Powercat to St. John Beach, Snorkeling and Christmas Cove - STF1

[Crystalcat]

That would be great Kim - hope you are having an excellent time!

[Conanc]

Thanks Kim. I am the OP so am really enjoying all of the comments on this thread. I would love to hear all about your experience with this excursion as we are planning to book it on our next cruise.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Nancy

[cappy09]

Hi all

 

I originally found this tour on the RCI website, however it seems it's not available for Oasis OTS passengers now, at least I can't see it on our 8 May sailing.

 

Has anyone who has sailed on Oasis done this one? Been keen to find out if it's being offered or not.

 

Thanks

 

Amanda

 

The excursion is listed on the Cruise Enhanements page for StThomas as Jost Van Dyke Best of the British Virgin Islans tour STF-2 $99. PP 8:30 AM - 3:45 PM

 

If you can't do it online you can always go to The cruise excursions desk as soon as you board to try and make the reservation. myself and 6 others have booked this but we did it early on to be sure we got it. Good luck hope to see you on the excursion

[Moo_Cruiser]

The excursion is listed on the Cruise Enhanements page for StThomas as Jost Van Dyke Best of the British Virgin Islans tour STF-2 $99. PP 8:30 AM - 3:45 PM

 

If you can't do it online you can always go to The cruise excursions desk as soon as you board to try and make the reservation. myself and 6 others have booked this but we did it early on to be sure we got it. Good luck hope to see you on the excursion

 

Thanks for the info cappy.

 

I saw this tour, but thought it was different to STF1 - doesn't it go to different islands??? Is STF 2 still on Bimini Breeze??

 

I am sooo confused!!!:confused:

 

If anyone can clarify what the difference is between the 2 excursions, that would be appreciated. My sailing isn't offering STF1.

 

Thanks

 

Cheers

 

Amanda

[BabySam99]

Oh had so much fun on this excursion! I would highly recommend it! It took us about 20 minutes to get to Christmas Cove and we snorkeled for about 45 minutes...the guide on the boat took chum and led us to some really gorgeous spots...saw all kinds of fish, stingrays, octopus...really pretty!...then back to the boat for rum punch and then on to St. John...another 20 minutes or so...you could swim to the beach or they would take you by dingy over...really pretty place! Such a nice day!:)

XO

Kim

[Crystalcat]

Excellent news. Thanks Kim. Glad you had a great time.

[CruisnKs]

We took this excursion a few weeks ago and had a blast. Christmas Cove was absolutely gorgeous!!! My boys were afraid to snorkel, but I saw other kids about their age who did just fine. Even without snorkeling, we thoroughly enjoyed this excursion and the Rum punch. :)

 

My experience was 99% positive and the 1% that wasn't perfect was a result of improper expectations, so here are some details to help set others' expectations.

In case you are curious about demographics, we are me(46), my husband(52) sons (7 & 8). We live in central Texas and cruise about twice a year.

1. The first snorkeling stop, Christmas Cove is post card beautiful. Take pictures of the scenery before jumping in to snorkel.

2. Crew = Awesome! I truly believe the crew made the excursion a success for us. They all worked very hard and were personable and entertaining.

3. You will be snorkeling with about 65 to 70 other people.

4. In my opinion, the 2nd stop, which was a beach was not spectacular. However, that is just my opinion.

5. The rum punch is really good, but really strong. I don't recall the last time I sang along to that many songs. Make sure you stay hydrated because lots of rum with lots of sun and little water = bad headache later.

 

Once again, we thoroughly enjoyed this excursion. So much so that by the time the excursion ended, I was ready to send my 23 yr old son down to St Thomas to join the crew. Thank goodness the rum punch wore off before I got back home and told him.:D

I would recommend this excursion to anyone who isn't totally opposed to having a good time.

[tyedye]

Referring to STF1 on the FOTS:

On the beach stop where you can either swim to the beach or take a dighy, does the tour/excursion include towels and or a chair on the beach or how does that work? Will we need to bring towels from the ship to dry off after snokeling?

 

Also I want to be able to get some pictures while on the tour so would my best choice be a waterproof camera? Or does the PowerCat have any place to store items to keep them dry?

 

Any info or suggestions are appreciated.

[htjmom]

Tyedye..no they do not provide towels or chairs for the beach, maybe you could have them bring a ship towel over in the dingy but then you'll get wet again on the swim back I'd just leave the towel on the cat and dry off later:D Camera, yikes we saw a lady with what looked like a very expensive camera get soaked on the ride over there, with big waves that came over us sat in the very front and got her 5 rows back, leave the good camera in the covered area or take pictures from the back of the cat:) We did see people with waterproofs in the water.

[walleye2]

We took this excursion a few weeks ago and had a blast. Christmas Cove was absolutely gorgeous!!! My boys were afraid to snorkel, but I saw other kids about their age who did just fine. Even without snorkeling, we thoroughly enjoyed this excursion and the Rum punch. :)

 

My experience was 99% positive and the 1% that wasn't perfect was a result of improper expectations, so here are some details to help set others' expectations.

In case you are curious about demographics, we are me(46), my husband(52) sons (7 & 8). We live in central Texas and cruise about twice a year.

1. The first snorkeling stop, Christmas Cove is post card beautiful. Take pictures of the scenery before jumping in to snorkel.

2. Crew = Awesome! I truly believe the crew made the excursion a success for us. They all worked very hard and were personable and entertaining.

