Blue Water Safaris Catamaran

[mysparky]

Just wanted everyone to know that we took this excursion last week (2/18) and it was a lot of fun. We were on Royal Caribbean and had no issues booking independently. As someone else mentioned, it is a 2 min walk across a parking lot to get to the location where the boat is docked.

 

We were on one of the larger boats and it probably could have accommodated about 50 people, but there were only about 30 passengers. There was plenty of room to sit in the sun or the shade.

 

Crew was great, music was fun, food was good, and the rum punch was delicious (and a tad dangerous!). Upon arrival on Nevis (where the catamaran literally sailed right onto the sand), the crew brought the beverages onto the beach. Chairs and umbrellas were available for rent (I don't recall cost, but it was definitely reasonable) and we had about 2 hrs on the beach. There are also 3 beach bars right there, each with their own vibe, but we didn't visit any as we were enjoying our chairs and the punch on the beach!

 

We were back at the dock by 4:00 - 30 mins prior to our required time.

 

We are doing another S Caribbean cruise next year and will book this excursion again. It was a relaxing and fun day!!

[gardiner41]

Thanks Ron_L

 

I wound up going to South Friars Beach--decent snorkeling, gorgeous sceney; long tailed monkeys--and round trip taxis, umbrella, chair and lunch for $30

 

When you say "decent" snorkeling can you give more detail? Coral? fish? other marine life?

 

Also how many people in your group were there?

Where did you catch the taxi? Are they readily available for coming back or did the same guy return (that always makes me nervous..what if they DOn't return )

 

Any details are appreciated.

 

Thanks

[parasailor]

4 of us shared a van--many are right outside the cruise dock. Lots of cabs came to the beach for dropoffs and return trips. I agree relying on your original driver to return at a set time is often chancy in terms of punctuality.

 

The seas were not calm during our cruise, with all snorkeling sites except St. Thomas and Barbados adversely impacted. The fish I saw were numerous, but not unusual or large and were hanging out right at the coral marked by the snorkeling trail sign. I suspect on a calmer day they would be better. The coral reef was narrow but long. The coral was ok, but unremarkable.

 

On my prior trip to St. Kitts, I took a boat excursion on a calm day and saw very few fish.

 

Seeing 6-10 long tailed monkeys and 2 mongooses (mongeese?) was cool and the view was beautiful. The beach seemed very safe and the bar & grill had good, reasonably priced food.

 

My experience is that some islands (St. Thomas, St. John, Curacao, Bermuda) have vastly better snorkeling beaches and even off shore sites than others (Antigua, Nassau, St. Martin, St. Lucia, St. Kitts).

[gardiner41]

4 of us shared a van--many are right outside the cruise dock. Lots of cabs came to the beach for dropoffs and return trips. I agree relying on your original driver to return at a set time is often chancy in terms of punctuality.

 

The seas were not calm during our cruise, with all snorkeling sites except St. Thomas and Barbados adversely impacted. The fish I saw were numerous, but not unusual or large and were hanging out right at the coral marked by the snorkeling trail sign. I suspect on a calmer day they would be better. The coral reef was narrow but long. The coral was ok, but unremarkable.

 

On my prior trip to St. Kitts, I took a boat excursion on a calm day and saw very few fish.

 

Seeing 6-10 long tailed monkeys and 2 mongooses (mongeese?) was cool and the view was beautiful. The beach seemed very safe and the bar & grill had good, reasonably priced food.

 

My experience is that some islands (St. Thomas, St. John, Curacao, Bermuda) have vastly better snorkeling beaches and even off shore sites than others (Antigua, Nassau, St. Martin, St. Lucia, St. Kitts).

 

Thank you

I appreciate your detailed reply.

 

It helps to set expectations and not be disappointed.

I think I will plan to do this thinking of it as a quiet beach day rather than a good snorkeling day. I am still looking into Nevis but not sure if we want to do the ferry ride plus taxi to get to a beach.

It's good to have 2 options so we can do which ever one suites at the time based on our mood for the day and the weather.

 

I am glad you mentioned all of those Islands because other than Bermuda and St Martin (we were there once and did not like it) they are on this itinerary we are doing. Most of our days/tours have a component of snorkeling and I not know which to expect more out of than others.

 

Have you been to Nevis? if so how did you find getting there and back?

 

Again thank you your reply has been very helpful

 

Angela

[parasailor]

I have not been to Nevis--I looked into the excursion, but the snorkeling stop appeared short (30-45 minutes) and, although the catamaran ride seemed likely to be pretty (I hope it is not one of those crammed boats), the time on Nevis did not sound so appealing--hanging out on a hotel beach.

 

It sounds like you are stopping at St. Thomas--the snorkeling at Trunk Bay on St. John and Coki Beach on St. Thomas is excellent, with St. John requiring a ferry or boat ride and Coki sometimes being crowded. The Coki Beach Dive Club offers excellent, easy, inexpensive off the beach beginners' scuba.

 

I also enjoyed snorkeling the turtle and wreck areas off Barbados, which can be accessed from the beach or a boat.

 

The beach near the Pitons on St. Lucia was good, not great--I thought the boat option worked better than the van option, although some like to see the volcano.

 

have fun

[doodlesinkentucky]

:mad:I sent a note to Blue Water and got a note back right away. They are being used by the ship we are on, so no private excursion.:mad: