Do I have to truly worry about Jellyfish?

[heatherandfred]

I'm not one to swim in the ocean at all...I have a fear of sea creatures and whatnot. Thankfully in 02 me and former DH didn't encounter them. My itinerary is P.R., Grand Turk, St. Thomas and St. Marteen.

 

Has anybody encountered them? What did they say to you? LOL..

 

Seriously folks..some help here..

[Nymue]

Never had a problem with jelly fish in the caribbean, let alone 'talking' ones :eek:

 

I'm not one to swim in the ocean at all...I have a fear of sea creatures and whatnot. Thankfully in 02 me and former DH didn't encounter them. My itinerary is P.R., Grand Turk, St. Thomas and St. Marteen.

 

Has anybody encountered them? What did they say to you? LOL..

 

Seriously folks..some help here..

[blindrid]

I would not be overly concerned but use normal caution as with anything else. Majority of the ones I've seen have been washed ashore. It's not like they attack but rather normally get stepped on.

[bankerbabe]

We spent significant amounts of time in the water on our Eastern Caribbean cruise in April. I don't recall even seeing a jelly fish.

 

At Orient on St. Maarten we didn't see ANY fish - just white sand and blue water.

 

Don't worry about the sea life - the odds of you having an unpleasant encounter with sea life are probably lower than winning the lottery. You are much more likely to cut your foot on the coral. For the most part sea life will avoid you, or at most regard you with curiosity before scampering away.

 

Although I did have a sea turtle swim up for air right next to me - he completely ignored me. I tried to follow a small shark, but it swam away too quickly.

[heatherandfred]

Well, I guess I'll take a dip in the ocean then..and try not to panic at the same time..lol.

 

I think the ocean is beautiful, especially in the Bahamas (clear blue water).

 

That's awesome, a shark! My former DH would have tried to swim after it too. Shark's are cool so are turtles and other things..but forget the jellyfish.

 

Too many National Geographic pics as a child, that put the fear in me!

[Dave_737]

if you dont like sea creatures then dont go swimming in grand turk. there are lots of rocks, seaweed, sea urchins(a family memeber stepped on one), and fish.

[Ryffian]

On our April 07 voyage to the eastern Caribbean, our snorkeling excursion in Costa Maya was cancelled due to a jellyfish "surge." We ended up hanging out at the beach instead. Wading around in the water we saw several little jellyfish per square yard. Needless to say I spent the rest of the afternoon out of the water.

 

We didn't encounter any more jellyfish on the rest of the trip though (Cozumel, Belize).

[Sandytoes]

I had a bad experience with sea lice while swimming with the Sting Rays in GC.

Not a pleasant experience at that.

Rash lasted over 3 weeks...

Unbearable.

As soon as I came out of the water, I began to have a servere itch under my swimsuit, upper torso...;)

As the day went on, it intensified. When I returned to the ship, I was red, bumpy and miserable...I did everything possible to reveal the itch.

Nothing helped....

My family members did not have this experience at all...

 

My advice, if you do begin to itch, try to find fresh water immediately and rinse and change suit.

[oraf7]

We go to Aruba every year and never a problem until last year there was a Jelly fish invasion and they place signs advising you to stay out of the water unit notified. We had just got thru water tubing when this happened and a few friends had to go to the hospital because they attached on and when they tried to remove it ripped the skin. This passed and everything was fine after the couple of days and this year.

Point being that if there is some unusual problem hopefully they will do like Aruba and warn passengers or tourists. I am going on the Crown Aug 1st but trust me I will be soaking in these same ports as always. Chances are slim.

[SANDYJABS]

We just returned from G.C. swimming with the stingrays DH felt burning hot on his arm, the guide moved us all away from that area. These jellyfish are transparent and look like a piece of seaweed with black little speckles on them. He said it burned like crazy and was glad it was him instead of me.

[thehittgirl]

My sister got stung by one though...OUCH. It didn't stop her from going into the water again..she is an avid cruiser.

 

I thought I had once read on here that there is some kind of repellent. I could be wrong.

[RachieLnnn]

I have never encountered one in the caribbean, but does anyone know if there are a lot of jellyfish in Hawaii? My fiancé and I plan to do some snorkeling and swimming there.

 

TIA

[crystalblue0610]

I never thought abut jellyfish:eek:

 

Sealife doesn't bother me. I was snorkeling in GC and I saw a school of fish travelling near this big fish (about the size of a ruler) I started following them but still a good distance away and this big fish stopped swimming and starting LOOKING at me:eek: this thing really was looking at me...I got my butt out of the water:p

[chasetf]

As long as you pay attention, you should have no problems. It isn't like they attack you. Encounters are usually by accident..... and if you know they are there, you can avoid them.

[EggDropErin]

I didn't encounter any creatures while on these islands, but I did encounter something icky while swimming off the coast of Labadee. After swimming, I came out with peices of sea urchin in each foot. Ouch! So, I would highly recommend water shoes to avoid sharing the same experience in Caribbean waters.

