Son wants to try snorkeling any advice?

[woostercruise]

Well we are back and had a great time! However, the weather did not cooperate with our snorkeling plans. We planned on snorkeling at Chankanaab Park in Cozumel. It was overcast and choppy when we arrived in port, but we decided to head to Chankanaab Park anyway. When we go there we were told that there was no snorkeling due to the weather. We decided to check the place out anyway. The boys waded in the shallow lagoon area, and then stood near the wall on the beach getting hit by spray from the waves. I'm sure they employees (in long pants and jackets) thought they were nuts. Meanwhile, my husband and I huddled in towels to keep warm :rolleyes:.

 

My son did end up snorkeling at Mahogany Bay in Roatan. While there was not much to see he still had fun. He did see a starfish. He also liked testing the dry snorkel! While I realize you are not seeing Roatan by just going to Mahogany Bay, it is a great place for younger kids. The water was very shallow and the boys had a blast.

 

We really liked all of the ports even Cozumel in the cold rain!

[RoadTripFanatic]

We are going on the Carnival Legend in March to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize (we have something planned here), and Roatan. My 8 year old would like to try snorkeling, however I know that is something my 6 year old would not want to do.

 

Does anyone have a suggestion for a good place in Grand Cayman, Cozumel, or Roatan where my 8 year old and one parent can snorkel while my 6 year old and the other parent are on the beach nearby? I also have no idea if it is something he will really enjoy, or after 5 minutes he will be frustrated and done.

 

Any tips or ideas are appreciated!

 

I have not read any of the other comments. Roatan has the best snorkeling I have ever seen!! The great thing is at West Bay the snorkeling is right off of the beach! :)

[imsulin]

Sandy-bottomed beaches, while great for swimming, have poor snorkeling experiences, other than seeing other people's legs and a few needle fish that swim close to the surface. Beaches with rocks/coral have the best, as that's where fish congregate to feed. Chankanaab has both, and would be a great place! The water is quite shallow. Spit works great for cleaning the inside of a snorkel mask.

[Seattlecruisers98021]

We went on the Legend last year...my daughter was 11 and "mildly" autistic. We took her to swimming lessons before our trip and they let her try using her mask and snorkel a few times in the safety of their pool. When we took her to Cayman Islands and had the snorkel stop after visiting the stingrays she didn't even hesitate...even with the wave action. She loved it!

 

However my biggest regret was Roatan...we did it all, the monkeys, the zip line, the island tour. We only got about a half hour at Infinity Bay resort. It was the PERFECT snorkel spot...beautiful sandy beach with coral you could walk out to. The fish were even swimming around us up in the sandy part of the beach. Our family of 7 wants to go back and redo Roatan it's our favorite stop!

[AnnaP]

We just got back from the Dream on the 27th and we did snorkeling in Roatan at the Maya Key Resort. Carnival now has a excursion there which I think is a very good deal as it gives a full unlimited buffet. The island itself is amazing and there is a wild animal sanctuary there as well.

 

My son is 5 years old. He does not swim yet. We purchased the kids snorkel set at Costco (highly recommend!) and he practiced in our hot tub. He was not very good to be honest and thought Dad and I would have to switch on and off with him as I never thought he would make it more than a few minutes. The longest he could stay under at home was 5 seconds :rolleyes:

 

We also got him his own vest and brought his water wings along. When we got there he was quite scared at first. I added the water wings and we hung out for a few minutes in the water. Then he actually looked under the water and boom we took off. He snorkeled for 45 minutes straight and only took his head out of the water a few minutes! I finally had to make him get out to eat lunch and later we went for another hour.

 

The snorkeling was amazing once you got out a small bit. He did fantastic even in the deeper water. So you never know! I would get both kids a set and the other may change their mind once they see the fish and coral

 

Here is a link to Maya Key Resort: http://www.anthonyskey.com/en/activities/maya-key.html

 

We booked directly and getting there was a nightmare (another story). But once we were there it was PERFECT. I would book via the ship. The buffet looked delicious. Beautiful beach, great grounds, wonderful animals. My son even got a kiss from a monkey. It was our best stop on the cruise

 

If you have any questions just ask.

 

A.

[cantw8togo]

Spit works great for cleaning the inside of a snorkel mask.

 

We've always used spit to keep the snorkel mask from fogging up too. It's free, handy, chemical free and it's your own germs. Works like a charm.

[highbridge5]

Thanks for the link, and the tip on bringing your own mask & snorkel, I'm not much of a germaphobe, but the rental snorkel would make me a little hesitant!

 

Carnival will have brand new snorkels that you can buy for $5 at the shore excursion desk. Not masks, just the snorkel part but the mouth piece is the one of most concern anyway.

 

We brought masks and snorkels for 5 with us and it was one more small suitcase that we had to deal with. And we drove to port so weren't even dealing with checking an extra bag on a plane.

 

Check with a pool supply place (ski and pool; pool and patio etc.); this is where I found a surprisingly large selection of snorkelling equipment (for kids and adults) in January in New Jersey.

 

 

hb5

[sbhdmh]

My dd turned 5 the week before our January cruise where she tried snorkeling for the first time. She is a good swimmer and likes to play mermaid - swimming under water for frighteningly long periods of time. We had practiced a bit in an indoor pool before trying snorkeling at Chankunaab but she did not like the mouthpiece at all once we were actually snorkeling. We just gave her the mask and let her do her "mermaid thing" swimming under water and coming up for air when she wanted. I assume a non-swimmer in a floaty vest could do the same thing as long as they can hold their breath while looking under water. I had bought her a mouthpiece that closes off if it gets submerged so that she wouldn't get mouthfulls of saltwater if she went under. I would suggest this if your child does do the mouthpiece.