snorleling

[ajb]

we are cruising with Royal Carribbean (1st time cruiser) I really want to snorkel at Palancar Reef. but his says experience snorkers only. my daughter is 14 and a strong swimmer, has only snorkeled one other time. I have snorkeled several times, the excursion says 10 and older, experienced snorklers only. I have heard great things about the reef. has anyone tried this excursion???? I would love to hear your thoughts, also another choice we have is to do the deluxe reef snorkeling and beach combo, (you snorkel at two different reefs) we want to see lots of fish and reefs. thanks ajb would like any info on excursions in cozumel, ocho rios, jamaica, and george town, grand cayman and labadee, hispaniola that are offered by Royal carribbean. i would appreciate any info. thanks ajb

[bruce-r]

First, let me be the first to welcome you to cruise critic.

 

Just don't do the ship's excursion. Actually, many cruise critic members never do ship excursions if they can help it because you can often do the same activities on your own for less money and have a better experience because the trip will be less crowded and more personal. Cozumel is especially good for making your own trip arrangements.

 

Do you want to snorkel from a boat? http://www.eagleraydivers.com offers both a 2 reef and 3 reef snorkel trips which would be more personal than the ships excursion. There are other boat snorkeling trips, but you have to do a bit of searching for them. A couple of good websites for Cozumel info are: http://www.travelnotes.cc , http://www.cozumelinsider.com

 

If you want to snorkel from shore which will be much less expensive than a boat trip, then all you really need to do is take a taxi to a place calledDzul Ha. They rent snorkel gear there for about $8 a set. There are lockers and a place to get food/drinks too. Like most of the beach clubs, there is no charge to snorkel there, but you are expected to buy some food/drinks if you use the tables/chairs. There will be many taxis waiting for you when you get off the ship. There are fixed prices for different trips, so just be sure to ask the price before you get in the cab and take small denomination bills with you, $1's and $5's, so you will be able to make exact change because many times the drivers will tell you they done have change. If you only have $20's, an $11 trip will cost you $20. Taxi fares are for up to 4 people in one vehicle.

 

After you are done snorkeling at Dzul Ha you can get a taxi and go to your next stop. What should that be? That will depend on what interests you. If you want to see what the town has to offer, you can go there, but you might want to return to the ship first to clean up. You won't want to leave that salt water in your hair. A stop at the ship will be on the way to town. If you want to relax at a beach club with a nice sandy beach, there are several free beach clubs worth visiting. Again, the beach is free, but you will be expected to buy some food/drinks if you use their facilities. Some of the clubs have non-motorized water toys to use (for a fee) as well as things like jet skis and parasailing. Paradise Beach club is very popular with cruise critic members.

 

The plan so far is taxi to Dzul Ha for snorkeling. When you are done snorkeling, taxi to a beach club for a relaxing afternoon. When you have relaxed enough, taxi back to the ship.

 

If you want a quiet beach, I like Playa Palancar. Yes, it is right by the famous Palancar reef, and they do offer snorkel trip there from the beach club. The boat ride is pretty short. Nice sandy beach, quiet atmostphere, mmmm good fish tacos, Man I'm almost there right now.

 

Seriously, you don't need do a ship's excursion in Cozumel if you want snorkel.

 

The same will also apply to Grand Cayman, but that is a different section of the message board.

 

If you think other questions, be sure to ask.

Hope this helps

Bruce