Best Caribbean Snorkeling spots?

[KyBuckeye]

I'm thinking of doing a cruise for fall break in Oct this year. We haven't cruised in a few yrs, and now that my kids are 11 & 10 we are all very into snorkeling. Does anyone have any favorite family snorkeling spots? We would like to choose our cruise based on this as a main activity. Thanks for any help!

[ginger2000]

We love Coki Beach in St Thomas (the beach right next to Coral World). The fish are right there and you can feed them and very close to shore if you are not a strong swimmer. And the water is crystal clear.

[KyBuckeye]

Thanks, I'll look into that one. I guess there aren't too many snorkelers on this board! Coincidentally, we received our copy of Caribbean Magazine yesterday, and one of the articles is "10 best Beaches for Snorkelers" so I'm going to look at that! Thanks again!

[ginger2000]

The better spot to ask questions and poke around a bit is in the cruise discussion boards - they have a scuba and snorkeling thread.

[W5KAP]

I'm thinking of doing a cruise for fall break in Oct this year. We haven't cruised in a few yrs, and now that my kids are 11 & 10 we are all very into snorkeling. Does anyone have any favorite family snorkeling spots? We would like to choose our cruise based on this as a main activity. Thanks for any help!

 

You wouldn't do too much from shore but Georgetown Grand Cayman is our favorite of all. Even better than Hawaii. There are so many places to snorkel. I highly recommend Capt Marvin's. Do not miss Stingray city. It is a once in a lifetime treat. And your kids will love it. The water at the sandbar is only 4 feet deep. Check it out

 

Fair skies and good sailing Kenn

[Sky616]

You wouldn't do too much from shore but Georgetown Grand Cayman is our favorite of all. Even better than Hawaii. There are so many places to snorkel. I highly recommend Capt Marvin's. Do not miss Stingray city. It is a once in a lifetime treat. And your kids will love it. The water at the sandbar is only 4 feet deep. Check it out

 

Fair skies and good sailing Kenn

I second Grand Cayman. The kids would love to snorkel with the stingrays. They are very friendly and tame. You can feed them squid and they will eat it out of your hands.

[Virginia_Native]

Another vote for Grand Cayman, there are tours available where you can swim with stingrays then a quick trip over to a barrier reef. I've been snorkeling on about 10 different islands and this was by far the best. I would recomend a private (less crowded)tour. It would probably make it easier to keep track of kids. We booked ours through nativeway, they were fantastic.

[Peace2U]

Grand Cayman and Bonaire are snorkeler's paradises.

[sdfamily]

We are also interested in snorkeling on our October break cruise. My boys will be 11, 8, and 3. Don't know what the plan is for the 3YO, either we'll leave him at kids' club or switch off. We, of course, have to get two rooms (love being a family of 5), so cost is an issue.

 

We're looking at a departure around the 17th. Here's what I've scoped out:

 

Carnival Freedom (6 nt) - Key West, Grand Cayman, Jamaica. While Grand Cayman has the best snorkeling of these ports, there are over 10,000 people in port that day. Yikes!!. Also not wild about Jamaica.

 

NCL Pearl - Samana, St. Thomas, Tortola, GSC. There are great places to snorkel at the St. Thomas and Tortola ports. And I think decent places in Samana.

 

RCCL Liberty of the Seas: Cozumel, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Labadee. At Grand Cayman same day as CCL Freedom and another ship. Yikes! Also not wild about Jamaica. Muuuuuuch more expensive that other cruises.

 

Carnival Liberty - Half Moon Cay, St. Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk. This one is a good possibility. It leaves the same day as NCL Pearl and I think I like the Pearl's itinerary better.

 

I'll keep checking back to see if you learn any more about snorkeling on the islands.:)