snorkel gear - need to bring ?

[Guest linsilve]

Going to Tahiti on the tP April 29 sailing.

 

Do we need to bring our own snorkel gear (mask, fins and snorkel) or are they provided with most of the excursions (such as Bruno's tour, etc)?

 

Can snorkel gear we rented for the entire cruise?

 

Does the TP have 110V AC or do we need to bring a converter for the hair dryer (or does it have a hair dryer?)?

 

Thank you

[DANofNORTH]

We have a TP cruise booked for November 2006. We are really looking forward to it. Our first to Tahiti.

 

Experience from our past cruises, bring your own equipment! BIG TIME!

 

Most tours will have the mask & mouth piece, but it's usually old and how well has it been cleaned?:eek: I have read some real horror stories on some of these posts.

 

For the next cruise I will bring my own fins. Most tours don't have them and those that do, they are not in the best of shape. I learned this one one the hard way on the last cruise.:(

 

Although the equipment does take up room, I feel that it isn't really all that much if packed properly and its well worth the trouble if you are a snorleling enthusiest like me. I go at least 2-3 times per cruise.

[vinoman]

I second that, definately bring your own gear. You don't know where "community" gear has been or how it's been cleaned! Bring fins also, much easier to move around the water. I love to snorkle and always find room in my luggage!

[RumRunner01]

Definitely bring your own gear!!! Some excursions had mask and snorkel but no fins. Some excursions had no equipment whatsoever. And it's always nice to have your own equipment so you are comfortable with it. I highly suggest your own fins. Some of the currents are strong and you need them. The two I cruised with did not have equipment and one had to buy fins on the ship ($35) and they were ok quality. The other had to buy the full set up on the ship ($74) and I would say the quality bordered on poor for what she could have gotten for $74 at home and brought. I snorkel as much as I can on trips and always pack my gear first and then lighten up on clothes or other stuff if I have to.

 

There are hair dryers in the bathrooms of the inside cabins. I don't know where they are located in other type cabins. They are funky European type ones that work ok. They get extremely hot and hard to hold after a while and your hair is not dry yet, it's hot but not dry. LOL The TP does have 110v for your own hair dryer if you want. It's located at the desk area in inside cabins.

[tkjulie]

Definitely bring your own gear!!! Some excursions had mask and snorkel but no fins. Some excursions had no equipment whatsoever. And it's always nice to have your own equipment so you are comfortable with it. I highly suggest your own fins. Some of the currents are strong and you need them. The two I cruised with did not have equipment and one had to buy fins on the ship ($35) and they were ok quality. The other had to buy the full set up on the ship ($74) and I would say the quality bordered on poor for what she could have gotten for $74 at home and brought. I snorkel as much as I can on trips and always pack my gear first and then lighten up on clothes or other stuff if I have to.

 

There are hair dryers in the bathrooms of the inside cabins. I don't know where they are located in other type cabins. They are funky European type ones that work ok. They get extremely hot and hard to hold after a while and your hair is not dry yet, it's hot but not dry. LOL The TP does have 110v for your own hair dryer if you want. It's located at the desk area in inside cabins.

 

Hi! Could you help me? My husband and I are going in April and would like to purchase snorkel equipment, but I'm not real sure what to look for in quality. I have never snorkeled, and really don't want to pay a lot for something I might not use again, but would like to have something decent. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks Julie

[RumRunner01]

Julie, try this link. It's for LeisurePro and they have lots of great pre-made packages in all sorts of price ranges and experience levels. They are very reputable and prices are very good. Believe me, I shopped around a lot. I would think that a pretty good package should cost no less than $50. They have some for $35 or $40 but they may not be good quality. My package was about $70 and I'm very happy with it. Oh yes, a note for if you have hair longer than a buzz cut (LOL) get a mask that has a neoprene mask strap cover - it won't pull your hair when you put it on and take it off. If you can't find a package with one included you can buy them as an accessory on this website and they are between $5 and $15

 

http://www.leisurepro.com/Cat/Context_948/Snorkel_Packages/1904.html

 

Amy

[K&R]

I would highly suggest you bring your own equipment. We purchased it just for this cruise and ended up using it almost every day. If there is one place on earth where you want to snorkel, it's in French Polynesia - and even though it's an added expense, relative to the cost of the trip it's a worth while investment.

