Best Scuba Diving In Caribbean

best scuba diving in caribbean
What port has the best snorkling on a typical 7 day Eastern Caribbean Cruise?

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. =)
the ports we will most likely visit are philipsburg, st.maarten san juan porto rico and labadee haiti

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.

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