Have you seen excursions for divers and snorkelers?

I, like many of you am the only diver in my family. The next two cruises will be with non-diving friends, (hope to change that). One of my first excursions 10 years ago was a snorkel one in St Thomas. It was through the cruise line and they also had 2 scuba divers on our boat. That would be ideal for me today, but if you go with the cruise ship's offerings they can't/won't tell you when that is the case. Any good private operators that take both? Now I can see where from the diving standpoint this may not be ideal, but it would help me out sometimes.

It depends on the operator, and to some extent the practice in the particular port.

As you noted, a boat with both divers and snorkelers generally detracts from both groups' experiences, so it's usually disliked by both. For this reason, if you're looking for that, you should make it very clear in your inquiry that you WANT it. Frankly a lot of operators will deny they do this if you ask, but then you find out when you get there they do.

In some ports it's very common for operators to run the mixed boats (e.g. Greneda, St. Lucia).

If you can tell us the ports you're interested in, someone on the board here will likely know the operators that can help you.

Harris

Denver, CO

It depends on the operator, and to some extent the practice in the particular port.

 

As you noted, a boat with both divers and snorkelers generally detracts from both groups' experiences, so it's usually disliked by both. For this reason, if you're looking for that, you should make it very clear in your inquiry that you WANT it. Frankly a lot of operators will deny they do this if you ask, but then you find out when you get there they do.

 

In some ports it's very common for operators to run the mixed boats (e.g. Greneda, St. Lucia).

 

If you can tell us the ports you're interested in, someone on the board here will likely know the operators that can help you.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

Thanks for the thoughful post. Coming up in 2017 I may be interested in Bonaire and Curacao. We already have a land excursion for Aruba. In 2018 We are going to ST Croix, Grenada and Dominca and Barbados.

Thanks for the thoughful post. Coming up in 2017 I may be interested in Bonaire and Curacao. We already have a land excursion for Aruba. In 2018 We are going to ST Croix, Grenada and Dominca and Barbados.

I'll be in the ABC Islands in November, so I'll share any insights I gain there. Bonaire should be a relatively easy place to combine the two groups, as it's almost all shore diving there.

In Grenada we dove with EcoDive. I do NOT give them high marks, but one of the big reasons I don't is they ran a combined boat (Divers and Snorkelers); so they may be you answer there.

In Dominica one of the famous dive sites "Champagne" is really almost better for snorkeling than scuba, as the venting bubbles are in shallow depths. I've used ALDIVE there. Their boat is quite small, so I doubt they would be able to accommodate a mixed group, but I imagine other operators would.

In Barbados, one of the big snorkeling sites is Carlisle Bay. There are at least six wrecks there in a cluster, to form an artificial reef. This is also a common second dive for scuba, as it's relatively shallow. I use West Side Scuba Centre there, and they do not combine groups, but I imagine some of the operators do. The other thing you could likely do is have your snorkelers go on an excursion to Carlisle Bay solely; while you arrange with Peter at West Side for a 2 tank dive with the second being at Carlisle Bay. That way you could all end up at the same place; and both groups would get the full experience.

Unfortunately I don't have a recommendation for St. Croix.

Harris

Denver, CO

My friends and I just came back from Curacao in February. We grabbed a cab and went to Playa Lagun. It is a great small beach with decent snorkeling. There is a small restaurant and dive shop up a set of stairs on the right side of the bay. Location works for both snorkelers and divers. :)

http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/ABC/Curacao/Playa_Lagun/index.htm

For US$5 you can rent a beach chair, and it includes a coupon for a small glass of juice at the restaurant. The restaurant was just ok, but it fit the bill for lunch after snorkeling. I would recommend the fresh catch of the day, the mahi was grilled nicely; my friends got the burgers and one said it had a strange taste. :p

I recommend contacting Natasha Gibbs of Dushi Taxi. She will supply a private round trip ride to Playa Lagun. A really nice lady. She met us at the port with my name on a sign. Then she dropped us off and we agreed on a pick up time. (We also got to see the flamingos on our ride there.) We only had 4 people so it was US$40 pp round trip (around 45 minutes each way). It was a really relaxing day.

View from the restaurant.