Wet Suit Question

[momeagle36]

My husband and I will be going on a cruise to the western carribean in February 2009 we are thinking about either the beginners scuba or snuba as a excursion would we need a wet suit or is the water relatively warm in Roatan, Belize and Cozumel and we could do without one??? we also would be doing snorkling so i would use it for more than one activity or can you rent the wetsuits ?? this is my first cruise so i am new to all this stuff:D

 

momeagle36

[sedonuts]

My DH and I are avid divers and we have been diving at each of those locations. I would definitely reccomend at least a 3mm shorty.

 

Even at a water temp of 81 degrees divers can get cold. I dive tropical locations with a 3mm shorty and have gotten cold, specially on the 2nd dive.

 

One of the most important things about diving is being comfortable so, being too cold during a dive will affect your experience.

 

Enjoy!!

 

Anne

[scubaran]

My DH and I are avid divers and we have been diving at each of those locations. I would definitely reccomend at least a 3mm shorty.

 

Even at a water temp of 81 degrees divers can get cold. I dive tropical locations with a 3mm shorty and have gotten cold, specially on the 2nd dive.

 

One of the most important things about diving is being comfortable so, being too cold during a dive will affect your experience.

 

Enjoy!!

 

Anne

 

Agreed, 3mm shorty should do you fine. In case you're not familiar with the term, 3mm is the thickness and shorty means a one piece short sleeve/shorts neoprene suit like below:

 

 

There's many manfacturers and they're readily on-line. You can try www.scubatoys.com, www.scuba.com, www.leisurepro.com, www.snorkelmart.com and many other sites. Of course the more expensive the longer wearing they are and better construction but I dove in a $39 shorty for years and it held up. Keep on a large hanger, don't fold too tightly and keep it out of the sun).

 

Randall

[sedonuts]

Oh, I forgot.

 

I would not recommend a wetsuit for snorkeling. You may want to consider a rash guard similar to what surfers wear to stay a little warmer and to help a little with sun exposure. These are easy to pack, I usually bring one with us when we go on our cruises .

 

A wetsuit would make you bouyant and it would be more difficult to "dive down" to explore while snorkeling.

 

Also, the water temp at the top is slightly warmer than at 20 or 30 feet down.

 

 

Anne

[momeagle36]

Thanks for all the great advise I am going to looka nd see if I can find a affordable shorty like you suggested I am so looking forward this vacation

 

Susan

[cmdchiefthom]

Susan,

 

A 3mm full suit is the ticket, not only for warmth, but for protection from coral cuts as well. You can get them from the seveal sites previously mentioned, most likely for less than a hundred bucks, and they'll las for at least four of five seasons of cruising. My wife and I have used Parkway titanium suits for the past 10 years, and if you take care of a quality suit, they will last at least that long.;)

[satxdiver]

I have dived in the Caribbean many times including the locations that the OP is mentioning. I wear a 1 mm wetsuit without any problems of getting cold. I almost always go on liveaboards so I am diving 4X a day for five continuous days. My last dive trip was in TCI on the Explorer. The 1 mm is easier to put on and wear as opposed to the 3 mm which I find to be harder to use. I wore a 3 mm in Hawaii and a 5 mm in Fiji in colder water.

[scubalee]

Waters should be around 80 degrees, but remember you loose heat 25 times faster underwater than on land. you'll want some type of wet suit if you're going to be in the water more than once a day. 3mm shorty's great, unless you're always cold. Once you get cold you get miserable. I like my own, but you can rent them anywhere, usually for 5-10 bucks a day. I go by the diver's philosophy: there are two kinds of divers, one that admits he pee's in his wet suit and those that lie about it.... I take my own.

[Katdb]

I had a similar question to yours (we're cruising in a couple of weeks) and I ended up going with a 3mm full suit for the reasons that have been said:

 

- I get cold very easily and once you're cold it's incredibly hard to warm up again even when it's warm topside, it's still cold underwater!

- for protection. When you're diving in a group of people with varied levels of experience, collisions can happen both with other divers and being push into rocks/wreckage etc. Oh, and sometimes there are some overly friendly fish, jelly fish... you get the point!

 

Being a female diver, I went with the Henderson thermoprene as it was the most comfortable for me.

 

Good luck!

Katdb

[momeagle36]

Thanks all CC members I have purchased a 3mm shorty I think this should keep me warm enough I may also purchase a rash guard to wear underneath it depending on the weather. I really appreciate alll the wonderful recommedations from everyone:)

 

Momeagle36

Susan

Easton, PA

[new2cruisingru2]

I am not an experienced diver but I thought that the water was just fine when we went diving in Belize in November. I don't know if I would buy a wetsuit for one occasion of diving. Personally I wouldn't be so concerned about the water temp. as much as bumping into fire coral. I was fortunate enough to avoid this but others on our dive did not and were in a lot of pain. :eek:

[scubaran]

Thanks all CC members I have purchased a 3mm shorty I think this should keep me warm enough I may also purchase a rash guard to wear underneath it depending on the weather. I really appreciate alll the wonderful recommedations from everyone:)

 

Momeagle36

Susan

Easton, PA

 

Sounds like your all set! Enjoy your time in the water! :)

 

Randall

[the_dylaness]

My two cents...

 

1. I've gone diving in Belize and in Cozumel... in Belize I wore a 5mm full suit and in Cozumel (I didn't have my 5mm yet) I wore a 1.5 and a 3 over that (kind of uncomfortable, don't recommend it.) Belize was September and Cozumel was March, if that helps. If you tend to be cold natured (you know who you are!) go with a thicker, full suit. If not... a 3mm should be okay but I would recommend a full suit personally because I like to have everything covered should the fishies come a-nipping. :)

 

2. Bumping into fire coral must be bad, but try to remember that bumping into ANY coral is bad... for the coral!

[OHCruiser]

I recently returned from a trip to the Galapagos that included several snorkel trips. I rented a 3 mm shorty for the first time and I really appreciated it in the 72-76 degree water. I'm a lazy snorkeler, so I don't dive, I just float on the surface and observe. The suit kept my back from getting sunburned and I know that it allowed me to stay in the water longer than I would have, had I not had it.

 

We're headed for the Caribbean next week, so having learned a valuable lesson, I ordered a beautiful 3mm Camaro suit from sierratradingpost.com--with shipping it was only $60--and weighs barely 1lb. It's a front zip and easy to get in and of--I can't wait to try it!

 

I feel that having my own suit (especially at such a reasonable price) will be well worth the $. I see disclaimers on excursions stating that rental suits can be limited and I worry that I won't be able to get one when I want one. Also, the rental suits I've seen are usually pretty "well worn", so it'll be nice not to be so "holey", too!

[ScubaJim]

I was in the Eastern Caribbean 1st week of Dec and use both a full 1mm wetsuit and a diveskin for snorkeling and was quite comfortable and warm.