Snorkeling lessons

[Beachfrog]

Not sure where to even post this. Does Carnival offer snorkeling lessons for first timers? I would love to do an excursion and see stingrays under the water.

[ninjacat123]

6 minutes ago, Beachfrog said:

Not sure where to even post this. Does Carnival offer snorkeling lessons for first timers? I would love to do an excursion and see stingrays under the water.

I have been on Carnival excursions where part of it is snorkeling and they would divide the group into experienced, not so experienced and beginner.  Beginner's were led around by a snorkel guide and as long as the rest of us stayed near by, we were snorkeling on our own.  Not really snorkel lessons but better than nothing.  I love snorkeling and I hope you get a chance to try it!

[Beachfrog]

Perfect! I will have to inquire when I book.

Edited November 7, 2022 by Beachfrog

[ninjacat123]

4 minutes ago, Beachfrog said:

Perfect! I will have to inquire when I book.

Do you know what ports you'll visit on your cruise?

[EngIceDave]

Lessons?

Have a pool nearby? Buy a kit, no fins, mask and snorkel, cheap is fine.

Get in pool, put it all on. Stick head in water. When you go down or underwater, hold your breath. When you come back up, blow real hard to blow out the water, breath normally while looking through mask.

 

$5 please

Edited November 7, 2022 by EngIceDave

[Beachfrog]

9 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Do you know what ports you'll visit on your cruise?

Grand Cayman and Cozumel are where the excursions are I am looking.

[Beachfrog]

9 minutes ago, EngIceDave said:

Lessons?

Have a pool nearby? Buy a kit, no fins, mask and snorkel, cheap is fine.

Get in pool, put it all on. Stick head in water. When you go down or underwater, hold your breath. When you come back up, blow real hard to blow out the water, breath normally while looking through mask.

 

$5 please

😂

[Island Dog]

7 minutes ago, Beachfrog said:

Grand Cayman and Cozumel are where the excursions are I am looking.

Maybe try finding a dive shop on GC or Cozumel that runs snorkel trips for cruise ship passengers. The group will be smaller, so you are more likely to get some quality instruction in a smaller group from a dive professional.

 

In my experiences a quick Google search followed by seeking some reviews will help narrow down a reliable choice.

[2wheelin]

While the excursion in Grand Cayman to see sting rays may include snorkeling, you stand in shallow water to interact with the rays.

[EngIceDave]

Where you cruising from?

I can tell you for a fact that in Cape Canaveral/Cocoa Beach or Fort Lauderdale beach, you can find someone to give you lessons. Likely in a pool. Seriously. Many teaching places have their own dive pools for teaching, way easier than open ocean. 

 

 

[ninjacat123]

24 minutes ago, Beachfrog said:

Grand Cayman and Cozumel are where the excursions are I am looking.

We did a Carnival excursion in GC out to Stingray City and got to pet, kiss and hold them in about waist deep to chest deep water.  Super cool!!

[bguppies]

Grand Cayman any excursion to Stingray City you shouldn't need to snorkel as the boats all gather at a shallow sand bar at the entrance to the bay that the stingarys congregate at to eat food scraps (from back in the fishing days of the island) to this generation of rays has been hand fed by tourists and the guides there their entire lives.(personally I'd recommend an in dependant excusrion over a Carnival one in Grand Cayman, as the Carnival one will hanve hundreds of people on that excusrion versus 20-30 on an independant boat. Last time we went, We arrived at the same time as the Carnival boat and the 10 people on our excusion got right out and started interacting with the Rays immediately. Meanwhile for the next 20-30 minutes the people lined up on the Carniuval boat were slowly getting into the water.

By the time the last person was getting off, they had to start reloading their boat. The entire time the large group was loading and unloading, we were interacting the entire time with the Rays.)

 

In Cozumel, any decent snorkeling excusion will take you a short ways off shore by boat, to where the reef is at its best. You'll definitely appreciate lessons for the Cozumel leg.

 

If you ever go to Roatan, there is some fantastic, easy snorkeling for beginners at West Bay from the shore.

[ShakyBeef]

Pretty much in line with what others are saying here, I recommend buying your own snorkel set.  Watch some Youtube videos, and practice a little at home in a pool, or if in a warm climate/season in just about any clearish water.  But it won't take much practice.  It's really easy. 

 

Pay attention to anti-fogging advice in videos and online instructions.  There are several ways to combat mask fogging, and you should be sure to use at least one of them.  I highly recommend a "dry" snorkel, like the one pictured below.  It has the swinging flap valve on the top, so that when you submerge (if all is working as it should), your snorkel doesn't fill with water. 

 

With your own snorkel gear, you can DIY your own snorkeling excursion in many ports.  We've had ours for over a decade and take them on every cruise.  Good luck and have fun!  

 

 

A good starter kit is something like this, from Dick's for $50:

 

[nicoleinwi]

Another option is go to your local dive (scuba) shop. I live in WI and we have 2 in town, so even if you’re in a non tropical climate there should be one within an hour or so. The dive shops around here will rent out a deeper (like 12’) indoor pool one weekend a month and you can go there on your own to refresh your skills. We have done that when we haven’t dived in a long time. The dive shop staff would likely have someone you could pay for a private lesson.

[LibertyBella]

I am not the greatest swimmer, but I have gone snorkeling many, many times and have now become familiar with the experience.

 

Second, my DH is an excellent swimmer and scuba certified, but he comes with me on the snorkeling trips.

 

Can you swim?  Can you float?  Basically you are just floating/swimming in the water with your head down so you can see everything happening under you.  The air tube sticks out of the water and you breathe through the mouth tube.  

 

Sometimes you might get salt water in the tube from a wave or if you dive down, and you will need to blow it out.  Other times you might need to clean off your mask (use spit). 

