Sergeant's Caye Snorkel Adventure Anyone Done it?

[Vidimom]

Found this excursion on our list from CCL and wanted to get any opinions about it. I love Manatees and wanted to find out if you get to spend anytime on the trip observing them.

 

Also, does anyone know what the actual cost is? We have a family of four and are trying to stay on a budget this trip (if that is possible!)

 

If anyone has any suggestions of a inexpensive snorkel excursion for a family, please let me know!

 

Thanks!

[Mudskipper]

I took this tour 5 days ago and would not recommend it for anything other than it being the least expensive CCL snorkeling tour. There are no manatees to see until Jan-Feb according to the people at the center and the snorkel boat stops there only to pick up equipment.

 

Once you leave Spanish Lookout and go to Sargaents Caye which is the size of a large truck, you snorkel in groups and if the current is strong, look out Nellie, cause you are gonna get some reef rash and get wore out. We all did. The snorkeling was pretty good but the reef is damaged from passing hurricanes this summer and not as exciting as my visit in 02.

 

Still a decent chice of tours due to price and convenience, but you may want to consider Shark Ray alley a little more.

[Vidimom]

Well since no one posted before we actually left, we decided to give this tour a try and were actually impressed with the crew and the snorkeling!

 

There were only 16 people booked from the ship on a 51 ft pontoon type, high

speed boat. We met for our tour at 10:00am which was disappointing since

we were only in port until 4pm. We were picked up at the ship and taken

directly to the Spanish Outlook for equipment fitting. This was actually a dive

shop and the equipment was TOP NOTCH. There were no orange life jackets here, they had the inflatable vest, but these were different than we have had before, they were more of an actual vest that zipped on the side and covered

your back. They were made out of the same material as dive suits. Romi was

the Captain and he had a crew of 6 on the trip with us. After everyone was fitted, we departed for Sergeant's Caye. We were shocked when they stopped at what looked like a sandbar and said this was Sergeant's Caye. We got off the boat with all our gear and went with our guide Simon. We were divided into groups of 4 with a guide. He helped us get all of our gear on then

lead us into the water. He stayed with us and pointed out different sea life, coral and fish. We saw 2 baracuda's 1 eel, ton's of tropical fish and lots

of coral. We snorkeled about an hour. The current was stronger than some

areas we have snorkeled in before, but not that bad. One thing that impressed us with Sergeant's Caye was that they had a crew member in a kayak out just in case anyone needed assistance. I know he helped our son

adjust his mask better. We didn't have any scratches from coral as we followed our guide.

 

After the snorkel, we got back on the boat and they had peeled fresh oranges and iced them down for everyone. They also had pineapple juice and purified water on board. The oranges were great and they also helped eliminate any salt water in your mouth. We headed back to Spanish Outlook to drop off the

equipment and they had a few snacks & drinks if anyone wanted to purchase them. We bought the local beer and it was pretty good and ICE COLD!!! Our

son was thrilled when he asked for a Coke and it actually came in a real glass

bottle. He even brought the bottle back.

 

After everyone was back on the boat, Romi our Captain took us into the mangroves in search of Manatees. They told us that they had 3(Mom & twins) the week prior and were able to place a tracking device on the Mother

and she was hiding in the mangroves. We only saw the tip of her head as

we didn't want to frighten off the babies. We left the mangrove area and

headed back to the ship. It' was only 3:00pm but we decided to just hang

out on the ship rather than tendering to Belize.

 

If you are really interested in snorkeling rather than lying on a beach, this

is a great tour with a CLASS company! They also handle the dive excursion

from Carnival in Belize.

 

If you have any questions, please let me know!

[mayrashke]

Hi, Thanks for the excursion info. We have 2 adults&2 kids . What was the price of it? It sounds like it was through the ship. Do you know the name of the tour operator? Was it worth it to just have that quick peek of the Mother manatee? Was the snorkelling really good? Thanks for your opinions!

[enzee]

We did the Sargeant's Caye this month on the Carnival Legend. The shore excursion boat picks you up right at the cruise boat b/c you anchor out in Belize. We had a good time here !! The excursion guides were a lot of fun and very helpful. Our group was only like 30 people. There were 5-6 guides which each took a group snorkling so they really spread you out so you're not running into people and fighting to see stuff, and such -- which I think was a great idea !! They take you to this cute little place first to get your equipment, then you sail out to Sargeant's Caye. We had our nephews with us, so we were in the "beginners" group. For that, they took us to a tiny island, and we snorkled off the reef close to that. Don't get me wrong -- it was great. We saw tons of coral and colored fish, even a jellyfish (don't be scared!). Two of the groups snorkled off the island -- each from a different side, and then the other groups (advanced) snorkled out at sea a bit right off of the excursion boat !! If you want to lay on the beach instead of snorkle, you can do that on the little island! But the BEST thing -- as we were sailing out to the Caye, 6-8 DOLPHINS decided to join us and played along-side the boat for a bit !! IT was THE MOST beautiful thing I've ever seen !!! ON the bad side, our Carnival tour explanation stated that we would see manatees -- we never did, and manatees weren't even mentioned. BUT -- hey, we saw dolphins, and that was fine with us !!! ANyway -- Sargeant's Caye is a great excursion -- nothing bad to say about it. AND -- the guides were wonderful !!!!!

Good luck, and have fun !!!! -- Oh, it was $62 for adults, and $54 for kids. A note to add though, since you have kids -- as I said, we had our nephews: the youngest (age 11) had trouble with the waves. It IS choppy and he got tired quick, and had to return to the island. The 16-yr old was having a hard time too, but stuck it out. But just a note -- the waves are rough.

[Pillsburycruisegirl]

Thanks for the information.