Please, sell me on the Carnival Bioluminescence Bay Tour

[gatorclaw]

I see a lot of threads about the bioluminescence tour. But strangly enough, not very many first hand accounts of the excursion. So, for anyone out there with first hand experience or know someone with first hand experience, please let me (and others thinking about it) know your story. Thank you!

[very cold canuck]

Gatorclaw,

 

My two teenage daughters and I took this tour last year. (they were 12 and 14). It has been a year since our excursion from the Triumph last January but I'll try to give you as good a description as I can.

 

We boarded an air conditioned bus and took a pretty long bus ride (it was a couple of hours but you got to see some of the countryside before it got too dark to see anything. Going there takes a lot longer than coming home due to the local rush hour traffic at dinner time. Once there we were met with a group of very professional tour guides who had well maintained equipment. We were all outfitted with proper fitting life jackets complete with safety lights on them. Then if you didn't have a partner you were given one. There are two per kayak.

 

You are grouped into several smaller groups each with their own guide where you head down a river in the pitch black...quite an experience in and of itself. The person in the front of the kayak needs to watch and direct the person in the back who steers. You will paddle about 20 minutes. It is a moderate kayak and not one for people who cannot do it themselves as you and your partner are need to get yourselves down the river, into the mangrove and back out the river.

 

Once you get to the end of the river you come to a large bay which is filled with the bioluminescence organisms. Everytime you disturb them they light up in the water and look like sparks (kind of like a firefly in the water). It really was something to see and something I'll never regret doing. When we got into the bay, the tour guide had all of us go into the middle of the bay where we all got together and formed a giant group linking ourselves together where the guide explained how the bioluminescence (dinoflagulites sp?) worked and answered any questions you may have. You could take pictures but unless you are able to set a long exposure, I'm not sure how well they would turn out. I'm not much of a photographer myself. I will say however, unless you have a camera that has an underwater casing don't take it, you will get wet on this outing.

 

All in all myself and both my girls thoroughly enjoyed it. It is probably not an excursion i would do again (unless my husband wanted to go, then I'd go with him to experience it together for his benefit). It has been over a year now and both my kids still talk about it and how much fun they had.

 

I was so impressed with the professionalism of the tour guides and the quality of their equipment. It was a tiring excursion, but definitely one I would recommend. I felt it was worth the money.

 

below is a link that has a few other reviews of bio bay.

http://www.43things.com/things/view/5937.

 

Hope this helps you a bit.

[Sheffie]

I have heard that if you do this on a night with a bright moon, that it is hard to see the bioluminescence. I would check out the phase of the moon for your date.

[gatorclaw]

canuck,

 

Thanks so much for your detailed review. That's going to go a long way in my decision. I think we're going to do it, but I'm still torn.

[cruising mom 2]

I've haven't been on this yest myself we're doing the Bio Bay on our trip in April My boyfriend has a student in his class from Purto Rico and was asking her advice on what to do as we will be in PR 3 days pr cruise she saaid Bio Bay and Camuay caves not to be missed.

[thatbloominplace]

the bio. tour is vey iffy. it must be done with virtually no moon or the effect is gone. unfortunately, it was our experience that they would run this tour if they thought there was a chance that a cloudy night would cover up the moon. if the cloud cover breaks as it did on our tour, then you spend a couple of hours, a lot of money and energy for the ability to swim in a swampy area in the dark. a word to the wise, check the moon phases for your tour. if it is up to a full quarter, i wouldn't chance it.

 

steve

[very cold canuck]

If you check out http://www.biobay.com they have the moon schedules. I do agree that if the timing isn't right you should not go and save your money for another excursion. We did have very little moon the night we went (it was one of the optimal days of the month from the biobay schedule). If the moon is right, they are amazing!

