Bringing Snorkeling Equipment to Alpalena??

[mitsugirly]

I ended up purchasing a snorkel vest (snorkel pro) from Leisure and I was really worried about getting it in time. It arrived in 2 days!! Woo Hoo. I'm set now! :)

[VidaNaPraia]

I'm thinking I don't want to spend extra on the gear. For the 4 of us that would be over $200...

 

I decided to bring my own mask and snorkle, but since we were renting the rest of the equipment, decided to try theirs. It was on my face in the shop for only a few seconds and I couldn't stand the strong smell of the cleaning product used. Was very glad I'd brought my own with that very issue in mind. Worth every penny and every inch of luggage space.

[Zippercat]

I snorkeled at Alpalena last Friday on our Ryndam cruise. The reef is quite nice and worth bringing your gear. There is some nice size (over 30 inches across) fan coral and lots of the finger coral. Nice variety of fish to see. My camera battery was dead and I left the backup on the charger in our stateroom on the ship...so I don't have any pics. I thought the coral was much better than what I saw at the West Bay reef off shore in Roatan. Did see more fish at Roatan.

 

Sorry, I did not check into rentals but suggest emailing Alpalena to see if they can suggest a place.

 

Alpalena is a true paradise. Our party of 4 had the beach all to ourselves, except for their dog Bella who played in the surf with us. It does look like the pictures on their website.

 

We're not big drinkers, but having frozen drinks delivered while you're standing on the beach is wonderful. We really enjoyed our lunch of shrimp tacos too. Since we didn't drink a lot, it was probably not a bargain...but we all felt we got our money's worth and more. If there were an airport nearby, we would definitely go there for a few days or more.

 

One note: their email (to us, anyway) said to get a cab in front of the Hard Rock Cafe. However, the Hard Rock appears to have recently closed and all the signs on the outside of it are gone. But the cab stand was still there and we had no problem getting there.

 

Enjoy your day at the beach!

[mitsugirly]

I snorkeled at Alpalena last Friday on our Ryndam cruise. The reef is quite nice and worth bringing your gear. There is some nice size (over 30 inches across) fan coral and lots of the finger coral. Nice variety of fish to see. My camera battery was dead and I left the backup on the charger in our stateroom on the ship...so I don't have any pics. I thought the coral was much better than what I saw at the West Bay reef off shore in Roatan. Did see more fish at Roatan.

 

Did it seem really far out to get to the coral? How was the waves? We will have our 4 year old with us there next week. She has snorkeled with us at every port that we've snorkeled at on every cruise she's been on and she loves it. I just get a little freaked out if we get too far off shore.

 

Sorry, I did not check into rentals but suggest emailing Alpalena to see if they can suggest a place.

 

Alpalena is a true paradise. Our party of 4 had the beach all to ourselves, except for their dog Bella who played in the surf with us. It does look like the pictures on their website.

 

Is this the owners dog? My husband is a complete animal lover freak. For some reason all animals are attracted to him and he will manage to find someones dog to play with on the beach everywhere we go. LOL This will please him to know there will be a dog there. :D

 

We're not big drinkers, but having frozen drinks delivered while you're standing on the beach is wonderful. We really enjoyed our lunch of shrimp tacos too. Since we didn't drink a lot, it was probably not a bargain...but we all felt we got our money's worth and more. If there were an airport nearby, we would definitely go there for a few days or more.

 

One note: their email (to us, anyway) said to get a cab in front of the Hard Rock Cafe. However, the Hard Rock appears to have recently closed and all the signs on the outside of it are gone. But the cab stand was still there and we had no problem getting there.

 

Enjoy your day at the beach!

 

I did hear awhile back that the Hard Rock Cafe had closed but you still meet there in that spot to be picked up and taken to Almaplena. Do they send a certain cab there just for you knowing that you will be there? Or that's just where all the cabs come to and you just tell them where you are going? :confused:

[mitsugirly]

Funny how I just ask about this and about 10 minutes later I received an email from Monica:

 

 

At your arrival please exit the Costa Maya Port, keep walking straight about 3 min. and on your right side you'll see the taxi meeting area, near the pyramid (the Hard Rock Cafe have been closed so you won't be able to see the signboard).

The taxis know your ride to Almaplena Resort is included. Please don't go to different site transportation (inside or outside the Port) because we don't have agreement with the others taxis and in this case you will need to cover the taxi fare.

The ride will take about 20 min.

 

I'm still a little unclear about this "meeting area" and pyramid since I assume that this is probably where all of the taxis gather to pick up passengers. How will I know which is mine that they have a contract with? :confused:

[lexanna02]

Funny how I just ask about this and about 10 minutes later I received an email from Monica:

 

 

At your arrival please exit the Costa Maya Port, keep walking straight about 3 min. and on your right side you'll see the taxi meeting area, near the pyramid (the Hard Rock Cafe have been closed so you won't be able to see the signboard).

