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View Full Version : Snorkeling in the Bahamas


TommyP
08/15/2014, 09:09 AM
Hi, RC.

I will be visiting Great Stirrup Cay and Nassau Bahamas during a cruise out of NY at the end of the year. I was wondering if anyone has visited these placed and have been snorkeling. Any tips, advice?

I went snorkeling once before, but I wasn't in the hobby and was younger.

snorklr
08/17/2014, 09:34 AM
been going to the bahamas in october for years...stuart coves's trips are good...boat trip,fairly deep water( i believe so people cant touch the reef ) you see where some old james bond movies were filmed....after you leave the reef you anchor in another spot where they drop in a bait box,everyone hangs on to a rope at the surface (so you dont have to kick and splash and draw their attention)and you watch dozens of reef sharks feeding below you...and some get pretty damn close to you...pretty cool....coming in on a cruise ship i dont know what your schedule will be...new providence is a small island but cove's dock is at the complete opposite corner of the island from where the ships dock so make sure you have enough time....i actually prefer the reefs around rose island (just east of paradise island,and closer to where you'll be docked)...these are shallow reefs where you're on your own and can just wade out to them off the beach...its another boat trip with lunch at the beach so anyone in your group thats not into snorkling can swim,hang on the beach or drink at the bar...the "booze cruise" trips the snorkling isnt very good but you will return wasted...excursions to exuma on Powerboat adventures are excellent all-day trips ,they are a lot of money (but worth it if this is your first trip to the tropics and want to experience lots of stuff)...the drift snorkling is ok but not excellent but again is part of a full day trip with other stuff to do...again ,dont know your time constraints or budget...do yourself a favor and buy a decent snorkel with a check valve ...its worth a $50 investment to keep from swallowing half the atlantic,and will make the experience MUCH better...your own mask that fits properly (and some anti-fog solution)wouldnt hurt either....avoid nassau divers,their boat was a POS...one engine wasnt running right and was dumping diesel fuel out the exhaust...i was on a shallow dive but my wife was trying to snorkel in an oil slick and got REALLY nauseaus...have a blast...

TommyP
08/18/2014, 11:53 AM
been going to the bahamas in october for years...stuart coves's trips are good...boat trip,fairly deep water( i believe so people cant touch the reef ) you see where some old james bond movies were filmed....after you leave the reef you anchor in another spot where they drop in a bait box,everyone hangs on to a rope at the surface (so you dont have to kick and splash and draw their attention)and you watch dozens of reef sharks feeding below you...and some get pretty damn close to you...pretty cool....coming in on a cruise ship i dont know what your schedule will be...new providence is a small island but cove's dock is at the complete opposite corner of the island from where the ships dock so make sure you have enough time....i actually prefer the reefs around rose island (just east of paradise island,and closer to where you'll be docked)...these are shallow reefs where you're on your own and can just wade out to them off the beach...its another boat trip with lunch at the beach so anyone in your group thats not into snorkling can swim,hang on the beach or drink at the bar...the "booze cruise" trips the snorkling isnt very good but you will return wasted...excursions to exuma on Powerboat adventures are excellent all-day trips ,they are a lot of money (but worth it if this is your first trip to the tropics and want to experience lots of stuff)...the drift snorkling is ok but not excellent but again is part of a full day trip with other stuff to do...again ,dont know your time constraints or budget...do yourself a favor and buy a decent snorkel with a check valve ...its worth a $50 investment to keep from swallowing half the atlantic,and will make the experience MUCH better...your own mask that fits properly (and some anti-fog solution)wouldnt hurt either....avoid nassau divers,their boat was a POS...one engine wasnt running right and was dumping diesel fuel out the exhaust...i was on a shallow dive but my wife was trying to snorkel in an oil slick and got REALLY nauseaus...have a blast...

Thank you for this information. We won't be there for too long. A few hours at Great Stirrup Cay I believe it's 12pm-6pm and a few hours at Nassau the next day 8am-6pm. The rest is at sea. I'll look into buying my own mask and snorkel for sanitary reasons plus the check valve. Thanks for that.

snorklr
08/19/2014, 07:33 AM
dont know much about stirrup cay except its a private island owned by the cruise line...might be nice...8 to 6 should be enough time to do anything with the possible exception of the exuma trip...all this stuff normally has to be booked in advance so they dont overfill the boat and can send a shuttle for you, but i assume there will be a desk on the ship to handle that just like there is at the hotels...book early so you dont get shut out...if you have time when you get back from whatever you do Sr Frogs is fun...hard to leave there sober also....if all else fails the Atlantis has a good aquarium with some large manta rays if you want to stay dry while the rest of your group loses money in the casino...

TommyP
08/19/2014, 11:51 PM
Thank you. I'm planning on going to Atlantis for sure