Champagne Reef Snorkel

Ship’s Excursion out of Rousseau, Dominica

Ship: Norwegian Dawn (NCL)

Sailing Date: December 19^th, 2004

Date of Snorkel: December 26^th, 2004

Equipment Availability: we have our own which we take with us, but snorkeling equipment for this excursion can be borrowed from the cruise ship’s supply locker.  All equipment appeared to be clean and well maintained.

Water Access: Off the front and back of the Catamaran.

This excursion was highly touted by the Shore Excursion Staff as being the best of our entire itinerary, which included St. Thomas (Coki Beach), Antigua, Barbados (Turtles and Shipwreck), Grenada (no snorkeling here due to recent hurricane damage), Tortola (Norman Island), and Stirrup Cay.  They would get little argument from us!

After waiting in a seemingly endless line for other passengers to collect their gear, we boarded a large catamaran, the “Sting Ray II”, for the 30 minute sail to Champagne Reef.  The area is enormous (perhaps 2-3 square miles).  The site is named for the volcanic vents that give off heated gas creating “Champagne-like” bubbles around the site, especially between the large rocks that ring the site and are thickly coated with algae—there are no corals in this part of the site, so it is easy to find.  We saw an incredible variety of fish (only Angelfish were missing) and all in large quantities too!  Fantastic! The water is deep in spots, but visibility was excellent even in the depths up to 20 or 25 feet.  There are plenty of shallows too, with a wide range or coral colors for photographic contrast. Champagne Reef is a superb site for both coral and fish photography and viewing.

The only drawback to this excursion was the catamaran’s crew, combined with members of the Shore Excursion Staff from the ship. They were all exceptionally rude and surly—the only unfriendly crew that we encountered at any stop of this cruise.  There was no service at all, and they absolutely insisted on every passengers listening intently to their “how to snorkel” lecture that was excessively long and boring even for the first time snorkelers! A teenage girl was poked sharply in the back when she turned her attention to her mother, instead of listening to the lecture.  It is hard to fathom how anyone can make snorkeling sound boring! Once we were in the water, they screamed at us loudly for swimming off on our own and not following the herd to listen to their schpeel—which we quickly realized was a total waste of time, especially  when they told us all the wrong names for the fish!  Anyone who cannot distinguish a Princess Parrot from a Stoplight Parrot is not worthy of being followed or listened to! The crew were verbally abusive when we did not tip them at the end of the trip (there was no service or knowledge for which to express monetary gratitude), which made for a very unpleasant end to the excursion.

The site itself was extraordinary and absolutely incredible for snorkelers.  We might try to do this on our own next time, following the coast road south from Rouseau and watching out for the heavily faulted (tri-fault) zone with a pebbly beach in front of it.  The site lies just off the beach, but getting back to the ship might be tricky without a reliable taxi service.  

Snorkeling Grade: A+ (Crew Grade: F)