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Snorkeling Silly Question


Cowcrazy65

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There are 6 of us and we are going to the Bahamas for the first time. Wondering about  Snorkeling at Coco Cay.  Do most people bring their own snorkel gear?  Is the snorkeling there something worth doing or would you suggest doing it in Nassau?  Not everyone wants to snorkel and we all want to stay together when off the ship.  THANKS!!!! :huh:  :)

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I have read some good things about snorkeling at Coco Cay - as Doc mentioned, you can bring your own gear but it is also available to rent for I believe around $30 if you don't want to bring your own. I believe there are some sunken shipwreck type things that Royal Caribbean has placed that you can check out around the snorkeling area as well.

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I liked the snorkeling. I brought my own gear but had to pay for a life jacket (required), the jacket is the kind you inflate by mouth so don't worry about it keeping you afloat while diving.

 

They had a sunken plane, side of a ship with cannons sticking out, and something else cool. I really liked how they had buoys marking where the stuff was so you didn't have to search. They also had floating docks to rest, which comes in handy because stuff is a bit far out. They even had coloured disks placed randomly, if you find one you get a price.

This all may sound fake and corny to those who like a natural experience but it was pretty fun.

 

I'd recommend bringing your own gear if you have it, it's not like you have to lug it around town or anything.

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Surprised they make you rent the buoyancy jacket.  You'd think that being something they require, that is unreasonable to assume someone will furnish themselves, all while reducing risk to pax and RCI, they'd just hand them out.  I've seen DCL do this, I don't recall if NCL does the same.  

 

Wondering if the cost is high enough to justify buying on before the trip... http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_sc_0_10?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=buoyancy+vest&sprefix=buoyancy+vest%2Caps%2C155&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Abuoyancy+vest&tag=billyandlaris-20

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Surprised they make you rent the buoyancy jacket.  You'd think that being something they require, that is unreasonable to assume someone will furnish themselves, all while reducing risk to pax and RCI, they'd just hand them out.  I've seen DCL do this, I don't recall if NCL does the same.  

 

Wondering if the cost is high enough to justify buying on before the trip... http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_sc_0_10?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=buoyancy+vest&sprefix=buoyancy+vest%2Caps%2C155&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Abuoyancy+vest&tag=billyandlaris-20

Probably not worth buying unless you plan on using them again in the future.  If memory recalls, I read they charged like $5 or $10.

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Probably not worth buying unless you plan on using them again in the future.  If memory recalls, I read they charged like $5 or $10.

That's not too bad, thanks.  Will think about it.  We'd use them again on RCCL I suppose, just a matter of how much I want them taking up space in the closet. 

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  • 1 month later...

  Do most people bring their own snorkel gear?

Most people do not but I believe that is because most people do not own snorkel gear.

 

I have snorkel gear I bought around 25 years ago when I was in Hawaii (at a Sears of all places!) and yes, I drag it along to all my cruises. This is easy for me to do since I drive from Houston to Galveston to cruise out of Galveston so I don't have to worry about flying with it. In fact a couple years ago when we did fly to Puerto Rico for a Southern Caribbean cruise, we left the snorkel gear at home rather than try to check it.

 

If you're not an avid snorkeler, then I wouldn't worry about it.

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We brought 2 sets as a family of four. Newer gear is quite compact and had nice carry bag. Balcony room makes storage less hassle.

Coco was nice spot to dive. I think they encouraged the vests back then too but i just ignored the calls from shore. Thats a bit too much nanny care. Found a massive shell close to shore but it burrowed back in the sand by the end of the day. I recall a bag check before boarding the tender so nothing other than sand leaves the island.

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We travel in the Caribbean a lot and we always take our own masks and snorkels.  They take very little room in your suitcase, as they fold down well (take them out of the case) and the long tube can easily tuck into side edges.  They aren't that expensive, you can buy them at sporting goods stores, and the cost is probably not that much more than that of a rental.  Frankly, I don't want to use a snorkel that hundreds of other people have had in their mouth.  Not trying to be gross, but those masks can get snotty when people are trying to make a suction to keep them on their faces.  The masks have to be taken off and on a few times to get the seal right and people are bobbing and blowing water around and so on.  Maybe the tour boats sanitize them, but maybe they don't.  Because, you know, It's Island Time, Mon!

 

Even if you only use it once, your kids can play with it in the pool back home.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have my own and purchased the vest and a set for my friend when we did Sombrero Reef in the keys last fall.  We are going in Coco Cay and then taking a boat trip from St. Thomas to St John's to snorkel 3 spots there for our excursion.  I bought her gear off of Amazon for 39.99 and she stated that it was the best snorkeling trip she had been on due to having good equipment.  She has snorkeled in Mexico, St. John's, Hawaii and other locations.

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