tiki hut excursion

[kassimer1]

has anyone done the tiki hut excursion? it us offered on royal carribean. was it fun and was there enough to do or are you bored after 1 hour

[psbtrvlr]

I too am curious about the Tiki Hut. Anyone out there done this excursion?

[blueridgemama]

Hi, On the St Martin forum page just go to the "Search this thread" section in the top right corner and type in "Tiki Hut" and all the posts available about the Tiki Hut will be displayed. Lots of good info. have fun!:)

[pythia]

I did this last Saturday. Here's the scoop: you board a water taxi and go one bay over from the cruise pier to Little Bay. The Tiki Hut is nestled in, it doesn't get the brunt of any waves but there is a bit of a current. They will give you a wristband and a basket; you put your belongings in the basket and they keep them behind the bar in the hut. The baskets are numbered and they write your number on your wristband. You can access your basket as often as you like. They will also run a tab for drinks, food, etc - the grouper sandwich is AMAZING! - using your number and you settle up at the end.

 

This is not the most go-go exciting place, rather it is pretty quiet and low-key; the kind of place where you just chill out. You can snorkel (lots of fish & coral, cannons, and a sunken submarine), find a lounge chair on the sun deck (or under an umbrella, if you prefer), there is even a small protected "kiddie pool" set into the deck if the open ocean isn't your thing (lots of fish just passing through). They had a second float with a bathroom, but lost it in Hurricane Earl last month and haven't yet gotten it back together. They provide snorkel gear (we brought our own and just used their fins), noodles, and floating lounge chairs. There were fewer than 20 people out there with us, so everyone had plenty of room to manouver both on the deck and in the water.

 

Visibility wasn't too good while we were there, but it didn't stop us from enjoying it. We stayed about 4 hours just relaxing. Then we took the water taxi back (if it's not there when you're ready to go, tell the staff and they will call for it). They offered the choice of being dropped off at the ship or taken to downtown Philipsburg at the beach and shopping. It's about a 15 minute walk from downtown back to the ship or you can take a different water taxi (I think it was $3 for a one way ride or $6 for all day access).

[kassimer1]

I did this last Saturday. Here's the scoop: you board a water taxi and go one bay over from the cruise pier to Little Bay. The Tiki Hut is nestled in, it doesn't get the brunt of any waves but there is a bit of a current. They will give you a wristband and a basket; you put your belongings in the basket and they keep them behind the bar in the hut. The baskets are numbered and they write your number on your wristband. You can access your basket as often as you like. They will also run a tab for drinks, food, etc - the grouper sandwich is AMAZING! - using your number and you settle up at the end.

 

This is not the most go-go exciting place, rather it is pretty quiet and low-key; the kind of place where you just chill out. You can snorkel (lots of fish & coral, cannons, and a sunken submarine), find a lounge chair on the sun deck (or under an umbrella, if you prefer), there is even a small protected "kiddie pool" set into the deck if the open ocean isn't your thing (lots of fish just passing through). They had a second float with a bathroom, but lost it in Hurricane Earl last month and haven't yet gotten it back together. They provide snorkel gear (we brought our own and just used their fins), noodles, and floating lounge chairs. There were fewer than 20 people out there with us, so everyone had plenty of room to manouver both on the deck and in the water.

 

Visibility wasn't too good while we were there, but it didn't stop us from enjoying it. We stayed about 4 hours just relaxing. Then we took the water taxi back (if it's not there when you're ready to go, tell the staff and they will call for it). They offered the choice of being dropped off at the ship or taken to downtown Philipsburg at the beach and shopping. It's about a 15 minute walk from downtown back to the ship or you can take a different water taxi (I think it was $3 for a one way ride or $6 for all day access).

thansk for the info

[MrsPete]

I have not done this excursion, but I did see the Tiki Hut in July. We were on a small snorkeling boat (all the boats go to this same area). Comments:

 

This is a relatively crowded area. The Tiki Hut is a permanant fixture, as is the helmet diving place. I'd guess we were one of 8-10 small boats. LOTS of people snorkeling, though it was a decent sized area and we weren't on top of one another.

 

The water is SUPER SALTY, which means you don't even have to swim. You're so bouyant in this water that you just stay afloat. I tried to go down to see something down low and was not able to do so.

 

The snorkeling visibility and fish population isn't all that great.

 

This would be a good choice for a person who wants a snorkeling experience but doesn't want to ride a boat (perhaps someone who's afraid of seasickness). The water was a little rough. My husband became queasy on the way out, and I was just starting to feel sick when we arrived back at the dock.

[kassimer1]

I have not done this excursion, but I did see the Tiki Hut in July. We were on a small snorkeling boat (all the boats go to this same area). Comments:

 

This is a relatively crowded area. The Tiki Hut is a permanant fixture, as is the helmet diving place. I'd guess we were one of 8-10 small boats. LOTS of people snorkeling, though it was a decent sized area and we weren't on top of one another.

 

The water is SUPER SALTY, which means you don't even have to swim. You're so bouyant in this water that you just stay afloat. I tried to go down to see something down low and was not able to do so.

 

The snorkeling visibility and fish population isn't all that great.

 

This would be a good choice for a person who wants a snorkeling experience but doesn't want to ride a boat (perhaps someone who's afraid of seasickness). The water was a little rough. My husband became queasy on the way out, and I was just starting to feel sick when we arrived back at the dock.

thank you