Amazing trip. We were a large group of eight three adults, one teenager, two pre-teen, and two children and we had the trip booked well in advance. The location was eay to find and there was ample parking at their parking lot. The embarkation was smooth and easy. We sat on top tier of the boat and had a great view of the bay. We were lucky during our trip to see a Manta ray during the day time. The snacks on the boat included juice, water, and fruits, and there was alcohol for sale as well. The Captain and crew were great. The crew came to where you were and asked for the shoe sizes and brought the snorkel gear to you. The captain was great about explaining the historic significance of the area and the importance of being in protected waters. He also came by and talked to each family on the tour, and since some of us were novice at snorkeling he was very good about explaining all the safety gear available and really putting us at ease about snorkeling for the first time. We did see a lot of spinner dolphins but did not swim with them up-close, although there seemed to be some people on kayaks and canoes who were able to do so with another group. We all were able to see amazing fish and coral that honestly just can't be captured by photos and videos. My kids also used the slides and were able to jump of the platform on the top tier of the boat. We were in the water for a long time but it felt like we could have stayed longer. We all had smiles and still talk about the trip and kids have requested a repeat the next time we are in Hawaii.
This cruise was so much fun! The boat had a slide and a high dive for jumping into the water. The snorkeling wasn't the best but the visibility was pretty good overall not a lot of colorful fish and coral. The crew was friendly and the boat ride to the snorkeling area was nice and relaxing.
The cruise started out just fine. The staff was friendly and welcoming.
However, shortly after leaving the pier, the captain announced that they would be fishing along the way and would need to stop the boat for however long it took to reel in a big fish. When the crew did in fact hook a fish, the captain stopped the boat. To make matters worse, he informed us that once the fish was to the boat he would bash its head in with a baseball bat.
Fortunately, after working to reel the fish in, it got away.
There was nothing in the description of this snorkeling cruise to indicate that any of this would/could happen.
We paid for a snorkeling trip to view fish and other sea life in their natural habitat. We did not pay to have the crew use our snorkeling time to stop the boat for them the crew was fishing not the passengers to fish. Nor did we pay to see them bash in the head of a fish!
We wanted a peaceful afternoon with nature. We are animal-lovers and vegan and the captain/crew behavior was very upsetting.
Knowing that the return trip would also involve the crew fishing ruined the snorkeling time for us.
My group would have chosen a different cruise had there been ANY indication of fishing/head bashing, or the crew taking away from our time snorkeling to do those activities, in the description.
We all felt deceived by the company due to the omission of this information.