Review of the Silvermoon (Crown Princess cruise Feb. 12th, 2007)

[nikita]

We were told to meet our people at gate #2 so we found gate #2 and asked the man there if he was with the Silvermoon and he pointed over to a lady that wasn't even near gate #2 so we went over and asked her and she was the correct person. Now, this isn't the first independent tour that we've done and everytime we take them we have a bit of a hard time finding our contact. That is my only complaint about independent tours - for some reason they are hard to find. I wish they would hold a big sign with the name of the tour or our names so we can't miss them. Maybe that's just been my experience though. Anyways we found them and after a few minutes were directed to a bus which took us to a harbor area where the Silvermoon was docked. This is when I met "Muscleman" and his wife who I had contact with on the Roll call boards. It was nice to meet them and talk with them on this excursion.

 

The Catamaran was beautiful - in wonderful condition and the crew superb!! I can't say enough about this tour and how much we enjoyed it - I would highly recommend them - and the price was not bad ($100 each) for the whole day and we were catered to the whole time "would you like something to drink?" They would serve you drinks anytime - and like I said - you didn't have to ask - they would ask you. I believe rum punch, sodas, water, and beer were available all through the day.

 

The weather cleared and it was gorgeous. First we went to swim with the turtles. This was very fun although there weren't a lot of turtles - about 4 or 5 but they were being fed so they would come up right to the boat. I might mention that the water was a bit cold - and even though I'm a wimp I wasn't the only one who thought so. But we all braved it and enjoyed ourselves in the water with the turtles. My DH got some great shots with his underwater camera. Also I want to mention that there is a limit of 12 people on this excursion so it is not packed with people and very intimate. We saw the Silvermoon II and it has a limit of I think 28 - they looked like they were having fun as well, just more people and of course a bigger catamaran for them. The Silvermoon II is less expensive so if you can't afford to do the one we went on I believe (from what I witnessed) that this one would be a good choice as well.

 

After the turtles we went to a shipwreck for some snorkeling. I didn't get off the boat this time since I told DH to tell me if it was worth having to get into the cold water. He knew what to compare it to since we have seen some fantastic snorkeling in Nassau and Cancun and I told him if it was like that to let me know. He never came back for me so I knew I wouldn't have thought it worth it. Now this is just me - most people, especially newbies to snorkeling probably would have thought it wonderful. I saw the photos DH took and there were many, many fish - so knowing that I'm a wimp when it comes to cold water and that I've probably been to the most beautiful places of snorkeling that there possibly could be - that is what he judged it on. I just hung out on the cat and sunned myself and enjoyed it tremendously.

 

I think after that we had lunch (or before?). It was delicious. They served us flying fish which DH loved. It was the way it was cooked - flattened and deep fried with a teeny bit of a spicey batter. Reminded me of some abalone I have eaten many years back. Also barbeque chicken, salad, garlic bread, and delicious mac and cheese. Later on they served some hot banana bread, and pina colodas (I asked for virgin and was gladly accomadated).

 

I think we stopped at another location to swim or snorkel but I just can't remember. The excursion lasted from around 9:30am-2:30am and like I said - it was well worth every penney we spent on it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Especially a good deal when I compare it to the excursion we took in Antigua which cost $170.

[waiting2retire]

Thanks for the review Nikita! I always appreciate the time people take to do a review of their tours, since it helps me to decide what I might want to do. Glad you had a great time...

 

Bonnie

[watchdiva]

Thanks for the great review - we're excited to sail on Silvermoon I on our 4/13/07 Pearl cruise.

[nikita]

You're so welcome - I hope you both have a wonderful cruise. The Silvermoon is a wonderful way to spend the day!

[mexicobob]

Thanks for the good review. We have reservations for our cruise in June. After reading your review we look forward to going. Hope the water warms up by then.

 

MexicoBob

[hooperkj]

I too enjoyed the Silvermoon sail and snorkel tour recently. Ben and Adrian were attentive and entertaining hosts. My wife and I look forward to booking again the next time we cruise to Barbados.