Woodwind tours

Just returned from a cruise that included Bonaire. We did our second trip with Woodwind and cannot say enough about how wonderful our experience was - again! Dee and her crew are absolutely fantastic - very patient, concerned, enthusiastic, etc. They truly care whether you are having a good experience. We give Woodwind our highest rating - an "11" out of "10"!!

I totally agree with you....!!!!

You are very welcome. Dee has the full face snorkel for sale....actually cheaper than if one would order it and pay for shipping charges. I was lucky to also see a squid....beautiful underwater "paradise". Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

How much does the full face mask cost/brand with Dee? I never saw one and looking online.

How much does the full face mask cost/brand with Dee? I never saw one and looking online.

Hubby bought one ( and now I wish I had bought one too ) for 100 USD....very good price since everywhere I checked is more expnsive plus we have to pay shipping charges. The advantage is that Dee will check and recheck for the perfect fit so you get the correct size. The masks were invented in France about 5 years ago..."tribord easy breadth full mask"

I see your pic with the full face mask (I assume you bought it from Windwood?), but what is that you are holding onto? Flotation device or does it pull you?

We were on the Woodwind in November during our Bonaire stop on the Norwegian Dawn 14 day repositioning cruise from Boston to New Orleans. This was the best excursion we've ever done and I highly recommend the Woodwind.

 

There were a number of cruise critic members from our roll call who booked and we were all amazed by the quality of the snorkel equipment available and the personalized service in picking the right equipment. We were in the beginner group and had Dee herself as our in water guide and leader. She was kind enough to actually "tow" one fearful person so they could enjoy the snorkeling along with the rest of us.

 

I've had difficulty in the past with snorkel masks fitting me and hate the mouthpiece. Not a problem with Woodwind - check out the picture of me below with the full face mask. These don't come with different prescriptions but for me was just wonderful.

They have regular masks with various prescriptions. One gal actually cried because it was the first time snorkeling she could actually see properly to enjoy the beauty.

 

Woodwind also offers free use of a variety of clothing and safety equipment. I'm no lightweight but they had a full body dry suit if that is the proper name to protect me from sunburn. They offered caps for baldies and body shirts for those who didn't want full suits.

 

 

 

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I see your pic with the full face mask (I assume you bought it from Windwood?), but what is that you are holding onto? Flotation device or does it pull you?

Thanks to you all for the positive comments. We are snorkelling with Woodwind in March and they sure must be popular as all the spots were taken up by cruisers on our ship and was sold out a couple of months ago.

Can't wait.

How many people are on the tour typically?

How many people are on the tour typically?

I think we had about 20 give or take. We were divided into 3 more or less equal groups - each with their own guide - and our group had 7.

We took the afternoon woodwind tour in early Feb. 2016. Excellent!!! tour. If you are looking to book & woodwind is full, ask to be put on a waiting list. That's what we did & someone cancelled.

Thanks! We are signed up for Jan 2017! Heard they fill up fast so didnt want to chance it :)

Thanks! We are signed up for Jan 2017! Heard they fill up fast so didnt want to chance it :)

I'm trying to sign up for January 2017 as well. I filled out the online form once and never heard back. Trying again today. How long did it take for you to hear back?

I'm thinking I should maybe contact directly if I don't hear anything after a set amount of time I should try emailing directly.

I heard back right away... I think it was within 24 hours. I would contact directly to be on the safe side!

Thank you so much for letting me know and looking forward to this!!! I will try the full face snorkel for sure! I have always thought they would be neat to try. Really excited also that you said you saw a lot of turtles!

Thank you once again!

We just did their tour last week and it was absolutely fantastic - the best of all the snorkeling we did on our trip. Loved that they broke the group up into smaller groups when we were in the water, which made for a personalized tour. They were also excellent with my husband, who is not a strong swimmer.

As someone else mentioned, this is drift snorkeling with minimal swimming effort required. We saw a ton of fish and coral, but only two turtles.

