Feb 29, 2020
Our 10th Anniversary and first cruise ever! - Y'all let me tell you, from the time we were greeted until the time we were dropped off, we felt like we were with family. Everyone was cheerful and so welcoming. We were taken first to see the animals. There were guinea pigs, sloths, birds, monkeys a plenty. Everyone was so kind and knowledgeable. They didn't treat you as if they'd heard your questions a million times already. They answered with genuine enthusiasm which, in my opinion, shows they truly love what they do. After visiting the animals, we were taken to do some snorkeling. Again, we were treated like we'd been coming there all of our lives. Everyone was so kind and accommodating. We were provided with gear that was very comfortable and we'll cared for, given thorough instructions on how to use them, and then taken out to the most beautiful place I had ever seen in my life. The pictures taken by Preston of Preston Dixon Photography are breathtaking! There were so many different kinds of fish, plants, and the reef was like something you'd see on TV. Truly breathtaking! They also took good care of my husband who discovered he should probably take some Dramamine before snorkeling again 🙅🏊. The whole tour was also very affordable, so if you're looking for something to do while in Roatan, this is where you need to be!
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Feb 23, 2020
Amazing from start to finish - By far the best part of our cruise. This group was professional from the time we booked. The sloths and Monkeys were amazing and it was such an organized place. The snorkeling was absolutely the prettiest. We loved everyone we dealt with that day. Highly recommend them!
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Feb 17, 2020
Incredible - What a great excursion! Sloth and monkey visit was awesome. Knowledgeable local driver. Patient snorkel guides. Beautiful location. Highly recommend!
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Jan 30, 2020
Wonderful excursion! - My friends and I had an amazing time on this tour. The animals seemed really happy and well cared for, and the snorkeling was beautiful. Our guide made sure to point out things of interest the whole time. And our driver Jerry was incredibly friendly and informative.
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Jan 6, 2020
Had a great cruise ship day in Roatan - This was my family’s first time to the island. After reviewing all that there was to do and see, we chose snorkeling as our primary activity. I saw that many folks just walk / swim to the reef from the West End beaches. We have snorkeled a number of times over the years, but are not experts. I was looking for a bit more guidance over where to go, what to see, etc.
Searching on line, I found Roatan Getaway Tours. Jim was very responsive with my questions back and forth. I ended up scheduling a private tour for my family of 5. (My kids are between 18 and 22). A few weeks later, my daughter said she really wanted to do a sloth encounter. Jim said no problem to change our tour a bit.
Two weeks prior to our cruise, Norwegian changed the itinerary which switched our day in Roatan. I emailed Jim. He said he was aware, and no problem at all.
When we arrived in Roatan, Jim’s wife, Katelyn, met us across from the entrance to the port. We went directly to AJ’s to see the sloths. It looked like we were the first visitors that day, but it also looked like a place far too small to take a bus load of visitors to. We all had pictures with the two sloths. Then we had pictures with a parrot, then we all went into the cage with 6 small, playful, monkeys. The workers there all seemed to really enjoy working with the animals, were very knowledgeable and we never felt rushed.
After the animal encounter, we drove a very short distance to meet the boat for snorkeling. Jim was the captain, Preston was our in water guide and Katelyn came along for the ride. We ended up doing three separate snorkel stops along a fairly quiet part of the reef.
Preston was an awesome snorkeling guide for us. He was identifying all of the fish. He would free dive down to point out lobsters, eels, and all sort of interesting fish. He also took pictures of the fish, and of us snorkeling, which was a huge bonus. We ended up in the water for hours, until we were all exhausted. They had water, soda, fruit, and snacks on the boat for us.
On the ride back to the ship, Katelyn was explaining all of the different tours that they do, and how they are in the process of developing a beach pavilion to include in their tours.
Roatan seemed like a lovely place to return to, and we would not hesitate to book again with Jim and Katelyn.
