mdh3pilot

Sure enough, there were 5 beautiful sea turtles swimming amongst all the tourists. It was definitely very crowded with 40-50 people trying to get close to the turtles, and everyone was getting kicked and hit by neighboring swimmers, but it was all part of the excitement. I was very surprised to see so many swimmers out there since the last time I did this on my cruise in 2012, there were just the 4 people on my boat, but we also went on a lot earlier in the morning so I guess there is a big difference between going at 9am and 10am!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you look closely, you can see 4 turtles in this photo!

 

 

 

 

Snorkel Selfie!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was crowded!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent about 15 minutes snorkeling with the sea turtles, then got back on the boat. The guide gave us a cup of very strong rum punch to enjoy as he brought us back to the Boatyard. Overall, it was $20 well spent and I think everyone on our boat had fun, but I do think it was a bit too crowded to fully enjoy the experience. One thing to keep in mind is that many of the other boats near us were half- or full-day catamaran excursions that run up to $100 per person, yet we were all snorkeling at the same time, in the same water, with the same turtles! I am sure they had a great rest of their day on the boat whereas we only had 1 hour on the boat and spent the rest of our day on the beach, but I don't think it is worth the difference in price if you are only going for the snorkel experience and don't care about spending all day on their boat.

 

Did you take all of your photos with an actual camera or use your phone as a camera? I've never cruised before and will be taking my first one in just a few days and I'm wondering if I should just take my iPhone and use it as a camera (with a nice waterproof case of course).