Snorkeling Excursions

[rickcop44]

Hey everyone, we'll be in Grand Turk in late February on Crown Princess. The missus and I want to do some serious snorkeling. We had been looking at the Ultimate Snorkeling tour and/or the Gibbs Cay excursion. I'm wondering if (1) anyone has been there and can provide their experiences and (2) did either/both survive Ike? Also, is there a place on the island to book snorkeling tours? Finally, (sorry) we're thinking about renting a cabana for my 85 year old MIL to spend time while we're getting wet. Anybody have pricing info on the cabanas? Thanks!

[smilz]

We did the power snorkel last year and it was awesome. We are planning to do GT Ultimate snorkeling week after next on the Crown Princess. I've been watching the threads eagerly to see how things are and if the excursions will be available. My heart goes out to all the wonderful people that live there. Will let you know what we find.

[drcbelle]

We are doing the sail, snorkel and beach excursion (as far as i know) off the Crown next week. I will let you know how it went.

[LEtue]

We are booked on the Ultimate Snorkel excursion in early November. The Crown is in Grand Turk today so I'm anxious to get some feedback on the reefs after hurricane Ike.

 

I will try to remember to return to this thread and post a quick review :D

[rickcop44]

Thanks everyone. Looking forward to your replies.

[Hawkweye]

I am also interested in what there might be on the island. Usually someone has found a private shore excursion that they might recommend (or avoid).

[Tenn/cruiser]

We went on the "Ultimate Snorkeling" last week. We had a great time. The snorkeling was EXCELLENT!! We booked the excursion directly with Princess. There were no private vendors offering excursions like in the other ports. Princess had a table set up at the port with a Princess rep. offering the excursion. We booked it when we got off the ship. I do not know if they always have a table set up at the port. This may have been because we were there on Wednesday instead of Friday due to the itinerary change on the Crown last week.

[MD Cruisers]

We just came back yesterday from our cruise. We were in Grand Turks on 10/21 on HAL Westerdam. My DW and I did the ultimate snorkeling and booked it through HAL. The snorkeling was great. The water was a little rough that day. We went to 2 different reefs. The first reef had a Barracuda and some other fish swimming around. The second spot was a reef near Gibbs Cay. In my view, this spot was better. There were 2 sting rays, a Barracuda, and many other types of colorful fish, There were these small fish about 4 inches long that swam right next to me. I tried to catch them, but those suckers were quick. We were not able to see the lobsters that usually hang out around this particular reef. We were not able to go up on Gibbs Cay because the water was rough. And we did not see the turtles that day. I definately recommend taking this excursion. We had a blast. The crew was great. I just hope the water is a little calmer for you. I will try to post my underwater pics when I get them back from Walgreens.

 

Take care, Derek

[Isailaway]

Thanks for your post! Please post pics when you have them available. We will be on the Westerdam in early December and we are leaning heavily toward booking this excursion through HAL. Glad to hear you would recommend it.

[smilz]

Just came back on the Crown Princess. We did the Ultimate Snorkel. It was great though it was quite choppy. Both sites are open water and do not go within swimming distance to a beach. The Gibbs Cay excursion does stop at a beach. The cabanas are gone but the foundations appear to be in good shape. They should be rebuilt in time for your cruise. have fun!

[rickcop44]

Sounds like the Ultimate Snorkel Experience is the one to do. Thanks everyone! If anyone does this excursion between now and February 22, please post your thoughts.

[LindaMae]

Thank you all for your responses. Sounds like we will keep this excursion as booked with Princes. Should be a really neat experience.

 

I did another post before seeing this one. Your responses make me feel like I want to be there right now!!!:eek::eek:

 

Linda

[fun and breezes 2]

We did the power snorkel last year and it was awesome. We are planning to do GT Ultimate snorkeling week after next on the Crown Princess. I've been watching the threads eagerly to see how things are and if the excursions will be available. My heart goes out to all the wonderful people that live there. Will let you know what we find.

 

Smilz, I was thinking of doing the power snorkel tour. What can you tell me about it. I'm not experienced at snorkeling.

[Browneyes43]

How deep is the water when you snorkle? My daughter doesn't know how to swim and we are curious.

[renebfl]

I bumped this up to get some more suggestions. I am an experienced snorkeler and really want an unforgetable day. Anymore suggestions?

[VOLEYMOM]

I will be in Grand Turk the end of this month and had a hard time finding a snorkel trip. We are also experienced snorklers and just wanted to go on a small excursion that would be more suited to us. We finally found a dive shop, Blue Water Divers, that will take us out. If they can get 8 snorklers we will go out just with us, if not then we go with the divers. The price was reasonable $30.00 and we will snorkel at two locations. We will go to the wall and they only want snorklers that are experienced. Can't wait and I will give a report after our Westerdam cruise. Any questions you can e-mail me at Voleymom@aol.com