Just Can't Decide Which Excursion

[bonzijam]

We will be in GT on New Years Day and are looking into one of five excursions that Carnival is offering. We are deciding between: Catamaran Sailaway, Cotton Cay Beach & Snorkel; Aqua Boats; Gibbs Cay Beach & Stingray Adventure; Reef & Rays or Ultimate Snorkeling. The problem here is that they all seem to be nice excursions and I do not have a first choice. :confused: I would really like your feedback if you did any of these excursions. This would help me a lot. Thanks in advance for your assistance. :)

[harborwatcher]

We just were in Grand Turk on 11/26/08 aboard the Splendor. We did the Catamaran Sailaway Snorkel and Cotton Beach. Here's how it went:

 

We boarded a nice approx 60 foot catamaran with about 40-50 guests. They have blasting reggae music (sitting near the helm it is really loud so beware) and serve liquid refreshments (no booze until after snorkeling). They then motored/sailed for about 30 minutes to the snorkel location which was called the Library.

 

The Library is in about 20-35 feet of water and is where the reef drops off to the abyss-like depths below. It is on the same island of Grand Turk about a mile or two down the coast line. Many fish were along the reef but it was less than ideal snorkeling with 40+ other snorkelers to maneuver around. I would say they gear the tour toward newbies to snorkeling with lots of instruction and two helper/divers in the water. They have a staircase to enter/exit the water. They also provide PFDs (personal flotation devices) to anyone who wants them.

 

After a long (too long in my opinion) safety talk about snorkeling we got in the water and snorkeled for about 45 minutes. In my opinion the water is a bit deep for GREAT snorkeling unless of course you are experienced and can free dive down 15-20 feet like me. In that case it is awesome! The two helpers feed the fish and they also have a videographer in the water who films you snorkeling, etc. You can later order a DVD that they will ship to you.

 

Back on the boat after snorkeling they sail back toward the ship for about 10-15 minutes while the rum punch starts flowing.

 

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On board the Sea Passion

 

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Then they pull up to the Cotton beach and tie up to shore in about 5-6 feet of water. This beach (within sight of the cruise ship but with no other people around) is a beautiful white sand beach with turquoise blue water. They let you jump or walk down the steps into the water where you have to swim/walk to shore about 75' feet. It's pretty easy - my 6-year old and 9-year old kids had no problem and loved jumping off the boat.

 

While people mill around on the beach and in the 79 degree water two helpers serve rum punch to the guests while in the water near the boat. That was pretty cool!

 

After about 30 minutes on the beach you pack up and sail back to the ship which is about 15 minutes away. By this time the boat feels somewhat like a party boat since people have been enjoying rum punch and rum and cokes for about an hour.

 

Although I can't compare to the other possible yours you listed, I would say all in all this tour was really fun and totally worth it as long as you don't mind doing it with 40-50 other folks. The people and the crew were really nice on our trip. Of course I wish it would have lasted longer, but hey isn't that almost always the case. Our tour left at 12:30pm and we got back around 4pm and still had time to head to t he pool at Margaritaville, drink a couple beers, do some shopping and then get back on the ship before dark.

 

If you want a more personalized tour you might check into Grand Turk Divers who I saw operating near the reef with a small 20' boat with a bimini top and about 5-6 tourist snorkelers on board.

 

Hope you have a great time and this info helped!

[bonzijam]

Thanks for the wonderful description of the Sailaway excursion. Sounds like you really had a nice time. My hubby decided to book the Aqua Boat excursion for us - I guess he is feeling more adventurous. If anyone is interested, I will let them know how this excursion was.

[RubyLee]

bonzijam: I would like to read a review of the Aqua Boat excusion. My DH and I are thinking of booking this for our cruise in April. Thanks :)

[bonzijam]

My hubby and I had a fantastic time on this excursion. I would recommend it to anybody looking for a bit of adventure, as long as the seas are smooth. We had smooth sailing during this whole trip, including this excursion. I could see it being a bit difficult with a wavy ocean. The boat seats two with room for storage and if you want to change places for driving, go ahead. I opted to be a passenger only. Being 51, there was a bit if difficulty getting back onto the boat after we went snorkeling, but I handled it with help from my husband. I am a bit clumsy however :D, so maybe that is why I needed a bit of assistance. Everybody else was ok. Otherwise, no worries. You could go as fast as you want (as long as you don't pass the guide) or as slow as you want. It doesn't matter. We saw plenty of fish, a shark and even a lion fish. Quite an interesting snorkel tour. I would do this again without hesitation. Most of our group stayed on shore when we stopped at the 'beach' while my hubby and I decided to snorkel there. There is no coral here, but this is the grassy area where we saw the lion fish lurking about and a sea snake slithering in the water. We were very excited about these finds and took some nice pics. After the tour, we opted to stay at Captain Jacks Shack for some inexpensive Coronas and a bite to eat. A very friendly place with nice views of the ship and port. Way cheaper than going to Margarittaville. And it is a pleasant block or two walk back to the ship if you go along the shore. Overall, it was a great time and as I said before, we would do this excursion exactly the same way that we did it last year. Enjoy.

[Stacey779]

After the tour, we opted to stay at Captain Jacks Shack for some inexpensive Coronas and a bite to eat. A very friendly place with nice views of the ship and port. Way cheaper than going to Margarittaville.

 

I keep reading references to Margaritaville being so expensive, and recommendations of heading to Jack's Shack as a more cost-efficient option. However, I can't seem to find any info on actual drink prices. Do you happen to remember what the drink prices were? Thanks! :)