catamaran sailaway and snorkel

has anyone done this excursion in grand turk??

Not sure when you are going, but we are booked on it in December. The reviews on Hollands site are very good. I would be happy to report back when we return...

will be going the first week of january so would love to hear how you found it. the reviews did sound great though. thanks!

has anyone done this excursion in grand turk??

We did one by that name from Carnival Cruise Line in Grand Turk. We were on the Carnival Miracle and our stop in Grand turk was from 9am to 2pm. We had a great time. It was just me and my husband, we love to snorkel. It was raining that morning in Grand Turk, but we didn't care since we were snorkeling. It's definitely neat to see they take you to where the shelf drops off, its about 20 feet deep maybe? I could almost get to the bottom but my ears started to hurt. We saw a lot of fish, including some puffer fish, but the water is not quite as clear as other places in the Caribbean that I have snorkeled, still pretty good though.

After we snorkeled for about an hour, we got back on the Catamaran and the sun came out so it worked out well and they took us over to a beautiful beach. There was a sign up in the dunes that said 'for sale' and there was no one else on the beach, we swam over to the beach from the catamaran (it was probably 15-20 foot swim of water slightly over your head before hitting the sand), they had noodles for everyone to float around on if they wanted. One of the staff who called himself 'Dr. Feelgood' brought out the run punch and was refilling everyone's cups as we floated around. The punch was good, but we didn't realize how strong it was! After a while they took us back to the dock and we realized we were completely hammered from the rum punch! At noon! We swam in the water by the dock for a while before heading back to the ship - Grand Turk is awesome because the beach is literally sprawling out from where the cruise ships dock, because the island has a huge dropoff about 100 feet out from the beach the cruise ship is right there. I think you could do some really decent snorkeling right off the beach if you didn't want to pay for an excursion.

We got back on the ship and ate some lunch (meaning we inhaled whatever we could find on the buffet!) and then passed out in our room all afternoon and spent the evening hung over! Luckily it was a short day anyway, but definitely watch how much Rum punch you are drinking!

It was a fun excursion, I would recommend it. The staff on the boat were all great.

We did it with Princess and it was great fun. The snorkeling was so-so....not much to see. But it beat staying on land with the other millions of people.

Thanks for the rum punch tip...I will limit myself to 2 or 3. We love to sail and snorkel so the catamaran excursion is perfect.

I will definately report back after the cruise.

Steve

We did this excursion a few years ago, and were really impressed. As the OP mentioned, the quality of the snorkeling wasn't great, but the catamaran was beautiful, the people were super, and the beach swimming was wonderful. I would go again. I believe I watched a youtube video that described the exercusion exactly before we left - have a look for it.

i'm concerned about doing a snorkel trip in the winter because water temps are mid 70's from what i've been able to find online. anyone go in mid Feb after the water has had time to cool down all winter? i'm just curious about that.

Not sure when you are going, but we are booked on it in December. The reviews on Hollands site are very good. I would be happy to report back when we return...

Almost forgot about the review:). The tour was great! Definately recommend to anyone that wants a nice sailing tour and some beach/snorkel time. The crew is really nice and very safety minded.

They give snorkeling lessons to first timers, have life jackets and "noodles" and also have 2 guides in the water that you can stay with. The one down side is there were very few fish to see. The wall and coral were beautiful but not many fish.

The beach they stop at is great, almost like pool water and beach was deserted. The catamaran is about 8-10 feet off the beach and plenty of rum punch is served. Really enjoyed our day.

Steve

Based on your sailing date, I am going to guess we were there the day after you on the N. Amsterdam. There was tons of fish- the most we saw in 5 days of snorkeling. Almost all were right on the edge of the wall. Didn't have to swim more that 30 yards form the boat, and were surrounded by all sorts of fish.

Water temp was good. No current. Pretty much just lie in the water, and the fish were there.

The drinks on the beach portion was fun as well.

We did this excursion last year, had a alot of fun. Geared towards newbies but you can easily swim away from your group on your own if you want. They take you to the wall drop off, which is pretty cool to see. Lots of fish, not alot of reef. We were there in March and the water temp was great. Strong rum punch, nice crew, lovely sail. The little beach break on the way back was fun as well, we'd recomend it.

I just booked this excursion for my stop in Grand Turks in May on the Destiny thanks to all the good reviews here and on the Carnival.com website.

136 days to go. I'm not sure if I can take the pressure :)

I have a group of 12 that will be cruising in to Grank Turk in Sept 2012. We are looking forward to a Cataraman Excurision.. I prefer not to book off the ship and use a private company. I feel you get a better/less crowded excurision with that personal touch... Any suggestions?? Thanks!

I was wondering if they have a cash bar on the catamaran or is it just rum punch? One of the people that I'm sailing with just drinks beer. Being that it may be hot, I'm sure he'd like to have a cold one or two. If not, do they have water/soda available if your not a drinker? That may work for him until we get back to the boat.

Just did this excursion last week through Princess and it was one of the highlights of our trip. The crew is so much fun and really helpful for first time snorkelers. It did not feel over crowded the way some ship tours can be which is something we were originally worried about when we booked it. The snorkeling was really nice, lots of fish and coral and the wall which was a little eerie to see. Plenty of drinks and music on the way back! Definitely recommend if you are looking for something to do in Grand Turk.

Just did this excursion last week through Princess and it was one of the highlights of our trip. The crew is so much fun and really helpful for first time snorkelers. It did not feel over crowded the way some ship tours can be which is something we were originally worried about when we booked it. The snorkeling was really nice, lots of fish and coral and the wall which was a little eerie to see. Plenty of drinks and music on the way back! Definitely recommend if you are looking for something to do in Grand Turk.

Thank you for the quick review. I'm doing this in May and can't wait. Do you mind being a little more specific on the drinks? Free/cash? Rum Punch? Beer? Water? Soda? We are 4 people and 1 drinks soda, 1 drinks beer and 2 of us will drink the rum if thats all there is.

Can anyone tell me how big the catamaran is? I really mean how many people will be on board. So many ship's excursions are packed with people.

Just trying to bump this thread up to get more info on the drinks on board. Was chatting with my traveling companion and he asked me again about beer being available because he knows I get all my info from others on the boards.

Anybody out there to answer my drink question please :)

We did this excursion last month We really enjoyed the trip. Dr. Feel good will serve Rum Punch, rum and coke, rum and mtn. dew and pretty much rum and any soda they have on board. No Beer.

We did this excursion last month We really enjoyed the trip. Dr. Feel good will serve Rum Punch, rum and coke, rum and mtn. dew and pretty much rum and any soda they have on board. No Beer.

thanks for the info. I'll tell my friend he better start liking rum :)

We did this last year (Carnival Miracle) and are going again in May (same ship, same cruise...why??? Because we can! LOL :D) I would like to book this with the tour company directly if possible because this time we're bringing the (college aged) kids and it is pricey! Anyone know who runs this and how to get a better deal?

How long does the excursion last? Is there time to visit Margaretaville?:D

How long does the excursion last? Is there time to visit Margaretaville?:D

If you book directly through Carnival, there are 2 excursions. One without a beach stop and the other that includes a beach stop.

I'm on the Destiny in 9 days :D and have booked the one without the beach. The excursion starts at 8am and goes until 10:15am. We leave port at 2pm so that will give us 3 hrs to visit the beach and the various bars along the way. The excursion that includes the beach starts right after at 10:30am and lasts about 3 hrs which wouldn't give us much time on the island.

Check out the excursion page and depending when you dock and leave, it should give you an idea on the timing.