Quizzing Experienced Snorkelers...

[dblane]

Hoping we hear back from our cruisers. Great thread!! I and my sister will be there in February and had no idea what to do.

[mitsugirly]

Hoping we hear back from our cruisers. Great thread!! I and my sister will be there in February and had no idea what to do.

 

 

I will definitely report back and hopefully with tons of pictures. :D

[seeyakids]

Back from our Carnival Dream cruise. Got to Bananarama and set up our chairs and ordered our complimentary Monkee LaLas (sorry....no Jesus lizards). The water was not quite 100% crystal clear that day (I would say 80%). Of course, 80% at West Bay is probably more beautiful than most other Caribbean beaches on a normal day.

Didn't see much standing or touching the reef by the cruisers and it appeared the "kayak guys" were monitoring the area as they should. The inner reef around the "kidney" has been getting beat up a little more each year. (this is our 4th year here). Thankfully, the outer reef is pretty much as pristine and alive as what I saw 4 years ago. Thank you all for protecting this magnificent reef. We hope to enjoy it for many years to come.

[Saskatchewan1]

I'm pretty sure those dark lines are just accumulations of dead sea grass laying on the bottom.

[Snorkel2Much]

Glad I found this thread. It has been very useful as I plan to visit Tabyana Beach for snorkelling in December.

 

As LuvSnorkeling said, be careful of the reef. Most live reef will be very pretty colours and shapes; the broken off grey/brown stuff has been destroyed.

 

Happy snorkelling and swimming everyone! :D

[TMI] Actually brown is a naturally occurring color in many corals, and the browner those are the healthier they might be. Coloring can vary and depends on the species, alkalinity, and amount of light they get. The living coral animal itself acts like a farmer, keeping living zooxanthellae inside it's body. The zooxanthellae are naturally brown. They act like a plant absorbing light and giving off oxygen and nutrients to the coral. If the coral is stressed it expels all the zooxanthellae, which makes the coral all white or bleached. If the coral can't quickly recover and start farming zooxanthellae again it starves and dies. Brown coloring can also be a sign that algae have taken over a nearly dead reef, so you never know. [/TMI]

 

I see the "I snorkeled the reef at X but much of it was brown and dead" comments a lot. I only bring this up because some people(not meaning anyone in particular) may step on brown coral incorrectly thinking it's dead and no harm done.

Edited September 17, 2011 by Snorkel2Much

[ibcnusoon]

Excellent thread! Thanks so much for the visuals on how to enter Tabyana Beach's "kidney area" and beyond --- staying away from having a "Nemo" moment! LOL! We only have a few hours in port, arrive at 7, leave at 3 :( and were just going to spend that time at Mohagany Bay, but you all convienced me to take the cruise shuttle to Tabyana Beach!

 

You guys rock!! Happy Snorkeling ... and PROTECT THE REEF!

[Guest 2000]

ibcnusoon ~ I think this a very good choice, enjoy your time on this island! :D

[mitsugirly]

According to the locals, they had 3 days of heavy rainy storms...the water was stirred up and barely visible when we were there. We were so disappointed. :( We did find the more we went out, the better it got, but still. Never made it to the kidney or wall. We just couldn't see to find it. It's a lot different being there on the land and trying to see where it is at with cloudy water than viewing it from google earth from above. It was a beautiful beach and hopefully we'll have another chance to try it again in the future. I'll post pictures later.

[seeyakids]

According to the locals, they had 3 days of heavy rainy storms...the water was stirred up and barely visible when we were there. We were so disappointed. :( We did find the more we went out, the better it got, but still. Never made it to the kidney or wall. We just couldn't see to find it. It's a lot different being there on the land and trying to see where it is at with cloudy water than viewing it from google earth from above. It was a beautiful beach and hopefully we'll have another chance to try it again in the future. I'll post pictures later.

 

Sorry to hear about the cloudy water. Like every beach in the Caribbean, water clarity depends on the right weather/wind/tide conditions. At least you were able to see beautiful West Bay as we have seen over the last 4 years. We usually travel to Roatan in May, which is their dry season. This late in the year, you take chances on poor weather. If you ever travel to Roatan in their non rainy season, you will be amazed at the water clarity, I promise! How was the rest of your cruise?

[mitsugirly]

Sorry to hear about the cloudy water. Like every beach in the Caribbean, water clarity depends on the right weather/wind/tide conditions. At least you were able to see beautiful West Bay as we have seen over the last 4 years. We usually travel to Roatan in May, which is their dry season. This late in the year, you take chances on poor weather. If you ever travel to Roatan in their non rainy season, you will be amazed at the water clarity, I promise! How was the rest of your cruise?

 

Yea, you kinda take this chance, especially in hurricane season, but it's ok. We still had a wonderful time. We fed the fish and they swarmed us. Our 3 year old loved it. She snorkeled right beside us the entire time. The clarity did get better the further we went out, but didn't go out too far because of the little one. Once I get all my pictures onto the computer and sorted, I'll post a link to what I did get.

 

We had a wonderful cruise. Sunny, perfect weather every day and enjoyed it so much! Thanks for asking. :)

[dmarie21]

Mitsugirly-- :( darn! I've been waiting to hear all about your trip. I'm sorry you didn't get to see a whole lot, but I'm glad to hear you still had a great cruise. Can't wait to see pics tho! Are you going to do a trip report?

[mitsugirly]

Mitsugirly-- :( darn! I've been waiting to hear all about your trip. I'm sorry you didn't get to see a whole lot, but I'm glad to hear you still had a great cruise. Can't wait to see pics tho! Are you going to do a trip report?

 

I will do a review on here once I can get everything together (my thoughts and pictures downloaded) and also reviews on tripadvisor. No worries. I'll link. :D

[Guest 2000]

I too am sorry to hear the water clarity was not so good.

