Bioluminescent Bay Kayak Adventure

[want2know]

At San Juan, Royal Caribbean offers a tour that takes you to one of the areas where you take a double kayak to view the bioluminescent organisms. Has anyone done this through Royal Caribbean and have any recommendations - yea or nay??? We will be there during the dark side of the moon - which they highly recommend for best viewing. Is it a popular tour that should be booked ahead of time?

 

Thanks for your help.

[BroadwayGirl]

Not sure about this particular tour, but I can comment on Puerto Rico's bioluminescent bay. Taking a boat tour was on of the coolest things I did while living there. The water was like liquid silver when splashed around or poured by our guides. It's definitely something to be seen and glad I spent the money to do the tour we did. Hope that helps somewhat!

[lynyrd]

At San Juan, Royal Caribbean offers a tour that takes you to one of the areas where you take a double kayak to view the bioluminescent organisms. Has anyone done this through Royal Caribbean and have any recommendations - yea or nay??? We will be there during the dark side of the moon - which they highly recommend for best viewing. Is it a popular tour that should be booked ahead of time?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

We took this tour last October through Carnival. I am pretty sure that you will be going to the same place. It was awesome.

 

I thought it was gonna be hard on the arms rowing, but actually my arms didn't hurt at all, but my legs did.........lol. It takes just a little bit to get the hang of rowing together. Most of the time it was easier when my husband rowed by himself. :o

 

It is really dark and some places are pretty narrow. You go single file and follow the blinking light of the kayak in front of you. The guides will warn you when another group is approaching from the opposite direction and you will have to move as far to the right as possible. We encountered a large powerboat that was on the way back. I was really surprised about that.

 

When you get closer to the bay make sure to pay attention to your oars as they go through the water. You will see the water starting to glow. When you finally get to the bay everyone will row to the middle and your guide will then talk about the bay and it's history and answer any questions.

 

They used to let people actually get in the water and swim around but no longer allow that because it started to damage the bay. They just let you stick your hand in and scoop up some water. It is still really cool seeing that. Then you get to row all the way back.

 

The only thing I didn't like is that the bus ride to get there takes forever.

[Maraprince]

Must you row? Don't they offer any other type of tour just to see the water? Neither my cabin mate or I swim so we would be a little concerned about getting into a kayak and having to row ourselves.

 

What other tours does RCCL offer in San Juan since we are in port late? None of the tours for the 11/9/08 sailing are posted as yet.

 

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[want2know]

I did find another local company that does the tour but uses pontoon boats and was $10 more than the RCCL tour. For us, kayaking would also be an adventure for us as we have never done that.

 

I believe that I had found them by searching San Juan for tours and picked the area for water activities. Maybe one of you guys know of it and can jump in with more info?

[lynyrd]

Must you row? Don't they offer any other type of tour just to see the water? Neither my cabin mate or I swim so we would be a little concerned about getting into a kayak and having to row ourselves.

 

What other tours does RCCL offer in San Juan since we are in port late? None of the tours for the 11/9/08 sailing are posted as yet.

 

 

 

MARAPRINCE

 

 

Yep, you have to row and row and row alot to get there. Then do it all over again to get back. You cannot tell the water glows until you stick something into it. Otherwise it looks like regular water. When you scoop it into your hand it looks like glowing beads. Kinda like lightning bugs. Actually our guide told us that the water has the same "stuff" in it as lightning bugs have.

[cruznluvr]

We did this excursion with RCCL a couple of years ago & it was one of the best. Yes, the bus ride is a long one. You will see the residential parts of San Juan, which is much different than hanging around the port. I still remember the cock fighting building we passed on our bus. The trip was totally worth it. My DH and I are athletic & it was still a strenuous kayak trip in the dark. You paddle through the narrow canal through mangroves & it opens to a large bay. When we went you were allowed to swim in the water, so we jumped in, moved our arms & watched the water glow. It was truly amazing!

[rogerp5]

I did a similar tour in 07 with Costa. Very cool. paddling was not bad once you get the rythem going. A couple of points. The ride to the park has a lot of traffic so be prepared. Our buses did not have bathrooms. When you get in the line to start paddling try to get near the front so that you can benefit from the guide. Hard to hear in the back. By the way, the power boat, according to our guide was allowed into the bay to provide access to those who can not paddle due to disabilities. Only problem as that while we were doing this the rest of our group was at Senior Frog's. Enjoy, I was glad I did it.

