Parasailing

[babymaxie]

I am scheduled for a cruise and have signed up for parasailing while in Great Stirrup Cay. I have never gone parasailing, kind of that "fear of heights" thing, but am going to give it a try. Has anyone ever been parasailing and can tell me what to expect? How long do they normally keep you up in the air? What can I expect with the "take-off" and "landing"? :confused:

[x2tpd]

We parasailed there with NCL's excursion before. I would guess you are up about 15 minutes?? They drop you down a bit and touch your toes to the water then bring you back up. It was fun. There isn't a whole bunch to see at GSC so it was a nice break up of the day. You parasail right off the shore in between the beach and where the ship is docked. My husband and I both arent crazy about heights but it never factored into this experience? You are in a heavy duty harness that seems safe. I think I have photos still on this computer if you want to see how high and see the harness setup. The part leaving the boat, getting up into the air is very smooth and easy and involved you just standing there as the wind gets your sail. Landing is a little rougher as they reel you in and you have to land back on the deck on your feet. It is worth doing atleast once.

[lukes]

At GSC they take 10 or 12 in a small boat and in pairs you parasail for appr 15 minutes. You take off and land from the boat, never do you go in the water. My daughter and cousin did it in Dec and they said it was very peaceful, great views of the Island.

[mush71]

My husband just did it on Saturday. He was a little nervous up there. But he said it was beautiful and would definitely do it again. And he was the only one of the 10 people on the trip that they did dunk. :D

 

I was too chicken to even try. :p

 

You should do it. I am sure you will enjoy it.

[Mooder]

I love parasailing and finally convinced my sister to join me at GSC this year. She is terribly afraid of heights. She enjoyed it tremendously. She said she felt much more stable than she expected. It is true, you feel so secure in the harness it is almost like sitting on a platform. One tip, she felt that by sitting behind me in tandem harness, she couldn't see down, only around at the beautiful scenery. She said she would definitely do it again, but would always choose to sit in the back. Enjoy!

[babymaxie]

You were one in front of the other with the parasailing? Thought it was side-by-side. I don't know if I would be comfortable having someone behind me or me behind them. I thought that one went up by themselves. Oh well, will still do it anyway. Hope I can get some good pictures if they put me behind someone.

[Gingee]

I would love to see the pictures of the parasailing. My daughter wants to do it but we are going to Cozmuel, Belize, Guatamala and Costa Maya. Any parasailing on those islands? Can't find anything.

[hunyok]

I would love to see the pictures of the parasailing. My daughter wants to do it but we are going to Cozmuel, Belize, Guatamala and Costa Maya. Any parasailing on those islands? Can't find anything.

 

We went parasailing in Cozamel last year. We were on the Spirit. We booked through NCL. My wife loved it and she is scared of height's and deep water. Because we are both "thin" we got to go up together. It was the best. They let you up easy off the back of the boat and leave you up for about 15 minutes then bring you down slowly back onto the back of the boat.

[babymaxie]

We parasailed there with NCL's excursion before. I would guess you are up about 15 minutes?? They drop you down a bit and touch your toes to the water then bring you back up. It was fun. There isn't a whole bunch to see at GSC so it was a nice break up of the day. You parasail right off the shore in between the beach and where the ship is docked. My husband and I both arent crazy about heights but it never factored into this experience? You are in a heavy duty harness that seems safe. I think I have photos still on this computer if you want to see how high and see the harness setup. The part leaving the boat, getting up into the air is very smooth and easy and involved you just standing there as the wind gets your sail. Landing is a little rougher as they reel you in and you have to land back on the deck on your feet. It is worth doing atleast once.

 

 

I would love to see any pictures you may have of your parasailing experience.

[soazlaney]

We went parasailing in Mexico in Jan. You had your choice of going alone, side by side, or one in front of the other. We chose side by side and it was fantastic. The take off and landing was very very smooth from the back deck of the boat. If you do it I am sure you will have a great time.

[invisiblepenguinboy]

I went parasailing with a friend a few years ago and we absolutely loved it. She was really nervous and chose to sit behind me so that she could hold on to me. The views were absolutely amazing. we did not get to get so close to the water but my friend did have an "accident" because she was so nervous so we got wet in a different way :eek: . I would definetly reccomend doing it though because we both had so much fun and are planning to go again on our next cruise in August.

[Mooder]

You were one in front of the other with the parasailing? Thought it was side-by-side. I don't know if I would be comfortable having someone behind me or me behind them. I thought that one went up by themselves. Oh well, will still do it anyway. Hope I can get some good pictures if they put me behind someone.

 

I believe it varies from place to place but at GSC we were side-by-side. A gentleman in our group went by himself so it is your choice, I believe. As I mentioned before, being behind made it easier for my sister with a fear of heights. She took All the pictures from up there. I have attached a couple. They are a little blury because she had the camera in an aquapack. I have also attached one of our landing (taken by a fellow cruiser and emailed to us) and one of our guide showing off. He put on a great show after all the tourists had had their turn.

[Gingee]

Thanks for the pictures. So do you usually land in the water or not? Can other people not parasailing go in the boat?

[Mooder]

Thanks for the pictures. So do you usually land in the water or not? Can other people not parasailing go in the boat?

 

You always "land" on the boat, but they can dip you in the water during the ride. If you feel strongly about dipping or not, I would tell them before you go up because it is up to the guys running it whether they dip you or not. We took our chances and had a great dip! Yes, I believe there was someone on the boat who did not parasail. I would guess it depends on how crowded the boat is. When you get to the island you go over the shack and get your time scheduled. I would talk to that guy and I bet he could put you in a boat with plenty of room for an extra. We certainly had extra room on our boat. When I have parasailed elsewhere, we had no problems bringing extra family members but it will depend on how they have their schedule set up.

[Mooder]

I would love to see the pictures of the parasailing. My daughter wants to do it but we are going to Cozmuel, Belize, Guatamala and Costa Maya. Any parasailing on those islands? Can't find anything.

 

There is definitely parasailing in Cozumel even if NCl does not offer it. Cozumel is such an easy place to get around, with all the taxi cabs, I would say you could line up your own parasail. Check out the destination boards here for recommendations or do a google search. Enjoy!