Any info: "Barrier Reef Snorkel & Rendezvous Key Beach Break"

Has anyone taken the "Barrier Reef Snorkel & Rendezvous Key Beach Break" Excursion? :confused:

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

Still HOPING to hear from someone/anyone :confused: who has taken this shore excursion!

I highly reccomend this excursion. My wife and I cruised on the Elation in November 2004. You leave directly from the ship for this excursion. After boarding your snorkeling boat you will travel for about 20-25 minutes to the snorkeling spot. During this time the crew is fitting everyone with their gear and giving instructions. Once you arrive at the Caye everyone has about 30-35 minutes of snorkeling time. When you finish snorkeling there is a small island and beach there for relaxation. After everyone is done snorkeling, they serve delicious complementary rum punch and the local beer, Belican, is available for a fee. After relaxing on the beach for a time you board the boat for the ride back to the ship. During this time punch and beer are available. Good Music and Dancing on the way back to the ship. Wonderful time. Total duration about 3 1/2 hours. Our crew including Allie and Captain Charley were very friendly and helpful.

bburt60 .... Thanks so very very much! :) This is EXACTLY what we hoped it would be! Can't wait to go! Printed your reply.

Thanks again! Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

We did this excursion with Princess, and LOVED It!!! it was really fun,,,nice ride out to the island (you will see it as a tiny speck on the horizon), nice snorkel, beach toys, drinks,,,,party on the way back,,,,great experience for our family!!

My husband and I did this on 3/4. The boat that they are using is brand new - just started using it the week before we did it. You are picked up right at the ship and take out to the Great Barrier Reef. We have snorkeled in many, many ports and are in the process of becoming OW certified. This snorkeling was the best we have ever done. The reef is beautiful. There is a drop off (wall) in the reef that just drops to forever - it is amazing to snorkel over! It is a guided snorkel (didn't love that so much) but they don't want anyone going into areas that they might hurt the coral and there were many inexperienced snorklers. We were kept kinda tight and the guy that leads you brings a coke bottle filled with chum and the fish come in like crazy when he releases some. The island is teeny, tiny that you get to relax at after and then drink free rum drinks or soda on the way back. The rum is different than any I have ever had. Not a big fan of rum but it smelled like cream soda and had a vanilla/cream soda kind of taste. I had them put a splash in my diet coke. They are very heavy handed with the rum - nice for some but not for me. They were making a 50/50 blend! There are also two girls that take pictures heading out (ship in background) and then while snorkeling. On the way back they will have them printed and for sale to you if you like. We bought ours they came out very nice. $12 each or two for $20 - nice souvenier if you like that sort of thing and I do. Feel free to ask any questions. I took plenty of pictures as well.

Thank you for the great review. Now, I am excited. We booked this last night since our Thriller Boat trip was cancelled. 2 questions: 1) do you wear life vests? My DH tends to "sink", and 2) is it easy to get on and off the new boat? I have a bad knee.

Thanks for the info.

Yes they have inflatable life vests that will hold practically anybody up (and everyone is required to wear them) and getting back into the boat can be done two different ways. For the more athletic there is one giant step and a rope banister with a man that helps pull you up - I noticed them telling some heavier, older women to continue under the boat (theres a big air gap because its a catamaran style boat) where there are stairs down into the water (you can also go into the water this way) or jump off from a doorway area for the more experienced. This trip is def. for all - I saw people with little to no water skills, mask skills and snorkeling skills still enjoy themselves. You will love this excursion. Also an interesting and fun note was that the ship was due to sail at 4pm and our trip brought us back at 4:10 directly to the ship (this is a tender port) and practically the entire ship was watching as we whooped and hollered our way in. Fun times!

how was the snorkeling from the beach?

This trip takes you to the Great Barrier Reef - the "beach" per se is a teensy tiny island made up from broken conch shells. Its size is maybe a football field - and has about 4 palm trees on it. The reef is just yards away. The reef is amazing - best I've been to - the drop off and the amount of fish were just great. The equipment is as good as you'll get on any snorkel trip. If you have your own equipment def. bring them (thats what we did).

We just took the excursion this month too and enjoyed it a lot. Our only complaint was that our guides never pointed out the best snorkeling area, so we spent a lot of time in an area that was OK but not great. It was only after we swam to land that other people told us where we should have gone. I went back out but my girl friend was too tired.

We both really liked the life jackets -- especially my girl friend, who likes to snorkeling but isn't a strong swimmer.

I wasn't too impressed by the rum punches (even for free) because the bar tender at the Schooner Bar on Splendour by the Sea made great ones. I bought a Belican (Belizean beer) which I enjoyed. However, some people were pretty smashed from those rum punches by the time we got back to our ship.

Wonder if this was the same excursion on ours there was no beer for sale - I prefer beer and was told there were no drinks for sale only the soda and rum that they offered for free. Was yours an excursion booked through the ship? From what I am told this is stricktly sold to Carnival Cruiselines as they picked all up directly from our ship and then we were all returned directly to our ship.

My excursion was booked through Royal Carib., and several beers were offered for sale.