[feistytigger]

it's AWESOME! i've gone on my own twice now. if that's at all possible, i'd recommend it. we went with Las Tortugas Adventures (kayak-pr.com) both times. the first time was esp. great because that was back when there were just a few operators and you were allowed to swim in the lagoon. las tortugas was esp. great cuz they were the first ones out there. the last time wasn't nearly as good but still totally worth the trip.

[feistytigger]

it's AWESOME! i've gone on my own twice now. if that's at all possible, i'd recommend it. we went with Las Tortugas Adventures (kayak-pr.com) both times. the first time was esp. great because that was back when there were just a few operators and you were allowed to swim in the lagoon. las tortugas was esp. great cuz they were the first ones out there. the last time wasn't nearly as good but still totally worth the trip.

[want2know]

I am sooooo bummed!!! Found out that our ship Liberty of the Seas doesn't hang around long enough to do this tour. I am adding quips from various postings I have found that tell more about the tour. It sounds just incredible. Note: these are just bits and pieces I have cut and pasted - no offense intended. Each paragraph is a different posting. If you can make the tour - enjoy it for me also. I am crying onto my keyboard for having to miss this one.

 

I thought I'd post this just in case anyone were considering a tour of the Bio Bay. We've been to PR many times and have done the tour every time. We almost decided to skip it this time because we can no longer swim in the water and the moon was full the only night we were available. We're so glad we didn't cancel. We had friends along who had never seen the Bay. We had a great time. We were really surprised at how visible the "glow" was given the amount of moonlight. It was as incredible as ever.

Just to note, this is a very easy tour to do on your own. Rent a car at Charlies and drive to Las Cabezas and meet the guides. We use Kayaking Puerto Rico. Percy is a great host. He has a great companies. They really make sure you have a great experience. kaykingpuertorico.com

 

 

We went on December 22. If you go to BIOBAY.com and click on the moonwatch calendar, you can see how much moonlight we had. We still had a great experience and could see the "glowing" very well. Don't miss it! Definately book with Percy - some of the guides barely speak English and do not have good equipment- JMHO

 

 

I have been doing a little research and found a tour to Mosquito bay on the island off the east coast. The moon will be just right for the bioluminescence that can be seen only on moonless nights. I called the park reserve (biobay island adventures) and they referred me to East Island Excursions to get there from the big island. They are out of Marina Puerto Del Ray, a mile south of Fajardo on the east coast, about a 45 min drive from San Juan.

They take you by power boat to the island of Vieques. Leaves at 5pm, returns about 11pm. Covers ferry,dinner and tour of bay by pontoon with swimming in the glowing waters. Cost $109pp. My kids are really excited. Apparently "Mosquito bay is one of the most spectacular bioluminescent bays in the world" (Moon Handbook to Puerto Rico)

I have already emailed them about a trip 2/3/08 the night before we leave.

Check it out:

http://www.eastwindcats.com

 

here is my review from the Biobay tour we did last year. The kids definately got bit by mosquitos!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...ghlight=biobay

 

 

Contact Percy at kayakingpuertorico.com - great tour, very professional. Don't miss the bio bay, it's amazing!!!!

 

Hello there are other operators that provide the biobay tour in Fajardo and some do provide round trip transportation as well if needed.

They are as follows

Enchanted Island

Las Tortugas

Island Kayak

Yokahu Kayak

Check for availability and pricing and keep in mind that all of these have been in the business for several years now.

 

Here is a copy of the review I wrote last year:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...ghlight=biobay

It is long and will give you a good idea of what to expect.

 

 

Bioluminescent Bay Vieques Island - This a lot better than Bio Bay You are allow to swim here It is also class as one of the top ten Bioluminescent in the world.

[JstLv2Crz]

My hubby and I did this years ago, but not thru RC. It was very magical to see the water sparkel when you swooshed you hands thru it or when your paddles touched the water. There is always the good and the bad with tours, but the good out weighed the bads. Do it, you won't regret it! It's a once in a lifetime experience!

 

~Sue~