 

I understand the concern about finding your way when you can't see and you had the added worry of your child with you.

 

This gives you a very good reason to have another visit to the island.

[mitsugirly]

I too am sorry to hear the water clarity was not so good.

 

I understand the concern about finding your way when you can't see and you had the added worry of your child with you.

 

This gives you a very good reason to have another visit to the island.

 

I AGREE! (hehe, any excuse is a good excuse) :D

[thescot123]

I AGREE! (hehe, any excuse is a good excuse) :D

 

mitsugirly,

 

Glad to see you back from your NCL Spirit trip. How was the trip? It looks like you got very nice weather. Will be on the Spirit in Oct 23rd and can't wait.

[mitsugirly]

mitsugirly,

 

Glad to see you back from your NCL Spirit trip. How was the trip? It looks like you got very nice weather. Will be on the Spirit in Oct 23rd and can't wait.

 

 

It was WONDERFUL! Great weather and had a blast. Working on downloading and organizing my pictures, then I'll start to work on my review for everyone.

:D

[Life without whine]

Will be there in January ....trying to decide Bananarama (transportation,chair, a free drink, snorkel stuff & kayak) but maybe more crowded & congested & a little hike to the best snorkeling or Tabyana (chair only - other stuff additional) for my family. I know there are lockers to rent at the first - how about the second? Decisions, decisions.....wish life was always this rough!

[mitsugirly]

Here is my review of West Bay along with pictures. Enjoy (and hopefully I'll make it back there again one day to experience the "good" weather.)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=30663211&postcount=24

[snow bunny]

Here is my review of West Bay along with pictures. Enjoy (and hopefully I'll make it back there again one day to experience the "good" weather.)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=30663211&postcount=24

 

Thank you for the photos! We will be there in just over seven weeks for our third trip to the West Bay area. Looking forward to the snorkeling. By the way, what kind of camera were you using??

 

Snow bunny

[mitsugirly]

Thank you for the photos! We will be there in just over seven weeks for our third trip to the West Bay area. Looking forward to the snorkeling. By the way, what kind of camera were you using??

 

Snow bunny

 

This trip I just took my little Canon D10 point and shoot. I didn't feel like hauling around the slr with all the equipment. I'm glad I left it at home. So much easier. :)

[kate1970]

Great thread!

We'll be there in January with our two teenage daughters (17 &14) on our first cruise. They are both good swimmers - I'm the weakest of the four of us. This is our first time in this part of the Caribbean and our kids first time snorkelling.

 

Can you tell me if these spots that are shown in the pictures above are spots that you just walk in from shore and swim to?

 

Also, how deep is the water in the kidney and beyond the first wall? Just wondering if we (or I) should be wearing lifejackets or not. I know I wouldn't be able to dive down but does anyone wear a life preserver when they snorkel in these areas or would that just be stupid.

 

We are there from 9-6 - is this enough time to do a zip line and then come here to snorkel too?

[mitsugirly]

Great thread!

We'll be there in January with our two teenage daughters (17 &14) on our first cruise. They are both good swimmers - I'm the weakest of the four of us. This is our first time in this part of the Caribbean and our kids first time snorkelling.

 

Can you tell me if these spots that are shown in the pictures above are spots that you just walk in from shore and swim to?

 

Also, how deep is the water in the kidney and beyond the first wall? Just wondering if we (or I) should be wearing lifejackets or not. I know I wouldn't be able to dive down but does anyone wear a life preserver when they snorkel in these areas or would that just be stupid.

 

We are there from 9-6 - is this enough time to do a zip line and then come here to snorkel too?

 

Yes, you walk right off the beach to snorkel there.

 

I'm not positive on the depth (since the water wasn't the greatest in this area and I had to go on down and go way out), so someone else can chime in on that.

 

Don't worry, there are tons of vendors that will rent you a snorkel life jacket so if you feel uncomfortable or feel that you need it, just rent one. I'm a strong swimmer, but since I'm always taking the pictures, feel more comfortable if I do have a life vest on so that I can just float and take pictures. (Not to mention the depths of the water can go from one thing to the next in a blink of an eye). Just play it safe. :)

 

We did the zip lining before we came to West Bay. No problems. :)

[Snorkel2Much]

Great thread!

We'll be there in January with our two teenage daughters (17 &14) on our first cruise. They are both good swimmers - I'm the weakest of the four of us. This is our first time in this part of the Caribbean and our kids first time snorkelling.

 

Can you tell me if these spots that are shown in the pictures above are spots that you just walk in from shore and swim to?

 

Also, how deep is the water in the kidney and beyond the first wall? Just wondering if we (or I) should be wearing lifejackets or not. I know I wouldn't be able to dive down but does anyone wear a life preserver when they snorkel in these areas or would that just be stupid.

 

We are there from 9-6 - is this enough time to do a zip line and then come here to snorkel too?

It's never stupid to use a floatation aid when snorkeling. You should have plenty of time for both ziplining and snorkeling.

[vermonter16]

I will not go into the water without my snorkel vest. I'm not a great swimmer and have a fear of water - but with my snorkel vest I have a blast :)!

 

DH and I definitely want to do some snorkeling. I'm thinking this might be the way to go.

[jasperess]

This is a great thread, thanks! If we were interested in doing this on our own (as opposed to doing a ship excursion), is there an easy way to rent snorkel equipment and perhaps lockers from the shore, or is it best to have snorkel equipment to bring?

 

Also, about how much is a taxi from the port to Tabyana/Infinity?

 

Additionally, I'd also like to know how deep the kidney-shaped area and other channels are prior to the outer wall if anyone can comment on that.

 

Thanks so much!