How much snorkeling can we do off the platform?

[burm]

As snorkeling is one of our favourite cruise activities, we are intrigued by the idea of snorkeling right off the ship's watersports platform. On either the Costa Rica or Panama Canal itineraries, what opportunities would we have for doing this?

[witt's end]

We have never been allowed to snorkel from the sports deck due to safety. It is very busy with kayaks, water ski boats, sailboats etc. Swimming/floating is fine because you have your head above water. If there is a current they provide a safety rope for swimmers. I think that when you see the setup and the depth of the water, your enthusiasm for snorkeling from the ship will diminish. But, the sport deck is a fantastic perk and a great way to spend time.

We board on Saturday so I will update if there is a change from past experiences.

[burm]

We have never been allowed to snorkel from the sports deck due to safety. It is very busy with kayaks' date=' water ski boats, sailboats etc. Swimming/floating is fine because you have your head above water. If there is a current they provide a safety rope for swimmers. I think that when you see the setup and the depth of the water, your enthusiasm for snorkeling from the ship will diminish. But, the sport deck is a fantastic perk and a great way to spend time.

We board on Saturday so I will update if there is a change from past experiences.[/quote']

 

 

That is disappointing but I look forward to hearing your updated report. Thanks, and have a wonderful cruise!

[yogagal47]

We took that cruise and also did not snorkel from the watersports platform. It is for swimming and the other water activities-sailing, waterskiing and tubing, kayaking. You will be able to check out snorkel gear at the beginning of the cruise and you can use it at the beaches when you are in port. We actually only used ours the day of the beach barbecue on Isla Coiba-there were some fish over by the old pier but I would not say it was great clarity and there were not a lot of fish. My husband did a one tank dive that morning and had fun but it was not amazing in terms of what they saw. We did love this cruise!

[burm]

I emailed Windstar and asked them the same question. Interestingly enough, they finally wrote back and assured me that the sports platform would be ideal for snorkeling on these two cruises.

 

You always get the best, most realistic advice from CC'ers!

 

I expect that there are many other reasons why we would like Windstar, but if we had built our expectations on the dream of snorkeling off the platform, we would be sorely disappointed.

[yogagal47]

My advice is to pick an itinerary that will in itself, be enticing enough to offer you a great time and do not rely on the watersports platform. Some years back we were on the Surf in the Med. and the platform did not work. This affected quite a few cruises as I recall. The current owners of Windstar seem to be doing a great job of insuring that everything is in working order and "ship shape" (new sails for example). The main thing is determining that this style of cruising suits your tastes and the ports offer the opportunity to do what you want including swimming, snorkeling, diving, kayaking and just general beach chilling. Happy cruising. We have been on 6 cruises with Windstar and plan to take a 7th next January!

[witt's end]

We just returned from the Wind Surf. The sportsdeck was used everyday that we tendered. The water was amazing and pax really enjoyed the sailing, kayaking, swimming, water skiing, and the inflatable trampoline. Snorkelling was not allowed due to safety and really, there wouldn't be much to see.

There are snorkelling excursions in every port though so enjoy!

[burm]

Thanks for the info :)

[yogagal47]

Does the Windsurf have windsurfers and paddle boards available?

 

We really enjoyed paddle boarding on our recent Windstar cruise

[AirbusPat]

We just returned from the Wind Surf. The sportsdeck was used everyday that we tendered. The water was amazing and pax really enjoyed the sailing' date=' kayaking, swimming, water skiing, and the inflatable trampoline. Snorkelling was not allowed due to safety and really, there wouldn't be much to see.

There are snorkelling excursions in every port though so enjoy![/quote']

 

I agree, we never even considered snorkelling from the sports platform. It's much more fun to do it from the beach. Especially in Virgin Gorda.

[witt's end]

We had paddleboards available at the beach BBQ but no windsurfers - not even on the Wind Surf!;)

[Kathy816]

@witt's end or anyone who's been on the Wind Surf recently

 

If you were on the Wind Surf, do they have paddleboards on the sports platform or just at the Beach BBQ? (we'll be on Wind Surf in 2 weeks)

 

I called WindStar and they said they had windsurfers but no paddleboards at the sports platform. My husband is an avid paddleboarder so I've been researching where we can rent them on each island, but it would be much easier if we can use the ones on the boat when the sports platform is open!

[witt's end]

The only place I saw paddleboards was at the beach BBQ but they must have come from the ship. You probably just need to ask for them.

[realproperty]

two hobie-cats, one laser, a bunch of kayaks, no windsurfers that i saw, two paddleboards at the BBQ but I didn't see any one from sports platform. No one snorkeled off the boat. Probably too deep anyway.