Only want water excursions that do NOT feed fishes

[sjkoen]

Heading out on a Cook Islands & Society Islands PG cruise. I'm sad to see so many excursions that mention or show feeding the fishes. It's bad for the coral - fishes don't eat enough algae from coral and can lead to fish starvation. https://sevenseasmedia.org/5-things-you-might-not-know-about-fish-feeding/#:~:text=Fish feeding can lead to,to fish starving to death.

 

I know this isn't limited to PG. However, has anyone found water excursions, especially snorkeling, that do NOT feed the fishes? 

 

I'll see if I can contact excursion providers directly, but I'm not sure how feasible that is.

 

Thanks.

[FlightMedic555]

Pure Snorkeling on Bora Bora does not feed the fish. TeKing on Aitutaki does.  I don’t remember the ship snorkeling excursion on Aitutaki feeding the fish.  The drift snorkel on Taha’a does not feed the fish either.  The snorkeling at the PG motu on Taha’a has decent snorkeling and no fish feeding.  I have found that those excursions that list snorkeling with rays and sharks commonly feed them. 

[TheDarkestBlue]

We just had a great day out with Bora Bora H2O, really nice small boat, only 5 of us and excellent communication - nice people, no feeding the fish, 4 stops... swam with eagle rays 😍

 

https://boraborah2o.com/

 

 

[Leejnd4]

11 hours ago, TheDarkestBlue said:

We just had a great day out with Bora Bora H2O, really nice small boat, only 5 of us and excellent communication - nice people, no feeding the fish, 4 stops... swam with eagle rays 😍

 

https://boraborah2o.com/

 

 

 

I'm SOOO happy to hear this! We have BoraBoraH2O booked for our upcoming cruise as well, and I'm really happy to hear that you had a great day, and no fish feeding. I keep hearing they are the best in Bora!

[sjkoen]

Thanks for the feedback. Will look at BoraBoraH2O

 

For non PG organized excursions - do you plan on afternoon or late morning? Nervous about timing for getting ashore - I believe I read that PG excursions get priority. Thanks!

[Leejnd4]

Well, BoraBoraH2O is currently only doing morning excursions for cruisers. But I wouldn't worry about getting ashore. Yes, the first tenders are supposed to be solely for PG excursions, but on my last PG cruise I don't recall having any problems getting on one of the first tenders and getting ashore in plenty of time for the private tours we had booked. For our upcoming PG cruise, we're doing a snorkel trip with BoraBoraH2O and they are picking us up right on the dock where the PG tenders drop us off. They just asked us to be sure to get on the earliest tender we can.

 

Just let your tour op know that you're coming from the PG. They work with lots of PG cruisers so they know the drill. 🙂 And be out there ready to hop on a tender as soon as you can!

[sjkoen]

6 hours ago, Leejnd4 said:

Well, BoraBoraH2O is currently only doing morning excursions for cruisers. But I wouldn't worry about getting ashore. Yes, the first tenders are supposed to be solely for PG excursions, but on my last PG cruise I don't recall having any problems getting on one of the first tenders and getting ashore in plenty of time for the private tours we had booked. For our upcoming PG cruise, we're doing a snorkel trip with BoraBoraH2O and they are picking us up right on the dock where the PG tenders drop us off. They just asked us to be sure to get on the earliest tender we can.

 

Just let your tour op know that you're coming from the PG. They work with lots of PG cruisers so they know the drill. 🙂 And be out there ready to hop on a tender as soon as you can!

Thanks! We just booked with them. 😀

[TheDarkestBlue]

1 hour ago, Leejnd4 said:

Well, BoraBoraH2O is currently only doing morning excursions for cruisers.

 

We just did the afternoon 1pm snorkel,  2 days ago on our first day of 2 in Bora Bora, sooooo? Not sure what you are talking about? 🤔 

[TheDarkestBlue]

2 hours ago, sjkoen said:

Thanks for the feedback. Will look at BoraBoraH2O

 

For non PG organized excursions - do you plan on afternoon or late morning? Nervous about timing for getting ashore - I believe I read that PG excursions get priority. Thanks!

 

There was no time we couldn't get on the first tender, and there was always plenty of room, it's not like queing up for a mega ship. We did both private and PG excursions - we were never turned away.  Don't sweat it, all the private excursions we took are used to dealing with PG and know the drill about timing.

[Leejnd4]

12 hours ago, TheDarkestBlue said:

 

We just did the afternoon 1pm snorkel,  2 days ago on our first day of 2 in Bora Bora, sooooo? Not sure what you are talking about? 🤔 

Interesting. They told us they were only running the morning tours. So I swear I didn’t make that up. But our cruise isn’t until November so maybe that’s a slow season? No idea.

 

But that’s what “I’m talking about”. it’s what they told me. 
 

Hope you enjoyed your tour. 

[RLK33853]

Same here - we are also booked in November and only a morning tour was offered.  Who knows the reasoning - seasonal, equipment/boat availability, shortage of personnel???

[mermaid 285]

1 hour ago, RLK33853 said:

Same here - we are also booked in November and only a morning tour was offered.  Who knows the reasoning - seasonal, equipment/boat availability, shortage of personnel???

I believe, from what I have read that if you want to see Manta rays that you need a morning tour, so it appears therefore that a morning tour would be the better option.  Perhaps TheDarkestBlue could fill us in what the afternoon tour was like and what they saw?  In low season maybe it's only worth their while running the morning tour.

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

November is slower than June ... many local families take late November through the first of the year off.

