Scuba/snorkeling in Freeport, Nassau or little stirrup cay

First time poster, long time cruiser

We will be on carnival victory In March this year and would like to set up some excursions. We are a group of nine with 5 divers and four snorkelers, mostly in the 30's and very active. Our stops are Freeport, Nassau and little stirrup cay.

We would like to get the most out of our stops. Which location has the best scuba or snorkeling. Would prefer a way to accommodate everyone so some can dive and some can snorkel. Any excursions that take you to a great beach snorkeling spot?

Thanks

My suggestion would be to go out of Nassau and use Stuart Cove. I'm a fairly avid snorkeler and the Stuart Cove trip was by far one of the best I've ever done. They'll pick you up at the cruise ship dock and take you to the other side of New Providence Island where the reefs are healthier and the fish are plentiful. The final spot they stop at is a snorkel above live reef sharks while they feed them, it's optional of course, but not to miss as it's quite an amazing experience.

I believe Stuart Cove also does trips out of Freeport (Grand Bahama Island) too, but I've never been on that tour and it's a totally different island so I can't really comment on it.

http://www.stuartcove.com/

We also dove with Stuart Cove from the other end (south) from Nassau. besides the shark dive , we also enjoyed the wreak dive at an underwater movie studio. It had many ships used including the Tears of Allah from a James Bond film.

I emailed Stuart Cove about a trip for 9 people. They said they can not accommodate us during the time frame that we are there. They referred us to the carnival excursion website... The cruise is stopped from 8-6 but i guess either they are already booked in march or thy dont take cruisers anymore.

In Freeport I may be booking a trip with Sunn Odysey Divers. I am still working on ideas in Nassau for snorkeling or scuba.

There's a place near Freeport called Paradise Cove. It's a quiet resort with a nice reef you can swim to from shore. They have food, drinks, and lounge chairs for those not-inclined to get wet and a dive concession with gear and a boat for the more adventurous. They'll pick you up at port and bring you back whenever you'd like.

Most people groan when they have Freeport on their itinerary. This place makes it one of our favorite stops. Give me Freeport over Nassau any day! :cool:

This thread has some nice pictures:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1629317&highlight=taino

We just returned 2 months ago from going to Paradise Cove/Deadmans reef and did not enjoy our day there. The place itself wasn't anything that we would consider "nice" and we laughed at the "reef". I was actually shocked that people had said this was a great place to snorkel and was so disappointed. It was such a long and tiring swim out there to only see mostly coral that was spread out everywhere and not a whole lot of fish. Most of the area was a sandy bottom with coral here and there. Not really what I would call a reef (at least from all the places I have snorkeled at).

The staff was EXTREMELY rude to a lot of people that day. :(

I have a complete review of it with tons of pictures in my signature line if anyone wants to check it out.

I don't think they do scuba diving, but for snorkeling in Nassau, you may want to check out Blue Hole Watersports. I went snorkeling with them a couple years ago and thought they were great! They only take small groups and the coral/fish we saw were fantastic. Looks like they are still getting great reviews on trip advisor as well. They are also only a short walk from the cruise port (they leave from the hilton dock).

If you are going to Little Stirrup .....

this is also known as Coco Cay, RCL's "private island" in the northern Bahamas (their southern private location is Labadee) I believe the 'renting' of this location for Carnival visits has been discussed. The island is not big enough to support 2 operations .... so I don't know what they do about the Coco Cay branding .... but I digress

Coco Cay has one of the better 'private island' snorkeling areas IMO. Easy access from the beach with some added 'stuff' to see.

Under the RCCL flag, there is no charge to snorkel unless you need to rent equipment. Safety vests ARE REQUIRED and are not free (under the RCCL flag)

RCCL also offers a one tank dive for certified divers. The one time I booked it, we were all in the water and about to 'drop' when a squall moved in and we were all called back out of the water (refunds provided). Divers were the first excursion off the ship to the tenders, so your snork' folks would not be with you. With my canx dive, by the time we returned rented equipment the first tender loads of regular folks were just arriving. Other reviews of the dive are mixed . . . not great but better than nothing. Does Carn' offer? I dunno.

+++++++++++

in Nassau, Stuarts is THE place.

but I HIGHLY recommend you read this

http://www.stuartcove.com/DiveBahamasMgmt.aspx?id=2&pageId=51

The place itself wasn't anything that we would consider "nice" and we laughed at the "reef". I was actually shocked that people had said this was a great place to snorkel and was so disappointed. It was such a long and tiring swim out there to only see mostly coral that was spread out everywhere and not a whole lot of fish. Most of the area was a sandy bottom with coral here and there. Not really what I would call a reef (at least from all the places I have snorkeled at).

First off, thanks for all of your reviews. Your photos are fantastic and everyone loves them.

Paradise Cove... from start to finish, you had a terrible day there. After waiting around for an hour, and then being treated rudely, it's no wonder you'd give them a bad review... no matter what they had underwater. On top of that, having gone mainly to see the turtles, you didn't see any. That stinks! :mad: But, while I understand your frustration, I have to disagree with your assessment of the reef itself.

