snorkel or not

[ward497]

hi everyone, my dh and i have only been on 1 cruise so far. we've never snorkeled before. since dh or i are not very good swimmers we are kinda worried about being in deep water. any thoughts would be great. thanks everyone.:)

[Dee777]

We are going on our 2nd cruise next month and will be snorkling at a few of the ports. DH has been, but only once. He is not a strong swimmer, but wears a floatation vest and absolutely LOVED it! Go on an excursion, with a guide, and make sure they know you aren't strong swimmers. In a group you should be just fine, have fun!

[kyrisong1]

you can start by doing one from shore, not a dive boat and see if you like it before you commit to going in from a dive boat far from shore.

I've never found the water overwhelmingly deep but I always keep an eye on how far I am from my boat too.

Most of the places also provide a floatation vest too, this helps with security issues.

Try it and see, I don't find it intimidating or scary at all and I'm not the strongest swimmer on the block, but it's my fav thing to do when we are in the carib.

Cheers, Carole

[Irishlinny]

Definitely go for it! It's a wonderful experience! I took my husband when we were on his first cruise 4 years ago and he is hooked. You don't need to be a good swimmer....they give you inflatable vests that keep you on the surface. You kick gently with the flippers and pull yourself around with your hands. No skill required:)

[carzyboutcarnival]

What ports are you going to?

 

Also not to freak you out or anything but i got stung by a jelly fish 2 times one snorkeling and the next one a hour later on a beach!NOT funn, Yes it only hurts for 15-30 minutes but OUCH!

 

cbc

[TheVegasMan]

The deepest water I've been in while snorkeling was 50 feet and that was in Cozumel. Usually you'll be in 10-30 feet of water. Every snorkel boat I've been on has provided floatation vests, masks, snorkels and fins.

[rockwood84]

Give it a try. You won't be in very deep water, even if you snorkel off a boat, because there's not much to see in deep water. All of the "off-the-boat" snorkeling I've done has been in coves, or over areas near a sand-bar. When we snorkeled in Belize, I don't think we were ever in water more than 10-12 feet deep. In a cove, you can "hug" the shallower areas.

 

My DH is not that great a swimmer, and he was apprehensive before his first snorkeling experience. Once he put his masked face in the water, he was hooked. He will happily tell you - you really don't even swim, you just kind of float and watch the fish.

[kyrisong1]

Good to have a guy for the measures Vegas, you know the feet and stuff like my hubby does. Me? I know " I can touch the bottom with my feet or it's deeper than I am tall but still not so scary or "oh SH*&, save me!!"

:D

[gargoyle999]

I really enjoy snorkeling. You should give it a try. You'll have a flotation device of some sort. I wear a snorkel vest, though I found out I float quite well on my own, especially in salt water! Guess if you are skinny you might sink, but I don't have that problem! :D

 

You really just float on the surface and aren't really swimming like if in a pool doing laps or something. It's a lot of fun. I even have a fear of drowning, but I just jump in the water and I don't have any problems even though I'm breathing through a little tube.

 

We have booked snorkeling at 3 of the 4 ports we will be visiting on our cruise next week. We had fun snorkeling in Cabo in Dec and that isn't even known for great snorkeling. I really can't wait to check out Cozumel, Belize and Roatan next week.

[benicehavefun]

We are going on our 2nd cruise next month and will be snorkling at a few of the ports. DH has been, but only once. He is not a strong swimmer, but wears a floatation vest and absolutely LOVED it! Go on an excursion, with a guide, and make sure they know you aren't strong swimmers. In a group you should be just fine, have fun!

 

This is perfect advice! If you have never snorkeled before play around with the gear in the water in advance. I am a great swimmer, lots of ocean experience, but always just swam with a mask holding my breath and diving whenever I saw something I wanted to get closer to, then going back up for air. The first time I tried snorkeling, I about drowned!!! I would hold my breath out of habit, forget to just float on the top, go down after something and get water in my snorkel tube, then remember to breathe and get lungs full of ocean now in the tube, scramble for air, pull gear out of my mouth, cough my guts out for what felt like years, take a deep breath and start all over...again...forgetting to breathe and repeating the process! :D I still hold my breath on occasion, just years of habit that won't go away.

[ShedQueen77]

My husband is not a swimmer. Period. He loves to snorkel though! :) You really don't have to be a strong swimmer to do the basic snorkeling, meaning not the 50 feet like VegasMan! lol If you have a guide, they will help you.

