For those of you who have been on our site, or followed some of our articles, you are aware that we are taking a Southern Caribbean cruise aboard the magnificent Golden Princess cruise ship. This is a family get-together-vacation with three (and one half) generations joining in. Our whole family are somewhat beach-babies/water-babies so the shore excursions of interest to some of us are beach and water related.
We received our cruise package from Princess and included in it is a booklet - 2005/2006 Southern Caribbean Shore Excursions. It is filled with interesting excursions presented by port-of-call. For 'water-babies' there are the usual power boat, sail boat, party boat, sea kayaking, snorkeling and scuba diving excursions. But there are a few (off-)shore excursions that are relatively new or different that caught my eye.
Snuba Diving
That is not a miss-spelling. This activity is a cross between snorkeling and scuba diving. I am not a scuba diver although I'm quite sure that I would find it exhilarating. I do thoroughly enjoy snorkeling and snuba sounds like a fascinating way to experience scuba diving in shallow waters. Your equipment includes the same type of breathing mouth-piece that you would use while scuba diving. This mouth-piece is attached to a 20 or 25 foot air line to tanks on a raft floating on the service. Wherever you go, the raft follows easily. Imagine scuba diving without the heavy equipment. Our booklet lists snuba diving as a sanctioned shore excursion only in Barbados, but it is available in many other areas throughout the Caribbean.
Helmet Dive
Think Captain Nemo! Helmet Diving has become a craze in the underwater excursion circuit. The specially designed helmet and air system keeps your hair dry and even allows you to wear your glasses if required. Guided underwater walking tours allow you to 'walk with the anima... no... fishes'. Our Princess booklet offers this activity in Aruba and St. Thomas.
BOB Underwater Adventure
Now think Captain Nemo in the 25th Century! BOB stands for Breathing Observation Bubble. A similar apparatus to the helmet dive, again excursionists can enjoy underwater life without getting hair wet and while wearing glasses. The difference is that you also ride what looks like an under-water scooter. How cool would that be? This activity is listed in our booklet for St. Thomas as well.
Power Snorkel Adventures
This activity adds a little twist to a conventional snorkeling excursion. You have a hand-held 'scooter' the easily and gracefully propels you through that water. For those of you old enough to remember, this was a regular type of equipment used by Lloyd Bridges in the weekly T.V. show Sea Hunt. Of course, more up-to-date movies had had actors using this equipment as a 'prop'. For those who would like to be able to float across the briny without effort, this may be the excursion for you. Some of these guided tours have special underwater microphones for the tour guide to explain the areas traveled. The Princess booklet offers power snorkeling in Aruba, Barbados and St. Maarten.
Whale Watching
Whale watching?!? In the Caribbean?? Now for some people, this may not sound strange. I associate whale watching with Alaskan cruises and cruises in the Canadian north east. This activity in the Caribbean sounds to me to be almost alien however, knowing how cold and miserable the Canadian cruise can be, I'm thinking that I could enjoy Caribbean whale watching much more! And according to my handy-dandy booklet from Princess, There are more than 40 different species of whales and dolphins in the waters surrounding St. Lucia.
'America's Cup' Regatta
This excursion is for sailors wanting to experience the exhilaration of racing on one of the multi-million dollar America's Cup 12-metre racing yachts. You compete in an actual 'race' around a shortened America's Cup course. You are even invited to work the boat if desired. Of course, you can just sit back and enjoy the ride. This excursion is recognized as one of the best shore excursions in the Caribbean and is only available on St. Maarten.
The itinerary of our chosen Southern Caribbean cruise does not include all of the ports noted above. Many of the activities will be available at our included ports-of-call.
For more on our Cruise Vacation check out our Caribbean Cruises Article Map.
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