Mountain Point Snorkeling

Has anyone out there done this snorkeling tour before in Ketchikan? Is it worth the time and money? I know the caribbean has lots of different color fish and things to see. I know nothing about the Alaskan waters. Please help. My cruise is next week, and need to know if it is worth it. Thanks for any information on this matter.

Hi alaswhales,

This is probably too late for you, but just in case...I hope you did the snorkeling tour. I just did the Mountain Point trip from the Coral Princess on June 3 and it was the best of all the excursions DH and I did that week. It may seem kind of expensive but the price is within the range of other snorkeling trips I have taken through the cruise lines in Grand Cayman, etc. However, it was well worth the money!! Don't forget, the price includes a thick (7mm) wetsuit, boots, gloves, hat, mask, snorkel, fins and weights if necessary. The guides help you with everything - they even put on your fins for you....not easy to do by yourself in a 7mm wetsuit:D. You don't even have to spit in your mask :eek: because they spray it with anti-fog. And the anti-fog works!! Plus - the guides are all SCUBA certified and are very watchful of everyone. When you get back to the office after the trip you have a warm place to change and you get hot chocolate or coffee to drink on the way back to the ship.

But - the best part was the snorkeling. The fish are not as bright as in the Caribbean but other sea life is - we saw a bright red sea star and a really big purple sunflower star. The guides free dive down to bring up the hardier marine life so you can see it up close. We got to hold a sea urchin, some sea stars and a sea cucumber. When we were done looking at a specimen, the guides would return it to the location in which they found it. They were very careful not to hurt any marine life. There were also plenty of different fish in the area that were interesting in their own right, just not as bright as you might see in warmer water. The sea grass, sea fans, and kelp were also different - the sea fans were the biggest I have ever seen. We were in the water for almost an hour so we got to see tons of stuff. A sea lion even swam through the area about 10 feet from us! The entire time we were in the water was breathtaking and spectacular. I would encourage anyone to take this excursion. DH and I are in our 40s, but another couple was in their 60s, and neither of them had ever snorkeled before.

So don't pass it up - snorkel Mountain Point!

cigal

How difficult was the snorkel and how cold was it? I have snorkelled all over the world, but am currently going through cancer treatment and not sure how much strength and stamina I would need. The info mentions medical release and I figured I could talk to them on the ship, but you may have a better idea.

Thanks!

Hey pugsbest,

My thoughts are with you on your cancer treatment. Best wishes for a complete recovery!

I am a real wimp when it comes to cold water, so I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I stayed pretty warm. By the time you get to the water, you have warmed up a bit inside, so the water warms up fast in the wetsuit. I sat down on a rock to put the fins on, so the water seeped in slowly enough that it wasn't a bad shock. My friends are amazed that I would even take this trip because I hate to be cold. But I really did warm up quickly. I am tall, and some water seeped into my gloves, but it wasn't enough to make me really cold. When the snorkeling part is over, they have really warm water to pour down your wetsuit, which is heaven:). They call it an Alaskan jacuzzi!

As far as the trip being strenuous - that is harder to determine. But I can tell you what I observed/did/heard from others. The other two people from our ship were in their 60s, and the lady had never snorkeled before. They seemed to be fine, and said they had a good time and were glad they did it. I only hope I will be that energetic in 20 years or so! Also - the snorkeling site is very close to shore, and mostly pretty shallow. There is no coral - just sea grass and kelp, so you can put your feet down and stand up easily in most places. The guides talked about a little bit of a current, but I never felt like I had to struggle or fight a current. The wetsuits make you really buoyant, so you just kind of float along. The guides also have red rescue floats that you can hang on to - they are not the little red hard-sided ones, but are made of soft flexible stuff. One other note - if you get tired, one of the guides will take you back to shore if you want or will help you rest a little. The whole trip is 3 hours, but you are in the water about an hour.

I haven't been on cruise-critic long, but I will try to e-mail you from your e-mail link.

The medical release is the standard release that releases them from liability if you get hurt, and they want to know what meds you are on etc. One of the guides with us was an EMT and a rescue diver, so we felt very well taken care of.

Have fun!

Ditto everything Cigal said!

This was a terrific excursion and I highly recommend it!

I third all of the above. If you don't use the weights (I didn't), you can honestly just float along. If you want to get somewhere, all you have to do is move your feet very little to get going and catch up to people. I was being more cautious and staying behind others, as that is what the guide told me to do so they could keep an eye out for dangerous jellyfish. I guess there are certain color ones that their sting would be bad since I am allergic to bee stings. They really take care of their people!!! Take care and enjoy!!

Thank you for the info. on the snorkeling. I had dismissed it entirely as a choice as I didn't think there would be much to see. I love to snorkel and it would be interesting to tell people I'd been in Alaska!

My question is about the wetsuits. I'm wondering if the wet-suits are suitable for larger size people. That's my only real concern about this excursion.

Thanks!

You can probably email them through their website. I can only tell you that there were people of all shapes and sizes when I did it last month. They have a very large selection of wetsuits. It will probably not be a problem. Here are the pictures I took while there. Please remember that it was very cloudy and rainy, so they didn't come out as well as I had hoped for. I loved this tour. I love to watch peoples faces when I tell them I snorkeled in Alaska. Also, the tour guide/owner is great as well as the staff. His wife also takes everyones picture at the beach, and they are for purchase of $10.00. I couldn't find mine, due to the wetsuit making me look much slimmer!!! They also sell cute t-shirts for $15.00 that say "I snorkeled in Alaska"

http://photos.yahoo.com/evilhousekeeper

Thank you for the information. I think we're going to go for it!

I can't wait to tell people I snorkeled in Alaska.

Glad to be of help. Were you able to contact them through the website? Hope you looked at the pictures. This tour actually ended up being my most favorite of the trip. Even over the Whale watch tour I took, since I saw more whales from my balcony than I did on the tour!!:confused: You will have a great time.

Thank you Alaswhales,

Sorry for the delay in responding, I've had some computer issues :(

Your photos look great. It seems so strange to be swimming with that many jellyfish. I haven't contacted the snorkeling company yet. I'm going to get in touch with Carnival to find out which company they use. Hopefully they can let me know and I'll get my questions answered.

I'll let you know how it goes when I get back. My cruise is in September.

Thank you again!