This was the worst experience I have ever had. DO NOT GO WITH CHILDREN UNDER SNY CIRCUMSTANCES.
The tour was rescheduled because of the Honolulu marathon but that was not a big deal.
When we got there, we had no idea how choppy and dangerous the ocean was, but we were directed to sign a waiver so the company wasn’t responsible. The employees said nothing about the conditions or warned that some people may not want to go because if it. These conditions would’ve been a major concern for children or weak swimmers. But we had no idea. We set sail and had a nice, but bumpy, ride to turtle cove.
When we got there, our boat was further out into the ocean than all other boats that were there. Once the anchor was secured, the employees talked about how rocky the boat was and how to deal with it, which was to be in the water as that would be “better”.
After getting in the water the rocking was not improved, and getting any salt water into your mouth made it worse. (No I didn’t swallow the water)
We followed the employee around as he fed the fish with Cheetos to get them around us. We did see some turtles being cleaned by fish and that was awesome.
After an hour of swimming I needed to be rescued to come back to the boat. The rocking and salt water was just too much. I threw up in the water and finally climbed back into the boat. I, and 7 others, threw up all the way home. We were offered chocolate chip cookies and water to help. It didn’t help me at all.
Once on land my symptoms did not improve and the employees did not seem to care. They had my waiver after all, so why would they? I spent 2 hours curled up on the bench in the rain. All the while, the employees cleaned up the boat and never checked on me at all. My daughter had to walk to a store to get some nausea medicine (which I’ve never had to use before), and my sea sickness did not improve for 3 days.
The condition of the water is not their fault. Their lack of warning BEFORE leaving the dock resulted in using their services with no idea what we were walking into. The people in the boat were put in danger and the employees did nothing to make sure I was ok for the 2 hours I laid on the bench with bad motion sickness.
I don’t know how to check the water conditions, but under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you go if there’s any rough conditions in the water. This company puts your $$ above safety.