nlooser Posted June 17, 2016 #1 Share Posted June 17, 2016 Hi all, We will be in St. Maarten on RCCL's Anthem of the Seas in August and will have our 9-year-old son with us. He is a good swimmer but has never snorkeled. We were thinking the Tiki Hut Snorkel excursion might be a good place for a beginner to try snorkeling for the first time. My question is for those who've done the RCCL excursion: It says it is 3-hours in length. Can anyone confirm if that's a hard-and-fast limit? Or, after dropping you off at Tiki Hut do they give multiple options for returning back to the ship (which may include shorter or longer duration than 3 hours)? Thanks for anyone who can help answer this question! -Nels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnorkelAway Posted June 20, 2016 #2 Share Posted June 20, 2016 I do not believe that you have a choice of departures from the Tiki Snorkel Hut when on a ship excursion - I think you come and go on one boat. You would have to ask at shore excursion desk on ship to know for sure what is possible on particular day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dacsmom Posted July 10, 2016 #3 Share Posted July 10, 2016 I do not believe that you have a choice of departures from the Tiki Snorkel Hut when on a ship excursion - I think you come and go on one boat. You would have to ask at shore excursion desk on ship to know for sure what is possible on particular day. The ferry leaves the Tiki Hut every thirty minutes or so, you can come and go as you please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnorkelAway Posted July 11, 2016 #4 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Dacsmom What you say is true if you take this excursion directly from the vendor. What I do not know is if it works the same way if you are on a ship's excursion. Are you saying that it works the same way if you are on a ship's excursion - that on a ship's excursion you can stay as long as there is any ferry that is going to be going back to Philipsburg? Here is website for direct dealings: http://www.snorkelstmaarten.com/wp/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dacsmom Posted July 24, 2016 #5 Share Posted July 24, 2016 (edited) Sorry, I did not know you could book this directly. I have used the ships excursion in the past with RCI and I am going to do it again thru Carnival. I would imagine it is the same ferry, but I do not want to give false information since I am not sure. From the carnival site: You may stay at the Tiki Hut location for as long as you like and return to the ship at your leisure, keeping in mind your ship's back on board time. From the Tiki Hut website: The shuttle makes frequent trips back to the mainland in Philipsburg and you are free to hop on and off whenever you like. Edited July 24, 2016 by dacsmom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsPete Posted July 25, 2016 #6 Share Posted July 25, 2016 This isn't exactly what you asked, but you might find this information interesting: - St. M has lots of snorkeling excursions, and they all seem to go to the same general area, so whether you take a boat or go to the Tiki place, you're heading to the same (relatively crowded) area. The Tiki place is more of a solid dock among many boats. - Don't worry about your son swimming in St. M. It's almost hard to go down underwater; we thought the water was super-salty and we thought that was why. Not sure if we're right or not. If you're nervous at all, you could bring him a noodle. - Great swimming, but not so many fish. - We took the Lord Sheffield ship over to the snorkeling area, and we thought it was more fun "boating over". I'd do it again; however, the water was choppy and several people became seasick -- if the ride'd been 10 minutes longer, I would've joined them, and I have a cast iron stomach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnorkelAway Posted July 26, 2016 #7 Share Posted July 26, 2016 As far as I know the Lord Sheffield is only a memory - it was destroyed by Hurricane Gonzalo in October 2014. Snorkel excursion boats go to different places. Not that many go to Little Bay, where the Tiki Snorkel Hut is - but a few do. Many go to Tintamarre to see the turtles there. A good swimmer should be able to enjoy snorkeling - the main problem usually is having a mask that fits well. If you are going on a cruise and want to snorkel, you may want to consider buying a mask and snorkel to take with you - fins are more of a pain to pack and fit is not usually that much of an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugmom613 Posted August 10, 2016 #8 Share Posted August 10, 2016 We've done the Tiki Hut tour with RCCL 3 times now. We always try to get the morning tour, which usually leaves around 9am and then we stay there until around 3pm or so. We catch the water taxi back to the pier and then have plenty of time for shopping there. The staff is just awesome and will spend lots of time helping your son. Our son was a new snorkeler and they were just terrific with him - also gave him lots of bread and he had huge schools of fish hanging around with him. We thought it was a terrific snorkeling experience and have seen 3 varieties of parrot fish, squid, sergeant majors, tangs, butterfly fish and even a flounder there. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugmom613 Posted August 10, 2016 #9 Share Posted August 10, 2016 Sorry another note - RCCL only allows you to book this through them due to contract rights - you cannot book directly with the Tiki Hut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom_n_Sara Posted August 23, 2016 #10 Share Posted August 23, 2016 We've done the Tiki Hut tour with RCCL 3 times now. We always try to get the morning tour, which usually leaves around 9am and then we stay there until around 3pm or so. We catch the water taxi back to the pier and then have plenty of time for shopping there. The staff is just awesome and will spend lots of time helping your son. Our son was a new snorkeler and they were just terrific with him - also gave him lots of bread and he had huge schools of fish hanging around with him. We thought it was a terrific snorkeling experience and have seen 3 varieties of parrot fish, squid, sergeant majors, tangs, butterfly fish and even a flounder there. Enjoy! That has been our experience with them. Going is fluid as long as you get back before the ship leaves. We love how laid back it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyb22 Posted August 24, 2016 #11 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Wow. This is the perfect opportunity. Have u ever wondered all those times on a cruise. Who are these lucky folks on these beaches that don't have to hurry back to boat. Who are these lucky folks that get to stay. We were u cruise after cruise. Until we figured it out. Find a place u like and stay there. I have so many stories that prove how way way better this is. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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