Southern Carribbean Cruise-Snorkling Question

[ricok987]

For the ports of:

 

Half Moon Cay 8 am -2 pm

Curacao 10 am - 6 pm

and

Aruba 1 pm - 11 pm

 

Which offers the best snorkling bang for the buck?

 

Any help is appreciated!

Rich

[amster65]

Aruba, went on catemaran trip and went snorkeling over a shipwreck half in and out of the water. Great.

 

Half Moon Cay: Fantastic Beach, 3 bars, snorkeling not sure.

[hrhdhd]

We took the Beach Break excursion in Curacao, which involved a ride through the countryside on our way to Cas Abao beach. At the beach, we had snorkeling equipment (included) and enjoyed seeing quite a bit of sea life. Probably the best snorkeling I've had since Tortuga. If you don't want to take the ship's excursion, you could rent a car and either bring your own snorkeling equipment (what we usually do) or rent from the stand at the beach.

[NextOne]

We used Curacao Actief to go snorkeling in Curacao and had one of the best snorkeling excursions ever! I'd recommend them highly.

[gainesvillegatorgirl]

Hmm, I just looked at the list of Curacao shore excursions and the one I took in 2008 is no longer there - it was a two-stop snorkeling trip that left from directly next to the ship and included a stop at a sunken tugboat. If you can find an independent tour that goes to that sunken boat, you won't be disappointed - it was some of the best snorkeling I've ever seen.

[Travrat]

You can book directly with Curacao-actief for the tugboat and shallow reef snorkel. They will pick you up at the ship they are a very reliable operation.

[GCurry]

You can book directly with Curacao-actief for the tugboat and shallow reef snorkel. They will pick you up at the ship they are a very reliable operation.

Or you can rent a car and drive to Tugboat and several other locations. We did that last Dec. and will drive there again next month. Aruba has Jolly Pirates which a lot of people like, we'll have a car there as well. Here is a good link for shore diving/snorkeling the ABCs:

 

http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/ABC/index.htm

 

Half Moon, snorkeling off the beach sucks, I think they offer a ships excursion.

[CBJ]

We did the Jolly Pirates snorkel in Aruba and really enjoyed it. Not too much (around $40 if I recall correctly), including 2 snorkel sites, a rope swing off the pirate ship to swing off of, and open bar.

 

Friends of ours went on a ship excursion in Curacao, snorkelling over a shipwreck, and really enjoyed that. We also did a ship excursion in HMC and it was good but a bit more expensive, for 2 hours I think it was $69.

[luvcruisn']

We did the Jolly Pirates in Aruba this past November. Price was $50.00 for 4 1/2 hours if booked online, $55.00 at their shop on Moomba Beach. There is a shorter version - 3 hours, which is cheaper. We went to three sites, one of them was a wreck. Had a really great time. Haven't snorkeled yet in Curacao, so can't compare.

[Harry1954]

we do the cat/snorkel in every port we can each Caribbean cruise. Just got off Noordam - cat/snorkelled in Grand Turk (great), Samana DR (ok), Bonaire (great) and Aruba (terrible excursion). Curacao we use to snorkel but one was not offered and we used HAL' s beach trip which was great.

 

harry

[bcirish]

Depends on when you are there- we were there three weeks ago and from that - the water was quite cool Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk- waves were pretty big there too - hang out at Margaritaville there - great pool and nice beach - snorkeling was bad IMO, Aruba - did the snorkel there from HAL and it was lame - others did the Pirate ship and liked it but we were in the same spot - must have been fun on the boat cause the snorkeling was only fair. Did the beach trip in Curacao and it was a rocky but nice beach with Lots of fish - almost passed on the snorkeling but had a lot of fun and spent most of the time in the water there- pleasant surprise.

[travelmatron]

We too used Curacao-actief and loved their tug boat reef snorkel trip. Just got the pictures back yesterday. They were taken with a disposable camera on a cloudy day.

[terkatz56]

we do the cat/snorkel in every port we can each Caribbean cruise. Just got off Noordam - cat/snorkelled in Grand Turk (great), Samana DR (ok), Bonaire (great) and Aruba (terrible excursion). Curacao we use to snorkel but one was not offered and we used HAL' s beach trip which was great.

 

harry

 

Haven't snorkeled yet but what is cat/snorkel? I am doing this cruise in Dec 2010 and would be interested if you went into a bit more detail about these ports. Thank you very much!