 

Make sure you have an underwater camera. You'll see some amazing things!

[habby]

We are going on our 2nd cruise next month and will be snorkling at a few of the ports. DH has been, but only once. He is not a strong swimmer, but wears a floatation vest and absolutely LOVED it! Go on an excursion, with a guide, and make sure they know you aren't strong swimmers. In a group you should be just fine, have fun!

 

I agree. This is great advice. DH is great in the water. I don't swim. Period. But I was determined to give snorkling a try. The guide on our last excursion on St. Thomas was wonderful. They even gave me a noodle to use, along with the mandatory life jacket. Just float, put your face in the water and breathe normally.

[LoveMyCoastie]

I agree with everyone, and not all snorkeling needs to be done in deep water. I lived in Hawaii for a while and a lot of good snorkeling areas were like chest deep for me (and I am NOT tall in the slightest sense of the idea.) There are shallow reefs to snorkel on. But if you have no intention of skin diving (snorkeling and going under the water with snorkel and everything) you can stay on the surface with a flotation vest. I have a neoprene vest that adds flotation that I use because 1. I get cold really easy and 2. I am lazy. I just want to see the fish, you don't have to be a good swimmer for that.

 

So no shame in the flotation devices while snorkeling. My guy and I were both lifeguards in Hawaii and we use them sometimes when we snorkel, because we just want a relaxing day. It is an opportunity you want to take. The underwater world is amazing!

 

Amy

[minpin04]

gargoyle999, where are you planning to snorkel in Belize and Cozumel?

 

ward497, don't let being a weak swimmer stop you from going, I'm not a good swimmer and have a bad shoulder and go snorkeling each cruise we go on.

 

Kim

[ward497]

thanks for all of the advice. i'll let dh read all of your posts and maybe he'll decide to give it a try. now that we know about the vest. that was the biggest worry. again thanks so much.:)

[gargoyle999]

gargoyle999, where are you planning to snorkel in Belize and Cozumel?

 

ward497, don't let being a weak swimmer stop you from going, I'm not a good swimmer and have a bad shoulder and go snorkeling each cruise we go on.

 

Kim

 

In Cozumel we are going to Nachi Cocum. I added the two hour snorkel trip to that. In Belize we booked with Coral Breeze and will be doing the Caye Caulker/Stingray Alley snorkel trip.

 

 

In Roatan we are going to Fins n Flippers.

 

Our trip has begun! Flew into Ft Lauderdale and just got to the hotel around 1am. Driving down to Key West tomorrow for 3 days pre-cruise. Can't wait! :)

[minpin04]

In Cozumel we are going to Nachi Cocum. I added the two hour snorkel trip to that. In Belize we booked with Coral Breeze and will be doing the Caye Caulker/Stingray Alley snorkel trip.

 

 

In Roatan we are going to Fins n Flippers.

 

Our trip has begun! Flew into Ft Lauderdale and just got to the hotel around 1am. Driving down to Key West tomorrow for 3 days pre-cruise. Can't wait! :)

Have a great trip! Nachi Cocum beach is beautiful. Please report back on Coral Breeze and the snorkel out of Nachi Cocum. We are thinking of doing the same.

[jubilee1]

Have a great trip! Nachi Cocum beach is beautiful. Please report back on Coral Breeze and the snorkel out of Nachi Cocum. We are thinking of doing the same.

Last March we went to Nachi Cocum and used Coral Breeze in Belize to Caye Caulker (stringray alley). Loved both places! We snorkeled from the beach at Nachi, didn't see a lot of fish, but saw lots of conch and sanddollars. It was fun exploring! We are going back in March (21 days and counting)..have reservations at Nachi...let us know what snorkeling you did at Nachi and where.. we may be interested! Also haven't decided about Belize. We'd like to spend more time on Caye Caulker..may just ride over to the island. Let us know how the snorkeling is at Caye Caulker this time of year. We've never been this early in the year. Please let us know how warm the water is, the currents, etc. We have 2 non-snorkelers with us this time. We are trying to get them to snorkel! Thanks for all you can share with us when you get back! Have a great time!!

[jubilee1]

Opps I just read my post....typo...I've started a new alley..stringray.. :-) opps..stingray alley! Guess I need to proof!