Snorkel excursion in st thomas?

[markjj99]

We will be in st thomas on the freedom of the seas in late august on the eatsern caribbean. In cococay we know well lay on the beach and maybe do a little activity and in st martin we'll go to maho beach and front street/front beach (great bay), but in st thomas we want to go snorkeling and maybe some beach time, here are the 3 excursins we are deciding betweeen

 

-Caribbean sail to christmas and honeymoon coves (6.5 hrs)

Sail to christmas cove/buck island/turtle cove to snorkel then head to honeymoon beach on water island where you may swim and snorkel, and there is a bbq lunch. 12:15-6:45, and we are in port from 12-7.

 

- FAST CAT 2 island snorkel snafari (4 hrs)

Very similar buck island-water island except no lunch and less time alloted at each destination (1:30-5:30)

 

-Turtle cove snorkeling (3.5 hrs)

Just buck island snorkeling (1:15-4:45)

 

The fast cat seems to do the most in the least amount of time, and this is our first time to st thomas and we couldnt do any island sightseeing at all with the first one, but the first one seems so much fun, and we couldnt do much after fast cat, so why not admit defeat and say youll be on an excursion the entire day, plus turtle cove doesnt have much time afterwards and there is no beach part. Any thoughts? Has anyone been on these excusions?

 

Also, this is our first cruise thats why we thought wed just explore st martin

[taxgal]

I know I've been on several cruises & several times to St Thomas....but stay away from the cruise line snorkel trips as they are cattle calls...people are dense packed and you get kicked. There are many smaller operators in Charlotte Amalie as well as American Yacht Harbor. We normally hire a private sail charter from the latter. Does it cost more, yes; however, it is a better experience--our family are the only ones in the small coves we visit.

[markjj99]

Taxgal could u please tell me the names of some small snorkel charters in st thomas. Thanks.

[lvs2rd]

Have done Turtle Cove twice! Loved these guys! A very knowledgeable group of guys who obviously love what they do! The boat they use looks like a pirate ship. On the way out to the cove they review how to use the equipment and give you some background on the island and their qualifications. You are given ample time to snorkel. The first time we went we did not see as many turtles and the water seemed murky. The next trip was so much better. The water was so clear and there were so many turtles! On the return trip they turn up the music, pour the "pain killers" and relax with the guests. They give a bit of a sales pitch to sell their T-shirts but we didn't mind...they were pretty funny actually. They also give out temporary tattoos to anyone that wants one. We really enjoyed the time! Plenty of time to shop and walk around after the tour ends.

[grand isle joe]

Have done Turtle Cove twice! Loved these guys! A very knowledgeable group of guys who obviously love what they do! The boat they use looks like a pirate ship. On the way out to the cove they review how to use the equipment and give you some background on the island and their qualifications. You are given ample time to snorkel. The first time we went we did not see as many turtles and the water seemed murky. The next trip was so much better. The water was so clear and there were so many turtles! On the return trip they turn up the music, pour the "pain killers" and relax with the guests. They give a bit of a sales pitch to sell their T-shirts but we didn't mind...they were pretty funny actually. They also give out temporary tattoos to anyone that wants one. We really enjoyed the time! Plenty of time to shop and walk around after the tour ends.

 

We did this one also and after 12 cruises it has become our favorite far and away...rocking good time and a crew that couldn't do enough for you. Great fun time and on our boat everyone from kids to "grannies" got into the fun...have a great time.:)

[bplazo]

We did a sail boat tour with High pockets in St. Thomas and it was one of our favorite excursions. We were the only passengers for that day and it was a great experience.

[Tweety63]

Another vote for Turtle Cove! We did this excursion years ago and still brings back such fun memories....so much so that we will be going on that same memory making pirate ship again when we are there on the Allure this month:)

[disneylover]

We have been to St. Thomas several times and the trip to Turtle Cove on the Pirate Ship is a good time. One year we went with another family that had arranged for us to take our own boat which took us to coves throughout that were deserted and the snorkeling was fabulous. That particular day cost us much more than the Turtle Cove Excursion. I agree, the crew was fun and full of energy. We saw lots of Turtles, beautiful fish and a couple of Stingrays. We will be booking this one again for our next cruise.

[taxgal]

markjj99,

Hope this helps not sure if it will be deleted by the hosts.

Check out both of these on trip advisor.

For small groups check out fury they take a max of 25.

for private try capt kim at inter line sail.

[dockside31]

We did this on CCL Sunshine this past May.great crew and plenty of Painkillers best snorkeling we`ve done!

[janetz]

http://www.usvisailing.com/daysails.html

[Beardface]

We did the trip to Trunk Bay on St. Johns, and they offer snorkeling for a couple hours before you have to head back. Trunk Bay is a beautiful spot, and the snorkeling is pretty good as well. Even for it being June/July when we did it, we had a great time.

[dacsmom]

Congratulations on your first cruise. In St. Maarten why not look at Bernards Tours. It is a tour of both the French and Dutch side and is very reasonable priced. In St. Thomas We did the Sea Blaster tour through the ship and had a great time, 2 snorkel stops, one for turtles and one for fish, and the guides were a lot of fun. It was not overcrowded at all. Also CoCo Cay has some pretty good snorkeling too, they have sunken relics and we have seen quite a large number of fish.