[gatorclaw]

:eek: AHHHH! I'm going crazy over this decision. The moon is going to be about 1/4 full and the bio-bay site states the moon phase is 'good' for seeing the glow. Their key has 'excellent', 'good', 'considerable moonlight', and 'no tour'. So either it truly is 'good' or that's a nice way of saying, 'ehhh, it's ok'

 

Anyone else do it with quarter moon and enjoy it?

 

Should I save $50 and go on the Legends of PR Night Tales tour instead?

[Cruising_Bride]

I haven't been on the Carnival excursion, but my fiancee and I were in San Juan for 10 days a couple years ago and did snorkeling in the bio-bay. It was awesome! I definitely recommend doing it.

[ISLABONITA]

I have been on this tour but not from a cruise ship and not on kayaks. I was on a motorboat that let us swim at night as part of the day snorkeling tour. The kids I had taken on tour wne t into the water and had a ball splashing and seeing their arms glowing with the microscopic creatures on them.

[SorrentoCruiser]

I went on link to BioBay and they state that you have to spend night on Vieques Island? Are there any other options?

[nerak]

We are heading to San Juan March 4th and have scheduled the bio bay for March 6th. I too, am concerned about the moonlight, but am going to give it a try. We were there at Christmas pre-post cruise, but did not have the time to go due to the holiday schedules. Any way, I found one that will take you over to Vieques and back the same evening, but you still have the trip to/from Fajardo. So....we are doing a bay at Fajardo. We booked through our hotel. I called a couple of locations and they said viewing has been extrodinary this year for some reason. We would be happy to let you know about this trip when we get back...if it is worth it or not. We will return March 11, but could let you know from the internet cfe in Old San Juan if you need to know sooner.

[gatorclaw]

We will return March 11, but could let you know from the internet cfe in Old San Juan if you need to know sooner.

 

That's great nerak. You'll have about the same light we would have, so I would love to hear what you have to say- but don't worry about rushing it- just let me know when you return. Thanks!

[very cold canuck]

I went on link to BioBay and they state that you have to spend night on Vieques Island? Are there any other options?

 

Sorry SorrentoCruiser, I know there are two locations where you can experience bioluminescence. The one I'm familiar with which was offered through Carnival Cruise Lines is in Fajardo which is on the mainland about 1.5 hrs from San Juan. From the reading I did when I was looking to do this, the other one you do need to stay overnight. Sorry I can't be more help.

 

Alice

[hadleys9538]

I went ahead and booked -- The moon phase for our particular date (April 4th) is the last night that shows a "good" rating. Hopefully, it will be okay. Definitely a tough decision.

[ISLABONITA]

I am planning a return trip next year and am looking into different companies that take you day( for snorkeling) and night for one price.

 

I haven't been on the Carnival excursion, but my fiancee and I were in San Juan for 10 days a couple years ago and did snorkeling in the bio-bay. It was awesome! I definitely recommend doing it.

[nerak]

We're back!!! I said I'd write after we returned regarding our biobay tour. It was great! We did it March 6th with about half a moon present and some cloud cover. We did the one at Fajardo through Sunshine Tour company which I booked right through the Radisson Ambassador. We were picked up on time right at the hotel and did a couple of other pick ups on the way. It was dark going over and about 1 1/2 hours to get there. Once there, it was a little chilly and rainy, but not too bad. We kayaked from the harbor to the canal. The canal is about 3-4 feet deep and sometimes VERY dark. You go single file through it as other tours are coming out as you are going in. The kayaks are made for 2 people. Paddling through the canal was great when all of a sudden you realize the last dip of the paddle left the water glowing, then fish are jumping leaving a glow in the water. I was in awe!!! You are paddling against the current on the way to the lagoon, but I was really distracted at this point. :p Any way, once into the lagoon we all gathered to get some info regarding the plankton, then we were allowed to get into the water. The effect was lacking to some degree due to the moon, but it was still very visible. (I will definitely go back on a moonless night if I am ever there at the right time.) We swam for about 20 minutes....getting back into the kayak was the only hard thing I did. BTW...some people did choose not to get out of their kayaks and just played with their hands in the water. The water was very warm...almost like bath water. The return trip was quick until we hit the harbor area. By then the water was a little rough and took a little work to stay on course. Back on land there was fruit, chips, cookies, and soft drinks/water. We also made a bathroom stop before the drive back. I think we were back to our hotel shortly after midnight. The trip over all was awesome...could be better if less moon, but still worth the trip considering there are only 5 bays in the world. Three are in PR, one in the Bahamas, and one in Jamaica according to the guides. This was definitely a must do...at least once. Due to traffic, I would recommend only doing this as a ship excursion...that way you are guaranteed to make it back on time.

