Has anyone done RCCL's Power Snorkel in Cozumel?

I tried posting this to a snorkel thread on the Cozumel board, but only got one reply, so I thought I'd try here to tap the knowledge of my fellow RCCL cruisers....

I am looking at the Power Snorkel that RCCL does in Cozumel. My son is interested in this and after doing some investigating I also found another independent company that does a similar excursion: http://www.sanddollarsports.net/sd_power_snorkel.php

I looked at their web site and like the idea of the radios and communication. For Sand Dollar Sports it is $35 pp (plus $6 each way for taxi). RCCL's is $49 (and I'm assuming that the cost includes your taxi?) Both are early in the morning, with plenty of time to get back to the ship afterwards, so I'm not worried about that with the independent company. Sand Dollar Sports does their snorkel at Sunset Beach. I don't know where RCCL does theirs at - (can anyone shed some light on that for me?)

What I'd like to know is if anyone has done the Power Snorkel through either Sand Dollar Sports OR RCCL, and if they could give me their opinion of it. I'm curious if one may go to a better spot than the other. Also, I'd like to find out if the RCCL excursion had the radio communication. Any help with this is greatly appreciated.

Anybody at all???

We were signed up with RCCL (Jan 05) only to have it cancelled (at the pier) because of jelly fish. We were to be taken by boat to the snorkeling spot(s) Sorry never made it.

I did see the same power snorkel equipment at Paradise Beach that same day for $10 rental. That was before the hurricane last summer. When we were at Paradise Beach last January (06) I forgot to see if that equipment was still available.

I’m not sure what you man by radio communication?

By the way – we have never been disappointed by any snorkeling area if taken by independent or RCCL.

Marci

Thanks Marci! About the radio thing, this is what the web site says: "our new high tech snorkel allows you to receive music and information via your mouthpiece. Your guide can communicate with you via microphone to alert you of any sightings or important information." I just thought that sounded interesting. I did send an email today to the RCCL Shore Excursion desk to ask them what area they go to. Hopefully I'll get an answer back. I'll have to check into the Paradise thing too. Although, I kind of like the idea of having an actual "tour" since the people there know more about the best places to go than I do and what to look for. Thanks for the information!

Anyone else have experience with this?

Paradise beach was still renting the power snorkle units in January. We actually rented a Villa just a few hundred yards up the beach from Paradise beach and they actually let us take them back to the Villa to use for the afternoon at the beach in front of the house. Our local Walmart actually sells them for $69. They were kind of neat to use but there were a bit cumbersome. They sink if you let go of them so you really had to hang on to them, especially if you were in deep water. There were some guys with a catamaran at Paradise beach that took us out to 3 diffferent reefs one morning. They charged us $40 per person and included all the beverages (adult and otherwise) that you wanted. It was a great afternoon but I think given the opportunity again, I'd skip the power thing and just stick with the trusty snorkle and flippers.