[crissyp]

you can google "safe sea". It is a product that is supposed to repell jellyfish, sealice and also has sunscreen in it. I bought it a few years ago when we traveled to the Bahamas. Someone in our party used it, it was kind of thick to apply, also there was another person in our party that did not use it, and had a terrible rash under her swimsuit. This was on Disney Cruise and stopover at Castaway Cay. SHe was told it was probably sea lice:eek:

[Ringlet]

The only jellyfish encounter I've had was a few years ago, swimming in the Baths at Virgin Gorda, but HOLY $%@*! :eek: that one time was more than enough!

 

We were on the Carnival Legend and had taken the first shore excursion of the day from Tortola to Virgin Gorda. We did the hike through the boulders, and lucky me, I was the first one on the water. Less than a minute after I jumped in, I felt this insane burning punch to my stomach...turns out I got bit by a HUGE jellyfish...the tentacle's whip-like marks covered the entire front of my torso (last time I wear a bikini, lol).

 

I ended up in a fetal position on the sand in extreme pain, and they rushed me to the hospital on Virgin Gorda. The bite was so bad that the injections they gave me had no effect. I spent the last three days of the cruise under heavy sedation courtesy of the ship's doctor (that was the only way to get even partial relief from the pain). The scars lasted almost two years.

 

Turns out that there had been a pretty big storm the night before, which had washed scores of jellyfish in to shore, and the shore excursion leaders had no idea (well, at least until I took one for the team, lol). After that they cautioned everyone else to stay on the beach.

 

Now whenever I go swimming in the ocean, I make sure that I'm not the first one in...no more being the guinea pig for me!!!:p

 

- Ringlet

[thehittgirl]

you can google "safe sea". It is a product that is supposed to repell jellyfish, sealice and also has sunscreen in it. I bought it a few years ago when we traveled to the Bahamas. Someone in our party used it, it was kind of thick to apply, also there was another person in our party that did not use it, and had a terrible rash under her swimsuit. This was on Disney Cruise and stopover at Castaway Cay. SHe was told it was probably sea lice:eek:

 

Ah yes Safe Sea, that was it! I just ordered some. Thanks! :D

[Host Kewlguy]

At certain times of year the Bahamas have problems with Jellyfish. While visiting Cococay last December besides the Jellyfish we also saw a Sand Shark, Sting Ray and Barracuda. This was all while standing in knee deep water near the beach. Keep your eyes open when swimming in the Bahamas. :)

[bigsky]

Last September we went to St. Thomas. Took a catamaran over to St. John for the day to snorkel. There were so many jelly fish in the water. Our guide told us that they were out in Aug. and Sep., but other than those two months, they didnt' have a problem with them. I decided to go onshore. THey went very close to shore as well. So I just kept an eye out for them. I was nervous about being in the water with them and tired of trying to dodge them. Not sure if it was the time of yr or water temp that had something to do with it, but he said it was this way every year. :(

 

Next time we'll go to Trunk Bay. St John is soooooo beautiful and worth the trip over there.

[ScottsSweetie]

When we cruised in September 2001 to the Bahamas, we were on RCI and went to their private island. They informed us that it was "jellyfish season". Those suckers were everywhere. DH and I were trying to get out to the sunken (whatever) to snorkel, but I was almost in tears just 15 feet from the shore because of the jellyfish. I turned around and went back in, he just put his hands out in front of his head and swam straight out. He got stung all up and down his arms and side of torso, but they were all small, and he didn't find it to be too painful. I got one of the rubber mats and floated just off the shore, and watched them surround me! I REALLY did not like it.

[Host Kewlguy]

At certain times of year the Bahamas have problems with Jellyfish. While visiting Cococay last December besides the Jellyfish we also saw a Sand Shark, Sting Ray and Barracuda. This was all while standing in knee deep water near the beach. Keep your eyes open when swimming in the Bahamas. :)

 

Actually we visited Cococay October 6th.

[Bonnie J.]

Worry, NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[chiro]

Oh great, jellyfish in August and Sept......We're going again in August....

 

When we were on the Carnival Valor last year, we went to a beach in Nassau and people were being bitten left right and center.....so, we just relaxed on the beach and sat only at the water's edge....no fun for kidlets, but certainly safer....

 

I agree with someone's comments.....keep an eye out for other people in the water......if people are getting bitten, don't go in.

 

Kathy

[crystalblue0610]

Oh great, jellyfish in August and Sept......We're going again in August....

 

When we were on the Carnival Valor last year, we went to a beach in Nassau and people were being bitten left right and center.....so, we just relaxed on the beach and sat only at the water's edge....no fun for kidlets, but certainly safer....

 

I agree with someone's comments.....keep an eye out for other people in the water......if people are getting bitten, don't go in.

 

Kathy

 

:eek: We want to go on the Valor next summer. What beach was this? Are their more jellyfish in the Atlantic? When we went to Montego Bay, GC and Cozumel we had NO jellyfish whatsoever