We wanted to hike and we're denied because of the waterfall "not being safe". Overall a good day enjoying the sun a different perspective of the area however don't expect to go to the waterfall because I think they rarely actually lead people there. They encouraged people to buy bug spray etc from the vendors close, probably getting a cut but knowing full well knowing we wouldn't go there. Slightly disappointed:/

The one highlight of this excursion was that we saw a mother whale and her baby breeching. That is the only positive thing I can say about this excursion. Other than the whale, mother nature was not on this journey's side that day. Imagine a slow rolling journey to the snorkeling where by that point a good portion of the passengers were queasy and my spouse (who has been on many boats) got sea sick for the first time in his life. There was vomit coming down from both levels and all sides of the ship. The snorkeling was so so as the water was too choppy to see anything. In case if you weren't sea sick mother nature also sent a swarm of wasps to drift through the front of the boat as well at one point. The beach destination that was promoted as a calm swimming area had huge waves that were taking out loungers. The waves were cool to look at but this was not the family friendly quiet swim trip we had expected.

Next, what was not mother nature. We had to tender from the boat onto small water "taxis" and climb up small metal steps onto a dock. Our lunch spot was at the far end of the beach so we had to navigate the huge waves and then climb up some rocks and then up some steps to get to the upper level of the restaurant. Luckily we ordered chips and guacamole through the restaurant (which was really good) as we found out that lunch wasn't being served for another hour and a half. I nursed one beer throughout as I didn't want to be tipsy going back down and twist an ankle or something.

Lunch: you picked one of four dishes in the morning and that was printed on a ticket you had at the table. My spouse who had puked his guts out on the boat asked if he could change his choice. The ship crew also handled distributing the lunches and when my spouse asked to change we got moved into the "no food for you category". Every single table got served on our level and then we got the attention of the crew member and asked for our lunches and would take whatever we had chosen and a half hour later we got our food. The people who actually worked at the restaurant were fine and did their best. I will note at this point that my son and I had the same thing and later that night he had terrible cramps and the two bathrooms in our suite were no longer an extravagance.

After sitting around in the restaurant and then finally getting lunch after everyone else it was time to go. We worked our way back down the beach. We had been told repeatedly that the boat was leaving at 3:30pm so we were on the dock on time with crew members urging us to hurry up. As we stood to get back onto the water "taxis" another passenger whispered that she was scared to get on. I have been on many excursions and I am comfortable with the water but this is the first time I have ever felt unsafe on a transfer. I am actually surprised that someone didn't get hurt. It took far too long to reload the boat - it was over an hour!

The trip back was slow as well and passengers had taken to self medicating with Dramamine and alcohol. The crew played a variety of games and some passengers that could still stand danced. Some of the games were fun, others I would not recommend for a family oriented trip. We got back a half an hour late. This excursion burned through a day of a seven day trip and it took over a day to recover. This literally was the worst excursion I've been on in my life.

We saw 13 whales including a juvenile that jumped out of the water several times. We also saw adults slapping the water with their pectoral fins, lots of diving & an overall great day. I loved how respectful the captain was to the whales. They didn’t get too close like some of the other budget tours did & let them be when the mother whale demonstrated that she was bothered. So much better than the other tours that aren’t concerned about whale welfare. Highly recommend & will be back again.