Never Snorkled Before- Extremely dumb question to follow

[JadeEyedScorpio]

I have never snorkeled before and my boyfriend has never even really been in the ocean before. True beginners. We are cruising next month and booked some excursons to snorkel in Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Coupla questions.

 

1. The provided snorkel equipment. Is this sanitary? People say you should get your own to make sure it fits, but how do you know everything fits well if you don't have someplace to swim and test it out first? And if you did, could you even return it? Do I need to go order from some online specialty shop or will whatever is at Walmart do the job?

 

2. I am reading that people snorkel 20 feet below. How do you hold your breath that long? It doesn't seem that little tube can hold much air. Maybe I am missing something........

[Capt_BJ]

I have never snorkeled before and my boyfriend has never even really been in the ocean before. True beginners. We are cruising next month and booked some excursons to snorkel in Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Coupla questions.

 

1. The provided snorkel equipment. Is this sanitary? Welllllllll - I've rented a lot over the years and am still here ... But I like to use my own when I can. People say you should get your own to make sure it fits, but how do you know everything fits well if you don't have someplace to swim and test it out first? And if you did, could you even return it? Do I need to go order from some online specialty shop or will whatever is at Walmart do the job? Let's look at it this way - you can buy shoes at WalMart, or a high quality shoe store. The Walmart shoes will get you so far, the the quality of fit is totaly up to you. The shoes from the fancy shoe store, probably cost more, but are hopefully of higher quality and last longer, and were 'fitted' (hopefully not by Al Bundy!) And the shoe store might be a bit more willing to take something back after week when 'they just don't feel right. I recommend you at least visit a dive shop - let them explain the differences in types of masks, fins and snorkels...look in the yellow pages for one near you. You may decide to go to WalMart then, or order online, but you will be better informed.

 

2. I am reading that people snorkel 20 feet below. How do you hold your breath that long? It doesn't seem that little tube can hold much air. Maybe I am missing something........Semantics - one snorkels on the surface ... if you are but a couple of feet under water the pressure will prevent you from sucking air from the surface. (That's what SCUBA does - provides you air at the needed pressure) When snorkeling, many people free dive while holding their breath. How does one hold their breath that long? Practice. In my youth I could get to 40 feet on a free dive. No more.....but once...;)

[WeCruiseForFun]

JadeEyedScorpio:

 

Hi! Well, I am one of these people who generally believes they are wet enough if their ankles are wet! However, my DH and kids all swim competitively. I got tired of watching and went snorkeling in Grand Cayman for the first time last June. (By the way, I was 50 at the time!)The water there is awsome. It is crystal clear and there was very little current. I just returned from a cruise with my DH last week, and I even made it farther from the boat this time. Grand Cayman is a perfect place to learn. We booked Nativeways independently both times. They are excellent. For $60 we went snorkeling, played with the stingrays at the sandbar, and had a nice lunch at the beach at Rum Point. We highly recommend them.

 

We bought snorkel gear for the adults in a set from Costco. It was about $30 for snorkel, fins, mask, and a nice carrying bag. It worked fine with no problems. For the kids, 15 and 8, I bought good gear from a dive shop, because I felt they would be harder to fit. For my 8 year old, I bought a snorkel with a valve that prevents her from breathing water in. By the way, I am not brave enough to go below the surface yet. I can see plenty from the surface!

 

Have a great time!

Pat

[taminator]

I have never snorkeled before and my boyfriend has never even really been in the ocean before. True beginners. We are cruising next month and booked some excursons to snorkel in Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Coupla questions.

 

1. The provided snorkel equipment. Is this sanitary? People say you should get your own to make sure it fits, but how do you know everything fits well if you don't have someplace to swim and test it out first? And if you did, could you even return it? Do I need to go order from some online specialty shop or will whatever is at Walmart do the job?

 

2. I am reading that people snorkel 20 feet below. How do you hold your breath that long? It doesn't seem that little tube can hold much air. Maybe I am missing something........

 

We used the rental gear on our recent cruise and had no trouble at all. If something doesn't fit, they should have extra gear on board for you to try. As for buying your own gear, how often do you plan on going snorkelling? Determine if it's a good value for you to buy your own gear.

 

Snorkelling is pretty simple: you float on the surface, look down at all the pretty coral and fishies, and breathe through your snorkel. As others have said, you can choose to hold your breath and dive down to get a closer look at something. How long you choose to stay down depends on how good you are at holding your breath.

 

One more thing to consider... my GF had never snorkelled before and had a tough time getting used to breathing through a snorkel. I think she started to relax towards the end of our trip and felt more comfortable. She spent the whole time holding onto a life ring while putting her head halfway into the water to enjoy the scenery... and she had a great time.

 

The day before, we went on a snuba trip -- you breathe through a regulator connected to an air tank that sits on the surface -- and my GF could not do that at all. It is a weird sensation to only breathe through your mouth and our guide said it's because it feels unnatural to do it so not everyone is able to.

 

I would suggest that if you're buying your own gear that you try it out first in a local pool to see if you're comfortable using it.

[JadeEyedScorpio]

Thanks for all the responses!

[palolake]

I love to snorkel. However, the first time out I spent 95% of the time clinging to the boat. I wasn't afraid of the water, I was in a panic about the feeling of the mask. (you can not breathe out of your nose, only your mouth) But I get that panicy feeling with a bad cold. You might want to buy a cheap mask and get comfortable in the bathtub! (We bought new masks and tried them out in a hotel pool. Boy did we get strange looks!!!!!)