Help us choose a Caribbean excursion (or two.)

[Woofa]

We are taking our second Oceania Cruise on Marina in November (Cruise only on Hidden Caribbean Coves leaving the day before Thanksgiving.  Antigua, St. Lucia, Guadalupe, St. Barts, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic.)

On our first cruise ( an almost identical Riviera itinerary) we mainly walked off ship (and were generously treated to a resort day excursion by other CC members we met on these boards.).

For our second cruise we have some credit and have already signed up for a cooking class and we are thinking of doing an excursion.  We would like to do a snorkel excursion from amongst the ship options if a good one is available. We are interested in hearing about another excursions you may have loved, hated from this itinerary.

I think we want to keep our costs at or below the $250 per person level and if we could do two, that would be great.

Now, having lived in Miami for many years, I have no real interest in snorkelling for 90 minutes and maybe seeing a few fish.  As far as I have read, the ports on our cruise are generally not snorkel hot spots but...Maybe something is available.

 

The following is what is listed for St Lucia:

 

• Cruise to a marine park that is absolutely teeming with tropical fish.
• Snorkel along the shallow reefs and coral heads, looking for marine life other than fish.
• Relax onboard or swim over to the beach, if you prefer not to snorkel the whole time.

Cruise along St. Lucia’s beautiful northwestern coast to Marine Park, an extraordinary site for snorkeling. Although the trip there will be magnificently scenic, few sights compare to the park’s underwater wonders. The labyrinth of shallow reefs and coral heads provide habitats for all sorts of brightly colored tropical fish including French grunts, goatfish, jacks and snappers. You may also spot sea urchins, starfish and occasional octopuses tucked away in the rocks and crevices. Flying gurnards are especially fascinating, as these bottom dwellers typically expand their fins like wings to scare off predators. You won’t have to snorkel the entire time, as you can always rest aboard the boat or relax on the beach. As you make your way back, refreshments will be served on board

 

It is listed as a half day at $79 per person.  I cannot tell from this description what the venue is to see reviews.

Any help is appreciated if you have taken this excursion or anything you can strongly suggest from our ports.

Fyi, we are in our roll call and in the St. Lucia board as well.

Thanks for any ideas.

 

Edited May 26 by Woofa
Additional info

[Redtravel]

Oceania excursions are hit or miss. The description may or may not match the actual tour.  Using SM shore credit, picking excursions in Caribbean might be a problem.  Having been on most Caribbean islands, we have no desire to tour. If we book a Caribbean cruise, we would likely forego the excursions. I am not a fan of Simply more.

[alcpa1]

We were on the Sirena in March. We talked to 6 or 8 who took the snorkling excursion and they were much happier than those of us who took land tours. The water was clear and the seas relatively calm. They did see a lot of sea life.

I do remember someone mentioning there were locals selling their wares on the beach. Nothing new for a Caribbean island.

[Woofa]

Thank you

 

[Thought2go]

As long as there are no effluent pipes running into the area you should be fine (sans any strong weather).

the worse ear infection we ever got was snorkeling in a  highly recommended, by cruising guides, snorkeling “reserve” which just happened to receive effluent run off from an Eco hotel. Proving that cotton balls soaked in H2O2 to protect one’s ears did nada. We only had antibiotics for one aboard. I opted to give them to my partner who had really bad ears. None were available on the islands pharmacies or doctors. I have a 30% hearing loss in one ear- 😎

Edited May 29 by Thought2go

[Woofa]

I am following up on my thread as we have already signed up for a cooking class and the snorkel excursion I listed above.

With more research, I now see that we have an OS, chef led full day excursion in San Juan option. (Hydroponic farm plus Onbu.)Assuming O would let us cancel our two reserved and rebook this, looking for opinions of people who have done this one, or any other of the full day food excursions with class.  I have a feeling these are quite special and while much more expensive, may be worth it as we have some credit to be used anyway.

Appreciate any thoughts and would like to make a decision over the weekend and rebook Monday if we decide to change.

[Cruzin Terri]

We have been to the Caribbean many times and decided that we do not need to take tours of the area.

We decided that rather than take a number of tours, we chose to use the SM money to go to Blue Waters Resort in Antigua for the day.  While I realize it is expensive and a lot more than if we had booked it privately, we would not use the money otherwise.  So it includes transportation, beach and pool, non-motorized water sports, lunch, and unlimited drinks.  6 1/2 hours.

We would have gone there otherwise and paid out of pocket.

It works for us.

Terri

Edited July 4 by Cruzin Terri

[nuevowavo]

One of the few Oceania excursions we did on a cruise through the Leeward Islands last December was a Jeep tour of Antigua. Lots of fun, great guide  (Flava) and very scenic and interesting. This was the company that Oceania contracted with:

https://discoverantiguabarbuda.com/island-safari/