The taxis know your ride to Almaplena Resort is included. Please don't go to different site transportation (inside or outside the Port) because we don't have agreement with the others taxis and in this case you will need to cover the taxi fare.

The ride will take about 20 min.

 

I'm still a little unclear about this "meeting area" and pyramid since I assume that this is probably where all of the taxis gather to pick up passengers. How will I know which is mine that they have a contract with? :confused:

 

Make sure you print out and take your Almaplena reservation with you and show it to the taxi drivers. They'll take it from there! And you might want to plan ahead of time what time you will want to be picked up at the resort, so the taxi driver will know what time to be there. They were right on time for us!

[PhotogJon]

Are snorkeling vests required on these snorkeling excursions I've been reading about at various stops?

[mitsugirly]

Make sure you print out and take your Almaplena reservation with you and show it to the taxi drivers. They'll take it from there! And you might want to plan ahead of time what time you will want to be picked up at the resort, so the taxi driver will know what time to be there. They were right on time for us!

 

Oh I definitely print out everything and take it. :)

 

 

Are snorkeling vests required on these snorkeling excursions I've been reading about at various stops?

 

I don't know of any place that is required to wear a vest with the AI's or on your own and the only place I've read one is required is in Cozumel at Chankanaab (which I've seen plenty of people that don't wear them). All of the other places we've been to has never required us to wear any (well unless you are on a snorkeling tour out in the ocean on a boat). :)

[mitsugirly]

We had a great day at Almaplena. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

 

I did a COMPLETE review with tons of pictures from that day here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1755846&page=5

 

The Almaplena portion starts at post 190. :D

[PhotogJon]

We had a great day at Almaplena. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

 

I did a COMPLETE review with tons of pictures from that day here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1755846&page=5

 

The Almaplena portion starts at post 190. :D

As always, I love reading your reviews and looking at your gorgeous pictures. I've got 13 weeks to go and I can't wait.

[mitsugirly]

As always, I love reading your reviews and looking at your gorgeous pictures. I've got 13 weeks to go and I can't wait.

 

You are going to love it. I'm interested in knowing if they have a menu to chose from for lunch. Can you ask? :D

 

Thanks for the review comment. I appreciate it. It takes a lot of time to do these and I'm trying my best to hurry.

[weltek]

I know Dick's sporting goods has had the U.S. Divers sets in the past, but we ordered from Amazon.

 

Consider buying one set to bring and you can share among your family. If you hate snorkeling, then you aren't out much! If packing space is an issue, you can do without the fins. They help you swim downward faster, which is an issue because you are working off a single breath (you don't want to inhale with your snorkel underwater). Especially since timid first time snorkelers are hesitant to go far underwater, they can be a waste of space.

 

I hated my first time because I used ill-fitting rental equipment. Have enjoyed it now that we have our own.

[mitsugirly]

I have the US Divers set as well and also the good thing about it is they have the valve in them that keeps water from going in it when you dive (I think called the purge valve or something...I'm not snorkel equipment savy, I just put the equipment on and go). :D

 

Campmor is another good place to get the equipment online. I have found that their prices sometimes beat Amazon or other onilne places. :)

[PhotogJon]

You are going to love it. I'm interested in knowing if they have a menu to chose from for lunch. Can you ask? :D

 

Thanks for the review comment. I appreciate it. It takes a lot of time to do these and I'm trying my best to hurry.

Just curious, being a photographer, what camera you are using

[mitsugirly]

Just curious, being a photographer, what camera you are using

 

 

I normally use a Canon D10 point and shoot (we have 2 of them and love them), but this time around I forgot my battery charger at home, so was only able to use those cameras until the batteries died.

 

I ended up having to buy a camera on the ship and it is an Olympus. I have to say I like it a lot too. I just need to learn how to work it better. I'm still discovering the settings on it and it has different things on it than my Canon's do. I wish I would have discovered the "extra" settings it has to offer while I was still on my cruise...it has a miniature button (that does tilt-shift pictures), dramatic (for hdr), fish eye and 9 other settings that I would have really loved to play with but didn't realize it was on there. :p

[PhotogJon]

I'm guessing you use an underwater housing for the camera? I'm looking to buy a Nikon AW-100 that had waterproof to 33' and great reviews.

[mitsugirly]

I'm guessing you use an underwater housing for the camera? I'm looking to buy a Nikon AW-100 that had waterproof to 33' and great reviews.

 

No, it's a regular point & shoot that is waterproof. (Both of them are). No need for a housing. ;)