Snorkel with Turtles/Shipwreck on Your Own

[joyandjerry]

Jerry and I are going March 28, and have done a tour of the island on a previous visit. Does anyone have experience with snorkeling on your own, ship's excursion (RCCL), or other private tours for this? We are interested in the turtles and the shipwreck. TIA.

[PORT ROYAL]

1 hour ago, joyandjerry said:

Jerry and I are going March 28, and have done a tour of the island on a previous visit. Does anyone have experience with snorkeling on your own, ship's excursion (RCCL), or other private tours for this? We are interested in the turtles and the shipwreck. TIA.

Best recommendations.  Select from these three.

Silver Moon - https://silvermoonbarbados.com

Elegance - https://www.elegancebarbados.com

Calypso - https://calypsocruisesbarbados.com

Check operators start times with one’s ship docking times

Enjoy

Book early as space is limited and very popular with island vacationers.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 7 by PORT ROYAL
Book early

[whee-sailing]

It's easy and inexpensive to take a taxi to Brownes Beach and snorkel with the turtles and around the shipwreck on your own.

Edited January 8 by whee-sailing

[PORT ROYAL]

44 minutes ago, whee-sailing said:

It's easy and inexpensive to take a taxi to Brownes Beach and snorkel with the turtles and around the shipwreck on your own.

If not wishing to pay a $5 ew shared cab fee and rent beds, then do it for free.  Walk 35/40 minutes there, don’t rent beds, use “Towels” and bring food/drink browsed from ship’s buffet, all wrapped in a napkin. Walk back.  Many do this.

[joyandjerry]

1 hour ago, whee-sailing said:

It's easy and inexpensive to take a taxi to Brownes Beach and snorkel with the turtles and around the shipwreck on your own.

That is incerdibly helpful - cruisers are the best! Just the info that I needed.

17 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

If not wishing to pay a $5 ew shared cab fee and rent beds, then do it for free.  Walk 35/40 minutes there, don’t rent beds, use “Towels” and bring food/drink browsed from ship’s buffet, all wrapped in a napkin. Walk back.  Many do this.

Thanks for the reply - not sure what the "ew' meant. We do try to do things on our own to be on our own schedule. Jerry and I always pack some protein bars for a meal. It saves money and time. One is not to bring unsealed food from the ship, as other countries are concerned with possible contamination (bugs, etc.) from food. If it is found or in areas with dogssniffing the pax, you will be forced to discard it. I have seen it happen.

 

Joy

[PORT ROYAL]

2 minutes ago, joyandjerry said:

That is incerdibly helpful - cruisers are the best! Just the info that I needed.

Thanks for the reply - not sure what the "ew' meant. We do try to do things on our own to be on our own schedule. Jerry and I always pack some protein bars for a meal. It saves money and time. One is not to bring unsealed food from the ship, as other countries are concerned with possible contamination (bugs, etc.) from food. If it is found or in areas with dogssniffing the pax, you will be forced to discard it. I have seen it happen.

 

Joy

ew = each way.

Don’t forget “Towels” 

[joyandjerry]

2 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

ew = each way.

Don’t forget “Towels” 

Always learning! That is very reasonable. Yeah, we bring the ship's towels. Thanks again!

[whee-sailing]

57 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

If not wishing to pay a $5 ew shared cab fee and rent beds, then do it for free.  Walk 35/40 minutes there, don’t rent beds, use “Towels” and bring food/drink browsed from ship’s buffet, all wrapped in a napkin. Walk back.  Many do this.

 

The fact that I answered someone's question on how to get to an excursion snorkeling spot on their own doesn't mean that I was suggesting they don't spend money locally. There is a big middle ground between the luxury experiences you prefer and what you derogatorily call terds.

[joyandjerry]

1 hour ago, whee-sailing said:

 

The fact that I answered someone's question on how to get to an excursion snorkeling spot on their own doesn't mean that I was suggesting they don't spend money locally. There is a big middle ground between the luxury experiences you prefer and what you derogatorily call terds.

Apologies for not understanding this reply, as everyone is just so friendly and helpful here. I must have missed the "derogatory" post. The only "terd" I could find was an acronym for a computer system.

[EatonDoolittle]

1 hour ago, whee-sailing said:

 

The fact that I answered someone's question on how to get to an excursion snorkeling spot on their own doesn't mean that I was suggesting they don't spend money locally. There is a big middle ground between the luxury experiences you prefer and what you derogatorily call terds.

 

Glad I am not the only one who finds that poster's frequent derisive comments about cruisers unnecessary and not at all humorous.

