topspot Posted December 27, 2018 #26 Share Posted December 27, 2018 On 12/20/2018 at 4:44 PM, canadianbear said: Which one are you doing in Aruba? We’ve got snorkeling excursions in Curaçao and Bonaire booked but nothing in Aruba. It is very easy to snorkel on your own, from shore in Aruba. Take the 10 A bus to Arashi Beach (5.00 US round trip). There are chairs to rent and bathrooms and bar here as well. We did this in December and also several years ago. We saw lots of fish, octupus and turtles here on our past trip. It was nice to go at our own pace. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merinski Posted February 11, 2019 #27 Share Posted February 11, 2019 On 12/20/2018 at 9:49 AM, NateUpNorth said: Was on the morning trip same day as Johnamac. (he was PM trip) The meeting spot is literally a 3 minute walk from the dock and easy to find if you can figure out how to walk off the ship and turn right. Morning trip had two spots and lunch served. Nice trip out to the first spot, approx 20-30 mins, accompanied by loads and loads of "flying fish" racing the catamaran. We sat on the nets out front, there was no worry about space on the catamaran. (I believe our trip was "sold out") First spot was about 40-45 mins in the water. Very calm water. AMAZING coral, a good amount of fish. Second spot a bit less calm, seemed like 30 mins or so in the water, still had amazing coral. One group saw sea turtle(s) Beautiful boat trip back along the coastline where they served drinks and lunch, which was both large portion and delicious. They have a photographer who will snorkel with you and take pics. The pics turn out amazing. $40USD, you receive a link to download them. I think there was +/- 100 pics total for our snorkel group, and she makes sure she gets everyone in a least a few pics, along with the coral and sea life you are seeing. Each group in the water was 5-6 people swimming, and each group had a guide, whom I'm told was very informative and gave a brief description of what she was seeing before diving down to point it out. (I just went on my own for most of the drift, didn't really stay with the group) We had our own gear, however was very impressed with how diligent they were in making sure others were fitted correctly and ready to go. Notably however they did put our two kids (5 and 7) into wetsuits as they felt their suits/rash guard shirts might not keep them warm for the full 45 minutes we'd be in the water. Certainly not a bad idea and happy they gave us the choice!! was the water warm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianbear Posted February 11, 2019 #28 Share Posted February 11, 2019 This is the lunch served on Woodwind-large plate (too much I couldn’t finish it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianbear Posted February 11, 2019 #29 Share Posted February 11, 2019 We did the snorkel in January-day wasn’t beautiful so a bit chilly, however...Woodwind offers (free) suits, tops (I used their top which kept me warm), caps for keeping hair in, prescription masks-pretty much anything you need. They are very customer oriented and strive to please. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateUpNorth Posted February 11, 2019 #30 Share Posted February 11, 2019 1 hour ago, merinski said: was the water warm? Depends on your definition of warm. I was fine the entire time in the water as I stayed moving quite a bit. For those that were purely "drifting" I did hear that towards the end of each session in the water they felt "cool" but nothing that made them want to exit early. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianbear Posted February 11, 2019 #31 Share Posted February 11, 2019 5 minutes ago, NateUpNorth said: Depends on your definition of warm. I was fine the entire time in the water as I stayed moving quite a bit. For those that were purely "drifting" I did hear that towards the end of each session in the water they felt "cool" but nothing that made them want to exit early. It does depend on the person whether they get chilled easily etc. On our particular day we had two people almost turning blue when they got back on the boat and had the shivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merinski Posted February 11, 2019 #32 Share Posted February 11, 2019 Thought it would be quite warm since it is south. We have UV shirts. Just wondered because they talk of wet suits. We have snorkeled in Barbados, St. Lucia...the water wasn't too cool, not real warm either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianbear Posted February 11, 2019 #33 Share Posted February 11, 2019 16 minutes ago, merinski said: Thought it would be quite warm since it is south. We have UV shirts. Just wondered because they talk of wet suits. We have snorkeled in Barbados, St. Lucia...the water wasn't too cool, not real warm either. It honestly can be different day to day. No control over the weather or rough seas. We live in Canada so I find most waters a lot warmer than ours when we are away! Plus, if you keep moving when snorkeling you tend to keep warmer. January was the first time I used a heavier top they offered and it did help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merinski Posted February 11, 2019 #34 Share Posted February 11, 2019 Thanks, I'm sure it will be warm enough. We are from B.C. too. I found that Jamaica was the warmest water we've been in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianbear Posted February 11, 2019 #35 Share Posted February 11, 2019 15 minutes ago, merinski said: Thanks, I'm sure it will be warm enough. We are from B.C. too. I found that Jamaica was the warmest water we've been in. Never been to Jamaica, maybe one day. We are heading out on the Kongingsdam on Feb 24 and doing the ABC islands again. Our group of 4 have booked Woodwind and I am hoping the weather is warm as our son and DIL have never been there. Either way I’m sure they’ll find it fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merinski Posted February 11, 2019 #36 Share Posted February 11, 2019 1 minute ago, canadianbear said: Never been to Jamaica, maybe one day. We are heading out on the Kongingsdam on Feb 24 and doing the ABC islands again. Our group of 4 have booked Woodwind and I am hoping the weather is warm as our son and DIL have never been there. Either way I’m sure they’ll find it fun. We are doing the ABC's on Celebrity Reflection leaving Feb18th. We are booked with Woodwind too on the 26th. It's our first time to the ABC Islands, looking forward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianbear Posted February 11, 2019 #37 Share Posted February 11, 2019 (edited) 2 minutes ago, merinski said: We are doing the ABC's on Celebrity Reflection leaving Feb18th. We are booked with Woodwind too on the 26th. It's our first time to the ABC Islands, looking forward to it. I hope you have warm water and lots of fun! If you remember, report back on here and let us know. We are actually doing 2 cruises so aren’t back for awhile. Edited February 11, 2019 by canadianbear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merinski Posted February 11, 2019 #38 Share Posted February 11, 2019 7 minutes ago, canadianbear said: I hope you have warm water and lots of fun! If you remember, report back on here and let us know. We are actually doing 2 cruises so aren’t back for awhile. You have a great trip too. I will be back with reviews... