Snorkeling anyone?

[JGORD7]

I am going on my first cruise next April to western caribbean. I really want to snorkle & want some opinions to the nicest place to go. We will be travelling to Grand Caymen Isl., Ocho Rios & Labaidee.

 

Also.. curios if on the ships do they feel overcrowded? With so many people you would think it would be super crowded everywhere you go.

 

Thanks for you help & suggestions!

[golfer1966]

By far your best choice here is Grand Cayman !! Labadee is basically a beach day and the snorkeling here is worthless to be honest. Jamaica has some ok spots but again, the best port is GC. We used Captain Marvins a few times to do the snorkel and stingray city tour and its very good. You stop at two spots for snorkeling and also Sting Ray City. Its actually quite fun. There are other tours you can take on the ship too, but we use Capt Marvins as its booked on your own. Again GC is the stop of choice for snorkeling. Im sure others will agree... have fun.....:D

[cb at sea]

The ships are designed for the max number of passengers! The only time you'll notice "crowds" will be around the pool on sea days, and when the shows let out....and at peak times in the WJ...

You can avoid the WJ and use the dining room...it's very casual for breakfast and lunch and you'll be served...no searching for tables, or condiments, or whatever! They will BRING it to you! Lovely!

[Mycraft]

at grand Cayman snorkeling and shipwreck tour is a waste of time...the only good thing about it is the catamaran boat ride to the snorkeling site...

[Worn out mailman]

at grand Cayman snorkeling and shipwreck tour is a waste of time...the only good thing about it is the catamaran boat ride to the snorkeling site...

 

There are two great onshore snorkeling sights I can tell you about. One is called Smiths Cove. If you exit the tender area and turn right on the main road, it's not far at all. It's not a great beach at all, very shelly and kind of smelly (the bathroom area), but the snorkeling is fantastic.

 

The second is in the opposite direction from the tender area. It's called 'Cemetery Reef' or 'Cemetery Beach'. You can walk from the tender across the street and to the left a little and catch a cheap bus there. The driver will drop you off in front of a small cemetery and you walk along a footpath to a very pretty beach. There are no bathroom or facilities of any kind. Once on the beach, you can see the shallow reefs about 150 feet out or so. Excellent shallow snorkeling. The reefs run from right under you to say 8 feet deep. Probably a perfect day if you have some portable chairs to sit on and you bring something to drink.

[jconeil]

99.9% of the reefs have been ruined by constant snorkeling in the same place. :(That goes for all the ports mentioned. All of the ships in port have snorkeling tours, as well as the hotels, they all go to the same place at the same time, so you are in the water in a small area with a hundred other snorkelers, many of whom do not look where they are going, step on the coral, feed the fish & pee in the water :eek:. As a first time cruiser, you might be hesitant to go out on your own, but if you can get a charter they may take you to some place relatively quiet where you might actually see some coral & fish. We book our own tours, including Marvin one time, & sometimes we still end up at the same place as the ship tours:mad: Still can't stay out of the water tho, we just swim away from the crowds & watch the fish & other critters. That said, anything is better than the ship tours, & usually less $.

[FreshOffTheBoat]

Grand Cayman had some great snorkelling. Stinkray City is awesome too. I have some pictures from my snorkelling adventures. I can potentially post them later.

 

The other ports you are going to I would do something other than snorkelling.

[bionicman97]

Grand Caymen has some good snorkeling. We went to show, walked towards the right (from where the drop you off). Walked to Paradise Restaurant and snorkel shop. You can rent the gear for the whole day for around $15 to $20. Walk down three steps and you are in the water with tons of fish.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/therealdanielfamily/sets/72157626563422628/

 

If you follow the link, the pics at the top of the page are from the Catermaran sail and snorkel. The ones at the bottom of the page are from Paradise Snorkel.

[Worn out mailman]

99.9% of the reefs have been ruined by constant snorkeling in the same place. :(That goes for all the ports mentioned. All of the ships in port have snorkeling tours, as well as the hotels, they all go to the same place at the same time, so you are in the water in a small area with a hundred other snorkelers, many of whom do not look where they are going, step on the coral, feed the fish & pee in the water :eek:. As a first time cruiser, you might be hesitant to go out on your own, but if you can get a charter they may take you to some place relatively quiet where you might actually see some coral & fish. We book our own tours, including Marvin one time, & sometimes we still end up at the same place as the ship tours:mad: Still can't stay out of the water tho, we just swim away from the crowds & watch the fish & other critters. That said, anything is better than the ship tours, & usually less $.

 

I have to agree with what jconeil above said about rude snorkelers...esp. the point about feeding the fish. What nimrods. What happens thereafter is that the fish swarm around people whether they have food for them or not. In Grand Cayman (at Cemetery Reef in 2009) some poor fella didn't have anything to feed them, and the tip of his finger served as a tasty morsel for some hungry fish. I do find that each time I go back to a spot I've been previously, the fish there are more aggressive.

[ryansmom]

We did the Catamaran Sail & Snorkel which was to the USS Kittiwake site and a reef.

 

We thought it was a great excursion. Not crowded...good sites... I'd do it again.

 

(then again, we are the type to pay extra and book stuff thru cruiseline)

 

[ASASJ5]

Grand Cayman does have spectacular snorkeling - just don't book the ship excursions! We just got back from the 8/7 Freedom sailing and we used nativewaywatersports.com and took the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour. Stingray City was crowded but they took us to a snorkel spot away from everyone else and it was great - we stayed as long as we wanted. The guides were very knowledgeable and had lots of patience for the inexperienced snorkelers on board. Best of all is that they limit the tour size so there were only about 20 people on the boat.

[bluecruisin]

We also had a great day with Nativeway on thier Rays,Reefs and Rum point tour.

[Momis2]

I am going on my first cruise next April to western caribbean. I really want to snorkle & want some opinions to the nicest place to go. We will be travelling to Grand Caymen Isl., Ocho Rios & Labaidee.

 

Also.. curios if on the ships do they feel overcrowded? With so many people you would think it would be super crowded everywhere you go.

 

Thanks for you help & suggestions!

I argree. Grand Cayman is the best. We used Capt. Marvin and there were only 11 people on the boat. This was including the crew. Go early before the crowds come.

[Islandbear]

You might also try Stingraysail.com they have a nice small cat snorkel trip. We are booked on it in November

[CSloan]

Labadee isn't the best snorkeling, but I enjoyed it. I snorkeled the route they recommend on the island and saw plenty of fish and some interesting things. I love to snorkel, so if I'm in a spot where it's possible, I do it to see what I can see.