Beach and Snorkeling Tour

Has anyone done the Beach and Snorkeling tour through Royal Caribbean?

Would you recommend it for someone that doesn't snorkel, but likes boat rides and being able to just cool off in the water?

Has anyone done the Beach and Snorkeling tour through Royal Caribbean?

 

Would you recommend it for someone that doesn't snorkel, but likes boat rides and being able to just cool off in the water?

Did you end up doing the excursion, Gaylemh? How was it? I'm on the Anthem in January and thinking about taking it.

Did you end up doing the excursion, Gaylemh? How was it? I'm on the Anthem in January and thinking about taking it.

No, I never did the excursion. I'm going again in February, and thinking about trying it then. If you go in January could you let me know. Thanks

No, I never did the excursion. I'm going again in February, and thinking about trying it then. If you go in January could you let me know. Thanks

Yeah, sure thing. My cruise leaves on the 2nd!

Yeah, sure thing. My cruise leaves on the 2nd!

I'm mainly interested in what kind of boat it is, if there are restrooms, and if you don't snorkel, can you just float around in the water. Do you get the boat right on the pier?

Any pictures would be great. Thanks and have a great time on your cruise.

My tour just got back to the pier about an hour ago. The boat does pick you up right at the cruise pier, it couldn't be closer. The boat is kind of like a ferry or tug boat - bench seats on the sides, and running down the center of the ship. The seats are rather hard, so bring an extra towel or something to sit on if you need. There are technically bathrooms, but I didn't go inside them. The captain did ask anyone who used the head to dispose of their toilet paper inside of a bucket, not in the toilet. If you want to just swim you can do that, but all swimming and snorkeling takes place off the boat, not from the beach. There is a beach at the second stop that you can swim to if you want, but it's a fair distance away. The journey to and from the snorkel sites takes about 45 minutes each way, and you get about a half an hour each at the two stops (this is not a boat that is built for speed). The snorkeling was very good - some of the other people on the boat spotted an octopus and a sea centipede, and there were loads of little fish swimming everywhere. I'd recommend it if you like snorkeling and don't want to try to book someplace on your own. I didn't bring my phone with me out on the water, but I'll see if I can snap some shots of the boat when the afternoon group returns.

My tour just got back to the pier about an hour ago. The boat does pick you up right at the cruise pier, it couldn't be closer. The boat is kind of like a ferry or tug boat - bench seats on the sides, and running down the center of the ship. The seats are rather hard, so bring an extra towel or something to sit on if you need. There are technically bathrooms, but I didn't go inside them. The captain did ask anyone who used the head to dispose of their toilet paper inside of a bucket, not in the toilet. If you want to just swim you can do that, but all swimming and snorkeling takes place off the boat, not from the beach. There is a beach at the second stop that you can swim to if you want, but it's a fair distance away. The journey to and from the snorkel sites takes about 45 minutes each way, and you get about a half an hour each at the two stops (this is not a boat that is built for speed). The snorkeling was very good - some of the other people on the boat spotted an octopus and a sea centipede, and there were loads of little fish swimming everywhere. I'd recommend it if you like snorkeling and don't want to try to book someplace on your own. I didn't bring my phone with me out on the water, but I'll see if I can snap some shots of the boat when the afternoon group returns.

Thanks so much for getting back to me. One more question, do they have noodles or something else for those that just want to float around in the water?

Thanks so much for getting back to me. One more question, do they have noodles or something else for those that just want to float around in the water?

They didn't, although there was nothing stopping you if you wanted to bring your own. They also had those life preservers that you can inflate by blowing into a tube, which everyone who went in the water had to wear, so you could grab an extra one of those if you liked.

No pictures, sorry. I waited for the second tour to come back for a bit, but had to go in when I started to burn. I did grab a picture of the dock to show how close it was, I'll post that once I'm home.

Hi, Thanks for all you help. I have two more questions. Did you happen to get the name of the boat or the tour company, and were there stairs to get into the water, or did you just have to jump in?

I'm still thinking of booking it, even if it just turns out to be a nice boat ride. From what I read, I'm not too comfortable getting off the ship in Martinique, and doing things on my own, especially not knowing any French.

I hope you had a wonderful time on your cruise.

Hi, Thanks for all you help. I have two more questions. Did you happen to get the name of the boat or the tour company, and were there stairs to get into the water, or did you just have to jump in?

 

I'm still thinking of booking it, even if it just turns out to be a nice boat ride. From what I read, I'm not too comfortable getting off the ship in Martinique, and doing things on my own, especially not knowing any French.

 

I hope you had a wonderful time on your cruise.

Thank you, the cruise was great!

I'm sorry, I didn't get the name of the boat or the company, and wasn't able to find them with Google. You had a choice when getting in the water, you could either jump right in off the side of the boat (maybe 1-2 feet up from the surface of the water), or you could go to the end of the boat and take the ladders down. The ladders had very thick rungs which stuck out from the center spoke, like if you took a lowercase 't' and added a few more horizontal bars. There weren't any other ways back on the boat afterwards.

The scenery we passed was very nice, and you can probably see into the bat cave as the boat passes. The water there was beautiful, very clear, very vivvid green/aqua/blue colors. If you feel like you can handle the ladder, you could probably bring your own pool noodles if you wanted and just float around enjoying the scenery.

Hi! Hope you had a great vacation! Did you by any chance book this excursion? I too am wondering what company RCC uses. Purchasing from the cruise line gives us a minimum age requirement of 5 and my youngest is 4. Any information you're willing to provide is welcome and appreciated.:)