 

FYI ... the water is usually clearer in the morning as there is less wind  ... typically

[Leejnd4]

17 hours ago, TheDarkestBlue said:

 

We just did the afternoon 1pm snorkel,  2 days ago on our first day of 2 in Bora Bora, sooooo? Not sure what you are talking about? 🤔 

Sooooo…as others have confirmed, turns out I wasn’t crazy. So THAT’S what I was talking about! 😂

[TheDarkestBlue]

On 6/18/2023 at 5:36 PM, Leejnd4 said:

Sooooo…as others have confirmed, turns out I wasn’t crazy. So THAT’S what I was talking about! 😂

 

On 6/18/2023 at 3:24 PM, mermaid 285 said:

I believe, from what I have read that if you want to see Manta rays that you need a morning tour, so it appears therefore that a morning tour would be the better option.  Perhaps TheDarkestBlue could fill us in what the afternoon tour was like and what they saw?  In low season maybe it's only worth their while running the morning tour.

 

Hey LeeAnne 🙂 you're the one who brought up the word crazy not me, LOL! 🤪

 

It's not the case that they only offer mornings to the cruisers, whatever you want is available. If you only have one day there in Bora Bora, then you'll never make it back to the tender for doing the afternoon session, the sun was descending into a beautiful sunset when we finished dropping off the other two snorkelers at their hotel, by the time we got back to the dock it was close to  5:30. When I was booking this, I had a chat with Aimee about it, and while she encouraged me to go early in the morning that I would see more things, I really wanted to have a day where we could sleep in, which is what we did. 

 

First we went to a large coral garden, then we went off to find Manta Rays, which are the things they see more of in the morning, but not always. It was a hard swim to the edge of the channel over very deep water (they take your abilities/level into consideration). No manta rays. Then we went to a lagoonarium, very beautiful, then somewhere else and found a group of eagle rays that we swam over, tracking them a bit, so serene and graceful 😊 We had a good time and felt we saw a lot. 

 

I would add that you should bring your Paul Gauguin snorkel gear with you for all the excursions, even though the companies say they can provide equipment, it was much easier to use your own stuff that you've already fitted.

Edited June 27, 2023 by TheDarkestBlue

[teamlam]

On 6/26/2023 at 6:29 PM, TheDarkestBlue said:

 

 

Hey LeeAnne 🙂 you're the one who brought up the word crazy not me, LOL! 🤪

 

It's not the case that they only offer mornings to the cruisers, whatever you want is available. If you only have one day there in Bora Bora, then you'll never make it back to the tender for doing the afternoon session, the sun was descending into a beautiful sunset when we finished dropping off the other two snorkelers at their hotel, by the time we got back to the dock it was close to  5:30. When I was booking this, I had a chat with Aimee about it, and while she encouraged me to go early in the morning that I would see more things, I really wanted to have a day where we could sleep in, which is what we did. 

 

First we went to a large coral garden, then we went off to find Manta Rays, which are the things they see more of in the morning, but not always. It was a hard swim to the edge of the channel over very deep water (they take your abilities/level into consideration). No manta rays. Then we went to a lagoonarium, very beautiful, then somewhere else and found a group of eagle rays that we swam over, tracking them a bit, so serene and graceful 😊 We had a good time and felt we saw a lot. 

 

I would add that you should bring your Paul Gauguin snorkel gear with you for all the excursions, even though the companies say they can provide equipment, it was much easier to use your own stuff that you've already fitted.

hi. we will be heading to FP in october. just to confirm, which h2o tour did you sign up for that allowed you to visit teh coral graden, lagoonarium and see manta rays? thanks 

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by teamlam

[TheDarkestBlue]

1 hour ago, teamlam said:

hi. we will be heading to FP in october. just to confirm, which h2o tour did you sign up for that allowed you to visit teh coral graden, lagoonarium and see manta rays? thanks 

 

 

Hi! We did the half day snorkel in the afternoon, see below:

 

https://boraborah2o.com/bora-bora-snorkeling-tours.html

 

HALF DAY TOUR 3.5 HOURS

• Several stops in which we aim to see the inner reefs, manta rays, eagle rays, a place teeming with life, a beautiful coral garden and if we are lucky more.
• Pick up time dependant on where you are based but usually between 8:15 am – 8:45 am for mornings and 12:45-13:15 pm for the afternoons

[YoPhilly]

On 6/15/2023 at 11:22 PM, TheDarkestBlue said:

We just had a great day out with Bora Bora H2O, really nice small boat, only 5 of us and excellent communication - nice people, no feeding the fish, 4 stops... swam with eagle rays 😍

 

https://boraborah2o.com/

 

 

We booked with them for January.  Can you tell me if their boats have a cover from the sun?

[TheDarkestBlue]

49 minutes ago, YoPhilly said:

We booked with them for January.  Can you tell me if their boats have a cover from the sun?

 

The boat was really nice! It has a power bimini, sort of convertible roof, very cool. We had a great time zipping around - they do have an open bow with seating, so make sure if it's important to be in the shade, to sit in the back because everybody tends to grab the same seat they took originally. Also, I would bring your snorkel gear from the ship, so to not waste time trying to put together a set of snorkel gear on the boat that works for you. See below, the top comes all the way down so that it's flush with the top of the windshield. They have juice and water on board, which is nice coming out of the saltwater 🌊

Edited August 9, 2023 by TheDarkestBlue

[YoPhilly]

35 minutes ago, TheDarkestBlue said:

 

The boat was really nice! It has a power bimini, sort of convertible roof, very cool. We had a great time zipping around - they do have an open bow with seating, so make sure if it's important to be in the shade, to sit in the back because everybody tends to grab the same seat they took originally. Also, I would bring your snorkel gear from the ship, so to not waste time trying to put together a set of snorkel gear on the boat that works for you. See below, the top comes all the way down so that it's flush with the top of the windshield. They have juice and water on board, which is nice coming out of the saltwater 🌊

Very helpful...thanks!