Where to snorkel on next Caribbean cruise?

[Princess422]

I tried snorkeling on my last cruise when I was in Grand Turk, and I LOVED it. Now I've booked another cruise and I want to do it again, but I'm not sure where. I have read a few reviews and it seems that at certain islands, snorkeling is not so great. And there were so many brightly colored fish and coral varieties at Grand Turk - I just do not want to go somewhere else that isn't so beautiful and be disappointed. The ports (minus Princess Cays, where I will just sit on the beach) are:

 

Antigua

Barbados

St. Kitts (can do excursion to Nevis)

St. Lucia

St. Thomas

 

I have been to St. Thomas twice before so I would like to do an excursion to St. John this time & maybe go hiking there. So I would probably want to snorkel at one of the other four. I really appreciate any advice!

[Stevesan]

The best snorkel trip in the Caribbean is Eli's Eco tour at Antigua:

 

https://www.adventureantigua.com/book-now/

 

Silver Moon at Barbados. I recommend the 12 passenger trip.

 

http://silvermoonbarbados.com/2009/09/the-luxury-cruise/

http://silvermoonbarbados.com/

 

Not to be overlooked is Dive Fair Helen at St Lucia. They pick up at a dock adjacent to the cruise ship pier. Don't let "dive" in the title deter you. They take a mix of snorkelers and divers.

 

http://www.divefairhelen.com/cruise_ship_special.htm

 

Have Fun!:)

[TurtleTagger]

Some of the islands that are generally considered to have better snorkeling and easily reached via a cruise are:

 

Roatan

Grand Cayman

St. John

Bonaire

Outer Cayes of Belize (Turneffe, Glovers, etc...)

Cozumel (not quite in the same league as above)

[austinlw]

Sounds like you are taking the same cruises we are.

 

I know you said you want to sit on a beach at Princess Cays, but we found the snorkeling there pretty good in the morning. There's a pier to the far left (facing the beach from the ocean) with a beach on one side of the pier and a rocky area on the other side. If you enter the water on the beach side and swim around the end of the pier and over towards the rocky section there are a lot of fish. certainly not as much variety as Grand Turk, but definitely worth doing. I found that the first few hours we were there the water was nice and clear, then later in the day the water wasn't as clear because of the sand being kicked up on the beach. You can rent equipment right there, snorkel for an hour or two, and then still have plenty of time to enjoy the beach.

 

We also went on a nice snorkeling excursion at St Thomas - the champagne sail to St John. Good snorkeling and a gorgeous beach. Didn't get enough beach time (lots of time taken getting there and back), but there was a nice variety of fish and some turtles also.

[Princess422]

Thanks for the tips, everyone! Not sure exactly what I'll do yet, but I'm definitely looking into all of your suggestions.

[poalauren]

I would highly suggest snorkeling in St. John if you're able to! I spent a week there last winter and had an amazing time. We got to see sting rays, baracudas, tons of sea turtles, and I even saw an octopus in Maho Bay.