Turtle Cove

[Tboomsma]

Has anyone done this excursion?

[iloveteeth]

We just got home from the Carnival Dream.

 

We decided to do the Turtle Cove excursion in St. Thomas.

 

It was worth every penny! I highly recommend it. There was a quick and smooth transition from our ship onto the catamaran. No issues or long waiting.

 

We were lucky enough to see whales on this trip out, the guy working on the catamaran said he has been with the tour for 5 years and that was only his second time seeing whales.

 

We got to Buck Island and seen 3 sea turtles which was amazing!

 

We also seen some sting rays and groups of fish too when we got near the coral and reef areas.

 

The crew was very nice and outgoing.

 

We had unlimited rum punch for our ride back which was very tasty :)

[jonesy111]

We also did this excursion last month and really enjoyed it (we were on the Oasis). Saw a few turtles, three squid and lots of fish. I will agree on the rum punch that was tasty and strong! I would recommend this excursion and would do it again.

[Frenchsnowhite]

Thinking of doing this with NCL this summer, can you please tell me if the turtles are REALLY BIG?

 

My daugthers might be afraid if they are too big...

 

Thanks!!!;)

[camelotbob]

Which excursion was it? Was it the catamaran or schooners?

[thistoo]

In case anyone is still reading this post and has done this excursion, I'm curious if anyone on your trip skipped the actual snorkeling? Would someone be very bored without snorkeling? My mom and I would love to snorkel on our November Liberty cruise, but my dad not so much. He loves boating, though, and would enjoy hanging out with the crew. I just don't want him to be miserable stuck on a trip with nothing to do.

[DorothyMantooth]

We are also looking at booking the Turtle Cove Sail and Snorkel excursion on our cruise in July. It seems like fun. Our group would consist of me, DH and our DD's - 8 and 10 years old.

 

I did a quick Google search and believe I found the company that does these excursions. The Web site listed several cruise lines - Royal, Celebrity and Disney specifically - that it works with. However, the site itself didn't give a ton of information.

 

I'm just "signing on " to this thread to get any and all feedback and thoughts from those who have done this excursion.

[camelotbob]

Why don't you share that web site with us?

[DorothyMantooth]

I don't know that posting a the link/website of a tour operator is permitted on these boards. But a google search of Turtle Cove Sail and Snorkel should produce a list that would include it.

 

I should mentionthat there is a very nice excusion summary on the cruiseline's website. Obviously, they don't list the third-party tour operator by name. And there are even a few cruiser reviews about the excursion. IF we were to book this, I'd just book it through the cruiseline itself.

 

BUT ... I just figured I'd do a little more investigation to find out what others think ...

[camelotbob]

I'm pretty sure they don't mind if you name the company.

Edited May 8, 2014 by camelotbob

[Ms411]

I'm going to try to answer a few questions about the Turtle Cove excursions based on my experiences.

 

To the person who doesn't want to snorkel, I think someone who stays onboard will fond it interesting. You can see turtles poking their noses through the water for air. That's cool, imo. You may also see other fish that may be swimming near the surface.

 

I think the ships contract with several boats for this excursion so they can satisfy demand. I think The Cat may be one.

 

But, there are a few non cruise ships ships that go to Turtle Cove. Heavenly Days at Bolongo usually gets to Turtle Cove first, because their dock is closest to Turtle Cove.