Thriller Tour

Has anyone done the Thriller tour recently with Stephen in Barbados (ie. seaturtles, shipwreck, reef)?

Can you tell me how experienced of a swimmer you need to be to enjoy this excursion? Will the current push us far from the boat? How is the water in December?:o Will there be someone to help us and show us what to do?

I don't know how to swim (ie. can't stay in the deep end since I don't know how to tread) and my boyfriend is not a strong swimmer. However, the excursion sounds like so much fun and I've always wanted to try snorkling (BF has never done it either) but I am not sure if this is safe for us. I believe they supply life vests. We are in are mid thirties.

I've also posted this question on another board but thought there might be more people on this forum that would know more about this snorkling excursion.

Thanks

I have similar issues. My husband and I used to snorkel with our kids when they were little and we were young. I was never very good at it, but I loved seeing all the fish. Now that we are "older" (50s), I am concerned that I will find it even more difficult than years ago. Are there life preservers? Will the crew help us? How strenuous a trip is it? It sounds incredible, especially swimming with the turtles. We swam with the stingrays in Grand Cayman, and it was the highlight of the cruise for me. I would really like to do this if I can. What do you recommend?

I would also like to know how much people paid for his tour

If there was one tour to try I would go with Stephen. He is extremely professional and safety conscious. This is not the case on many snorkeling excursions. He will provide snorkeling vests for everyone. You will not drown with a snorkeling vest on, I promise. We went with Stephen in June with my 11-year-old daughter who is not a strong snorkeler at all. The Turtle stop is the most difficult of the three stops, mostly because there are several people in one small area splashing and kicking. The turtles are well worth it though. AS I swam back to the boat, one large turtle surfaced right in front of me. On the other two stops, Stephen anchors the boat really close to where you want to snorkel. His helper is always in the water with you with a life saving ring in case you get in trouble. The last stop you can basically float over a sunken boat which is really neat to see.

I believe we paid around $50 per person, which was well worth it. I would do his tour again in a heartbeat.

Here is my full review of the Thriller Tour plus some photos. The turtles are really something to see! And the rum punch is delicious also!

http://familytravelfun.com/thrillertourbarbados.html

I will echo the previous comments. We went with Stephen Nov. 06 and had a wonderful day.

There was very little current at any of the areas we stopped, of course that is subject to change depending on tides and weather. Stephen was very professional, and as previously said his guide was in the water with the group the entire time.

We thoroughly enjoyed this tour. I believe we paid about $50 also.

I took this tour in November of 2006. We enjoyed being on the water in a much faster boat. He took us to two locations to snorkel. The cost was $50.00 per person for about 3 1/2 hours. He was running a little late, and did not have snacks as advertised. There was also another boat that arrived in the same location, after only about 10minutes the turtles swam to the other boat as they were giving out more food to the turtles. In all we enoyed....

Has anyone done the Thriller tour recently with Stephen in Barbados (ie. seaturtles, shipwreck, reef)?

 

Can you tell me how experienced of a swimmer you need to be to enjoy this excursion? Will the current push us far from the boat? How is the water in December?:o Will there be someone to help us and show us what to do?

 

I don't know how to swim (ie. can't stay in the deep end since I don't know how to tread) and my boyfriend is not a strong swimmer. However, the excursion sounds like so much fun and I've always wanted to try snorkling (BF has never done it either) but I am not sure if this is safe for us. I believe they supply life vests. We are in are mid thirties.

 

I've also posted this question on another board but thought there might be more people on this forum that would know more about this snorkling excursion.

 

Thanks

Hi,

I have booked with Stephen at Thriller for our upcoming cruise. We will be in Barbados on Thanksgiving Day. I had some of the same concerns about level of experience, safety, etc. He assured me that everyone will be safe and enjoy.

Since they limit the number of people to 14, they have one crew member in the water at all times. Stephen said that the life jackets that everyone has to wear can be inflated for those wanting that extra sense of security. Although it will make going under very difficult/nearly impossible, he said that from the surface you can see to the bottom.

Hope this helps.

My husband, 17 year old daughter and myself all did this tour on the 25th October 2007. It was wonderful! None of us had snorkled before, and I particularly am not a very strong swimmer, but Stephen was very careful and ensured that we made the most of our day. I would definately recommend it. He issues lifejackets, which can be blown up with air if needed (which I did and so helped a great deal). The only problem we had was the weather was poor, but this did not detract from the experience. Do not let the fact that you have never snorkled put you off trying this. You can do as much or as little as you like There are 3 stops - one to swim with the turtles, one over a reef and the last over 2 shipwrecks. Finally there is an opportunity to swim a very short distance ashore to the beach. There was no danger of returning late for the ship (this is docked just a short taxi ride away - as the weather was dull, we walked which took about 15 minutes).

Joan

My husband, 17 year old daughter and myself all did this tour on the 25th October 2007. It was wonderful! None of us had snorkled before, and I particularly am not a very strong swimmer, but Stephen was very careful and ensured that we made the most of our day. I would definately recommend it. He issues lifejackets, which can be blown up with air if needed (which I did and so helped a great deal). The only problem we had was the weather was poor, but this did not detract from the experience. Do not let the fact that you have never snorkled put you off trying this. You can do as much or as little as you like There are 3 stops - one to swim with the turtles, one over a reef and the last over 2 shipwrecks. Finally there is an opportunity to swim a very short distance ashore to the beach. There was no danger of returning late for the ship (this is docked just a short taxi ride away - as the weather was dull, we walked which took about 15 minutes).

Joan

Does he have a website?

Does he have a website?

http://www.caribzones.com/thrilleradventure.html

I used the link below. The owner is called Stephen Tryhane.

thriller-ocean-tours@caribsurf.com. I emailed him and he got back to me really quickly. There were 9 on our tour. Stephen stayed in the boat keeping a watch on us in the water and there was someone in the water with us. When the turtles moved away, we followed and Stephen brought the boat around near to where we were so that no-one had to swim a long way. One thing though, in the advertisement, he specifies that he will provide lunch. This is not the case now, we got nibbles, unlimited soft drinks and beer and rum punch after everyone finished snorkling. I think it was a good idea to stop the lunch bit as it left more time to do other things.

Joan

Just did this tour last week and would definitely recommend it...snorkeling with the turtles was the best. As others have said, it's much better going on a smaller boat, (we were a total of 10 people)...cost was $50pp...a great day.

Thanks everyone for your reviews. :)

I am thinking of booking this tour during my cruise in January. Does anyone know what time the tour begins? Also, how much time are you on the boat and how much time do you have to snorkle?

When I visited the website, it states that the fee is $75.00 per person. Is that correct or am I looking at the wrong tour? Based on the very positive feedback, my wife and I are considering this but were hoping for the fee to be $50.00 per person as others had stated. Also, it still states that lunch is provided. Could that be why the fee is higher? Also, do they pick you up at your ship or do you have to meet the group somewhere else? Any feedback would be appreciated.

cruiser man -- I just e-mailed Stephen the other day for my upcoming cruise and he quickly responded. In the e-mail he said that the cost is $50 per person and $35 for children 12 and under. He also said that snorkling gear, snacks, refreshments, soft, beer, rum punch are included (didn't mention anything about lunch). He didn't say whether transportation is included to/from ship. The tour starts at 12:30pm and is 3.5 hours (I'm not sure if there is a morning tour). I'm just nervous that we wouldn't get back to the ship in time -- especially if we have to take our own transportation back to the ship. Has anyone done the 12:30pm tour? And if so, did you have enough time to get back to the ship on time??

cruiser man -- I'm going to e-mail him back to inquire about this and will let you know. I really want to book this tour, but I don't want to have to be nervous about getting back to the ship on time.

We just booked for our Dec. 19 stop on the Pearl. Here is the official description, from his e-mail:

Thriller Ocean Tours

Our Turtle and Ship Wreck tour is 31/2 hours long, we take you along our islands golden coastline to the Turtle Cove where you can snorkel with the endangered sea turtles and watch as they are fed. From there, we then make our way south to the Historic Carlisle Bay which has crystal clear water and wonderful white sand. This snorkel spot is intriguing as you can snorkel over 2 large sunken ship wrecks with schools of colorful tropical fish. Then it’s off to your 3rd stop at one of Barbados most beautiful beaches.

Snorkeling gear, snacks, refreshments soft, beer and rum punch are included. The tour is $50.00 U.S. per adult and $35.00 U.S for Children 12 years and under.

We have added an additional NEW Snorkel stop to this tour our “Coral Reef Snorkel”

Directions to our boats Gunner Too & Thrill Seeker:

• As you exit the cruise terminal, ask for the Bridgetown shuttle which cost only $2.00 U.S. per person This will take you to Broad Street, which is the main street of Bridgetown our Capital, there are many stores if you need to do some shopping.
  
• We need you to be at the boat 15 minutes before scheduled departure, the boat is located in the Careenage in the center of Bridgetown, opposite the Parliament Buildings. Take a short walk across the bridge with the arch and we are on the right by the popular Waterfront Café.

Thanks for all of the information. Please let us know when you get any additional information. We don't go on our cruise until April. Let us know how you enjoy the excursion.

I wrote to Stephen and he responded very quickly. My boyfriend and I cannot wait for this tour in January. Here is some info that he sent me through e-mail:

Just to clarify the tour prices 3.5 hour Snorkeling tour $50 U.S per adult

for 3 Snorkeling stops Sea Turtles, Coral Reef & Shipwrecks, plus a 4th stop Beach stop. All drinks included & a snack Tostitos chips & salsa.

The $70 U.S per adult tour includes all of the above plus lunch & it's 4

hours long this tour goes at 9.00a.m The only difference between the 2 tours is one offers lunch.

Not yet - we are booked with Stephen next month :)

we just went with stephen last week. it was the best excursion we did on our cruise. you will have plenty of time to get to the ship if you take the afternoon tour. it was 50 pp and well worth it. very easy to find and as my first time snorkeling i can say it was easy. we took the morning 9:00 tour. our ship was in port at 8 and we were at the cafe by 8:30. then we went to the boatyard for the afternoon which is only a few blocks from the cafe. a shuttle takes you back to the ship from the boatyard.

We did this tour with Stephen last week, and I would agree that this was the best excursion on our cruise. Our ship got in at 9am, so we did the 12:30pm tour. We only saw 3 turtles, but that was fine with us. You probably see more in the morning because they're hungrier.

Most of the people on our tour actually booked the tour at the cruise terminal. They were a little concerned because they had to be back on their ship 30 minutes after the tour was supposed to end. Stephen got us back to the dock exactly when he said he would. We did everything on the itinerary and didn't feel rushed at all.

We were in Barbados several years ago and did a land tour to Harrison's Cave and a botanical garden. The boat tour is better by far.

My family just went with Stephen on Thriller. We wrere a group of 16-ages 5-70! Stephen was great! We are from Florida so we all know how to swim. The turtle excursion was so cool! You would not need to be a strong swimmer for that. You are required to wear a life vest while swimming! At the shipwreck we went with the current and Stephen meet us at the end so we did not need to swim againt the tide ( we had his first mate in the water with us at all times). Do the tour -you will be very happy and cared for!;)

How did you contact/book your trip w/ Stephen? And how much did it cost?