Snokeling Etiqutte

[SkittleFreak]

Hi, my (future) wife and I are going on the Grand Princess to the Western Caribbean for our honneymoon, and we plan to do some snokeling at Cozumel, and Stingray City Grand Caymen.

 

I know better than to take anything but pictures, but I was wondering if keep your hands to yourself is the best policy when underwater, or is it realitively safe?

 

I know at Stingray city you can feed and pet the rays, and I'm not afraid a shark is going to get me, but I'm not that familiar with marine biology :)

 

Thanks in advance for the info.

This site rocks.

[dst]

You have picked a great cruise, we were just in the Western Carribean in July.

 

While in Cozumel you may want to check out Mayan Paradise Tours. It is a private tour company and they take you out on a catamaran and stop at three spots, you can snorkel all three or try snuba at one> Snuba was an incredible experience, you go 20 feet below with a guide but all the tanks are above floating. you could check out the website http://www.mayanparadisetours.com They also include snacks and beer :)

 

In Grand Cayman, we rented a car and stopped along the way to do some snorkeling. There are alot of small coves along the way and you can snorkel right from the beach.

 

Both stop are very safe and are not known for sharks. As long as you don't do something stupid you should be fine. Both stops offer some of the best underwater sports so you will definately enjoy it.

 

Let me know if you want any other info

[mirrajay]

I did run into a baraccuda in Cancun when we were snorkeling (eek!), but apparently thats fairly rare.

 

Definetly keep your hands to yourself. Dont try to touch any of the fish and dont touch the coral (if you are out far enough to be near a coral reef.) The fish will swim away and what fun is that for people who are trying to look at them?

[bruce-r]

I know better than to take anything but pictures, but I was wondering if keep your hands to yourself is the best policy when underwater, or is it realitively safe?

 

This site rocks.

 

Hands to yourself is the best policy if you want to be correct and safe.

 

The only place I would recommend toughing anything underwater is stingray city. The stingrays have been feed by humans for so long, they now equate humans with free handout and expect to be fed.

 

The oil from your touch will damage coral and sometimes coral will "bite" back which is the case with fire coral. With fish, most likely they will view you as a threat and swim away from you, although some species can be curious about you and swim around you looking you over. Barracuda will do this as well as the little Sergeant Major. Some fish will be territorial and feel threatened if you get too close to them. They will usually try to warn you away before they get really aggressive. Be aware of this and give them room if they require it. The wiggling end of a finger might look tasty to some fish, or threatening to others. A Florida divemaster, someone who should know better, lost the end of his finger up to the first knuckle to a puffer fish he was "handling". Puffer fish eat coral, so snipping off the end of a finger was no problem for the fish.

 

Don't stick your fingers into holes or under rocks (duh).

 

Also, it is recommended that you don't feed the fish in most areas. Only in a few places where feeding has been going on so long that the fish population has come to expect it, like stingray city, is it considered OK.

 

the ever present Sergeant Major fish:

 

a Damsel fish that felt territorial and "chased" me away :)

[Jan T]

Bruce

 

Very nice photos!

 

Jan T:)

[SkittleFreak]

thanks for the great info and pictures!

most of it is common sense, but it's nice to hear from the experts :)

 

Our first stop is in Belize and Princess still doesn't have any excursions on their web page. Is Belize worth getting off the ship?

[sea-jay]

One other caution. Take of any shiny jewelry. Hanging chains or bracelets may look like food to certain fish. The only thing I wear into the water is my wedding ring and that is usually hidden by gloves.

[ljmandelbaum]

I would snorkel in Belize. The snorkeling at shark ray alley was on the the highlights of my trip to belize in Feb 2003 on the NCL sun, as well as spotting a dolphin in the water on the way back to the ship.

[simonv]

A cut or scrape from coral is painful and takes a LONG time to heal. Keep that in mind.

[mlavigne]

I've been snorkeling since I was a child and was always told it was best not to touch anything, especialy coral. I'm from Maine and up here we have a lot of sea urchins which are relatively hamless because they have small rounded spikes. While my wife and I were in Cozumel I kept noticing these large black sea urchins with big long spikes. Curiosity got the best of me so I dove down and just barely touched the end of one of the spikes with my finger. The spike drove into my finger about a quarter inch and broke off. Not only was I bleeding but I had no idea if it was poisonous. Of course it wasn't but it took quite a bit of effort to get all the spike out.

 

I've seen plenty of barracuda but they usually keep their distance. Don't wear any flashy jewelery as this can attract fish.

[lory]

Ditto for the Mayan Paradise Tours recommendation. But, the website address is http://www.snubacozumel.com. Have a great trip!