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Nov 20, 2019
Highlight of our cruise! - My party of 6 just returned to the ship after our incredible time on this tour. We did this as a private tour and our driver Monique was wonderful, letting us stop anywhere we wanted between the itinerary stops, even to a grocery store to look at native foods and a restaurant! She is very sweet. I never thought I would hold a sloth, but they take you to a wonderful animal refuge with sloths, monkeys, and birds where you can hold and interact with all the animals. They met us at the cruise port and everything was smooth and organized. I feel like I got to know Roatan in the short time in port. Like my heading says, this was a highlight of our cruise!
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Sep 6, 2019
Great Fun with Family - We had a great time on the Roatan Monkey, Sloth and Snorkel Tour. We booked with Shore Excursioneer with no problems. I would book directly with the vendor next time and save more dollars. The visit with Monkeys and Sloths was the best. We have got to hold the sloths and play with the monkeys for a good amount of time. The snorkeling portion was awesome as well. Our guide took us through a reef in which we saw a lot of wildlife. This stop was on of our favorites from our Western Caribbean Cruise.
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Aug 12, 2019
The Best Excursion I have ever been on!!!! - This was a very reasonable and professional tour topped off by our informative and knowledgeably guide Ronald. We went to the AJ's Monkeys and Sloths and had a blast with the animals. The handlers were sweet and nobody in our party felt rushed in any way. We then went to a Oceanside restaurant for some relaxation before we snorkeled. it was a beautiful spot. The snorkeling was guided for about an hour. The reef had plenty of fish and we even saw a lobster. overall this excursion was a five plus!!!!!!
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Aug 11, 2019
Very professional - We pre-booked a day tour with this company when we landed from our cruise. The information provided was clear. They met us as expected and the tour was incredible. Snorkling enabled each participant to participate at their own level- including those of us more experienced. AJ's monkey and sloth sanctuary was an amazing experience!
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Jul 25, 2019
Amazing time! - Only negative thing I feel that I need to share was the directions to our guide were too vague. Most in our group went the wrong way before finally reaching the security stop.
Now if you have never cruised, coming up to the guides was a little intimidating because there are a lot of people waiting for other travelers. The guides for this particular excursion were all dressed in beautiful blue water shirts (the kind that you can wear that are like dry fit with spf built in) with sea animals all over them. The shirts also match their bus (which is reassuring if you feel a little out of your element). As soon as the head count was met, they took us straight to the dock to snorkel. The bus driver had to go pick up the next group to take them to the sloths. I suggest you arrive ready to swim with a cover up on. When we boarded the boat we were handed goggles and snorkels out of a cleaning solution. Then flippers (forgive me for not knowing if they were in disinfected as well I wasn’t paying attention). Our snorkel guide was Saul. He was VERY informative and patient. Some of the group kept wandering off in the water. He went above and beyond to be sure we saw different sea life! We got to hold a living conch, a living sand dollar, a sea urchin, a sea cucumber, and he caught a spiny lobster. The water was low when we went so I’m not sure if they normally go further out but we saw plenty of fish! Then we boarded the bus to go to the next stop. We met three sloths! The two I got to interact with were Sophia and Flash (yep just like the movie). I can’t complain about the amount of time Spent with the sloths because I wanted to be selfish and not give it back! They also had some other animals, but the capuchin and sloths were the highlights. They had an alpha male capuchin that does not like little children but they accommodate by moving him. Please listen if they tell you to send all the children to the front so they can exit. They are trying to keep everyone safe, we had one in our group who ignored the keeper and her daughter was bit. After we finished at the monkeys we were taken to a little resort that was BEAUTIFUL. We ate there but did not have time to get in the water. The guides offered us to stay longer and merge in with the last group but we declined and decided to go back to the boat.
We really had an amazing time. The only point I felt nervous was when we went the wrong way and couldn’t find the guides. The guides didn’t mind chatting with us on the bus rides answering questions about their culture and island. I would recommend this excursion to everyone. Even those with little ones!
Thank you guys for a great time in roatan! I hope to book something with you if we ever return!
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