renting snorkeling equipment on Grand Turk

[sushitex]

Hello -- we are going on a Carnival cruise in late July and one of our ports of call will be Grand Turk. Although my husband, 11-year-old son and I have never gone snorkeling before, we thought that we'd give it a try, since the water off this island seems so beautiful.

 

I have been looking at Carnival's website and have read about their shore excursions. I have also been trying to find information about renting snorkeling equipment and doing it on our own, especially around the Governor's Beach area or somewhere else not too far from the cruise pier.

 

Does anyone here have any recommendations...would it be better to go ahead and book one of the shore excursion trips through Carnival (pay the $$ but enjoy the convenience and "expertise" of the people who run the program (who can show us the proper way to snorkel) OR simply take a taxi or a trolley (if available) and try to rent some equipment from a local dive shop in Grand Turk?

 

We are not planning on bringing our own equipment (having no experience with snorkeling) and my son is leery about swimming with the stingrays at Gibb's Cay (we live near the Texas State Aquarium and have touched/"played" with the stingrays in the touch pool there.)

 

Any advice for first-time snorkelers/visitors to Grand Turk?

 

Thanks!

[Middleager]

We are not planning on bringing our own equipment (having no experience with snorkeling) and my son is leery about swimming with the stingrays at Gibb's Cay (we live near the Texas State Aquarium and have touched/"played" with the stingrays in the touch pool there.)

 

Any advice for first-time snorkelers/visitors to Grand Turk?

Why don't you want to buy your own gears? If you buy them, and practice with them in a pool before hand, you can adjust the masks to your liking. You can get used to snorkeling. You'll also know where the mouthpiece has been to, before you put it in your mouth.

 

Snorkeling is not hard. If you sign up with a ship excursion, you'll likely end up in a big bus, going on a cattle boat with loads of people. Many people will be trying snorkeling for the first time. The guides are used to that, but would they really be able to spend a lot of time trying to help you. If you have your own gears, you won't be spending a lot of time trying to figure out how to adjust the straps to fit your face, and figure out if it is too tight or too lose, or even being handed a bad mask. Same with the snorkel.

 

I always book my own diving/snorkeling trips, going on a smaller boat with few people.

[sushitex]

Thanks for the advice...I haven't gone a shore excursion yet that offered snorkeling, so I didn't realize that most of the people on the tours are first-timers as well. Maybe I will check out the local dive shops for masks, etc...

 

It's too bad that my family lives on the murky part of the Gulf of Mexico, but that's how it is here...

[Islandbear]

Here is my recommendation.

 

Get your own gear. Go to a good sporting store that lets you try on the masks. Plan on paying between $30-75 for a set of fins, mask & snorkel. If you like it go back and buy a good set from a dive shop.

 

Since you are on a cruise I assume you will be stopping at other ports. Your son should have a great time with his gear just doing shore dives off the beach. You can find lots of great shore dives just by googleing the term.

 

My boys (7-12) LOVE to snorkel and it is a great cheap family activity.

 

Read some of the threads below for more information and ideas.

[sushitex]

The only local sporting goods store we have here is Academy (it is the largest one in the system, I'm told) and my son and I went there today to check out the snorkel sets.

 

I was able to try on one of the masks (it was tight but not uncomfortably so) but now I'm debating whether or not to go ahead and order one of those prescription masks I've seen online for myself (I'm nearsighted, don't know if that makes a difference - I think my lenses are something like 3.5 and 3.0.)

 

As for flippers, they didn't even have any in my size (ladies size 6/ men's size 4) - all they had were medium and large.

 

Are the "dry" snorkels much better than the regular ones?

 

The two brands at Academy that I recognized from reading some of the threads here are Body Glove and U.S. Diver - are they quality brands, anyone?

 

I haven't checked out the local dive shops in town (I believe there are two or three - I did look at one of their websites, it wasn't very informative.)

 

Of course, son was just impressed with some of the colors and appearance of the snorkels masks, and flippers...again, it's too bad that the water here in our part of the Gulf of Mexico is so murky, because we could practice right here on/near Padre Island if there was good visibility. Oh well, we have a public pool nearby...

[topspot]

You can wear contacts with a mask, that is if your wear contacts. There is some natural correction when you are in the water looking through a mask. Things appear 25% closer and larger. I and my DD have corrective mask. I have 6.0 :eek: so I really need the correction. She just got hers and has 2.0 and feels she sees so much better now with the correction.

 

Hope this helps you decide.

[Middleager]

Body Glove is a fine brand. US Divers seem to have more or the entry level stuff.

 

Dry snorkel is much better. Worth the few bucks more, or sometimes not more expensive.

 

I am just planning to order a prescription mask for my daughter as she has high prescription. They range from $200 to $360, for custom made lense. I was just talking to an optometrist in one of the online shops. He said Tusa Liberator is a good mask, and fit many people's faces. It is one they use, and can make custom lense to put in. But you can also buy the off the shelve lense to put in yourself.

 

For myself, I had heavy prescription many years ago, then got lasik. AFter that I can see in water, and tried scuba diving, and loved it. Since then I've been taking warm water vacations every year, and go diving, while my wife snorkels. My left eye has deteriorated. I was wondering if I should buy a prescription mask myself, including buying an off the shelf. But the optometrist told me to try contacts. I already wear contacts and he said it is actually difficult for soft contacts to be washed away. So I'm going to give that a try this March.

 

Even though where you live may not have good snorkeling, you can still go to a swimming pool to practice a few times before the trip. For my wife, it really helped.

[sushitex]

and chose for myself, one of the Body Glove prescription (medium) masks, since it seems to be the range I will need. I also bought a dry snorkel and fins (Body Glove and U.S. Divers, respectively) for myself. DH and DS will each get a U.S. Divers snorkel, fin, and mask set...these are all from Amazon. I figure that I can return them if they don't fit, but at least they all have mostly good reviews from both the cruise critic forum posters and the reviewers at Amazon.

 

Thanks all, for your help...I have several months before our cruise, but in south Texas, warm weather (and swimming pool time) is actually not that far off. We'll probably end up trying out the snorkeling a bit in the local public pool when it opens for the season (late May) and who knows, we are going camping (quite possibly, with lakes!) with the Boy Scouts this spring and summer, so we may have a chance to snorkel in the great outdoors before our cruise.