 

As for the hair dryer, there are 110 volt plugs and I would recommend that you bring your own, as the hair dryers provided get super hot in no time (burn youor scalp hot!).

 

Have fun!

[tkjulie]

Julie, try this link. It's for LeisurePro and they have lots of great pre-made packages in all sorts of price ranges and experience levels. They are very reputable and prices are very good. Believe me, I shopped around a lot. I would think that a pretty good package should cost no less than $50. They have some for $35 or $40 but they may not be good quality. My package was about $70 and I'm very happy with it. Oh yes, a note for if you have hair longer than a buzz cut (LOL) get a mask that has a neoprene mask strap cover - it won't pull your hair when you put it on and take it off. If you can't find a package with one included you can buy them as an accessory on this website and they are between $5 and $15

 

http://www.leisurepro.com/Cat/Context_948/Snorkel_Packages/1904.html

 

Amy

 

Thanks for the info!! Especially the hair info, I have long hair!!

[andydee]

Hi

I agree with the above posts however flippers would be more of a hindrance than help on Bruno's tour. Reef shoes were just the ticket on that one. For Marc's tour and our Bora Bora tours, flippers were a must. Most important is to bring a quality fitted mask and snorkel as leakage can spoil an otherwise wonderful experience. Have a great trip.

Cheers,

Andy

[guardhouse]

In 2004 we purchased fin/mask/snorkel/mesh carry bag sets at Costco for $35 per set. They worked great and we were able to get bright colors to find each other easily in the water.

 

This trip will be GREAT, Julie. It is 30 degrees and snowing here today.

[Bassethound]

Been diving/snorkling for many years. My suggestions

 

Mask definitely bring your own. General masks cannot possibly fit all facial shapes, so they usually don't fit most correctly. Fit is much more inportant than price and a bad fit will ruin the time in the water. On line or at a shop, no difference. When you receive/try at a shop, put on your face, inhale through your nose until you can feel the suction on the mask seal. Then stop. If the suction remains, it fits. If it lets more air in and falls off, doesn't fit and will lea, under water.

 

Snorkle just for hygeine, bring your own. I suggest a purge valve (you can just sharply breathe out while still snorkling face down and any water in the snorkle will be pushed out). Also, make sure you hold the mouthpiece in your mouth for 10-15 minutes right after you get it to see if it is compfortable. If not, note where it is not comfortable and you can buy other mouthpieces which will be.

 

Fins There are snorkle fins, about half size (and price) of scuba fins. Very easy to pack and worth having, you can cover twice the distances with less effort. Also, the reef shoes mentioned for walking in the water. Protection against nasty stings from critters you can't see and/or small pieces of coral, which can easily cut.

 

Hope this helps. PS I bought a new mask and snorkle for my 78 year old father for this trip so he can enjoy snorkling, as he has always used rental stuff before. We'll get the snorkle fins there.

[maygoddess]

I definitely second everyone is says bring your own..many excursions had nothing or only a few masks and snorkels for the people to fight over who didn't bring anything..and yuck..why would you want to use something hundreds of people breathed into and spit into..and they are not sanitized between uses..keep that in mind..

 

I actually bought mine in the Cook Islands on our honeymoon. My husband alrleady had stuff from his scuba days..but I didn't bring anything with.

 

I would HIGHLY recommend looking for a mask/snorkel combo that has the snorkel that securely snaps into place. My snorkel is now sitting at the bottom of the waters in Huahine after I had jumped in and thought my snorkel was secure..it had slipped through the ring holding it and slipped away before I could grab it. This was only time I broke my rule of using used snorkel gear and Marc's tour guide on our boat gave me a snorkel to use..and keep for the rest of the trip! Hold on tight!

 

I also highly recommend reef shoes. They need not be fancy..these are just the neoprene topped shoes you can get at Walmart for a few bucks. There are times you may be in shallow water walking around where fins are not needed but you need to protect your feet. There were ton of sea urchins in this coral garden in Bora Bora that could have been easily stepped on along with clams and othe rsharp objects!

 

we did use our fins on a few snorkels..but found we used just the shoes alot too!

 

I saw a couple on the ship during tender leave who had a snorkel set that neatly fit into its own mini backpack. They were half fins so they were more compact..but I think I will look for that for us. We like to go on water vacations and carry our equipment everytime..takes up alot of room but we always are the most prepared on excursions!