I have had him/her blocked for years, but still see the posts sometimes when quoted. 

 

@whee-sailing, don't bother asking.

Poster has mean spirited little descriptions of cruise guests called towels and terds, and is happy to repeat them.  Best to ignore him/her.

[DISFANS3]

Silver Moon, fun times. We are booked again for the Summit cruise in Oct..

[joyandjerry]

4 hours ago, DISFANS3 said:

Silver Moon, fun times. We are booked again for the Summit cruise in Oct..

We booked Silver Moon also.

[Tyler414]

Do Silver Moon. We did the XL adult with them on March 6th and it was outstanding.  When you see the huge crowds at the shipwreck and the boats they pulled up in you will appreciate the experience that much more.  The service, food, drinks are all first class.

DO SILVER MOON!!

[jean87510]

On 1/7/2024 at 4:45 PM, joyandjerry said:

Jerry and I are going March 28, and have done a tour of the island on a previous visit. Does anyone have experience with snorkeling on your own, ship's excursion (RCCL), or other private tours for this? We are interested in the turtles and the shipwreck. TIA.

I know you have gone already but husband and I did this on our own in dec 2021.  We were in our late 50s and are both strong swimmers.  Had zero issues doing this.  We also snorkel with buoys.

[joyandjerry]

8 hours ago, jean87510 said:

I know you have gone already but husband and I did this on our own in dec 2021.  We were in our late 50s and are both strong swimmers.  Had zero issues doing this.  We also snorkel with buoys.

Could you please tell me how you did this, if you remember? Where did you go and was there equipment available for rent? TY.

 

Jerry and I were very disappointed with the snorkeling on Silver Moon. Here is a copy of the review I posted on Trip Advisor:

 

Catamaran 5 stars, Snorkeling 1 star

Mar 2024 • Couples

This tour on the Silver Moon 3 is geared towards those that want a relaxed catamaran trip with minimal snorkeling. The captain stated he was taking us a place that would not be as crowded with the cruise ship excursions, but it was crowded with private vessels, so much so we were bumping into others and saw just a few stingray. The stop was very brief, and we had to get back on the boat as it was getting too crowded. Those that took the cruise ship excursion stated they saw a lot of fish. We were told we would go to another stop with a shipwreck, and sat there for a while with our vests still on, waiting. After about 30 minutes, a fellow passenger got back on the boat, stating she had to swim back a distance to get there. Apparently she was dropped off at the shipwreck, which she said was unbelievably crowded. We were incredibly disappointed, as the snorkeling was the main reason we took the trip. The captain said he made an announcement when we were at the shipwreck, but the others did not hear him. No other beach or snorkel stops were made (it did rain a short time), so before 11:00 AM, we were done for the day and had hours to spend sitting around on the boat. We were told there would be two snorkeling stops of about 25 minutes each, and we were very disappointed. So basically, we had an expensive boat ride. Lunch was great, but so is the food on our ship.

On the positive side, it was not crowded, service was impeccable, and the meal was very good. It is a beautiful catamaran, very clean and comfortable. But if you want to do more than lay around, this may not be the trip for you.

[jean87510]

1 hour ago, joyandjerry said:

Could you please tell me how you did this, if you remember? Where did you go and was there equipment available for rent? TY.

 

Jerry and I were very disappointed with the snorkeling on Silver Moon. Here is a copy of the review I posted on Trip Advisor:

 

 

Catamaran 5 stars, Snorkeling 1 star

Mar 2024 • Couples

This tour on the Silver Moon 3 is geared towards those that want a relaxed catamaran trip with minimal snorkeling. The captain stated he was taking us a place that would not be as crowded with the cruise ship excursions, but it was crowded with private vessels, so much so we were bumping into others and saw just a few stingray. The stop was very brief, and we had to get back on the boat as it was getting too crowded. Those that took the cruise ship excursion stated they saw a lot of fish. We were told we would go to another stop with a shipwreck, and sat there for a while with our vests still on, waiting. After about 30 minutes, a fellow passenger got back on the boat, stating she had to swim back a distance to get there. Apparently she was dropped off at the shipwreck, which she said was unbelievably crowded. We were incredibly disappointed, as the snorkeling was the main reason we took the trip. The captain said he made an announcement when we were at the shipwreck, but the others did not hear him. No other beach or snorkel stops were made (it did rain a short time), so before 11:00 AM, we were done for the day and had hours to spend sitting around on the boat. We were told there would be two snorkeling stops of about 25 minutes each, and we were very disappointed. So basically, we had an expensive boat ride. Lunch was great, but so is the food on our ship.

