Adventure of Seas--swim with dolphins, sea turtles, sea lions, rays or ????

[manyquestionscruiser]

One of my bucket list items is to swim/snorkel up close and personal with rays, sea turtles or dolphins. Any ideas of where I might do this? Our ports are Aruba, Curacao, St Thomas, St Maarten. Thanks so much

Private excursions welcomed!

[Midiana]

I want to start by saying great itinerary! I've been on a similar one and it was action-packed.

 

A little off-topic, but I'd like to suggest De Palm Island on Aruba. It was incredibly relaxing and with a limited number of tickets, making it pretty private. They have all you can eat and drink buffet, snacks, alcoholic and non-alky beverages all day (average, not 4-star or anything but where do you ever find unlimited food on excursions?). They switch out foods from breakfast to lunch. There are little wild lizards of every color roaming around, so if you're an animal lover or a photographer it's a nice place. They have several little man-made bays of pure bliss. Crystal-clear water AND a free all-you-can-snorkel area with gorgeous fish and average coral. They have a la carte items like the banana raft and helmet diving, but I didn't bother with those. The best part, for the kids anyway, was the mini children's water park. The next time we hit Aruba I'm going straight back there. Here's the website: http://www.depalmtours.com/de-palm-island

 

Can't say much for curacao because is was so cloudy that day and I had a headcold going on, but I can't wait to go back and try something other than wilting on a beach chair for 5 hours. My husband decided it was too cloudy for sunblock and he ended up burnt like a mother... With blisters on his foreheasd, don't make that mistake.

 

For St. Thomas I highly recommend the "Caribbean Sail to Christmas and Honetmoon Coves" excursion. Basically you hop on a schooner with 25 other people, and listen to some good old classic rock...and a little bit of caribbean music. They pass around plenty of chips and salsa and have and INCREDIBLY entertainment crew. After snorkleing at turtle cove with LOTS of baby sea turtles (about 1' to 1.5' in diameter) you snorkel near another spot with a '70s shipwreck. After the snorkeling they serve all-you-can-drink Painkillers (the official drink of the V.I.) which I still make at home...it's my favorite cocktail of all time. They also serve beer, but the painkillers were all I needed. The best part was Honeymoon cove. We had a BBQ lunch on shore, with more drinks. We hung out ona sandy white beach, in the warmest caribbean water I've ever floated in. The crew climbed a tree, cut open a cocunut and chopped it up for us to eat, best darn coconut ever! We hung out on the beach and soaked up the sun, as well as ventured a little way out into the "wilderness" to come across an iguana watching a wild chiken an her babies. Absolutely one of the best days I've ever had and the crew was phe.nom.i.nal. 6 1/2 hours of relaxation, booze, and food for $99 each.

 

We are planning to got on the sea lion swim at St. Thomas this April and after scouring the internet for reviews, apparently it's the excursion you shoulnd't miss! I've seen nothing but great reviews. Search the St. Thomas sub-board for 'sea lion swim' and you'll come up with good info.

 

Have fun on your cruise!

[O2B@Cagain]

Unless you are willing to pay to go to a dolphin prison or the like, you cannot be sure to see marine fauna in the wild. For sting rays, look for sandy bottom bays. They feed on crustaceans in the sand. They also like to bury themselves to prevent sunburn. Turtles are usually found in bays with turtle grass, their favored food. Many times these two will be found in the same areas. Dolphins tend to be free swimming, usually off-shore. On your ship, keep an eye on the bow wake, as you may find them cavorting there.

 

St Thomas has sea lions in captivity at Coral World, but no dolphins...yet. Coral World was just given approval to build a "dolphinarium", much to the chagrin of many Virgin Islanders.