gatur123fl Posted May 25, 2012 #1 Share Posted May 25, 2012 I did a chat message with Royal Caribbean and they said to use our own snorkeling equipment and snorkel on CoCo cay it would be the same cost as if we did the excursion. Has that been your experience? Maybe the person who looked it up was mistaken? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reallyitsmema Posted May 25, 2012 #2 Share Posted May 25, 2012 I did a chat message with Royal Caribbean and they said to use our own snorkeling equipment and snorkel on CoCo cay it would be the same cost as if we did the excursion. Has that been your experience? Maybe the person who looked it up was mistaken? Yes, you can use your own equipment to snorkel on your own. If you are going on the excursion, then you have to pay the price of the snorkel excursion whether you use your equipment or theirs. We use our own equipment and snorkel on our own. There are a couple of buoys that mark a sunken plane and a boat. We just went out to those. If you don't own a snorkel vest, you will be required to rent one since those are required. They rent for less than $10 as far as I can remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty G Posted May 25, 2012 #3 Share Posted May 25, 2012 I did a chat message with Royal Caribbean and they said to use our own snorkeling equipment and snorkel on CoCo cay it would be the same cost as if we did the excursion. Has that been your experience? Maybe the person who looked it up was mistaken? DW uses her own equipment including snorkel vest and there is no charge to go in the water at Coco Cay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loucat Posted May 26, 2012 #4 Share Posted May 26, 2012 We always bring our own snorkel equipment, vests included. I do not want to relay on anyone's disinfecting equipment and some of the quality of constantly used equipment is not that great. We had fun snorkeling in CoCo Key. We live in Florida and drive to the port so we also brought an umbrella with a high sun screen level. It folds right up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare orville99 Posted May 26, 2012 #5 Share Posted May 26, 2012 We always use our own gear, even when we book an excursion, but there 's no need to book anything at coco cay if you want to snorkle anywhere on the island. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal from Ohio Posted May 26, 2012 #6 Share Posted May 26, 2012 My sister works in the health care field, and without sharing graphic details, has told me of unpleasant health issues as a direct result of unsanitary snorkel equipment rentals. Go to your nearest Sam's Club or Costco and purchase a decent quality mask/snorkel for around $50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteRabbit Posted July 12, 2012 #7 Share Posted July 12, 2012 We use our own equipment and snorkel on our own. There are a couple of buoys that mark a sunken plane and a boat. We just went out to those. If you don't own a snorkel vest, you will be required to rent one since those are required. They rent for less than $10 as far as I can remember. So if we want to snorkel around the sunken plane and boat, we need to rent the vests, but if we snorkel just off the beach, do we still need the vests? Can you put the cost of the vest on your sea card, or do we need cash? Is the rental for all day, or by the hour? Thanks : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted July 12, 2012 #8 Share Posted July 12, 2012 So if we want to snorkel around the sunken plane and boat, we need to rent the vests, but if we snorkel just off the beach, do we still need the vests? Can you put the cost of the vest on your sea card, or do we need cash? Is the rental for all day, or by the hour? Thanks : ) The cost of the vest can be put on your Seapass and is for all day. I don't know exactly where the lifeguards will start yelling at you if you don't have a vest, but at some point they will. By the way, snorkeling just off the beach would be pointless because the water is all stirred up and you can't see much of anything until you get away from the beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteRabbit Posted July 12, 2012 #9 Share Posted July 12, 2012 The cost of the vest can be put on your Seapass and is for all day. I don't know exactly where the lifeguards will start yelling at you if you don't have a vest, but at some point they will. By the way, snorkeling just off the beach would be pointless because the water is all stirred up and you can't see much of anything until you get away from the beach. Thanks so much! So are there other places besides the sunken boat and plane that are worth checking out? We leave tomorrow for our July 15th cruise on the Freedom and I'm trying to figure out how much cash to bring with us. We're also going parasailing on Coco Cay and trying to figure the tip. Fun days ahead! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted July 12, 2012 #10 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Thanks so much! So are there other places besides the sunken boat and plane that are worth checking out? We leave tomorrow for our July 15th cruise on the Freedom and I'm trying to figure out how much cash to bring with us. We're also going parasailing on Coco Cay and trying to figure the tip. Fun days ahead! Yes, if you are on the beach looking at the lifeguard stations, to the left is a large area between rocks that you can swim thru to get to a more interesting reef area. You can't go too far because there are buoys out there to delimit the safe swimming area. Currents can be stronger in this area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reallyitsmema Posted July 12, 2012 #11 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Thanks so much! So are there other places besides the sunken boat and plane that are worth checking out? We leave tomorrow for our July 15th cruise on the Freedom and I'm trying to figure out how much cash to bring with us. We're also going parasailing on Coco Cay and trying to figure the tip. Fun days ahead! We primarily stayed in the area where the plane is and the rocky area off to the left of the plane. Closer to shore is really stirred up as clarea said and not worth it. My son actually dropped his mask somewhere in that area and we never found it because the water was all stirred up and you couldn't see the bottom.:( You can charge to your seapass everywhere except the little straw market so bring cash if you are planning to buy anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteRabbit Posted July 12, 2012 #12 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Yes, if you are on the beach looking at the lifeguard stations, to the left is a large area between rocks that you can swim thru to get to a more interesting reef area. You can't go too far because there are buoys out there to delimit the safe swimming area. Currents can be stronger in this area. Thank you! We're really looking forward to some beach time : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteRabbit Posted July 12, 2012 #13 Share Posted July 12, 2012 We primarily stayed in the area where the plane is and the rocky area off to the left of the plane. Closer to shore is really stirred up as clarea said and not worth it. My son actually dropped his mask somewhere in that area and we never found it because the water was all stirred up and you couldn't see the bottom.:( You can charge to your seapass everywhere except the little straw market so bring cash if you are planning to buy anything. I thought I remembered reading that, but wasn't sure since I've read soooo much stuff lately! This makes it easier to plan. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Gail & Marty sailing away Posted July 12, 2012 #14 Share Posted July 12, 2012 You have to wear a vest ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare orville99 Posted July 12, 2012 #15 Share Posted July 12, 2012 We always use our own gear. There's a spit of land that juts out and separates the snorlke beach from the next section of the beach, and we've had good luck seeing fish, rays, etc. without having to go out to the plane area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BecciBoo Posted July 12, 2012 #16 Share Posted July 12, 2012 The cost of the vest can be put on your Seapass and is for all day. I don't know exactly where the lifeguards will start yelling at you if you don't have a vest, but at some point they will. By the way, snorkeling just off the beach would be pointless because the water is all stirred up and you can't see much of anything until you get away from the beach. We have never been yelled at or forced to wear anything on all 3 trips to CoCoCay. And visability depends on the beach, we had terrific viz at the sports beach where I saw my first ever octopus: View My Video Keep looking he's there, clutching a white shell! Heres a still, he is in the upper right corner, pretty in pink: Try to continue on around the back to the way back beaches, real shallow water and tones of critters and no people. We love it back there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare orville99 Posted July 12, 2012 #17 Share Posted July 12, 2012 We have never been yelled at or forced to wear anything on all 3 trips to CoCoCay. And visability depends on the beach, we had terrific viz at the sports beach where I saw my first ever octopus:View My Video Keep looking he's there, clutching a white shell! Heres a still, he is in the upper right corner, pretty in pink: Try to continue on around the back to the way back beaches, real shallow water and tones of critters and no people. We love it back there. Apparently, he's a permanent resident. I just looked at my UW pix from our May FOS cruise, and there he was. Also saw a baby ray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BecciBoo Posted July 12, 2012 #18 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Oh could you share, was he still at the same location in front of the sports beach amongst the rocks and coral? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare orville99 Posted July 12, 2012 #19 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Oh could you share, was he still at the same location in front of the sports beach amongst the rocks and coral? I found him in the rocky area between the snorkle beach and where they have the floats and the jet ski's CoCo Cay Octopus.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingsgirl Posted July 12, 2012 #20 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Just wanted to add some photos of the fish/sea life we saw the last time we were at Coco Cay. We went off the same beach everyone is talking about. We also went out and to the left and it gets about 6-8 feet deep and very clear. The current is stronger out here and honestly, I was a little scared a shark would come up as it seemed to drop off so we went back to the other area. It's something different to see though and it's initially where we ran into the stingray. First picture is of sea urchin. They are under the rock but a bit hard to see. I have no idea what all the fish are but we saw a cool variety. And, I don't care if I get flamed for this, but another cruiser showed us how much the fish like to eat cereal (Rice Krispies/ Special K) so we usually take some from the ship and feed them. We literally had a hundred or more fish around us when this guy fed them. So much that you were being hit by their fins....kinda gross but a fun experience. Just REMEMBER to bring the plastic bag back with you to the beach so it doesn't harm any other ocean life. It's super fun, trust me! I usually put the plastic in my bathing suit so I don't have to hold on to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmoLover Posted July 12, 2012 #21 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Do you need fins? I'm thinking of getting a snorkel set for CoCoCay next week...are there lockers on the island to store personal bags? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted July 12, 2012 #22 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Do you need fins? I'm thinking of getting a snorkel set for CoCoCay next week...are there lockers on the island to store personal bags? Fins are a personal choice. I'm not a strong swimmer, so the fins absolutely help me when the currents are strong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingsgirl Posted July 13, 2012 #23 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Fins are a personal choice. I'm not a strong swimmer, so the fins absolutely help me when the currents are strong. Same goes for me. Actually, I even need the life vest. You want to stay out there so long because it's so awesome. Often, I'm quite exhausted coming back and without the fins and life jacket, I wouldn't make it probably! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dacsmom Posted July 13, 2012 #24 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Do you need fins? I'm thinking of getting a snorkel set for CoCoCay next week...are there lockers on the island to store personal bags? They have lockers. $8 for the day. I like it because you wear a wristbands instead of having a key to lose. The wristbands have a chip in it that locks and unlocks the locker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BecciBoo Posted July 13, 2012 #25 Share Posted July 13, 2012 I found him in the rocky area between the snorkle beach and where they have the floats and the jet ski's Wow that seems to be him and the location is correct. The water is always clear there. He looks older, bigger and darker than when we saw him in 2008 if its the same one. I know nothing about octopi except that they are very intelligent. You will see baby shark on the back side in the sea grass on occasion. There are Youtube videos of that. But we only saw rays back there along with jellies and other fish. Lots of the same blenys and tangs and lion fish under the lifeguard stand way out past the plane, but you have to be careful that far out as I almost got hit by a jetski as the guides were bringing back a diver and didn't see me as I was coming across the inlet back to the beach. Always keep heads up out there!:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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