Phi Phi Island Cruise

We had  booked a 7.15am pick up for the day cruise to Kho Phi Phi Island.
This meant a hearty breakfast yes bacon and eggs. The mini bus picked us up on time for the transfer to the port at Phuket City.
We had not been recommended this trip only that a big boat was more comfortable than a speed boat as the sea can have a bit of a swell which it did.
We arrived and were transferred onto the ship probably about 8:15 found some seats or rather some white plastic garden chairs after 10 minutes we realized why they were vacant was because they were in the sun. 45 minutes later when the boat departed we were already over sitting in the sun but the tarpaulin sunshade did not cover the whole deck area but was was positioned perfectly to stop any breeze cooling you off.
See the full review here http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g293920-d1887234-r136534302-Phi_Phi_Cruiser-Phuket.html#REVIEWS
Spent the next 1 1/2 hours watching the speed boats wizz past and trying to cover up under a sarong.

The trip was to take in "The Beach" made famous by Leonardo De Caprio Movie but due to the size of the vessel it could not get closer than about 500 m but you could not see much of the beach any way as it was full of the 10 min day trippers and their speed boats. Soon after we docked at Kho Phi Phi and as we had booked the snorkeling part of this trip we transferred to a smaller boat which took us of to a part of the harbour probably no more than 500 metres away.

 we had a bout 45 minutes of snorkeling which was quite good as it was the kids first real snorkeling despite the sea snake and Emily panicking a bit this went well.
Back to the big boat and then off to lunch which was at the Phi Phi Island Hotel which was more than adequate for lunch and was a lazy susan affair and about 10 dishes which were replenished several times.

We did not realize that Phi Phi Island was so developed but much would have been after the Tsunami as many shops and restaurants  appeared to be in newer buildings. With little time before departure we headed to the beach and a quick swim between the long tail boats and a mess around with some under water photos.

We got aback to the boat a found no seats left and realized that this was the reason for other people constantly wandering about on our outward journey. We found some space on the lower deck to sit in the floor but this area was pretty good as it was air conditioned.