Glass Bottom Boat & Snorkling

[Nymue]

Has anyone done this excursion before? Can anyone give me any feedback?

 

Anne

[iheartbda]

Check this thread. Scroll down a bit to get to the part about the excursion, they posted a couple of pictures as well.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=790833

[Bdamom]

Hey there,

 

I'm surprised no one has responded to your Q yet!

 

Bermuda has a pretty wide selection of water activities to choose from but at present there aren't that many good choices for boat based snorkeling. Shore based snorkeling is OK but If you are going to snorkel you might as well do it properly - the further off-shore you go the better the visibility, the healthier the reef and the more shipwrecks there are.

 

I would avoid the larger boats as they mainly operate under contract with the ships so carry large groups and don't really care about you as an individual in the same way you'll find on a smaller independent operator. It's worth searching beyond the shore excursions offered by the ship for SURE! They are usually overpriced to begin with but then the ship takes 30% commission off the top so you might pay $70 for the tour but only get $45 worth. Besides, you never see as much when there's 40 other snorkelers splashing around in the same area. Fish aren't stupid.

 

Another thing you might see are the sailing/snorkeling trips. These sound nice but keep in mind that sailboats are typically slow and don't offer much range. Often they end up taking you snorkeling inside the great sound area which has NOTHIng on what you could be seeing. All snorkeling spots are not created equally - call them up and ask them where they usually go. If they leave from Dockyard then your chances are better as they are already half way there.

 

My top recommendation provided you are a strong swimmer and have tried snorkeling successfully before, would be Jessie James. Jimmy O'conner has a 30 knot, 18 passenger speed rib boat that gets you out to the best spots in the express lane and the whole focus of the trip is snorkeling. In 3 hours you won't get a whole lot of sightseeing or glass bottom (even though he does have a small glass bottom viewing panel) but you will spend alot of time in the water at 3 different spots. First a beach so you can get used to the gear and then an offshore reef/wreck spot (western blue cut, eastern Blue cut or chub head beacon) followed by a reef snorkel over some really pretty reef.

 

(One word of advice if you do this trip is bring warm clothes and more than one towel. Even in the heat of the summer, after you've been in and out of the water 3 times, the ride back with 30 knot of wind chilling you down in an open boat can make you very unexpectedly cold! This is all the more relevant in the cooler months. The ride is exhilerating though!)

 

If you are looking for something a little less hard core and would also like to temper the snorkeling with more sightseeing and more information about what you are seeing with a longer and more extensive glass bottom viewing segment, try Aquatic Bermuda. Captain Tony is one of the most knowledgeable tour guides and his boat is the perfect size for a private charter for up to 12 people. Great for families with kids as the layout is rather like a big playpen with a large hatches covering the glass bottom in the middle when it's not being used. He doesn't usually snorkel off-shore because his boat is not as fast and the flat bottom makes it more sensitive to rough waters, but he more than makes up for that with everything else he does. The snorkeling sites he chooses from depends on the abilities of his group and the weather. Often he'll use a beach spot such as Kings point which a scenicly spectacular and is teaming with a wide array of very friendly fish. Or, for those that are a little more serious about snorkeling, there's plenty of lovely spots on the inshore lagoonal patch reef within a mile of land with some great coral and fish diversity. Every trip is a little different according to his group. If you are only 2 people though, it's not the most affordable option as he only offers snorkeling on a private charter basis at $150 per hour. The rest of the time he does straight glass bottom Sightseeing tours at $40 per person. They usually take between 2.5 - 3 hours but have been known to linger on for longer if no one is in a rush to get back. It's the best value you'll get anywhere for glass bottom as other operators charge $40 for a 2 hour tour and stick to it. ALso the other boats are much bigger, carry alot more people and can't get over the shallow spots where Tony goes.

 

Both companies I've mentioned have websites if you do a google search for them:

 

Jessie James snorkeling

 

Aquatic Bermuda

 

Hope that helps you, or someone else!

[gail01073]

Anne, Last year my dh and I went on the glass bottom boat tour and really enjoyed it. It was very relaxing and saw many different fish and coral. We did not go snorkeling but plan to do that this year while we are there. I hope this helped out a little.

 

Gail