Going to Coco Cay in two weeks...heard theres schools of jellyfish?

[nalaqueentwo]

My DF and I are going on the Royal Carribean cruise to the Bahamas in two weeks and were told by a friend of ours that was there a month ago that there were so many jelly fish that it wasn't possible to swim in the water. Anyone else experience this?:eek:

[Tigergenesis]

we were there on Sept 17th. We did the kayak and waverunner tours and saw jellyfish on both. don't know about the snorkeling area. but we didn't worry about it - the kind you find there is like a mosquito bite if you get stung.

[nalaqueentwo]

Okay...thanks a bunch! We had heard that at the beach there were so many jellyfish you couldn't even get in the water.

[cb at sea]

I guess it depends on the time of year, and the currents...we've never seen jellyfish on our visits....

[snorkelman]

On my cruise last year (mid-October) I saw thousands while snorkeling. My secretary just returned last week and reported lots of jellyfish as well, but they allowed swimming/snorkeling.

[nalaqueentwo]

Thanks for the input! I take it since you continued to snorkel that they weren't a huge bother. I was wondering if they sting? Sorry, never been out of the country so have no clue what to expect.

[KBD1516]

Thanks for the input! I take it since you continued to snorkel that they weren't a huge bother. I was wondering if they sting? Sorry, never been out of the country so have no clue what to expect.

 

Jelly fish are abundant in Sep and Oct in all the north Atlantic waters. At Coco Cay, they are very large (like a plate) and called Moon Jellyfish. All jellyfish sting, but these are very mild. However, they are scary when there are so many.

 

I was there over Labor Day this year and the moon jellyfish were everywhere. I wore jeans and a long sleeved shirt to go into the water with my snorkle equipment so that they wouldn't touch my skin. The problem with that is that you must take (or wear) jeans and long sleeves to the island because of the tendering process.

 

The personnel there will have a spray bottle to stop the sting - vinegar and water works, I don't know what they use. But I heard many people say that it burned for a minute, then went away.

 

I hope this helps.

[snorkelman]

Thanks for the input! I take it since you continued to snorkel that they weren't a huge bother. I was wondering if they sting? Sorry, never been out of the country so have no clue what to expect.

 

Incorrect assumption. See my username. I am fairly adept at navigating through them, but I still got stung by some of the smaller ones. You really need to pay attention because I saw several with long tentacles. Again, what I saw was further out (not in the swimming area) and nobody in the swimming area was affected. Where I saw the "thousands" was in about 15-30 feet of water, well past the swimming area, just past the breaker wall.

 

On the beach where they rent snorkel gear they have some jellyfish sting stuff that they give you for free if you tell them that you got stung. The stings felt like a wasp or hornet sting, so don't think that they aren't worth worrying about.

[Me76]

Newbie question: Would a wet suit help guard against stings (same concept as jeans and long sleeve shirt?)

[snorkelman]

A wetsuit? Really? IMO wearing a wetsuit thick enough to protect you 100% would result in you overheating very quickly. Also some jelly fish (mainly the box jellies in Australia) have tentacles that can penetrate wetsuits. Maybe my initial comment caused people to freak out, but in general, if you are snorkeling and see jellyfish, just stay away. If you are just swimming, you have nothing to worry about because the life guards will close the beach if a lot of jellyfish float into the swimming area.

 

Also, in case anyone ever deals with sea lice (google them as you may be surprised as to what they actually are) if you wear clothing in the water, you actually make the itching worse since they get stuck underneath your bathing suits, long pants, shirts, etc. and are trapped between them and your skin.

 

You may really be overthinking this stuff too much. Just go in the water and enjoy yourself.

[kkpcruiser]

We will be in coco cay in a week. can anyone offer an update on the jellyfish situation?

 

Also....should we bring water shoes?

[Me76]

We will be in coco cay in a week. can anyone offer an update on the jellyfish situation?

 

Also....should we bring water shoes?

 

I was there a week ago. Didn't need water shoes. Never saw a jellyfish in the morning, but went back in after lunch and saw several. We had a school of Yellow-fin Snappers (purple & yellow fish) swimming with us, we saw them go ahead and eat any jellyfish that were in our path. It was pretty cool!

 

Around 3pm there were Jellyfish everywhere! We went back to the boat after that. I don't know about the water park/slide area, we didn't go in there, just went in the regular swimming/snorkel area.

[nalaqueentwo]

Hi there...we were just there one week ago and I never saw one single jellyfish the entire time. I did hear from one of our dinner companions that the childrens area/slides were completely surrounded by jellyfish and were even on the equipment itself, they had to canoe the people back because it was too dangerous.

 

I would think you would only need watershoes if you don't like the feeling of seaweed in your toes, other than that we thought the water and sand were perfect.

 

Hope you have a great time and the weather is as wonderful for you as it was for our trip.

[flsunnymommy]

Any update on the jellyfish? I know my son will not go near them and we will be there in 2 weeks

[kkpcruiser]

Any update on the jellyfish? I know my son will not go near them and we will be there in 2 weeks

 

We were in Coco Cay in Mid November. We got off the ship early and swam in 2 different areas and snorkeled close to shore. Never saw a single jellyfish.

 

Mainly swam on the third beach area when you take a left off the pier. My husband snorkeled out farther than I did and also never saw any.

 

Have a great time. The majesty is a very pleasant surprise!:)

 

PS someone told me not to bother with water shoes. I kindof wish i took them as there are some area with coral/rocks in case you are trying to make a decision on that.

[LounVal]

Snorkelman Someone here referred to "the third beach area" Where is the best place to snorkel at Coco Cay?

[kkpcruiser]

Snorkelman Someone here referred to "the third beach area" Where is the best place to snorkel at Coco Cay?

 

 

As you leave the tender area, and walk to the left.... there are several areas which are separated by short breakwaters. The cruise sponsored snorkeling tour went out in the areas between the second and third beach areas...so i would have to say that is where the best snorkeling is. We did not take the excursion but my husband saw a huge variety of colorful fish and marine life etc off the third beach area.

 

Cococay was enforcing the vest rule while we were here so if you brought your own snorkel equipment, they required that you rent one of the floatation vests from them. We actually snorkeled really early unaware of this but several people were called from the water if they did not have a vest later in the day.

[LounVal]

Thanks.

Has anyone done the scuba excursion on Coco Cay? At $55. it does not sound like a bad deal.

[LounVal]

Sorry. Ignore that last post. You have to be certified to do that dive.