AndrewCharles

Got an email from Royal Caribbean asking if I want to opt out of the Surfside Family Suite. Even allowing me to get my full deposit back.

Got an email from Royal Caribbean asking if I want to opt out of the Surfside Family Suite. Even allowing me to get my full deposit back.

Got an email from Royal Caribbean asking if I want to opt out of the Surfside Family Suite. Even allowing me to get my full deposit back.

Got an email from Royal Caribbean asking if I want to opt out of the Surfside Family Suite. Even allowing me to get my full deposit back.

I recommend always wearing a vest when snorkeling.  I tried once without and got caught with a bad current.  That was the day they had to tow divers and kayakers back to shore.  My son made it to shore safely while I had to head for the rocks you aren't supposed to stand on.....
I agree you can snorkel off the beach, but after seeing what little was left after the hurricane last week (only one spot at Chill Island had any interesting fish), I think you should consider an inexpensive snorkel tour.  Also, i saw a few jelly fish at Chill Island, which was a big change from May.
Have a great cruise!

@AndrewCharles  Don't worry about getting there early if you have a cabana.  The cabanas have a roped off private beach/swim area.  It never felt crowded to us and all 20 cabanas were booked.  
The way the cabanas work now is it is booking date.  You no longer go to the excursion desk to select the cabana. (We were the only ship in port that day).  You just show up to the attendant counter and tell them the names/cabin# that will be at your cabana.  They will give you the bracelet at that point.  Just make sure that those in your cabana know it is under your name.  IE if  your BIL is traveling with you, and your surnames are different he says he is going to be in your cabana.  My SIL has a different last name than us,  and arrived 30 mins after us.  She just said our last name, and than her name.  They looked at our list and said, you are good to go.    We met a couple on the 1st day in the Solarium pool, and became fast friends, hung in the solarium on the sea days, played trivia together, and hung out at night in Schooners.  They were traveling as a couple.  We  had 5 for the cabana that fits 8.  The night prior I asked what is your cabin #, and your last name.  I told them that when I got to the cabana I would add them to my list.  They were allowed in no problem bc they said I am on Pima's  list.  I would lay on the mat and the current would take me to where the kayak ropes were, and the ropes are filled with sea weed. My husband and I have agreed that the cabana was the best splurge ever!    We will be back next July and we are talking about doing the beach beds instead of the cabana, but we agree like going to a balcony or suite, it is hard to go down a tier, so we will be doing at least the bungalow for the 2 of us.  Been to Nassau, did Gray Cliffs, John Waitling, Queen Annes Staircase, so we will stay on the ship.  Done the swim with dolphins, sting rays, para sailing.  Horseshoe we pay for a taxi.  We don't gamble.  We use a TA and get @$100 OBC pp, so the cabana is our splurge.

As others have said you just walk out from the beach.  My husband is also a strong swimmer so he did not wear a vest.  If I recall there are 3 platforms with life guards.  The platforms are not for you to swim up to and sunbathe.  It is more of IF you are struggling the guards can get to you faster.   
I know the rental does come with fins, it probably comes with a vest too if you ask for one, but it is not mandatory that you take one, unlike the kayak or jet skis.
When we were there in July, the water was like glass, it really had no waves at all.  IE I am a beach girl, and love to jump waves, there were waves to jump at Horseshoe, but not at Coco Cay.  We also had no real wind as far as I could feel. but from Coco Cays standard it was too windy to send up the balloon..  My husband swam out to the must snorkel areas at least 3 times during the day.  He would be gone for about 45 -60 mins. each time.  I never asked how long it took to swim out there, just illustrating how strong of a swimmer he is.  
The water at Coco Cay is so clear you could be chest high in water and still see your feet clearly.  You will see fish swimming around your feet, but nothing like snorkeling according to my hubby.  He said when he swam out to the known areas that there were hundreds of fish. 
If you rented a cabana at Chill Island there is a rock jeddy by the cabanas (#10 and 11)  The cabanas have a roped off beach area for their personal use.  In that area there is also tiny crustaceans and fish to see inhabiting the formation.  You do not need snorkeling gear for that because it is not deep at all.  Just beware, when we were there, a family thought it was funny to basically tease the fish with food.  They would place it just at the top of the water for the fish to come up and nibble on it, and than yank it up in the air.  The problem with this is as they raised their hand into the air the gulls would come swooping down.  Once one gull finds food, a dozen more will be there within a few minutes.  Meanwhile you have now been under the water looking at the sea life and when you pop back up there are gulls swarming.  This family basically cleared the private lagoon area bc they did this.  They were so into take a picture of me, that they didn't realize or ignored the rest of us, saying quite loudly, can you believe they are doing that as we all walked out of the water.  They only stopped when at the end the gulls only had them to swoop in on.  The Mom of these teenagers even remarked OMG everybody left,  and now they only have us, let's get out.  (I heard her say this because of my cabana location -#10)   The gulls than lived on the rock jeddy for about 10-15 mins more until they realized that they had a better chance of food at the Chill Grill or Snack Shack.
Although it is a popular thing to do at Coco Cay my husband felt that it wasn't overcrowded with snorkelers.  IMPO, this probably is because you get the gear for the entire day.  We were there from 9 a.m. to all aboard at 5:30 (6 pm sail away).  
Hope that helps.
OBTW, we did Coco Cay 1st week of Nov. a few years ago.  The weather was beautiful, but it was chilly in the a.m., and the water temp will also be cooler than July.  You might have less people snorkeling,  due to the weather/water temp.  I recall that at 9 a.m. we wore light weight sweaters when we 1st got on the beach, but that day it also had some winds.  Nobody really went far out into the water until about 10-11.  After lunch it was really nice and warm temp wise and everybody was in the water.  My hubby is a water guy so he was in at 9:30 snorkeling, but he did come back and did the BRRR, I need to lay in the sun to warm up some.

You walk straight in to the water from the beach.  Snorkeling there is very good.  I would possibly recommend a vest for them as the waves and wind can get pretty difficult.  I am a strong swimmer and did not use a vest but after an hour I was very tired from fighting the waves and current (I also had fins).

Have not been but will be there in about 4 weeks.
I would say the vest would depend on how good they swim and how well you can keep up with 3 kids.
The best snorkeling is supposed to be off of the Chill Island areas and yes you can walk out, the water is supposed to be calm and not to deep.

Hello, 
41 Days to go until my first cruise (Harmony 10/27)!!!!!!! 
I am bringing my 3 nieces/nephew along with me, and we are bringing our own snorkeling gear. Do the kids need to wear any type of vest when snorkeling, and do we just walk straight into the water from the beach or is there a certain location for snorkeling?

It's not listed in the description, but all reports I've been seeing say that the snorkel equipment and floating mats are still included. Though you need to get the snorkel gear from the equipment shack. 

Thanks! that thread was very helpful, and I apparently could not find it on my own.