3. You will be snorkeling with about 65 to 70 other people.

4. In my opinion, the 2nd stop, which was a beach was not spectacular. However, that is just my opinion.

5. The rum punch is really good, but really strong. I don't recall the last time I sang along to that many songs. Make sure you stay hydrated because lots of rum with lots of sun and little water = bad headache later.

 

Once again, we thoroughly enjoyed this excursion. So much so that by the time the excursion ended, I was ready to send my 23 yr old son down to St Thomas to join the crew. Thank goodness the rum punch wore off before I got back home and told him.:D

I would recommend this excursion to anyone who isn't totally opposed to having a good time.

 

This is an excellent review of this excursion. We took it off the IOS Feb 6. We are 47-48 with 2 sons 9-10. I would just like to add that we had a great time also. I counted 84 heads on our tour as we were walking to the boat. At xmas cove, we sat in the very back and asked one of the crew which direction was the best to snorkel as we were off first. It was way less crowded being in front and all the reef fish were not spooked by 80 people (if that even happens). However, there is only 1 snorkeling stop and 1 beach stop, unlike the description on RCCL's website. The visibility at the beach was zero for us, so it was just a beach stop when we were hoping to snorkel again. We had fun however. When the crew tell you that the painkillers (rum punch) will be mixed at either "asprin or vicodin" strength...DO NOT DRINK 3-4 OF THE VICODENS. They just keep pouring too!!! And, THIS is when they get you to buy everyone t-shirts LOLOL. Walking back to the ship after the excursion... a blank! My wife tells me that our lunch on-board was really good also, but...a blank! And I really enjoyed my 4 hour nap afterwards........WOW. LOL! Would I go again...yepper (without the vicodins).

[swheels]

Just booked this excursion for the FOS March 14th cruise. Do you know if you should take your own snorkel equipment or do they supply theirs? Wife has a problem with using others snorkels.:D

[walleye2]

They have very good equipment if you need it. We had our own though. Have fun!!!!!

[swheels]

Thanks for the info. This should be a fun excursion. Never snorkeled before.:D

[SkyDekker]

Just booked this excursion for the FOS March 14th cruise. Do you know if you should take your own snorkel equipment or do they supply theirs? Wife has a problem with using others snorkels.:D

 

hey there swheels,

 

My gf and our son are booked on this excursion and on the same ship. Come find us, just ask around for the girl that likes to share snorkels :eek::p

 

Justin

[Smileeface]

If it makes you feel any better, on another excursion I took a small baggie with bleach/disinfecting wipes and just wiped my snorkel equipment out, then just rinsed it with water or ocean water. Made me feel better. ;) Have a great time!

[swheels]

My DW decided. just bought new snorkels & masks:

[HaileyJordan]

Hi I have this excursion booked for May, it sounds like a lot of fun. Is the boat big and is it really crowded with all those people? Just wondering?

[ocay4me]

I have a few questions that I believe were not covered in this thread. Do you board the Power Cat at the dock or do you have to drive to get there? Can you tell me if you have room when you snorkel or are you swimming basically on top of each other since there are so many people? Does anyone know the depth of the water where you snorkel?

[fridaythe13th]

I have a few questions that I believe were not covered in this thread. Do you board the Power Cat at the dock or do you have to drive to get there? Can you tell me if you have room when you snorkel or are you swimming basically on top of each other since there are so many people? Does anyone know the depth of the water where you snorkel?

 

We were on this in February. They have since changed the description of the excursion as they DO NOT go to Honeymoon Beach. The boat is 65 ft and holds 150 people (I'm pretty sure that's what they said). On our excursion there were only 70 people and that seemed perfect. It didn't seem possible that that many more people fit on that boat. You walk up the dock to board. I didn't snorkel but the 40-50 or so that did seemed too close together but they were following a guide that was "finding" some things for them to see. The boat anchored in about 8-10 feet of water and they snorkeled heading in towards the rocks near the shoreline. The second stop there was no snorkeling, just swimming.

[HaileyJordan]

Thanks again for the info. I was looking at your pictures, they are great. That Royal Suite was amazing!!!

[d56]

We are signed up for this excursion on 3/21. If it has changed, does it still go to Christmas Cove and beach in St. John, just not Honeymoom Beach?

 

Thanks!

[denise_q]

Another question: Would you have time to do some quick shopping before the start of this tour?

[ksantoro26]

Another question: do you need water socks to get into the beach at the beach stop? Trying to decide whether to bother buying them or not and this is our our swimming excursion other than Cococay.

[WendyVF]

We did this excursion 2 weeks ago. It was the best ship excursion we have every been on. For the last 10 years we have always booked privately so I was pleasantly surprised. The crew were efficient, friendly and very helpful. I think there were 88 on our trip and we never felt crowded.

 

The St. John portion is done at one end of the Westin Resort beach.

They tell you which side to stay on. There are no facfilities for you to use. You have the option of riding in the dingy or swimming ashore. We chose to swim and were greated by one of the crew with a cold beer when we reached the beach. THe bottom was sandy so no watershoes were necessary. I wish I had thought to throw a towel in the dingy so I would have had something to sit on.

 

They offer t-shirts for $15 that were really cute. I'd highly recommend this trip!

[Howdy777]

Can anyone tell me if this excursion is exclusive to RCL or is it available to other cruiselines? We have booked the new Norwegian Epic for next February and would love to be able to do this excursion.