What Port Has The Best Snorkling On A Typical 7 Day Eastern Caribbean Cruise?
Saturday, November 28th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
I am planning a cruise in 2010 0n RCI freedom of the seas and was wondering what port has the best snorkling and scuba diving reefs. thanks in advance for the help. =)
Category: Scuba Reef
Tags: Best, Caribbean, Cruise, Eastern, Port, Snorkling, Typical, What
November 28th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Which ports are you going to? There really is no “typical” 7 days cruise.
The further south you go the better the reefs are. Bonaire is known for incredible reefs. Cozumel has the best snorkeling in my opinion but that’s Western Caribbean.
St Kitts has fairly good reefs. Turks and Caicos are known for their snorkeling and scuba. Freeport is a horrible port in general. I consider it a day on to stay on the ship and go to the spa but who knows how much it may have built up in more than a year? Nassau near Atlantis has decent snorkeling but crowded usually.
It really depends on which ones you are going to. St Thomas and St Martin’s aren’t that great. Go to Cruisecritic.com when it gets closer to the date and read what people have said who are going on your boat.
My suggestion is to buy your own snorkel gear and when you get to the island, take a cab to whichever beach you’ve heard recommendations on.
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Edit: Ok well after reading where you are going that changes my answer a bit. St Martaan has the best prices on liquor but the island is very very small. Not much for just walking around. I rented a car and drove around the whole island, stopping for lunch on the beach, and still had no rush to get back before the ship leaves. You could do your snorkeling/scuba here. Haiti is a new port still being built up. I don’t think you are really guess what they will have a year from now—but I would plan on taking a shore excursion here. About a month before your cruise, go see the new reviews about it on Cruisecritic.com and see what new things they have.
I did not care for San Juan. You are right in the center of town. Most people just hung out at Senor Frogs. They call it historic district but the fort is one of the more boring ports (especially if you’ve toured some of the US forts from Civil War times). You really need to leave downtown to enjoy PR. I’d definitely do a shore excursion here as well. Depending on what beach the snorkeling goes to, snorkeling here might be a good idea. PR has a lot of active shore excursions like kayak, horseback, that kind of thing so there are lots to chose from.
Freedom of the Seas is such a new ship and I’m sure time on the ship will be very enjoyable but that itinerary doesn’t impress me. I’d take a shore excursion at all 3 of those ports. I think it’s rather necessary in order to really enjoy the port of call.
November 28th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
I just got back from a 9 night RC cruise and had a blast! I was a little disappointed in Labadee, Haiti as there was not much to do. My boyfriend and I just laid around on a Hammock for most of the time because the water and snorkeling weren’t that great. They were building up though so there might be more to do there when you get there but I wouldn’t count on a great snorkeling trip there.
We went to Dominican Republic and St. Thomas and both of those had AMAZING snorkeling and scuba diving reefs. I saw so much wildlife under the water, it was so crazy! It was like swimming around in an aquarium. In San Juan, I didn’t go swimming because the port is actually right in the middle of Old San Juan which has really great shopping and you’re right in the middle of town so we spent our time taking a walk around the city..(not to mention we were all very sunburned by that time LOL)
Since it doesn’t seem like you’ll be going to Dominican Republic or St. Thomas, I would consider booking a snorkeling/scuba excursion for St. marten or Philipsburg..
Enjoy Royal Caribbean, I just had a blast on their cruise and will definitely be going on another one again soon!
November 29th, 2009 at 2:07 am
On St Maarten you will dock on the Dutch side of the island. We took the tour that bused us to the French side of the island, ferried us over to a smaller island. It has no permanant residents, but a great day trip beach and drink/snack shack. We were supplied a guide who took us snorkeling on an “underwater path”. I saw more kinds of coral (fan, brain etc) than I had seen in several other Caribbean snorkeling places. Remember: do not step on the coral as it takes decades to grow and use eco friendly sunscreen. It also kills the living organisms.