Coco Cay Snorkeling?

[PJnVA]

Going to be at Coco Cay later this month. Can we bring our own snorkel gear OR do we have to book the snorkel excursion to get the the area where you can snorkel? 

 

Also I have seen several mentions of sea lice and jelly fish, has anyone been recently that can speak to current conditions.

 

TY - Happy Sailing :-)

[jean87510]

15 minutes ago, PJnVA said:

Going to be at Coco Cay later this month. Can we bring our own snorkel gear OR do we have to book the snorkel excursion to get the the area where you can snorkel? 

 

Also I have seen several mentions of sea lice and jelly fish, has anyone been recently that can speak to current conditions.

 

TY - Happy Sailing 🙂

You can bring your own gear.

 

No, you can snorkel on your own.  The reef excursion is not good as the reef they bring you to is dead.  Snorkeling at coco cay is so bad, even though we snorkel everywhere, we are not even wasting energy bringing our stuff off of ship.  It is that bad especially if you are used to seeing healthy reefs and aquatic life.  Seeing a few fish or an occasional ray is not worth it.  We tried every recommended area at least 6 different times throughout the year.  All are terrible.

 

Yes there are jellyfish.  If you are moving, they don't bother you.  Didn't note sea lice.

[PJnVA]

jean87510 thank you for the information.  This is exactly what I needed to know. I will suggest we leave our gear home this trip.

[jean87510]

2 hours ago, PJnVA said:

jean87510 thank you for the information.  This is exactly what I needed to know. I will suggest we leave our gear home this trip.

Where else are you going?

[PJnVA]

@jean87510 Nassau, its just a quick 5 nighter. I'll save my snorkeling for when we go to Hawaii this winter.

 

Happy cruising!

[jean87510]

3 minutes ago, PJnVA said:

@jean87510 Nassau, its just a quick 5 nighter. I'll save my snorkeling for when we go to Hawaii this winter.

 

Happy cruising!

We have the french Polynesian coming up in March/April from Sydney to Tahiti.  Not exactly Coco Cay!  

[PJnVA]

8 hours ago, jean87510 said:

We have the french Polynesian coming up in March/April from Sydney to Tahiti.  Not exactly Coco Cay!  

Coco Cay and Nassau are two of my least favorite ports but for me this cruise was just about a quick getaway. I love sea days, so I am happy I get two of those. This will be my sister's first cruise I hope she has a good time.  The ship and ports really do not showcase cruising at its best but it is what I had booked and a solo and she asked to join 🙂 Your cruise sounds like amazing.

[jean87510]

15 hours ago, PJnVA said:

Coco Cay and Nassau are two of my least favorite ports but for me this cruise was just about a quick getaway. I love sea days, so I am happy I get two of those. This will be my sister's first cruise I hope she has a good time.  The ship and ports really do not showcase cruising at its best but it is what I had booked and a solo and she asked to join 🙂 Your cruise sounds like amazing.

Ty.  Understand as my youngest and I are doing the MSC Meraviglia YC next June and we have Port Canaveral, Nassau and Ocean Cay.  Definitely not bringing the snorkeling stuff!

[moposh]

I enjoyed snorkeling at Coco Cay.  Some areas are better than others.  I saw fish and ray.

[dvan68]

Which beach would be the best for snorkeling?  We want to rent a cabana. The new Hideaway Beach looks like it is all sand. Chill Beach also has Cabanas available- is there anything to see there?

[CanobieFan]

I've brought my own snorkel gear to Coco several times and have always seen lots of fish near the fake ship werk and more prominently at the wall of cannons as well as just out in the open water, I've seen rays every single time as well and a shark at least twice. Only once (Sept. Of 23) did I ever see jellyfish, and they didn't seem to care about me.

 

If you've never been, the best place to start is from chill Island Beach where they have the little lagoon/coves. You can swim out to the floating docks and that'll get you close to the cannon wall, the ship is a bit more of a swim ((and from what I've gathered that airplane is no longer accessible))

 

Red is the best floating dock to hang out at, yellow is where the cannon wall is. I didn't circle the fake ship since I was unsure where it was on the map but it further offshore from the red circle,  heading toward the top right  of my screen shot but not thaattttt far

 

Edited to add a photo I took while there in February this year.

Edited March 19 by CanobieFan