CocoCay Question

[OGCFreddie]

We'll be sailing on the Mariner on September 16th and I was wondering if the jellyfish have been bad recently in CocoCay. Last year about this time I was there and they were everywhere. I had rented one of the floating mats and spent the entire time trying to figure out how to not have any part of my body touch the water. Are they bad this year? I'd appreciate any input.

[karena1]

We were just there on Sun and it was fine. Saw a couple way out when we were snorkeling, but nothing up by the beach. You should not have any problems

[ckrobyn]

Jelly fish???? :eek: :eek:

I was at Coco Cay in February 2005 and didn't see a thing...maybe jelly fish are more prevalent in the summer/Fall???

[karena1]

We saw 2 on Sat way out, but my DH said they are not the stinging kind so you don't have to worry about them. But there was nothing close to shore at all. There were hundreds of people in the water and no one was having any problems.

[OGCFreddie]

Thanks for the responses. I guess it just depends on what the currents are doing and where the storms are pushing them. I really wasn't looking forward to last year's infestation and it's good to hear it's not bad.

 

Thanks again!!

[Frankiesmom]

Is it true that the full moons have something to do w that? I think I read that somewhere-like they are more prevalent about 6-7 days after a full moon? I too am interested in this as we are sailing on the Mariner on 9/30 and we'll be at coco cay on 10/1. The next full moon is 9/26?;)

[Schplinky]

We were there last month and did see a single one.

[joebert]

We were there last February and they were all over. We were told them did not sting. I swam in the middle of them for over an hour without any problems.

[cruisegalfl]

We were there 2 weeks ago a did not see any...

[BeachBean]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we were there on 9/5 (last week) and there were A LOT of jellyfish.

 

We started the day on the more secluded side of the island and I didn't notice any while I was on my floating mat. We snorkeled near the main area in the morning and didn't notice any there either.

 

THEN we decided to go the Aqua Park (HUGE waste of money) and people that were coming back from it were warning us to be careful. Having never seen a jellyfish aside from an aquarium we didn't know what to expect, but we quickly saw them. We only stayed near the Aqua Park for 30 minutes before we'd had enough. I kid you not, it took us 20 minutes just to get back to shore because we were going so slow for fear of being stung. I'm a very confident swimmer and water person and I was panicked. At one point I was literally surrounded by 8 or more of those suckers!

 

We talked to many people that were stung and they all made it out alive. :) There are "sting stations" with vinegar available should you be stung. Just be vigilant and don't go in the water if you're seeing them and not comfortable with playing dodgeball.

 

P.S. CocoCay was easily one of the most amazing little islands I'd ever seen.

[OGCFreddie]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we were there on 9/5 (last week) and there were A LOT of jellyfish.

 

We started the day on the more secluded side of the island and I didn't notice any while I was on my floating mat. We snorkeled near the main area in the morning and didn't notice any there either.

 

THEN we decided to go the Aqua Park (HUGE waste of money) and people that were coming back from it were warning us to be careful. Having never seen a jellyfish aside from an aquarium we didn't know what to expect, but we quickly saw them. We only stayed near the Aqua Park for 30 minutes before we'd had enough. I kid you not, it took us 20 minutes just to get back to shore because we were going so slow for fear of being stung. I'm a very confident swimmer and water person and I was panicked. At one point I was literally surrounded by 8 or more of those suckers!

 

We talked to many people that were stung and they all made it out alive. :) There are "sting stations" with vinegar available should you be stung. Just be vigilant and don't go in the water if you're seeing them and not comfortable with playing dodgeball.

 

P.S. CocoCay was easily one of the most amazing little islands I'd ever seen.

Thanks for the info> I've been to CocoCay before and loved it (except for the jellies). I appreciate the information!!!

[sailingawaysoon]

We were there last week also and my husband got stung. We also noticed a ton of crabs scuffling on the rocks that are out in the water. I had never seen so many crabs! Anyway, if you have a mat or rent a paddle boat (like we did), check them out...they were interesting and fun to watch.

[jerick]

My understanding is that the Fall months are when you will see the most jellyfish around Coco Cay. There is a product that works (we used it last year) called Safe Sea. You can get it online at

http://www.buysafesea.com/

 

Safe Sea prevents the jellyfish from stinging. Members of my family were in the water with some people who did not have Safe Sea on. Touching the jellyfish was unavoidable. The people without the Safe Sea were getting stung (mild stings from what I understand) but those with it were not stung.

 

Even if you decide not to go into the water, it is a GREAT day on the beach.

 

Jeff

[Robkatcruisers]

"they are not the stinging ones" ... "they are the stinging ones" which one is it?

 

DH and I will be there 11/25/07 will there be alot of them then too?

[BeachBean]

"they are not the stinging ones" ... "they are the stinging ones" which one is it?

 

DH and I will be there 11/25/07 will there be alot of them then too?

 

3 to 1 says it's the stinging kind. ;)

 

I don't think the people I spoke with that day at the beach were fibbing about being stung. Our cruise director was also talking about a few people that were stung. Just be cautious, take a look at the water before you venture out, and enjoy.

 

Nothing, not even jellyfish, can make it a bad time at CocoCay.

[dlong1969]

just got back from our cruise that stopped on Coco Cay. There were jellyfish (and needlefish and stingrays... too cool)..

 

Anyway, my wife didn't get stung. I did twice. She spent most of her day on a mat with me pushing her around while I swam. The stings are not bad. I didn't even bother with vinegar. I liken the stings to touching nettles. A few little bumps form where you get stung that go away in an hour or so... nothing to worry about. They weren't rampant, but they were there.