. Maybe a land excursion is the best bet.

 

Good luck to you!