Swimming With Turtles

[Martin and Lindsey]

Can anyone tell us about the RCCL tour to swim with turtles in Barbados? :rolleyes:

[clarku]

You're better off booking through Silvermoon. We just got off the Constellation 2 weeks ago and did the sea turtle excursion with Silvermoon. They charge $100pp but it includes unlimited drinks and a fantastic lunch. They limit the # of guests so that it's not a horrible crowded experience. We were very thankful that we didn't go on any of the cruise ship tours after seeing their crowded boats go drifting by. It was the highlight of our trip.

[bulldogmom]

I can't comment on the RCCL tours specifically because I've never taken one thru them, HOWEVER, we were in Barbados last April and we took a catamaran cruise that was around $100/pp thru Carnival and we were on a luxury catamaran with around 40 other people so it wasn't crowded at all. We sailed around the island and then anchored where we swam with the sea turtles. We saw quite a few, although not as many as I expected (we swam with the sting rays in Grand Cayman and somehow I expected there to be hundreds of turtles just like that) the water was really clear and we not only saw turtles but other sea life as well. We then got back on board where we were served a delicious lunch and the bar was opened, we motored up to a beach where the catamaran "docked" (it really just pulled right up on the sand) and we were given ample time to enjoy the beach. There was one other catamran beside us that did almost the exact same thing and you guessed it, it was RCCL so I'm sure that the tours are operated by the same Barbados company. After the stop at the beach we sailed back to our origination point where we disembarked and went back to the ship. It was one of the best excursions we've ever done. Note: the water was very choppy and the current was very strong the day we were there, I'm not sure if that was because of the time of year/time of day or what but an experienced swimmer might have difficulties. I'd recommend our tour to anyone though. It was called the "5-star catamaran and turtle encounter"

Hope this helps!

[alb38]

Can anyone tell us about the RCCL tour to swim with turtles in Barbados? :rolleyes:

 

Martin and Lindsey - If you can book with Silvermoon! They have two catamarans - We were on the Silvermoon 1 and they only take twelve people out. It is not crowded and Ben and Tony take care of everyone. We were picked up at 10:30 (so you have time to shop in the am.) and are taken to the catamaran. First stop is to snorkel with the turtles and second snokel stop is over a ship wreck - the turtles were neat and we saw lots of fish over the wreck. They serve you lunch - as well as some good Pina Coladas (sp?) and just cater to you. With your time you have left we just anchored off of a beach and were able to just swim around the boat and enjoy the sunshine. This was one of our favorite excursions and well worth the money!

 

Here is their website www.oceanadventures.bb

[Martin and Lindsey]

This sounds wonderful, thanks for the advice. :D

[alb38]

Martin and Lindsey -

The only thing this is a full day excursion - you get back at 4:00 with still some time to shop. If you want to see any of the island then this isn't for you. This excursions and Eli's have been my favorite excursions up to this point! You will have fun with whatever you decide to do in Barbados!!

[Martin and Lindsey]

Thanks for this advice. This is our first trip to Barbados, so we'd like to see something of the island. I think we'll stick to the RCCL swim with turtles to leave time to do something else.

Thanks so much for the help :D

[Snow Bird]

Martin & Lindsey

Have you tried Thriller they do an afternoon snorkeling tour, just 3 1/2 hours & it leaves the morning open if you would like to take a taxi & see some of the island. They took us to the turtles, coral reef & shipwrecks snorkeling & afterwards to the Boat Yard Beach. If you need to contact them for more info price & the time of their tour their e-mail thriller-ocean-tours@caribsurf.com

[Martin and Lindsey]

Thanks for this. :) We've booked with RCCL for their swim with turtles and shipwreck now, in the morning. We'll probably explore Bridgetown in the afternoon. Unless anyone out there can convince us to do something else! :D

[Just Married]

Martin & Lindsey,

 

I have to agree with SnowBird, I'm not sure what RCCL is charging for the 1/2 day tour but you can get the same thing with Thriller Adventure Tours I'm sure for cheaper, with less people and a wonderful guide - Stephen! You can take the 1/2 day (3.5 hours) for $45 in the morning or the afternoon and still have time for an island tour or shopping during the opposite time!

 

I've posted a couple other things in this forum under different threads, make sure to check them out!

 

Good luck and have fun!

 

Amy

[Martin and Lindsey]

Thanks Amy, I'll take a look. :D

[Jenni]

Not sure if this is an option, but we did a Kayak & Snorkel w/ Turtles.

[Martin and Lindsey]

Jenni, tell me more. Who did you book it with? How long was the tour and what exactly did you do?

[Jenni]

It's been about 3 years, well 3 years exactly - we were on Carnival - going off memory - mabye 3-4 hours? We kayaked for maybe an hour or so w/ a group, then hopped on the boat and they took us to a location where we snorkeled w/ huge turtles, then back on the boat w/ free drinks, beers and such. We had a great time. We bought a T-shirt and the name of the company was Ocean Adventures.

 

Hey - I found a website:

 

http://www.oceanadventures.bb/oceanadventures.htm

 

Apparently, they are tied in w/ Silvermoon.

[I Teach]

Martin and Lindsay. We are scheduled on a 5 hour "Sail and Snorkel with the turtles on March 30th with a group called "Cool Runnings". Their trip sounds great, very much like Silvermoom. Silvermoon was already booked so we went to another site and found this group. The owner has been wonderful answering all questions through the email. It is $75.00 PP and includes two snorkeling stops, one with the turtles, one over a ship wreck near a reef. A Bajan buffet lunch and some beach time is included. They are picking us up at the pier at 9 and dropping us back around 2:45. Their catamaran holds up to 70 but they only book up to 36 per trip so as not to overcrowd.

They have a good web site with photos and prices and email.

 

Click here: Cool Runnings Cruises

 

Enjoy your trip. We leave in 4 days!!

[Martin and Lindsey]

We're really looking forward to swimming with the turtles :D

I hope I don't get nervous with them swimming around us. We swam with the stingrays at Grand Cayman and I got really spooked with them swimming so close and brushing against me. It took me a while to relax and enjoy it.

[ConvincedHubbytoCruise]

Hi Everyone!

Silvermoon was booked for my date, April 27th, but they recommended upon my request a couple tour companies. Maybe this will help:

 

www.eltigrecruises.com

www.coolrunningsbarbados.com

-Jamie :D

[Martin and Lindsey]

We did this tour last week and had a great time. The boat was El Tigre; the same one in the above web site. We saw lots of large turtles which we could stroke and we filmed them using a video camera in a waterproof bag.

 

We also snorkled over a shipwreck and reef. We also stopped just off Sandy Lane beach, and you could swim to shore if you wanted to for a while.

 

Plenty of drinks offered during the sail.

The highlight of the day were the turtles. :D

[kakalina]

Hi everyone,

 

We were on the El Tigre also. We think it was one of the nicest snorkels we've taken. We had lots and lots of turtles on our swim and then we anchored off Paradise beach. They had water toys, banana boats, kayaks, and this neat thing called a Big Bertha.

 

We had a wonderful time and will certainly take this tour again.

 

Trisha