What's in the water?

[smilesep]

Going to Coco Cay, St. Thomas and St. Marrten on FOS sailing 8/15. Has anyone been there recently and have they had a problem with jelly fish? Also, has anyone done the zip line on St. Marrten?

[cb at sea]

I've never seen a jellyfish at Coco Cay....but we cruise in the spring.....jellyfish are at the whim of currents and temps!

[KellyJean]

Granted, last cruise was in several years ago in September. Anyway, we did see a couple of jellyfish at CocoCay but it was no big deal to us. We just moved a few feet or so to get clear of them. People would warn others if they saw them first.

[Bethee99]

Was there about 2 weeks ago. didnt notice any jelly fish.

[JerseyGem]

No jelly fish in St Martin in the middle of July.

 

The only port that seems to be currently experiencing jelly fish is Bermuda (although TS Colin might change that!).

[dmdiver]

snorkeled in st. thomas last month, no jellyfish.

[waterlilyFL]

We snorkled in St. Maarten in mid-August two years ago and saw very few jellyfish. It was my first time using the snorkel and it took 4-5 times of putting my face in the water to get the hang of it. After that I was quite comfy. I hope you enjoy your trip! We're very excited to be going on our second cruise in September and I may even try snorkeling again!

[ehfl]

Jellyfish are found in the Bahamas, but it really depends on time of year, and wind and currents. If you see a man-o-war, with the blue bubble float on top of the water. Stay away, they have a nasty sting. Their tentacles can break off and can sting you even when not attached to the rest of the animal.

 

The larg pink ones can produce a mild sting, but it's not that bad unless you are allergic.

 

The small clear ones don't sting, and are beautiful if you look at them in the sunlight at the right angle. They appear to have tiny shimmering rainbows running up and down their outsides. Very spectacular, but you need a mask to see them.

 

So basically, don't worry about the jellyfish. If you see one, just stay away if it's blue or pink. If it's clear, enjoy the show!

[brunello22]

Going to Coco Cay, St. Thomas and St. Marrten on FOS sailing 8/15. Has anyone been there recently and have they had a problem with jelly fish? Also, has anyone done the zip line on St. Marrten?

 

I did the zip line in St. Maarten about two years ago. After zip lining across rainforests in Costa Rica and canyons in Cabo, the zip line in St. Maarten was rather bogus. Save the money and enjoy the beautiful beaches and snorkeling instead.

[FLACRUISER99]

Doesn't make any difference they will or will not be there one day and not the next. You will only know when you get there.

[arc918]

We just got off the Freedom yesterday. My wife got stung by a jellyfish (actually two of them) while we at the beach in Phillipsburg, St Martin.

 

We were just killing a little before we planned to head over to Maho Beach.

 

We never made it. She ended in the med center back on the ship, it was really bad.

 

Be careful out there!

[wgraves]

I saw both a jellyfish and a string ray in the water at Coco Cay. This was in August 2008.

[sailingawaysoon]

I've seen jelly fish and tiny little crabs in CoCocay (in early September). They actually have a station set up for people to visit in the event they get stung. I believe my husband got a little sting there. His wasn't anything major and it was a vinegar spray that they use. I didn't get in the water much at CoCocay because the little crabs all over the rocky areas freaked me out a bit. We did a paddle boat ride and once I saw these buggers, I wasn't about to splish splash around much! Like another poster wrote, someone may see them one day and not the next. I guess it just depends. Have a great cruise.

[TahitiDreaming]

I saw jellyfish in August 09 at Coco Cay - quite a few actually, but they were the clear ones someone else mentioned and I didn't hear of anyone talking about being stung that day. I was snorkeling and saw quite a few, but wore a rashguard shirt while snorkeling to help protect from sun (don't want a burned back) and from the jellies. Will be there on Sunday and will let you know what I see (or don't see).

[Marilyn Johannes]

Zip line in St Maartan is very challenging if I remember correctly. It has some rope bridges and rope swings along with zip line. It is very challenging. I'm in good shape (work out daily), and it was difficult. I would do it again though.

[TahitiDreaming]

Just back from my 3 nighter on Monarch - Sunday at Coco Cay started with thunderstorms, so tenders were delayed about two hours. Finally got to shore - sprinkled a little on us, but was actually a comfortable cloudy day.

 

Snorkeling was good, but not great - water was a little churned up from the storm, so visibility wasn't as good as usual, and combine that with the cloudy skies and you didn't see the vibrant colors in the fish. I saw one ray, but heard a girl talking about seeing a whole group of them. Didn't get out as far as the plane, but my mother did, and she didn't say she saw any jellies - neither did I, but I did hear some people say they saw one. No sting stories. Did feel some rather cool water - don't know if that's because of the storms and cloudiness, but maybe that was keeping the jellies at bay? Don't know.

 

That's the report from Sunday! Happy snorkeling!