DePalm Island and Aruba snorkeling

[gail]

I need some suggestions on where to go snorkeling while we are in Aruba for the day. In the morning we are doing horseback riding till app.12:00pm. I thought we would go back to the boat, do lunch, then maybe rent a car for the rest of the day. If DePalm Island is any good I'd skip the car and maybe go there for the rest of the day. Any suggestions appreciated.

We took the ship's excursion and went snorkelling in Aruba and it was the highlight of our cruise. I highly recommend it. We went at 1:00 PM and departed right from where the ship docked but if that timing doesn't work out for you, you can also book it for about the same price at one of the little shops in town, close to where the ship docks. We snorkelled over the reefs and then they took us to the Antilles shipwreck. Enjoy, it's a blast!

We also took a ship shore excursion here and had a great time. It was called the Golden Eagle (name of the catamaran). We snorkeled in two places (a reef and the shipwreck) and had lunch and beach time. We enjoyed it so much that we went back and booked similiar excursions on other islands.

[Mandy]

Aruba - we did Snuba in the afternoon (rented a 4x4 for the day and saw all the sights that morning). Were in Aruba on Celebrity Galaxy 12/19/01

Snuba: We paid $68 apiece for the 3 hour tour (2 snorkeling sites and 1 Snuba site). The location was easy to find - it was the "high rise" hotel strip, second one. Going west from the dock in your car rental (towards California Lighthouse), you will see exits for the "low rise" hotels (actually say that on the signs) and then later the "high rise" hotels. We first drove out there so we'd know where it was that morning, booked the 1:30 excursion, then did our sight seeing. That way, we knew where to be at 1:30 and it was already booked. Also, while we were visiting the California Lighthouse that morning, we saw dozens of snorkeling boats in that area. We thought that must be a popular place. In fact... that was one of our stops in the afternoon - but we were the ONLY boat there! It seems most people do the snorkeling excursions in the morning... which gave us afternoon folks less crowding!!!

Oh - the $68 included a snack lunch (sandwich) after the three sites and an open bar if you drink. They also had cokes, punch, etc. and served fresh fruit in between the snorkeling sites. The Snuba person was named Charlie and was awesome. He said he was hoping to open another Snuba in St Martin next year. Apparently, Snuba began in Aruba and Charlie has trained anyone using the "Snuba" program. With our buddies from Belgiam we were with, they had done it two days prior in Barbados, and Charlie knew exactly WHO had toured them (since he trains the Snuba guides from all over). He was very informative and gave us all the "what to do's" should anything happen down under. I felt very safe with him - plus we were never more than 20 feet deep. (Now we both want to take an actual Scuba certification course for our next cruise!!!)

Snorkeled at the Antilles shipwreck. Never seen one before, so that was pretty awesome.

-Mandy in Dallas

Please...what is snuba??