Liberty of the Sea - Western Caribbean Snorkeling

[smilepak]

Hi,

 

On the Western Caribbean route out of Galveston, TX, if you had to choose one of the island to do snorkeling with, which one do you recommend?

 

The route will go to Ports: Galveston, Cozumel, Georgetown (Grand Cayman), Falmouth, Galveston

 

I'll be traveling with some first time cruisers and a couple who can't swim. So would like to know if you have a recommended one where it is not only great with clear water and a lot of fish, but simple for beginner as well.

 

Care to share photo if you have some.

 

Thanks.

[Clarea]

I would choose Roatan for snorkeling.

[hawk1972]

There is some decent snorkeling at Cozumel but I would say Grand Cayman is your best bet of those three destinations. We have done a combination snorkel, stingray, beach excursion there.

 

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[JTBCruiser]

Ditto on Grand Cayman, check out Stingray Sailing or Nature Ways Rays, Reef and Rum Point. Very good ratings on Trip Advisor.

[cruiselvr04]

Grand Cayman is the best but I agree Roatan is better. We have done the Rays, reef and rum point twice and it combines a lot that ends up being a full fun day. There isn't a lot of time to snorkle though.

 

Snorkeling is very good on your own just to the right of where the ship docks at Eden. Easy walk and if if you have your own gear it's no cost. Shore snorkeling down a ladder.

 

See The ports of call board for more details.

[Sky616]

Definitely stingray city in Grand Cayman. The water is only around 3' deep.

[ColoradoGurl]

Grand cayman.

Cozumel has good diving/snorkeling too, but they always seems to have really choppy water when we visit. We've even had a scuba excursion canceled because of too much wind (causing too many waves, unsafe water and low visibility).

 

 

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[KathiB]

Colorado Girl. We are going to be in Cozumel next Feb. 2018. We plan to dive there and are looking forward to it. We get in at 10:30am and already one dive shop I contacted cannot book us because of our late arrival time. I would hate to book through the ship and have to cancel because of weather. What time of year were you there? If we book through the ship and it's cancelled I wonder if there is time to book something else. Thanks.

[ColoradoGurl]

Colorado Girl. We are going to be in Cozumel next Feb. 2018. We plan to dive there and are looking forward to it. We get in at 10:30am and already one dive shop I contacted cannot book us because of our late arrival time. I would hate to book through the ship and have to cancel because of weather. What time of year were you there? If we book through the ship and it's cancelled I wonder if there is time to book something else. Thanks.

 

 

We were also there in February (the last week). We didn't book through the ship, but I do know that when the ship cancels an excursion they will refund your money and if there are open spots in other excursions you can always join those. Usually if it's too windy for a dive with one company, they all tend to cancel, so it doesn't matter if you book private or with the ship, it would get cancelled either way.

 

If you book private they don't take any money from you until you complete the excursion so if it's cancelled you won't have to worry about tracking the company down to get your money back. I hope the weather is better for you though.

 

 

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[LeeW]

Cayman is a pretty good place for folks that haven't snorkeled before. Take a combo rays and snorkel trip. Rays is in chest deep water (varies a bit with tide). No fins allowed but with mask you can watch the rays and people underwater. Snorkeling is a few hundred yards away inside the reef, so is usually pretty tame.

 

That said, GC is a tender port and sometimes ships can't get in. We've missed them twice. Tours get refunded if paid in advance, so that isn't a concern. We've also had the island authorities close the ray area due to cloudy water and waves. Rays are big pussycats, but you need to be able to see your feet to avoid stepping on one.

[39august]

I believe Rays, Reef and Rum Point excursion is thru' Native Way, not Nature Way. Yes, of those ports, your best bet is Grand Cayman. However, to save $$ and also have some pretty good snorkeling, I would do Eden Rock as an above poster suggested. Just to the right of the tender dock when facing town a couple of blocks. There is a dive shop there if you need to rent gear.

[grand isle joe]

We just returned from Grand Cayman and went on the Catamaran Sail and snorkel through RCL. Nice sail and you go to two spots for snorkeling. One a reef with plenty of fish and coral and the second a sunken ex Navy ship used as an artificial reef. Then set out for a relaxing sail. Nice time. They supply all the snorkel gear if you don't have any. Belize is probably the best followed by Roatan which others have suggested.

[eel]

The snorkeling in Cozumel is amazing. If you have already done Stingray City in Grand Cayman you may want to check out Cozumel H20 for a snorkel trip. We did "drift snorkeling" with them. The boat drops you off with a guide. You follow the guide with the current and the boat picks you up. We did three different reefs and saw lots of great sea life including sharks, rays and turtles. They knew where to go to avoid the crowds. There were 4 ships in port and we never saw any other snorkelers. They only take a small group (8 max I think). We only had four people with 2 guides so very personal attention.

[smilepak]

Thanks! Grand Cayman stingray it is!

[Annabanana1234]

Cozumel is pretty nice but I agree with a previous post that it can be windy and the current may be too much for your friends if not good swimmers.

[hawk1972]

The only place I have snorkeled in Cozumel was at Chankanaab from the shore. There was quite a lot to see and we didn't explore all the underwater features. It was pretty rough getting in and out of the water though and it is very rocky -- no sandy beach. But once we were in it wasn't bad. They rent all the equipment there if you need it.

 

I'm sure there are better places to snorkel if you go with a guide.