Renting Snorkel gear?

[indygirl2]

Does RCI rent snorkel gear?

On our previous Carnival cruises we could rent the mask, snorkel and fins for the week from the purser's desk. Anything similar on RCI?

[JoeTx]

ewwwwww!!!!

 

For gods sake, at least take your own snorkel!!!

 

Answer me this... Would you rent a toothbrush?

[sandbag7]

Lots of people rent their snorkel equipment on board or at various island stops; it's hardly like a tooth brush, though it does go in your mouth. I've never been on a cruise where snorkel equipment wasn't available.

[frudutx]

All of the snorkle excursions we've been on have provided those people who have needed it with snorkle equipment.

[SunnieD]

Buy one at Sam's Club! You can get the whole set for $40. Take it with you and give it away if you don't want to keep it. You never know how things are cleaned. On the excursions, they dip them in soapy water and put them away for the next group. No sterilization there.

[TinAngel]

Look over the section on SCUBA & Snorkeling on the main board page!

 

Joe

[jtmalt]

Does RCI rent snorkel gear?

On our previous Carnival cruises we could rent the mask, snorkel and fins for the week from the purser's desk. Anything similar on RCI?

 

RCI provides snorkel equipment as part of any excursion that includes snorkeling. The equipment fee is included in the excursion fee. If you bring your own snorkel equipment, you either need to use a safety vest or rent one from RCI for about $4. I believe that if you need the whole package (mask, fins, etc) you wind up paying the full excursion fee.

 

The snorkel equipment is dunked in a strong disinfectant bleach solution that will kill any cooties. Still, when we snorkeled, we only used their masks, fins, and vest, and brought our own snorkels with us.

[Clarkk W Griswald]

The snorkel equipment is dunked in a strong disinfectant bleach solution that will kill any cooties.

 

When we used snorkel equipment on an excursion, it was in a plastic tub filled with gray, dirty, slimy water and I didn't smell any bleach. We just reached in with our hands to pick something out. Disgusting!!! Never again. We bought our own mask and snorkel at Sport's Authority for about $30.00 and have used it ever since. Well worth it!!

[PartyHatCruiser]

BUY YOUR OWN SNORKEL! it is well worth the 20 bucks!! i have my own snorkel equipment but my friend, on our cruise in march, got a bacterial infection which the doctor said was mostly likely because of snokeling. on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being the flu), he was a 4. Not good! make sure you at least get the snorkel, you dont want to ruin your trip or when you get back!!

[indygirl2]

I'm not a germ phobe so please don't counsel me on the cleanliness. As I stated we have done this before on Carnival ships. We don't book excursions but go to the beach on our own and it is nice to have the equipment available on the ship for rent for the entire week. Does anyone have an answer to that question?

[jtmalt]

I'm not a germ phobe so please don't counsel me on the cleanliness. As I stated we have done this before on Carnival ships. We don't book excursions but go to the beach on our own and it is nice to have the equipment available on the ship for rent for the entire week. Does anyone have an answer to that question?

 

Sorry, guess I didn't explain myself clearly. No, equipment is not available on board for weekly rental. It is only available from RCCL as part of excursion packages that include snorkeling, at the excursion venues.

 

Hope that helps.

[cruiseblue]

Does RCI rent snorkel gear?

On our previous Carnival cruises we could rent the mask, snorkel and fins for the week from the purser's desk. Anything similar on RCI?

 

I recommend you buy your own for sanity reasons. Not saying RCI or Carnival is renting dirty snorkels but who knows if they are actually replacing the mouse piece each time or even clean them well. I hope the former is true. They are not expensive at all. Just bought mine at www.scuba-crazy.com shipment is very fast...got them like in 3 days.

 

The thought of sharing a snorkel with others is just not good but again maybe I am a worried wart :confused:

[thompson4131]

Does RCI rent snorkel gear?

On our previous Carnival cruises we could rent the mask, snorkel and fins for the week from the purser's desk. Anything similar on RCI?

 

The quick answer is NO. RCCL hires subcontractors to conduct all their tour options and the subcontractors provide the snorkling gear as part of their tour package, not RCCL. My family have been on many snorkling tours and the operators must meet stringent guidelines set by RCCL to qualify to be a RCCL sponsored tour provider. If you doubt the cleanliness of your snorkle, do what I do...put some Listerine in a spray bottle, spray it on the mouthpiece and rinse it off in the salt water.

 

Happy Cruising!