Buck Island Cruise Excurions

Has anyone been here recently, how are the reefs and snorkelling post Maria?

Also, has anyone done this through Celebrity Cruises? We have a few people in our group that just wan to lounge on the beach and not snorkel, I assume this is possible?

Thanks in advance.

None of the Buck island boats will spend more than an hour and a half on Turtle Beach. So if your friends just want to lounge on a beach, they might be better off not going to Buck Island. But if they are fine lounging on the boat during your snorkel, and enjoy sailing in beautiful water, they will still enjoy it.

You could arrange to do the tour on your own. Big Beard's, Caribbean Sea Adventures and Mile Mark are the companies that go from Christiansted.

Thanks...we were looking at the ship excursion because we have a lot of OBC. I have read that the snorkeling can be challenging due to a narrow entry?

Did either one of you experience challenges? We have snorkelled quite a bit in Hawaii (Kona and Honoluu), Klein, Puerto Vallarta, Dominica, Barbados, may be forgetting a few, lol. Just trying to gauge and mentally wrap my head around the challenge so we know what to expect.

I am not a very experience snorkeler but my hubby is. His read on the situation is this:

If the conditions are good, the boats will let you snorkel the Park Service trail (always do this) PLUS will take you outside the reef. The entrance to the outside of the reef is a bit narrow but would not pose a problem for the experienced snorkeler.

Last year, I went outside the reef for the first time and did just fine following the guide. And it was worth it.

If it is a bit rough, they won't take you over there.

Hope that gives you a good picture.

And I totally get the OBC issue. Have done the same myself!

I am not a very experience snorkeler but my hubby is. His read on the situation is this:

If the conditions are good, the boats will let you snorkel the Park Service trail (always do this) PLUS will take you outside the reef. The entrance to the outside of the reef is a bit narrow but would not pose a problem for the experienced snorkeler.

Last year, I went outside the reef for the first time and did just fine following the guide. And it was worth it.

If it is a bit rough, they won't take you over there.

Hope that gives you a good picture.

And I totally get the OBC issue. Have done the same myself!

Thanks so much, this was a huge help!

My hubby is a much stronger swimmer and snorkeler than myself. I never use to swim in bodies of water, pools were more my thing (I was also fearful of water creatures/fish). I have come along way! LOL I started to be unsure when I read varying reviews on the level of difficulty. There is no way to predict the water but your explanation helped me get an idea of the coral situation and what to expect. Thanks so much, looking forward to our visit in November!

Buck Island, and Rhythms @ Rainbow Beach. Sounds like a pretty good start to our cruise :)