[RYPERO]

Thanks for the review, I have been on the fence about this trip and I am leaning towards it now.

[gatorclaw]

Nerak- you're awesome! :cool: Thanks for not only the quick response but the great details. I have decided to definately do it now.

[RYPERO]

Gatorclaw, will you be bringing a waterproof camera that can take these night shots??? I am thinking about buying a case for one of mine?

[ISLABONITA]

didn't find a tour to the Bio bay. Was it called something else?

 

http://www.puerto-rico-sunshinetours.com/

[nerak]

gatorclaw...Good decision!!! Be sure to let me know how it goes. As for cameras, anything you take WILL get wet and there is the possiblity of capsizing your kayak when you get back into it. (Nobody capsized, but I don't know how we didn't!) If it is a very dark night, you will not get pictures unless you can slow down your shutter speed...I think that's what they told us.

 

My contact for our trip richsunshinepr1@hotmail.com I talked with Myrtha. Also, she can be contacted at 1-787-647-4545 / 4040...cell or between 8am-3pm at 1-787-721-7300 Myrtha emailed me the info regarding all of their tours. You can tell her that Karen and Lindsay told you to call. She was very sweet and easy to work with.

Let me know if you need anything else.

[gatorclaw]

gatorclaw...Good decision!!! Be sure to let me know how it goes.

 

You can count on it!

[gatorclaw]

nerak,

 

We did the biobay tour thru Carnival and it was really great. Can't help but wonder what it would have been like w/ no moon at all, but w/ quarter moon it was still spectacular. Thanks for your info on this because it really convinced us to do it.

 

To any others that have been following this thread or are debating on whether do to this excursion:

 

First off: even if it wasn't a glowing bay it was still a fun kayak in the dark. And it was seriously dark going thru some spots in the mangroves. But don't worry about getting lost or anything- you'll constantly see the person ahead of you b/c the kayaks have a beacon light to follow.

 

The blue glow from biobay.com is misleading. At least in the Fajardo biobay (a different one from biobay.com), the glow is white.

 

If anyone is interested in going I highly recommed it if you want something adventurous. It is somewhat tiring however, but I think doable for most people who could go hiking without trouble- it takes some stamina, but no real expertise in boating. There was a mother and daughter (maybe 11 years old) who seemed to struggle a bit, but they did ok.

 

Definate recommendation.

[#1TravelMom]

We've done BIO BAY twice on two separate cruises. It's very easy - our favorite plan:

Rent a car from Charlies spend the afternoon at the rainforest - hike to LaMina Falls for a swim (long hike, but lots of fun)! Drive East have dinner(lots of restaurants along the way-everything from local to Pizza Hut).

Do the Bio Bay tour that departs at 7:00pm-kayak to the bay through the mangrove at dusk. This tour gets back about 8:30pm. Drive back(very little late evening traffic. Drop car at Charlie's-catch a cab to the ship - we got back both times around 10pm.

I've never done the bio bay through a ship tour but the people I talked to just didn't have the same experience. Being able to actually get in the water - it's AMAZING. Our 2 teens want to do it every time we are in PR.

Older teens are very hard to impress, but they just love the "glowing bay" - it's like nothing else we've ever done. Don't miss it-especially if the moon conditions are right at the time you will be there!