NCL St John Champagne Catamaran Beach and Snorkel VS PowerCat Snorkel and Beach

[Raynebaby]

I've posted this in the Port of call section but I tought I'd post here too since it's NCL excursions, if not allowed please remove. Thanks

 

I've narrowed it down to 2 excursions , the St John Champagne Catamaran Sail and Snorkel or the PowerCat Snorkel and Beach. Has anyone done either, Any insight?

 

I wanted to the the Powercat cause the snorkel seemed better but I read reviews and they only see a few turtles, if that's the case I've swam with the turtles in Barbados, You can't beat that.

 

What's the snorkel like in St John?

[jrsegrl]

We/ve done both - on NCL and Disney. Both had very nice crew. Experience was similar on each but the St. John one takes a lot more travel time. You cant go wrong with either - sorry that's not helpful.... Both snorkeling parts were good but the Powercat goes to a place with young sea turtles which are a favorite for us. St. John one you get the boat ride out to the island which is nice if you've never been. Powercat picks you up not far from the ship but unless things have changed the St. John Cat was a distance away by van.

 

Snorkel is good either way. Did the PowerCat as recently as April and we did see the turtles but there is also a reef with a lot of fish. Actually saw a fish I'd never seen before and was not aware of. (Unusual because cruise/snorkel a lot and have done it from the Atlantic as far as Hawaii and French Polynesia.)

[carads]

We've done it twice but with Royal Caribbean and Princess, not NCL. With both was a maybe half hour bus ride to a marina and a leisurely catamaran trip where we anchored just off of St John. Snorkeling wasn't particularly great but you can see some fish and turtles. They also have a small dinghy that they used to transport people to the beach if anybody wanted to go. On the way back they had champagne and fruit punch plus some cut fruit and did part of the trip under sail rather than the engine. On both trips we took the crew were from the US. The most recent the captain was from MA and the mates were from PA and MI. It's a pleasant and relaxing day but unspectacular.

[TrumpyNor]

We did the NCL St John Champagne Catamaran Beach and Snorkel excursion back in 2013, and in my opinion the trip with the catamaran was too long (and not really as "exclusive" as we thought beforehand) and the stay at the beach (with snorkeling) too short - I think we had about 1-1,5 hours at the beach.

[Coastalbreezes]

I've only done the St. John Champagne Catamaran sail and personally wouldn't do it again. It's about a 30 minute ride to the marina, then about 45 minutes+ sail and, in my opinion, too short a time for snorkeling and beach. Seems like we had just arrived when it was time to go.

 

On the return sail, I believe the tour description said we'd be served rum punch, fresh-baked bread, cheese, fruit and we were given stale crackers and some cheese with the overly sweet punch and cheap champagne. All the way back, the crew shamelessly begged for tips and that was a real turnoff for me.

 

Tracy

[eiffeltower07]

St John Champagne Catamaran Sail

 

We do this excursion every time we visit the St. Thomas port. It is the best catamaran excursion we've done. The ride out is long but the scenery is amazing. The actual snorkel time is about 45 minutes by the time you get the safety brief and get into the water.

 

Enjoy whatever you decide to do!

[Love2travel4]

Did the champagne sail and Snorkle with NCL in April 2013. One of the best catamaran tours I have ever done. Awesome crew and the catamaran was not packed at all. In fact, on the way back we were the only ones on the netting. We spent the entire time in the water and snorkeling...only saw one baby turtle and a barracuda! Swam to the beach to say "hey, I'm in St. John's". I do wish it was a bit longer.

[OCruisers]

We are big fans of the Champagne Sail! Lovely way to spend the day in St. Thomas. :)

[Raynebaby]

Thanks for the replies. I think we'll do the power at. I'd rather have more time swimming and snorkeling. Maybe we'll do st John some other time.

[cygnets]

We did the powercat exursion through NCL in March and had a great time.

We went to Buck island first, to see turtles, snorkle in water near the boat where there is sea grass. We saw lots of smaller green turtles having breakfast. To see fish go towards the island and the rocky out croppings, nice variety all different sizes and colors.

Went to the beach after Buck island where most people went on the beach and there is a little restaurant, we grabbed some snorkle gear and stayed in the roped off area and swam with more green turtles. The Kontiki boat was just leaving there as we arrived.

Crew was nice, they offered rum punch or you could have unlimted soda from the cooler. Water was also offered.

If you sit at the front of the boat on left side you and your belongings will get wet when leaving the port to cross to the island.