snorkel equipment

[lilyfrog73]

How clean is the equipment you rent for snorkeling on Coco Cay??? This will be our first cruise and we have never snorkeled and are considering booking the excursion there. Do they sanitize the mouth pieces? I really don't want to purchase our own and have to pack it.

[OliverTheCat]

Ya know, I never thought of this in depth until recently. They always SAY they sanatize the stuff completely, but I dunno if I would trust it, ya know? You just dont know who had the stuff before you, and the snorkel sometimes has teeth marks in it... ick.

 

We have purchased our own snorkels and masks for upcoming cruise, but I will wear their fins over my "pool" shoes.

 

Go with your gut on this one.

[DHADEN]

Go ahead and visit your local dive shop (this is definitely where you want to get them), and try on different masks until you get one that fits your individual face. They all come with snorkles of different varieties.

 

When you do this you will see why it really makes a difference in whether you will enjoy snorkling at all. If you go with the provided equipment, it won't fit well and you get water in your eyes and nose....:o unpleasant and you won't like snorkling. Spend the $30 or $40 for a good mask that fits properly and IS YOURS, and you will never want to stop snorkling.

 

And, by the way; their idea of "Sanitized" is when they swish them in a barrel of saltwater (along with 20 or 30 others).

[sicsinohio]

We rented snorkels and masks when we went on our last cruise. They didn't look disgusting oranything, and we had a great time. Afterward, when I though about it, renting a snorkel is a lot like brushing your teeth with a stranger's toothbrush...YUCK! DH and I bough our own snorkels and masks for our upcoming cruise.

[dougp26364]

My rule of thumb is, if you don't mind chewing a piece of gum already chewed by a stranger, then by all means rent a snorkel. Otherwise they don't take that much space in the luggage or in a carry on bag.

[sl0905]

I was going to also mention the "barrel" of water they "clean" the snorkels and masks in. On our first cruise, not knowing any better, we rented the equipment and a few days later my husband and I both had a sore in our mouths exactly where the mouthpiece was on the upper gumline. We went to a dive shop and purchased dry snorkels and they work much better also.

[Elaine0138]

I would at least buy a snorkel to take with me, they don't take up much space in your case.

[iamkidc]

Bring your own mask and snorkel, fins too if you've got them. Then just ask someone that is taking there rental gear back to turn it in if you can use their snorkel vest (required at coco cay) and return it for them when you're done. It'll save you $6.

[iamkidc]

oh, and don't actually inflate the snorkel vest. You want to get as much air out of it as possible so you'll be able to swim down and look at/take pictures of things in the deeper water.

[aucruiser]

Ever since our first cruise where we used the provided snorkels, DH and I always take our own snorkel and mask. They really don’t take up too much space. We use the fins provided on the excursion or rent them. We got our current snorkels and masks from Sports Authority.