On the positive side, it was not crowded, service was impeccable, and the meal was very good. It is a beautiful catamaran, very clean and comfortable. But if you want to do more than lay around, this may not be the trip for you.

We were at the beach club next to the Boatyard.  Someone at the beach club told us where to swim out to.  We have our own equipment.  

 

We just swam 3/4 mile in Bora Bora against a strong current to snorkel in the Aquarium and Husband is 60 while I'm 59.  The Barbados swim is nothing compared to that.  Really easy.  Just have a buoy!  And make sure if you are not in shape or not a strong swimmer to wear a snorkeling vest or maybe not do it.  Husband is a free diver and a triathlete.  I am a long distance swimmer and run every day and hike.  

[joyandjerry]

16 hours ago, jean87510 said:

We were at the beach club next to the Boatyard.  Someone at the beach club told us where to swim out to.  We have our own equipment.  

 

We just swam 3/4 mile in Bora Bora against a strong current to snorkel in the Aquarium and Husband is 60 while I'm 59.  The Barbados swim is nothing compared to that.  Really easy.  Just have a buoy!  And make sure if you are not in shape or not a strong swimmer to wear a snorkeling vest or maybe not do it.  Husband is a free diver and a triathlete.  I am a long distance swimmer and run every day and hike.  

 

Thanks for the info. We never got our own equipment, as it is rather bulky to pack. Apparently the four of us are atypical cruise ship pax. Jerry and I both exercise daily. I run and lift weights, plus stair walk. Jerry is exceptionally fit at 70 and rides an exercise bike at a high intensity daily, plus lifts weights.  (We have a gym a True bike and treadmill.) I am 64 and many of the cruise ship excursions cap age participation. We did the Mt Pimard  hike in St Lucia several weeks ago, and others much younger than us in another group had to drop out halfway. Booking was through SEG. RCCL capped the age limit at 63, and the hike actually fell on my 64th birthday! On the ships we use the gym regularly and never the elevators. Daily we start at deck one and got to the top deck continuously four or five times. Use it or lose it!

[jean87510]

13 minutes ago, joyandjerry said:

 

Thanks for the info. We never got our own equipment, as it is rather bulky to pack. Apparently the four of us are atypical cruise ship pax. Jerry and I both exercise daily. I run and lift weights, plus stair walk. Jerry is exceptionally fit at 70 and rides an exercise bike at a high intensity daily, plus lifts weights.  (We have a gym a True bike and treadmill.) I am 64 and many of the cruise ship excursions cap age participation. We did the Mt Pimard  hike in St Lucia several weeks ago, and others much younger than us in another group had to drop out halfway. Booking was through SEG. RCCL capped the age limit at 63, and the hike actually fell on my 64th birthday! On the ships we use the gym regularly and never the elevators. Daily we start at deck one and got to the top deck continuously four or five times. Use it or lose it!

you will have no issues then.

 

We have 1 checked suitcase devoted to our snorkeling stuff including a weight belt, tent, free diving fins...  It really is not that much extra room if just mask, pipe and fins.  We use dish detergent in a small bottle to defog.  It is so much nicer to have your own.  I gave up nice shoes and nice clothes years ago to make room.

 

Yes, age thing is started to affect some bookings so we just lie now.

Edited May 2 by jean87510

[joyandjerry]

5 hours ago, jean87510 said:

you will have no issues then.

 

We have 1 checked suitcase devoted to our snorkeling stuff including a weight belt, tent, free diving fins...  It really is not that much extra room if just mask, pipe and fins.  We use dish detergent in a small bottle to defog.  It is so much nicer to have your own.  I gave up nice shoes and nice clothes years ago to make room.

 

Yes, age thing is started to affect some bookings so we just lie now.

Be nice to meet someone from our "tribe" on a cruise someday! I swam quite a bit many years ago, so it is no problem. We never pack dressy clotin, as we are there for the ports not to eat in the dining room, which is generally very slow service. The cruise lines have your age on record with your booking, so one cannot lie about it to them.

[jean87510]

9 hours ago, joyandjerry said:

Be nice to meet someone from our "tribe" on a cruise someday! I swam quite a bit many years ago, so it is no problem. We never pack dressy clotin, as we are there for the ports not to eat in the dining room, which is generally very slow service. The cruise lines have your age on record with your booking, so one cannot lie about it to them.

We sometimes book through chase travel points and they have our ages.  

 

Yes, it's definitely nice to meet a port person who age is a number!