Fury Snorkeling Excursion vs. Palancar Reef Snorkeling

[geoherb]

We'll be cruising with Princess next month. Last year we enjoyed going on the Fury snorkeling excursion. The only downside is the huge number of people each boat holds. The Princess website lists the number of passengers at 128 for that excursion, but there's no number of passengers listed for the Palancar Reef Snorkeling excursion. Does anyone know?

 

Also if anyone has done both excursions, is it worth the extra $20 for the Palancar Reef Snorkeling one? It seems like the big differences are that food is included and it lasts an hour longer.

[scorcher25]

I have the same question but didn't want to start a new thread, so I will bump this one. The differences I see (other than the price) is that the Palancar is one hour longer and you are snorkling on a reef as well. The beaches are different too, after the snorkeling.

 

 

[ABQrobin]

The Fury snorkeling happens very close to the cruise ships at Puerta Maya. The reason for this is that is where the shallowest reefs are located. The reefs are not as pretty as farther south on the island, but the snorkeling will be easier and not as long of a boat trip out.

Palancar reef is down south from there, probably at least 20 min. If you are driving down to a beach club and taking the snorkeling boat out from there, then you have to add in that cost. If they are picking you up near the cruise ship pier, then you have longer on the boat in transit. Palancar reef is a spectacular reef, the one that Cozumel is know for and not as shallow. There are some sections shallow enough to snorkel though.

 

It is purely up to you what type of snorkeling trip you want.

 

We were just at Money Bar snorkeling a few weeks ago, and saw the Fury catamarans stop there to snorkel. Here you can see them:

you can see one of two Fury cats that stopped, as well as a smaller snorkeling boat tour. The reason they stop there is the water is maybe 10-25' deep and fish, basic coral heads, etc. We snorkeled from shore and got some photos:

 

 

Now.... the snorkeling down south, at the "reefs" will be different. We have dived Cozumel reefs for 14+ years, so I don't have any snorkeling photos of them, but I can tell you Palancar is one of the prettiest reefs I have dived in the world. How will it be snorkeling? What part of the 4+ mile long reef will they take you? NO idea.

 

Hope this helps!

[skittl1321]

The Fury catamaran sounds like a ringing endorsement for saving a ton of money and just taking a taxi to Money Bar!

[geoherb]

Thanks for the description and photos. We did the Fury excursion a year ago and enjoyed it. We have a lot of on-board credit for our upcoming cruise, which was why I was trying to find out if it was worth the extra $20 per person to get an extra hour of excursion time plus snacks included in the price. The weight limit could also be a factor. According to the Princess website, it says the limit is 225 pounds.