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnamac123 Posted February 16, 2019 #39 Share Posted February 16, 2019 On 2/11/2019 at 1:31 PM, merinski said: was the water warm? Woodwind furnishes you with long sleeve rash guard shirts. I liked it so much I bought one for all my future trips. It did help keep my warm... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac66 Posted February 19, 2019 #40 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Just got back from the ABCs and did the Woodwind snorkeling tour. We also did it 5 years ago and were happy to repeat the experience. This time the water was pretty rough and the wind was blowing pretty hard. The sail was pretty brisk but the snorkeling was fantastic again. Dee and the crew do a great job. It was somewhat overcast and chilly so I chose to wear a provided shorty wetsuit on the first snorkel. Everybody else got wetsuits for the second snorkel. Overall the equipment, service, food and snorkeling were great. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinsCruise Posted February 20, 2019 #41 Share Posted February 20, 2019 We've used Woodwind twice in the past and have reservations for April. They are awesome! This will be our first time on their new catamaran and I wondered what they use to get back on the boat from the water. My husband recently had his shoulder replaced and is concerned about whether he'll be able to get back on board. If not, he will go for the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianbear Posted February 20, 2019 #42 Share Posted February 20, 2019 We were on their new catamaran last month-this is one of the photos-hope it helps. They are very helpful. We are going again soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldaph Posted February 21, 2019 #43 Share Posted February 21, 2019 I have a 4 hour tour booked for November. I follow them on Facebook, they don't post often but there's a bunch of pictures. I'm a bit nervous that our ship leaves an hour after the return time but I keep reading that it's very close and we should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac66 Posted February 22, 2019 #44 Share Posted February 22, 2019 On 2/20/2019 at 5:40 PM, MartinsCruise said: We've used Woodwind twice in the past and have reservations for April. They are awesome! This will be our first time on their new catamaran and I wondered what they use to get back on the boat from the water. My husband recently had his shoulder replaced and is concerned about whether he'll be able to get back on board. If not, he will go for the ride. As you can see from the posted photos there is a ladder that folds down from the right pontoon. It seemed easier to climb than the last time. Plus there will be a crew member in the water to push and one on the boat to pull should your husband need help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinsCruise Posted February 22, 2019 #45 Share Posted February 22, 2019 7 hours ago, mac66 said: As you can see from the posted photos there is a ladder that folds down from the right pontoon. It seemed easier to climb than the last time. Plus there will be a crew member in the water to push and one on the boat to pull should your husband need help. Thank you for this information. My last resort was to try to give him a little push but it would be much better if they did it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaya042605 Posted February 24, 2019 #46 Share Posted February 24, 2019 What is included on the woodwind 3 hour tour? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateUpNorth Posted February 26, 2019 #47 Share Posted February 26, 2019 On 2/21/2019 at 1:55 PM, Eldaph said: I have a 4 hour tour booked for November. I follow them on Facebook, they don't post often but there's a bunch of pictures. I'm a bit nervous that our ship leaves an hour after the return time but I keep reading that it's very close and we should be fine. Literally a 3 minute walk from the pier. I thought Ulf was joking when he said this in my confirm email. Get off boat, turn right, you can see the "Casino" sign meeting point already. You'll be fine. If you walk slowly it might stretch out to 6 minutes..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldaph Posted February 26, 2019 #48 Share Posted February 26, 2019 3 hours ago, NateUpNorth said: Literally a 3 minute walk from the pier. I thought Ulf was joking when he said this in my confirm email. Get off boat, turn right, you can see the "Casino" sign meeting point already. You'll be fine. If you walk slowly it might stretch out to 6 minutes..... Thank you, this makes me feel much better!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merinski Posted March 6, 2019 #49 Share Posted March 6, 2019 We went on the snorkel trip with Woodwind . I cannot say enough good things about them. It was a short walk to the meeting place from the port. Dee and her team were amazing! She talked to us about safety and fitted us with masks. They gave me a wet suit to wear, but I think I would have been fine without it... They served drinks and raisin buns, then later when we were on our way back they served us a yummy plate of lunch, chicken, noodle dish . They put us in separate groups from beginner to advanced and each group of about 6 people had their own guide. It was a drift snorkel on Klein Bonaire. The fish and coral and turtles were awesome! They also have a photographer that comes and takes pictures and you can buy the downloads for $40.This tour was the highlight of our trip! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianbear Posted March 7, 2019 #50 Share Posted March 7, 2019 @merinski: so glad you enjoyed it. Dee is fantastic! Our family of 4 did the morning snorkel and loved it. I’m so impressed not only with their dedication to preserve the wildlife but the equipment they provide. I don’t see many companies providing prescription masks like they do. We also bought their photos both times in January and February. Although we have our own underwater cameras I appreciate the beautiful ones they take. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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