Sailing, Snorkeling, and Booze Cruising in Puerto Rico

When one embarks on a Caribbean vacation, it is an important requirement that a boat be involved at some point. Nay, when one undertakes any beach-like vacation, stepping foot on a boat is a necessity to the fun quotient. All the better if there are alcoholic beverages upon said boat. Add two points to the fun quotient if that alcohol is unlimited.

Enter the Booze Cruise. In this case, the Salty Dog Catamaran out of Fajardo, Puerto Rico.

Note:  Mom prefers not to call this particular booze cruise a “booze cruise” because, “Some people just came to snorkel and have a nice time.”

Decisions, decisions. Like any of my travel excursions that requires actual forethought, I had to delve into the Internets for reviews and suggestions of “not-super-expensive boats that serve unlimited alcohol and go to nice beaches and maybe include snorkeling too.”

Unfortunately, unless you are planning a trip upon the most giant of booze cruises – um, an actual cruise ship – then most sailing trips do not depart from the port of San Juan. You will likely require transport to Fajardo or another nearby port town about an hour away. Don’t worry, transportation can be arranged for a fee, of course.

Back in the day, we used to go on a lot of cruises. Like actual cruises. Celebrity. Carnival. You know the kind. Patrick and I joked about the insane amount of snorkeling excursions we were dragged into. Like snorkeling at every port. Mom loved it. But when it came time to plan activities for Puerto Rico, we decided that, um, HELL YEAH we wanted to go snorkeling!

But what boat? I’ll be honest; it was one particular Trip Advisor review that made the decision for me. When somebody else says they’ve “done the research,” I trust ‘em:

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Ignoring the absurdity of this company’s website name – www.SALTYDREAMS.com – we forged ahead and made reservations despite the steep, though relatively comparable, price of $93 per person. This included transportation from Ocean Park in Santurce.

Due to the, ehem, super high tech nature of their website, I had to call to Puerto Rico to make it happen. The lady on the phone gave me all the deets (in English) including the price, pick-up time and location (8:00 AM at Kasalta Bakery), and the food and drinking schedule once onboard.

From there, everything went as planned. We packed our towels and sunscreen, met our van at the agreed upon locale, chatted with our soon-to-be boat mates, and rode to the port-of-all-the-catamarans in Fajardo. There we lined up to pay (separately if desired), grabbed our appropriately-sized flippers, and boarded the vessel.

Photo purposefully cropped above the belly button because vacation day 4 is not a good look for me.

Around the same time as the other catamarans, we departed the slip and headed out to into the increasingly clear, blue water to Isla Icacos, our first stop. Icacos is an uninhabited island with a beautiful beach where the captain told any snorkeling noobs they could get out and “practice” their snorkeling skills, aka see if their mask fit and try not to freak out in the water.

Icacos also appeared the be the Puerto Rican version of Shackleford Banks. There were lots of private boats anchored for the day, some of them with beers, bottles of Don Q, tables of food, and speakers, ready to make a day of it. Really, I wanted to stay and hang out with some of them. I just love Pitbull.

Mom and I walked down the beach to check out the scenery and shells, and without even donning our masks we happened upon some wildlife in the process. I found a tiny starfish. Wellll, I found this little boy holding a starfish. Same thing.

We lounged a bit until lunch and drinks were ready. The food was a basic make-your-own-sandwich bar (with the same pan de agua also used to make our beloved Cuban sandwiches) and the accompanying salad, veggies, and pasta salad. Then the bar was open. You could have any rum drinks you wanted… as long as that was a painkiller, rum punch, or rum and an available soft drink. After trying out the punch and the painkiller, which were both solid options, I settled on lots and lots of rum and coke.

Warning: Don Q, being the decent rum that it is, isn’t always readily detectable in these drinks. And despite watching the nice bartender pour lots of it into each cup, the lack of that spring break-y taste may make you forget that there’s actually booze in there. Be careful.

After a little more splashing around, we headed off to our main snorkeling spot, an area of reef just off of Cayo Lobos, a private island. (Seriously we were told not to head ashore as the owners of the mansion there were rumored to have aggressive guard dogs on duty.)

The crew helped us find well-fitting masks (which really makes all the difference between a happy and a very sad, sad snorkeling adventure) and you also have the option to wear a little yellow floaty ring (do not do it, you don’t need it, you’re an adult).

El capitán then suggested we take some of the leftover sandwich bread with us into the water to feed the fish. And a big thanks to him for the recommendation! It made all the difference! The fish would crowd around to eat out of your hand. SO cool.

We then snorkeled to our hearts’ content. There were colorful fish, big and small, to see, feed, and swim through. No I didn’t bring an underwater camera, but I distinctly remember all the bright purple and yellow fish the most – very East Carolina of them. I forgot how much I loved snorkeling! (And mom felt the same way, as she yelled, “HEY RACHEL I FORGOT HOW MUCH I LOVED SNORKELING” when she swam past.)

This trip solidified my desire to get my Open Water SCUBA certification. I just want to dive deeper down with the fish and play among them… without a mouthful of saltwater.

Eventually we were called in as it was time to depart and head back to the docks. We spent the rest of the time drying off, taking photos, eating the afternoon snacks provided, finishing our drinks, spilling drinks, losing Charlie’s frisbee, and talking to the captain on our way back in. A solid, boozy adventure was had by all.

Charlie then spent the van ride home entertaining all of our newfound friends and buying them beers from roadside stores. I spent it, um, asleep. Hey, hey, mom, guys, it was a BOOZE CRUISE after all!

Our faithful captain

I can highly recommend Salty Dog Catamaran for their day sailing and snorkeling. It was exactly what I’d hoped to book and even a little cheaper than some of the other tours. Save yourself the research and book with them. If they’re full on the dates you want to go, there were a couple of other boats taking the exact same route, including the Traveler and Spread Eagle, though I can’t speak for their food and drink selection.

The last physical evidence of Charlie’s frisbee (bottom right)

Whatever you do, getting on a boat and exploring the truly great beaches of Puerto Rico is imperative if you’re in San Juan. As evidenced previously, for me, it’s not really a true beach vacay without getting on a boat. The beach near our Santurce apartment was decent but not crazy impressive. You’ll have to get away from the city of San Juan if you want to see the clear, striking blue screensaver type stuff you were hoping for when you booked your trip to the Caribbean.

Check out Salty Dog’s Website to book a Day Sailing Trip. Email didn’t work for me, so I called the first phone number (it’s a US number) and gave my credit card information to hold the reservations. It isn’t charged and you pay at the dock. They can arrange transportation from a pick-up point in the San Juan neighborhood where you’re staying. I paid $93 from Santurce. It’d be even cheaper if you’re staying in Fajardo and/or can get to the docks yourself.

How do you guys feel about snorkeling? What about booze cruises? (And I’m just assuming if you’re reading this blog, you are definitely the kind of person who likes booze cruises.)