Well that makes sense - different excursion - same name. The company that Carnival uses was top notch - sorry you didn't have the same experience. Sounds like you'll have to plan another trip back :>) That may be useful information for people reading this thread that the cruiseline that you book through uses different companies for this excursion. We were very happy with who Carnival chose.

I'm considering this excursion as well and wondered what time they picked you up at the ship? We'll also be on the Miracle. Thanks for the great review!

We just came back from the Miracle. There were two choices an 8:30 morning excursion and a 12:30 excursion. We went on the 8:30 excursion and we are glad we did since the day was brutally hot.

This excursion was very professionally done. The boat was brand new. Great crew, friendly and helpful. We all had a great time. My husband is not a swimmer, my two teens can swim and I am not a strong swimmer but there was something for everyone. They picked you right off the ship. The boat ride was about 40 minutes. When you were docking off shore of the island they gave you a short briefing about snorkling. Enough for the beginners but not too boring for the less experience. If you were unsure there was enough staff around to give you one to one attention. Everyone had to wear a yellow life vest, which was great for keeping you afloat.

You started off a small docking area or you could jump right off the ship. Everyone stayed together and there were staff in kayaks to assist you and follow with you. They brought you out to the reef. I was not comfortable at this point since it was very crowded and I asked for assistance to a closer distance to the boat. A staff member happily helped me back and I enjoyed snorkling around the reef in a less crowded area. My husband never left the dock area but enjoyed the experience near shore. My two children swam right with the crowd and saw a great deal of the reef. As you can see there is something for all.

After the guided swim, you could continue to snorkel or use a float or kayak in the water. Beverages were free and there were restrooms on the boat. The staff boasted the island contained 11 palm trees and 2 pelicans. It was totally worth the price we paid to Carnival and I would highly recommend it for experienced and beginners. Families with older children would feel comfortable and secure.

I have pictures if anyone would like to see them.

Thanks for the reply Chips. I'm definately considering this one as it sounds great. I know it will be really hot by the time we get there so the morning one sounds like the best choice.

Glad you guys had such a great time.

Chips...I'm considering this excursion on our upcoming cruise in May. I'd love to see your pictures.

I printed Chips picture of Renedezvous Caye and have it hanging in my office ... so I know Paradise Is Waiting! :D

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7053

Thanks again Chips ! Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

Chips401,

Can you send me the pictures ?

We are going in 2 1/2 weeks and would love to see them.

cmjsr@yahoo.com

Thanks,

Chris

I hate to sound like a wimp, but I have asthma and have never been able to wear a face mask. I'm also quite large. My husband loves snorkeling but I don't think he'll go without me. Is it something I could enjoy without actually snorkeling?

Just got back yesterday from the Coral, and we had this excursion booked, the day of the excursion we were told the boat would be late by 10:30 we were told the boat broke down and our tour was cancelled. :(

by this time all the ships shore excursions were already gone, and we did not trust just picking one up in Belize being we were they just a short time, so needless to say we didn't get to snorkel. We did find ou that others did head over to the mainland and pick up a tour company and went snorkeling, and it worked out fine for them.

I feel Princess should of had a back up plan for us, being we do pay top dollar for their excursions , they could of made sure we got something else....

We were supposed to do stingray city in the Caymens and our stop there was cancelled because of weather, we never did get to do any snorkeling on this trip-- very disappointing for us

We did this excursion on March 30th. The boat met us at our ship. It was a pleasant 45 minute ride out to the tiny island. The crew passed out life vests, masks, J-tubes and flippers and non-alcoholic drinks while we were in route. The boat anchored close to the island. There were about 8 pelicans that day.

We either jumped (or like me) climbed down the ladder into the water. It was a choppy day. So the visibility wasn't great and the waves were breaking over our J-tubes. We did not snorkle too long. Unfortunately, we were anchored on the windward side of the island. Another boat from another ship was anchored on the leeward side. If we had realized that, then we would have just gone over to the "good side" to snorkle. However, we floated on a raft and drank rum punch and had a good time at the beach anyway. I saw the crew ferry non-swimmers to the beach using their kayaks. When it was time to get back on the boat, I could walk all but the last 4 feet to the ladder. Again it was a pleasant ride back. The photographers printed out the digital pics that they took and sold them. We did buy one.

I was on your cruise. We did the Sargeant's Reef snorkeling, and believe me, you did not miss a thing. There were not many fish and it was not as colorful or as beautiful as other places I've snorkeled. I too was disappointed about not getting to Stingray City. Princess put the Rendezvous Cay people on our boat, and so there were not enough seats. We had to wait almost an hour for another boat. They were not apologetic, were even arrogant about it, but they did eventually refund us a small portion of the tour (we missed close to an hour of it!). Sorry we didn't get a chance to meet; we're "neighbors" of yours (from Staten Island!)

I hate to sound like a wimp, but I have asthma and have never been able to wear a face mask. I'm also quite large. My husband loves snorkeling but I don't think he'll go without me. Is it something I could enjoy without actually snorkeling?

chocolate lover .... We LOVE the "snorkeling tours" but don't always actually "snorkel" -- often just swim and play around. You'll find many others do the same. You'll have FUN ... go! :p

Note: I have some small swim goggles that fit me perfectly that I use when playing! My husband often snorkels while I just play! Once again ... GO and have FUN!

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)