The lunch they served on board (rice noodles with chicken) was also delicious.

Overall, everything was well organized, well executed.

Have fun!

We missed out the last time so we booked for our November 2016 cruise in December 2015 and got a very prompt reply! Thanks for the picture of the full face snorkel mask, I have never seen one of those.

Hi All,

I've been reading your posts on Bonaire and want to snorkel there. I've also seen the post on the full face mask. I looked on line for the tribord easy breadth full mask and found it on Amazon for about $79. I only hope this is the one that was used.

We also booked with Woodwind. They were very accommodating and responded right away. We're very excited.

Can you please let me know if anyone else has used this mask? We snorkeled in Cozumel and Grand Cayman and the mask/snorkel that we bought were not great. Bonaire is the one place that we want "great" equipment. I'm not the best snorkeler and my husband has a mustache as well as some breathing issues.

Thanks to all of you for your reviews. We cruise in March and can't wait.

Jeanne & Bob

Hi All,

I've been reading your posts on Bonaire and want to snorkel there. I've also seen the post on the full face mask. I looked on line for the tribord easy breadth full mask and found it on Amazon for about $79. I only hope this is the one that was used.

 

W

Jeanne & Bob

You are correct, you do want a good mask and snorkle here.

I have not used the full face mask, but saw a guy using one on my last Woodwind trip last month. I heard him complaining to Dee that he felt claustrophobic. Looking at it, I believe I would feel the same way.

Another person tried, but went back to the traditional one.

I have read posts here of people who like them, however.

May I suggest that rather than ordering one on line, you find a local dive shop (may be difficult in AZ, I realize...) and let a knowledgeable person guide you.

The fit is so very important, and unless you are fully relaxed and safe feeling, you will not be able to enjoy the underwater sights.

Thanks to you all for the positive comments. We are snorkeling with Woodwind in March and they sure must be popular as all the spots were taken up by cruisers on our ship and was sold out a couple of months ago.

Can't wait.

Booking early is a MUST. Will be in Bonaire from 8-5 so I booked back in July 2015 for the 4 hour tour in the morning when we dock. I got a confirmation the other day for the 3 hour tour from 1-4 pm. I was a bit disappointed as I wanted the morning and the 4 hour so I called and spoke to Ulf. He was very nice and said there were other groups ahead of me that he was waiting for confirmation from and there were only 2 spots left on the morning tour on the date I needed (we have 4).

I said we'll take the afternoon and to keep me in mind if someone doesn't confirm and I just got a confirmation for the 4 hour tour in the morning. Yay Looking forward to this as everyone raves about it. It'll be tight since we dock at 8 and we have to be there by 8:20 but we should be ok right?

Just coming back to say it was one of the best tours~ they are top notch tour guides. Safety is a very important thing to them. Loved the full face mask at first little panic feeling but once got use to it I loved using it so much better! I really was happy to have them ask if I wanted to try the belt thing instead of the vest, liked it so much better. I would do them again when we return to Bonaire amazing snorkeling.

Hi All,

I've been reading your posts on Bonaire and want to snorkel there. I've also seen the post on the full face mask. I looked on line for the tribord easy breadth full mask and found it on Amazon for about $79. I only hope this is the one that was used.

 

We also booked with Woodwind. They were very accommodating and responded right away. We're very excited.

 

Can you please let me know if anyone else has used this mask? We snorkeled in Cozumel and Grand Cayman and the mask/snorkel that we bought were not great. Bonaire is the one place that we want "great" equipment. I'm not the best snorkeler and my husband has a mustache as well as some breathing issues.

 

Thanks to all of you for your reviews. We cruise in March and can't wait.