[Sail & Rail Fan]

We were in Curacao in October and booked the 1/2 day snorkel trip with Curacao-Actief, Kim was our guide and did an excellent job, we highly recommend their service. Snorkeling over the tugboat was awesome and the other snorkel spot she took us too reminded me of swimming in an aquarium. Don't think you will be disappointed.

:)

[V and S]

We were on Half Moon Cay in December. You can snorkel off the beach, out by the rope to the left side. There are many fish there. My husband was followed by a barracuda!

[travelmatron]

A Cat/snorkel is snorkeling off a catamaran. If you haven't snorkeled before and/or don't have your own equipment it's a good way to start out. The biggest advantages to snorkeling this way are that there are experienced people on board to help you, equipment is available, and it's very easy to enter the water off the back of the boat. When people snorkel on their own from shore they enter the water, go out to where the water level is about chest high and then put on their mask and fins, while floating in the water.

Since it involves a boat ride, instructions, getting equipment passed out, and a large group, the snorkeling is often crowded and the actual time in the water can be very short. Even experienced snorkelers sometimes go the Cat/snorkel route though because it's so easy to get to good spots, and often there is an open bar.

[ricok987]

If I do not make that I will try to book the Curacao Tugboat Snorkle trip as suggested. I am not very experienced snorkler, but my girlfriend is and it sounds as if she might like to snorkle at locations without many amatures (like me) around.

[travelmatron]

The entry to snorkel the tugboat wreck with Curacao-Actief is very gentle, the tugboat is close and shallow. You should have no problem. If you're interested in snorkeling, do both. They are different experiences. Cuacao-Actief never takes more than 8 or 9 with a group. Our guide was Sonder, he was great, and I've read excellent reviews of Kim's trips. They are very dependable and less expensive than the ship's excursions. On our trip last week we were the only two who had booked the excursion and they didn't cancel the trip. My DH and I had a private tour guide for less than the cost of a big group. We were thrilled!

[terkatz56]

Thanks for clearing that up Cheryl. I see you are from Portland, I was born in Oregon City. Love Oregon!, but Montana has stolen my heart for over 40 years.

I have my own equipment and will be practicing as much as I can in the pool and lakes here. What about currents and do you recommend a vest? My sister has snorkeled quite a bit but I am reluctant to to to it by ourselves. Especially not knowing the areas.

Do the snorkel areas have alot of people around them generally and especially after a ship docking? Thanks again!

[travelmatron]

Last week the currents were very mild. Personally we hate the restriction of wearing vests and they certainly weren't necessary for reasonably good confident swimmers. The tour companies have them available if you want to wear them, but they aren't required. There was absolutely no one else around the tugboat when we were there. I would have been uncomfortable in an unknown area without a guide. When the ships are in and there are a number of snorkel tours going out there can be a lot of people in any one area. Booking an independent (as opposed to ship) tour enables you to be much more nimble and get to the spots you most want to see before the crowd.

I'm sure Montana's very nice, but it's nearly 60 and sunny here today. I don't do snow well

[Harry1954]

Haven't snorkeled yet but what is cat/snorkel? I am doing this cruise in Dec 2010 and would be interested if you went into a bit more detail about these ports. Thank you very much!

cat/snorkel is catamaran sail and snorkel - the most common excursion theme we do when we go to Caribbean. They start with snorkel for about 45min to one hour, then open the bar and usually either sail around or more commonly, find a beach so everyone can party.

 

Grand Turk was very nice If one did not want to do an excursion, they have a setup where you can go to their beach - right next to the docks and it is very pretty and has facilities and was free.

Samana DR was poor country, the beach was not very appetizing, and the snorkeling was a bit lame. However, we enjoyed it just the same as the cat sail was fun as was the partying. Further, putting a little money in the country is surely good for their economy.

Bonaire is quite a neat place to snorkel or sail We were on a junket from Thailand called Samur - you have to climb up the side from a small boat that takes you from port to ship. The crew was a hoot and we had a good time. The snorkelling on Klein Bonaire is very good as is the beach.

Curacao was a beach stop for us and HAL provided a very nice excursion to a pretty beach away from the maddening crowd. Very relaxing and they also give you a tour of the island on the return trip.

Aruba cat/snorkel has always been a favorite of ours as the snorkeling is pretty good and the sailing is great. HAL has a great excursion here.

harry