 

The companies ALWAYS provide the equipment (fins and mask).  Fins are awkward and heavy to pack and take with you, unless you are going to use them a lot.  They are supposed to sanitize the equipment between tours. Husband will sometimes bring his own mask (better quality), etc., and he also has a wetsuit if he will scuba. He does not bring his fins for snorkeling.

 

The tour company will take you on a boat out to more or less calm waters and stop there for a while.   Sometimes they mandate everybody use a floating noodle or boogie board (husband refuses, and dives deep under the boat to show them he is at a superior level!) or that  little ones use water wings.  

 

Pay attention to currents, and what is happening around you. Sometimes with your head down you cannot hear the people on the boat.  You may get distracted by fish, etc., and lose track of time. You can also drift far away without realizing it.

 

DH has a waterproof case for his GoPro and has taken underwater video, including swimming under me, and taking pictures of me snorkeling!

 

The neatest thing I ever saw snorkeling were two ship wrecks in the Bermuda triangle.  Usually only scuba divers get to see the wrecks, but the water was so clear I could see down to the bottom.

 

Have a wonderful time!

[BoozinCroozin]

My recommendation and from my experience only, do not buy a set from Amazon. You will wind up returning them multiple times. My advice if you have any near you is to go to a dive shop, get properly fitted, and have gear for 10-20 years. 

 

Issues I had:

1. Fins caused severe pain in the feet. They "fit" but I could only wear them for 10 minutes and it took 30 minutes to be able to walk again
2. Masks are like gloves. It has to fit perfectly in order to keep it from leaking. Some have small skirts that press the glass to your nose or forehead causing headaches. 
3. The $30-$50 sets on Amazon are not going to last very long and are usually very rigid.

 

I was reluctant spending $150 for a set, but it is insanely more comfortable. I don't have to worry about water getting in the mask, fogging, feet or legs hurting from the fins. 

[BoozinCroozin]

16 hours ago, Beachfrog said:

Grand Cayman and Cozumel are where the excursions are I am looking.

Cozumel was pretty good, but wind kinda ruined where we could snorkel. It is almost all floating with the current, very little swimming needed. I would find someone that snorkels the two reefs and goes to El Cielo. I sure missed that we couldn't go and need to get another cruise to go there.

[Beachfrog]

35 minutes ago, BoozinCroozin said:

Issues I had:

1. Fins caused severe pain in the feet. They "fit" but I could only wear them for 10 minutes and it took 30 minutes to be able to walk again.

Ouch!  Didn’t consider the fins. I have significant feet issues—multiple stress fractures over the years.  That’s why I thought being in the water would be better than a lot of walking.

[ShakyBeef]

26 minutes ago, Beachfrog said:

Ouch!  Didn’t consider the fins. I have significant feet issues—multiple stress fractures over the years.  That’s why I thought being in the water would be better than a lot of walking.

 

Fins really aren't necessary for a competent swimmer unless you're going to need to move against a pretty strong current, fight waves, travel a long distance, be in the water and moving for a long time, or do a lot of tricky maneurvering (such as around coral clusters in reefs).  For basic, beginner, and DIY snorkeling from beaches, water shoes or bare feet even (depending on what you might be stepping on) will work just fine.  

 

We take our fins (they're short fins, travel size and lightweight) as part of our full gear in our snorkel gear bags on all of our Caribbean cruises.  Sometimes we wear our fins, sometimes we don't.  It's good to have the option and ours are comfortable (to us, YMMV).

 

BTW, the Aqua Lung starter set I posted a picture of earlier is the newer version of what we are still using more than ten years later.  We bought our sets at Dick's Sporting Goods at our local shopping mall, not online.  We were able to try on the masks and fins before purchasing.  The masks are supple silicone, not rigid.  These $30 starter sets (price back when we bought them) have lasted a long time and worked well for us.  DH went to a dive shop several years ago and bought an expensive, properly fitted mask to replace his starter mask because of his wide nose.  I'm still satisfied with my starter mask. 

 

ETA: I forgot to mention, the starter sets come in at least three different sizes.

Edited November 8, 2022 by ShakyBeef
spelling

[Pellaz]

For the OP, if you do the two-site snorkel at Grand Cayman note that it is a boat-dive and you might feel more comfortable doing the snorkel "off the beach" to see the rays if you are a snorkeling beginner.   

If you're a decent swimmer then you could possibly do the two-reef excursion and "learn by doing."  

I DO highly recommend the two-site snorkel there; Kurt and Eldon were great as boat captain/guide and you visit a reef and the wreck of the ship "Cali."   It's a short, guided walk from the cruise pier.

As with almost all snorkeling excursions, all equipment was provided.  For our excursion fins were optional and so were snorkeling vests; on some excursions fins are needed and vests are required.   I brought my own Promate equipment including my fins -- best use of a drop-bottom duffel bag EVER.  🙂    (Sadly, the snuba excursion I did previously at Grand Cayman has been indefinitely suspended.)  

 

I have a lot of snorkel/freedive gear since I'm a volunteer tunnel guide at a swimming hole in Tennessee and supply masks to people there.   I get most of my masks and equipment on eBay through "getwetstore" and I seldom pay more than $25 or $30 for a good mask, more than $15 for a snorkel, or more than $25 for a good pair of fins.     

 

In any event, OP, have fun with your snorkeling adventures!

 

 

[BoozinCroozin]

On 11/8/2022 at 6:07 AM, Beachfrog said:

Ouch!  Didn’t consider the fins. I have significant feet issues—multiple stress fractures over the years.  That’s why I thought being in the water would be better than a lot of walking.

You don't need fins, but if you want them which many people do, get fitted and use them for 30 minutes to see how your feet feel. You don't even have to swim with them. Just feel them on your feet.