Great Stirrup Cay (GSC) Snorkeling Excursion

[lola4795]

Has anyone done the $29 GSC snorkel excursion? Is it any different than bringing your own snorkel gear and doing it from the beach? Or do they actually take you to a designated spot to snorkel?

[waverley7]

Has anyone done the $29 GSC snorkel excursion? Is it any different than bringing your own snorkel gear and doing it from the beach? Or do they actually take you to a designated spot to snorkel?

 

Going in January and if anyone knows the answer to this question please reply!

 

Thanks! :D

[kcdancerkc]

60 days to goooooooooo

anyone have info on this?

We want to take our own gear

snorkel in a good area

NOT get charged $29 for it :)

[kcdancerkc]

Can I bring my snorkel stuff and see cool stuff without paying for the tour!?

[mitsugirly]

I have not been since they started the snorkeling "tour", however I have read others post that they did the snorkel on their own with their equipment. I think I also remember someone emailing NCL asking this question and they also responded that if you have your own equipment, you can swim out to where it is at.

 

Also, I believe the price to rent the snorkeling equipment was around $29 to begin with. So I think that price is just the rental of the snorkeling equipment and if you rent from them, they probably have employees showing you where it's at or something? :confused: Just a guess.

[Ronandjessie]

We were there in July and the $29 is a rental fee, then you are free to explore on your own. We brought our own snorkels and masks and had a great time for the value price of about $5.00 each...got our stuff at the dollar store.

[greg_atlanta]

I brought my own snorkel/mask/fins but they made me wear an inflatable vest (which could be deflated) and said it was "complementary". Also had to fill out a disclaimer form and put my cabin #. When I got my statement I noticed they charged me $4.99 for the vest, so I called and complained and they refunded it, but not without "checking with the ship".

 

The snorkeling is OK but not great. So it's a nice thing to do if you're there, but I wouldn't plan a trip around it. There's a small island you can snorkel around and it's probably 50-60 feet deep on the far side. There's a lifeguard who stops you if you go the wrong direction. It wasn't clear where the snorkeling area ended, but I got the OK to go to a cluster of 3 rocks on the far left side... but current was pretty strong on the way back (so not for everyone).

 

On this cruise I also went snorkeling near Eden Rock dive center in Grand Cayman (free) and did an independent excursion in Cozumel (Dive Palancar) and those were far superior.

[mikeyd]

If you want good snorkeling, I made some suggestions of a really great spot in this thread....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1463822

 

IMHO - don't waste your time on the tour (guided or on your own) you'll see much more and have a nice time if you go to the area I showed.