 

Jeanne & Bob

We just snorkled with Woodwind last week, and it was amazing. A couple of months ago, I bought the Tribord easy breath full mask Size S/M in pink from Amazon and paid $92. A couple of weeks later, they raised the price, then they were out of stock, and when I checked now, they are $76. Each size/color is a different price and I believe the price changes according to their stock and which distributor is used. No shipping over $35 or if a Prime member. The only 2 places that carry this is Amazon and Ebay. There are 2 Dive shops close to where I live, and one doesn't carry full masks at all, and the other carries a different brand and though I could have tried it on, I only wanted the Tribord as they "invented" it. I was taking my chance with the size and Dee was concerned that it may leak on the sides of my temples, so she tried on a child's size, but that was much too small. It did not leak whatsoever, so it was the correct size. I don't swim, am very fearful, and Dee put a float belt on me which had a float attached to it via a rope which you can hold on to. Unfortunately, before 5 minutes were up, I crashed into coral as it was very close to the surface. Dee rushed over, checked my legs, but I wasn't bleeding. She stayed and pulled me the rest of the "dive." When we returned, they poured fresh water, put ointment on, bandaged my thigh, gave me 2 aspirin, and put me into a full wet suit (even though my arms were protected by my rashguard), took me around for the 2nd "dive", then a delicious lunch and rum punch. I wasn't bleeding, but very painful and swelled up. This happened many years ago, but worse and bled, my luck! Dee also offered me at no cost a brand new wet suit, but I wouldn't accept it and too much in weight (airline), gave me the rest of the bandages and ointment. Even through all of this, it was great, turtles and all! But I could not have done it without her.

Hi All,

I've been reading your posts on Bonaire and want to snorkel there. I've also seen the post on the full face mask. I looked on line for the tribord easy breadth full mask and found it on Amazon for about $79. I only hope this is the one that was used.

 

We also booked with Woodwind. They were very accommodating and responded right away. We're very excited.

 

Can you please let me know if anyone else has used this mask? We snorkeled in Cozumel and Grand Cayman and the mask/snorkel that we bought were not great. Bonaire is the one place that we want "great" equipment. I'm not the best snorkeler and my husband has a mustache as well as some breathing issues.

 

Thanks to all of you for your reviews. We cruise in March and can't wait.

 

Jeanne & Bob

Yes. Those are the ones they have Tribord Easy Breath, but I don't know how much they were charging to purchase one.

Both my husband and I used the Tribord snorkle masks when we did the tour with Woodwind and loved them. Husband bought one from them ( he paid 100 USD )and I wish I also had bought one. We just did a TP cruise which went to Bora Bora and Mo'orea and all I can say is....my husband just loved using the Tribord easybreadth snorkle....

In honolulu we actually saw a store selling and renting a copy ...they are made in Japan ( I think ) and called H2Oninjamask... if and when I buy one for me I would prefer to buy the original ( Tribord )

How far away does Woodwind take you from the ship? Do you ride to their boats first, or are they walking distance near the port? Does the snorkel boat travel far from the ship?

I ask because I don't like boat rides. (I know, I really don't like the feel of a cruise ship, either...:eek:)

How far away does Woodwind take you from the ship? Do you ride to their boats first, or are they walking distance near the port? Does the snorkel boat travel far from the ship?

 

I ask because I don't like boat rides. (I know, I really don't like the feel of a cruise ship, either...:eek:)

Their office and dock is about a 10 minute walk from the cruise ship docks. Take a look at googlemaps: https://www.google.com/maps/@12.1513554,-68.2771214,14z. Their location is shown on the map. If I remember correctly Woodwind takes you to snorkel on the east/northeast side of Klein Bonaire. We were always in sight of the cruise ships.

Does anyone know of another reputable snorkeling tour company besides Woodwind? They are booked for our Navigator cruise next April. Appreciate the information .

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Does anyone know of another reputable snorkeling tour company besides Woodwind? They are booked for our Navigator cruise next April. Appreciate the information .

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

I don't know of another company, but you could ask to be on a waiting list if someone should cancel. That's how we got our reservation.