Stand Up Paddle Board / Snorkeling options?

I have tried the search feature and didn't come up with anything recent.

Has anyone tried anything like this on their own. We will be on the NCL Getaway in a few weeks and they do offer an excursion but I'd rather try this on our own to avoid crowds and the feeling of cattle herding that can (not always) be experienced on ship tours. I checked another review site and PappaSurf seems to be highly recommended there. Any input or reviews from anyone that has used them or any other option for this activity recently?

We want the combined ability to try the stand up paddle board along with some snorkeling time.

Thanks in advance!

Nassau or Freeport?

Sorry. Nassau.

In August of 2014, my wife and I were on the Carnival Fascination and wanted to do some Stand up Paddleboarding and snorkeling but didn't want to pay for the excursion through Carnival or the guided tour through PappaSurf. I contacted PappaSurf about just renting the boards for a couple hours. I think it was only like 35 per person to rent a standup paddleboard (including having them drop it off and pick it back up from you) for 3 hours.

So I got them to meet us at Goodman's Bay (where they usually do the guided tours and lessons) with the boards. You take the #10 Jitney bus that leaves from in front of the McDonalds for 3 bucks and tell them to drop you off at Goodman's Bay. The bright yellow van from PappaSurf parks at the sea wall and drops off the boards and you tell them when to come pick them back up from you. I took my own snorkel gear, but you could rent that from them too. The guys that dropped the stuff off showed us where the reef was that we paddled too. You gotta be a little adventurous and we carried all our stuff in a dry bag. But it was a lot of fun and half the price of the tour.

We are going on the Carnival Sunshine in May and thinking of doing this again (especially now that we know where to find the #10 Jitney bus and know where the yellow van parks).

Also, we noticed a beach sports shack at Junkanoo beach (right by the cruise ship dock) that rented SUP for 25 an hour.

Hope this helps. Have fun!

Great info!! Thank you! We've never done this before (SUP) is it pretty easy to figure out so we could skip the lesson? I'm not sure about what we would do with our stuff though.

PappaSurf was a blast for me and my family! Its not hard to find and they took us out on a SUP & Snorkel Tour for 2.5 hours which was fantastic, it was a great experience and even if you don have experience they give you a brief lesson before the tour! Check out their website!

I would hate to be that guy who encouraged you to skip the guide and the lesson, and then y'all have problems. So I would encourage you to do the guided SUP and snorkel tour that starts with a little lesson.

To answer your question though, yes it is easy on the standard beginner boards. not hard to stay on. paddling is just like a canoe or kayak. It does take some athletic ability and coordination.

We are just used to being a little adventurous in foreign countries so we decided to venture on our own, which turned out great, but I was concerned about safety a little bit.

We took a waterproof "dry bag" for our stuff and just had it ride on the nose of the board. If you go on the guided tour, then I think they have somebody there to watch your stuff.

I would sign up with PappaSurf for the SUP and Snorkel tour. also look at their reviews on Trip Advisor

Thanks. I have to agree. I think the guided lesson/tour is appropriate this time around. Tripadvisor is where I originally found them and the reviews are great. On a side note, I sent an email to test the waters and they replied within hours with a very informative and helpful reply. Good customer service goes a long way with me so that was encouraging.

I'll post a brief review and photos when we return for future interested parties. We've been to Nassau so many times and have run out of things to check out but we do have a newbie in our party to staying on the ship wasn't really an option. This, I think will be a very fun and memorable day for us. Thanks again for the input. :)

PappaSurf was a blast for me and my family! Its not hard to find and they took us out on a SUP & Snorkel Tour for 2.5 hours which was fantastic, it was a great experience and even if you don have experience they give you a brief lesson before the tour! Check out their website!

Glad to hear this! We are all in agreement that we want to do it except my husband who is hesitant to try new things sometimes. He'll love it and will be glad we twisted his arm a little. :)

Do you think we would have enough time to do a walking tour (approx 2hrs) and this excursion if we are in port from 11-8? Since I'm hearing good things, I'd love to try it!