Your description of "coral that was spread out everywhere and not a whole lot of fish" makes me wonder if you ever made it out to the reef. I've heard similar descriptions before, about Eden Rock on Grand Cayman. Just like there, if you don't swim out far enough, there just isn't much to see. Your statement, and the pictures in your review, both show what's inside the reef. Unfortunately, they don't show the outside part, which was alive and quite active last time we were there.

In your pictures, there's a line of "rock" sticking out of the water. That's the reef. The airborne coral died long ago and has become "rock", but the outside of that reef, where it drops off and becomes way too deep to stand, was living coral two years ago. It was a whole ecosystem teaming with life. Has it died since, and become "spread out everywhere", or didn't you make it to that side of the rocks? That's where the reef is actually located... and as far as I know, it's the only Bahamian reef accessible from shore.

IIRC, Paradise cove had a boat that you could pay to take you out to the gap between the rock islands, that would certainly save the long swim out there and then back again. I agree that you probably didn't go out far enough because the bottom turns to sea grass about half way out. That was where I met up with a ray and we swam along side by side for a couple of minutes.

I was a fairly new snorkeler when I went and the waves running in the gap were a little disconcerting but well worth it. It's not the greatest reef in the world but I certainly didn't think I wasted a day. DW sat on the beach and ate and drank and she had a good time too.

First off, thanks for all of your reviews. Your photos are fantastic and everyone loves them.

 

Paradise Cove... from start to finish, you had a terrible day there. After waiting around for an hour, and then being treated rudely, it's no wonder you'd give them a bad review... no matter what they had underwater. On top of that, having gone mainly to see the turtles, you didn't see any. That stinks! :mad: But, while I understand your frustration, I have to disagree with your assessment of the reef itself.

 

Your description of "coral that was spread out everywhere and not a whole lot of fish" makes me wonder if you ever made it out to the reef. I've heard similar descriptions before, about Eden Rock on Grand Cayman. Just like there, if you don't swim out far enough, there just isn't much to see. Your statement, and the pictures in your review, both show what's inside the reef. Unfortunately, they don't show the outside part, which was alive and quite active last time we were there.

 

In your pictures, there's a line of "rock" sticking out of the water. That's the reef. The airborne coral died long ago and has become "rock", but the outside of that reef, where it drops off and becomes way too deep to stand, was living coral two years ago. It was a whole ecosystem teaming with life. Has it died since, and become "spread out everywhere", or didn't you make it to that side of the rocks? That's where the reef is actually located... and as far as I know, it's the only Bahamian reef accessible from shore.

I'm honestly not really sure about if I swam out far enough. I swam to where they told us to go in the "snorkel meeting" prior to releasing us. We also spoke with several people on their way swimming back to the land that showed us where to go. We went out to the rocks sticking up out of water and all in that area. Some places you could stand others were too deep. There was tons of coral spread everywhere at the place we were at, but it's not like I'm use to seeing at places in Roatan or St Thomas. Maybe I'm just comparing it to there or maybe I didn't make it to the right place. I know that I was exactly where everyone else was at that day and they were saying how great it was. :confused:

IIRC, Paradise cove had a boat that you could pay to take you out to the gap between the rock islands, that would certainly save the long swim out there and then back again. I agree that you probably didn't go out far enough because the bottom turns to sea grass about half way out. That was where I met up with a ray and we swam along side by side for a couple of minutes.

 

I was a fairly new snorkeler when I went and the waves running in the gap were a little disconcerting but well worth it. It's not the greatest reef in the world but I certainly didn't think I wasted a day. DW sat on the beach and ate and drank and she had a good time too.

We really wish that we would have taken the boat out. It would have saved a lot of time and exhaustion. However, by the time we made it out to the rest floatie, of course it was too late for that.

We did go past the sea grass area and the waves were ferocious that day. I think that it wasn't as enjoyable because that also caused the water to be stirred up a lot out by the rocks. It just wasn't the greatest experience all the way around.

However, even if this place would have been the best snorkeling experience we have ever done before, with the rudeness of the staff right from the beginning, once we were there and the entire order of operation, I would not return. It kind of puts a damper on your day and leaves a bad taste in your mouth for the place. I have looked at other reviews that have complained of the rudeness of the staff as well, so I know I'm not an isolated case. :)

Mitsugirly, I was wondering if you were there closer to low tide? Perhaps that has to do with them yelling at people with the loudspeaker to move away from certain areas. And getting stuck outside the reefballs. :eek:

We stop at Freeport October 2nd and high tide is around noon. So we are heavily leaning toward Paradise Cove because Gold Rock or Banana Bay are best at low tide. From what I have researched PC is best close to high tide. So port times v. tides might be something for the OP to consider.

BTW I enjoy your reviews. I can't wait for you to go to Bermuda again!