Turtle Cove Sail & Snorkel in St. Thomas

[FSUBIGDOGS]

Has anyone done this excursion through any of the ships? I will be sailing on Independence of the seas next week with two kids ages 5 and 7. They are really good swimmers, but I'm not sure if this is really for them.

 

Thanks for any information.

[roysue]

Turtle Cove is a wonderful adventure! I did it a couple of years ago but here's what I remember -

You exit the boat into deep water, so both kids would have to be comfortable with that aspect.

There is a lot of fire coral, which they say will cause your skin to burn if you touch it. It would be good to warn them ahead of time.

 

Have a wonderful time! I enjoyed this excursion very much!

[Luv2CruiseWFam&Friends]

I did this excursion on the Doubloon Pirate ship a couple years ago when we sailed RC's Mariner of the Seas. It was a great snorkeling trip for adults, but I really don't remember many children on the excursion. We did see several turtles, but the other fish sightings were minimal. One highlight of this trip is the return trip, where the very good rum punch flows, and the crew is hysterically funny. They would be kid friendly, I'm sure, but the majority of the guests will be adults. They offer a free pirate tattoo. You do snorkel in open water, and are not allowed to go to the beach. It is in a cove, so is somewhat protected.

[kh81828587]

We just did this tour last week. We had a great time. All the descriptions above are still accurate. We had several kids on our ship. The coral that will sting if you touch it is far below, so unless your kids will dive down about 10-12 feet, they can't touch it. I'm new to snorkeling and I stay on the surface and never even came near it, although the water is so clear you can see everything. We saw several sea turtles, sting ray, beautiful coral, and lots of colorful fish. It was a great tour and the staff are very friendly. I bet your kids would love it.

[CarnivalCruiseJunkie]

Hello,

I booked the Turtle Cove Sail & Snorkel in St. Thomas excursion in May. Can anyone tell me how hard it is to get back on the boat. I hear that you have to climb several steps to get out of the water into the boat. I don't have problem with the steps but am unsure if I can pull myself out of the water to get on the steps. Do they help? How difficult is it? I'm not in the best of shape.

Thanks so much!

[Piggeldy]

Hello,

I booked the Turtle Cove Sail & Snorkel in St. Thomas excursion in May. Can anyone tell me how hard it is to get back on the boat. I hear that you have to climb several steps to get out of the water into the boat. I don't have problem with the steps but am unsure if I can pull myself out of the water to get on the steps. Do they help? How difficult is it? I'm not in the best of shape.

Thanks so much!

 

We were on the Silent Lady last November and my husband who has mild CP was able to easily get out of the water and the crew did help when help was needed. If you can climb a regular ladder you should be fine.

 

He had a bit more trouble getting off and on the catamaran in St. Martin but the crew was amazingly helpful there as well.