10 yr old snorkel...

[rdrewbydoo]

husband, 10 yr old daughter and myself, first cruise in oct. we booked royal swim at chankanaab park, at 10:00 am will we be able to get there on time, we are due to port in coz at 7:00 am on the sensation. we plan on spending some time there as well, the park seems to offer alot, another concern i have, my daughter wants to snorkel, she would be happy to see a fish or two and take a pic with the underwater camera. can she do this at the childrens area where the sand meets the beach or does she need to go to the lagoon, the depth of the water concerns me, do they rent snorkel equip for 10 yr old? thanks for any info you all can give, i love this board!! thanks stacey

[bruce-r]

husband, 10 yr old daughter and myself, first cruise in oct. we booked royal swim at chankanaab park, at 10:00 am will we be able to get there on time, we are due to port in coz at 7:00 am...

Yes, you will have plenty of time for the short taxi ride to the park if you go there first thing off the ship.

 

another concern i have, my daughter wants to snorkel, she would be happy to see a fish or two and take a pic with the underwater camera. can she do this at the childrens area where the sand meets the beach

I would sure hate to go all the way to Chankanaab and not snorkel where the fish are really found. The kid's area is mostly for very little kids to have a chance to splash in the water.

 

Take her out snorkeling properly. It does not matter how deep the water is if it is calm and you float on the surface. Rent a snorkeling vest so she can float easier and she'll have a great time.

[bruce-r]

I wanted to add a link to a good review of Chankanaab, but I had to go to my iBook to find the URL. Here it is: http://www.caribbeanportreviews.com/CozumelChankanaab.htm I think the photo of the kids lagoon area makes it look much larger that I remember it being.

[clackey]

Hola,

 

I second what bruce-r said. By all means, get the gal a vest and take her to the rocks if the seas are calm. There are fish that will try to get in your mask.

If she doesn't have a good time, trade her in on another one.:D

[cruise.freak]

My daughter who just turned 11 snorkeled with a vest at Paradise Beach with the water way over her head (although she is a pretty good swimmer). We all wore the life vests which makes snoreling so much easier. I did come up very ofter to check on her and make sure we were close to her. She loved snorkeling. The first time she went down to snorkel and fist swam right buy her face mask and she came up screaming. After that she loved it.

[Scarlett131313]

My son first went snorkling at age 9 at St. John's. He is a good swimmer. For him it was important that his mask not leak. When that happened he would just go nuts - also it took awhile for him to realize that all you have to do is "RAISE YOUR HEAD UP." I think he thought he was really far underwater b/c of all the fish and how far you could see. I would just make sure her equipment fit well and have her wear a lifevest if you are going far out. It is easy to swim out and hard to swim back if you are tired. I had my son just put his hand on my shoulder or back at first and stay right with me. Once he got the hang of it he got really into it. He snorkled last year in Belize and that was really rough (high waves, coral close to the surface) and he didnt' like that near as much as the calmer snorkling in the Caymans and such. This year will be our first time snorkling in Cozumel but I have read on this site that it is really good there. I do know that you should prepare your daughter for all the fish swimming over and around her. In the Caymans - the fish literally swarmed us - so thick you could not see - and that was a little freaky for my son. Good luck and take an underwater camera so your daughter will have some good pictures to match her memories.