Please help a "baby cruiser"

[lolalita28]

This will be the first time ever that me and my husband will go on a cruise. We have a verrrry limited budget and I would want us to experience as much as we can for little money. We will stop on Cozumel, Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman.

We love snorkeling but we are not the free dive type. All of our snorkeling was only in Florida...

Can somebody give us a really good tip as to which reefs/ beaches, will have colorful corals, easy to see from the surface , and good fish variety..honestly we don't mind the depth of the water, it can be in the middle of the ocean but if the coral are too deep down we can't free dive to see them and then it's just frustrating..

Some of the pictures I saw from the " paid cozumel, cayman snorkeling trips " has the same type fish we already saw in florida.. and plain rocky coral that's not colorfull.. I would love to see brain coral and the fans..

And what we would want are recommendations for a good friendly , inexpensive local" driver for a day" to go to these spots and other attractions, at our own pace.. I personally don't like the " moving on quickly tours"

Worst case scenario maybe rent a car and try to manage ourselves but we still need to know what is worth to see. Thank you all !!!

[cb at sea]

Can't really help with the snorkeling thing...I hate it! Most of the Caribbean waters are so clear, you don't even have top put your face in to see what's there!

 

 

Get a guidebook on your ports. It will detail beaches and snorkeling spots....and then, you can determine if you even NEED a guide to go where you want! Many, many places are easy (and cheap) to get to on your own...but you need the info....so get yourself a guidebook and read it. Find out the snorkeling spots, the beaches, the shopping, the...whatever!

We seldom, if ever, book excursions.....with a teensy bit of research, we know where we want to go and how to get there via the guidebook!

Libraries have them..no cost, or you can buy one at any bookstore. Go! Start reading!

[seashinesunshine]

This will be the first time ever that me and my husband will go on a cruise. We have a verrrry limited budget and I would want us to experience as much as we can for little money. We will stop on Cozumel, Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman.

We love snorkeling but we are not the free dive type. All of our snorkeling was only in Florida...

Can somebody give us a really good tip as to which reefs/ beaches, will have colorful corals, easy to see from the surface , and good fish variety..honestly we don't mind the depth of the water, it can be in the middle of the ocean but if the coral are too deep down we can't free dive to see them and then it's just frustrating..

Some of the pictures I saw from the " paid cozumel, cayman snorkeling trips " has the same type fish we already saw in florida.. and plain rocky coral that's not colorfull.. I would love to see brain coral and the fans..

And what we would want are recommendations for a good friendly , inexpensive local" driver for a day" to go to these spots and other attractions, at our own pace.. I personally don't like the " moving on quickly tours"

Worst case scenario maybe rent a car and try to manage ourselves but we still need to know what is worth to see. Thank you all !!!

 

I find Frommers Ports of Call a good guide book. It touches on a lot of genereal info and then you can use that to further investigate what you want. It is also a great resourse to bring ashore as it has emergency numbers etc for the ports and islands.

[chipq]

Welcome to cruising. I second the Frommers guide book. It is loaded with information about the various ports. Have a great cruise.

 

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[CruiserBruce]

You can also get a lot of info from the various ports boards here on Cruise Critic:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

[KirkNC]

This will be the first time ever that me and my husband will go on a cruise. We have a verrrry limited budget and I would want us to experience as much as we can for little money. We will stop on Cozumel, Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman.

We love snorkeling but we are not the free dive type. All of our snorkeling was only in Florida...

Can somebody give us a really good tip as to which reefs/ beaches, will have colorful corals, easy to see from the surface , and good fish variety..honestly we don't mind the depth of the water, it can be in the middle of the ocean but if the coral are too deep down we can't free dive to see them and then it's just frustrating..

Some of the pictures I saw from the " paid cozumel, cayman snorkeling trips " has the same type fish we already saw in florida.. and plain rocky coral that's not colorfull.. I would love to see brain coral and the fans..

And what we would want are recommendations for a good friendly , inexpensive local" driver for a day" to go to these spots and other attractions, at our own pace.. I personally don't like the " moving on quickly tours"

Worst case scenario maybe rent a car and try to manage ourselves but we still need to know what is worth to see. Thank you all !!!

 

Welcome to CC!

[Colorado Kat]

Welcome to cruise Critic. There is a spot on these boards for Scuba & Snorkeling talk.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

You should ask questions on your cruise line board. Also join your Roll Call. Give us more information and we can help you to get to the various other sections of this site.

Here is the link for the scuba and snorkel section.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=40

[johneeo]

We will stop on Cozumel, Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman.

 

Go to each Port of Call board for the above.

 

You will get great info there.

[lolalita28]

Thank you all for your answers. I will post this again , like suggested in the right spot, I have done some research already but unfortunately only somebody who's "been there done that " can answer my snorkeling question..

Thanks for the welcome!