Sunday, November 3, 2024
We had our last snorkeling excursion scheduled today, so we started the day with a room service breakfast. It was interesting to note that even though the United States observed the end of Daylight Savings Time, the ship’s time didn’t change because the islands don’t change.
We left the room at 9:00 a.m. to get off the ship and meet up with our tour operator. I was happy to finally see some golf carts in use for people who needed assistance walking down the pier.
The HAL tour description: St Kitts Snorkel Adventure – 3 hours
ABOUT THE EXCURSION: Enchanting, impressive and breathtaking — that’s a snorkel safari along the pristine Southeast Peninsula of St Kitts.
At Port Zante Marina, you will board a snorkel boat. Your snorkel stops will be at Shitten’s Bay and Ballast Bay — both teeming with tropical fish and coral life. Turtles, eagle rays, stingrays, schools of saltwater chub, snapper, angel, parrot fish, squirrel fish and sand sharks are usually seen.
Take time to explore the many virgin reefs and the extensive soft corals, fans and sponges that make up the reef life.
Notes: Non-alcoholic drinks and water are provided. Wear your swimsuit under your clothing; bring a towel, reef-safe/biodegradable sunscreen, light clothing to act as a full cover-up for further protection from the sun, and a hat. Swim at your own risk. Guests with a heart condition, epilepsy, diabetes or asthma are not allowed to participate. Waiver must be signed and medical conditions disclosed. Wildlife sightings are likely but are not guaranteed. All snorkel gear is provided. Life vests must be worn. Maximum weight is 300 lbs.
We’ve been on this snorkeling excursion twice before and always had a great experience. We were looking forward to today.
The tour operator walked us to the Marina where we boarded the snorkel boat. It was smaller than ones we have been on in the past. I noticed that the boat information focused on deep sea fishing and that they had two poles set up in the back so I don’t think snorkeling is its main purpose.
The sun was still out at the first snorkel stop and we had a pleasant 45 minutes there even though the water was not the clearest.
However, at the next stop, the water was extremely murky to the point you really couldn’t see the bottom. In fact, something popped the side of my head, and I never saw what it was. Very disconcerting.
Chuck and I quickly gave up and swam back to the boat. Soon, the clouds gathered, and the rain started coming down hard. I was already wet, but the rain stung so I crowded up under the awning with others who had abandoned the snorkeling. A few hardy souls stayed out in the water swimming around.
One woman (the same one who swam to the wrong boat in an earlier excursion) had another mishap today. As she was trying to climb the ladder back in the boat, she dropped one of her fins that she had borrowed from the tour company. It sank. A crew member tried to retrieve it, but the water was too murky to see where it went.
As we motored back to the ship, we were served so-so rum punch, and they didn’t play any music. One crew member took one of the poles and caught a fish. I assumed it would be his meal that evening since he didn’t throw it back.
Because the first stop was okay and the crew was professional, if not fun, I will be generous and call this excursion a tie. Our final snorkeling tally on the “great – meh – poor” scale: 1 – 2 – 2.
Back at the ship, we opted for a Dive-In lunch and then a nap.
We started our evening in the Casino and then went to enjoy our Pinnacle meal that was compliments of the Casino. We each had the filet mignon and lobster tail along with our usual appetizers. We took the cheese plate dessert back to the room.
Afterwards, we went to Antwan Towner’s second show “Thought Seer” which focused on his skill as a mentalist. We really enjoyed the show and some of his routines really made you go “how did he do that?”
We finished the evening dancing to the last set of the Rolling Stone Lounge Band.
Tomorrow: Philipsburg, Sint Maarten
