Do we really need water shoes?

[Californiakids]

Should I buy water shoes for the family? We go to the beach often here in Ca. and never use watershoes. We'll be wading in the family beach water on Castaway Cay and maybe another port. Do you think we'll use them? Are the beaches sandy or rocky? Thanks.

 

[ann-e-mator]

It depends on how much time you will spend in the water... Last year in Nassau, the beach and waters appeared to be very smooth, but actually there were rocks (or something like a rock) that blended extremely well into the sands... we kept stubbing our toes into them.... we didn't get hurt or anything serious, but we did have to be careful where we walked in the water...and that was just wading in ankle deep... and along the beach...

If you are going to spend a lot of time out in the water, you may want to consider it...

 

[confal1]

I tried water shoes on my now 5 yr old DD and found they were more uncomfortable than anything. I grew up on Cape Cod with no water shoes and I still have both my feet and all of my toes. I have given up on them. Have a great cruise.

 

[misty9960]

I also read that you should pack water shoes but, we didn't. Being that I had already spent a fortune on items that we needed for our trip I felt like this was one item we could do without. My kids are 10 & 7 and we all just wore our flip flops when traveling to the beach & CC so that the ground would not burn our feet. The pavement can get really HOT!!! As far as the sand goes our bare feet were fine. The sand didn't feel unusually rocky to me or the kids.

 

[aprilgail2]

I liked having them on in the water..there is A LOT f seaweed growing on the bottom and it felt really weird on my feet so I wore the water shoes at CC in the water. Also the sand and pavement were very hot and I don't like walking with flip flops in the sand.

 

[SandraLee]

I brought them and never used them. I liked using flip flops and the kids either went barefoot, used flip flops, or use their TEVA-type sandals. I think if you have waterproof sandals and are used to ocean water, there is no need for water shoes.

 

[disneyholic family]

if you live in CA, i'm not sure you'll actually want to go into the water at CC.
We went in to snorkel for a few minutes, but that was it....
we didn't find it particularly nice water there...(the snorkeling was awful....we're used to scuba diving among corals....there was nothing to see at CC at all)....
we're not planning on going in this time except for the banana boat....
we'll go biking again and get massages at the adult beach and that's it....
we live 10 minutes from the beach, so it's not really a big deal for us....

 

[hydster]

On all of our cruises including our 2 DCL cruises we've never felt we needed water shoes ever. We went to Orient Beach on the 5-1 Magic and didn't need them, went on the Doubloon Sail and Snorkel in St. Thomas and didn't need them and didn't need them at CC either. My kids HATE the way they feel on their feet in the water and since we sat in the water and had drinks delivered to us the only time we really needed to go onto the pavement was to go to the bathroom and to eat lunch. We used flip flops or sandals and did just fine.

Heidi

 

[Minnie&Mickey]

You might want to consider bringing the water shoes if you plan on going to the adult beach. We found the ground under the water to be very rocky and it really hurt our feet to walk in many areas. My husband actually cut his foot on something while we were in the water. If we go back, we will definitely bring some water shoes or Tevas.

 

[loveBond]

we would have been happier if I would've had some water shoes for DH, DS13 and I. DD5 had them and she did great--Walmart had a different style than I had seen before, these have strings like tennis shoes, but extremely lightweight and airy. She thought they were cool!

We went to Paradise Beach in Cozumel (7-day Magic) just last wk and I couldn't even walk because there were sooo many jagged rocks. Really ruined a bit of it for us, plus the seaweed (if you're not used to it) can kind of freak you out. Feels a bit like somethin's got ya.

Probably would've enjoyed them for CC too. The sand was extremely hot for my feet, but I've read other posts that don't agree.

I had read the tip and thought we could do w/out (extra expense and not knowing if I would use or not).

Next time, we will ALL definitely have watershoes.

 

[UMTerp]

We have found that the family beach area on CC closer to the Head's Up bar gets rocky as the day goes on. My kids could not have been without their water shoes in that area. Maybe closer to the ship is better - I don't know. We have been on 2 cruises and used our water shoes both times.

 

[sanela]

NO.

 

[videogal1]

YES

If you are going swimming or snorkeling around coral formations, the body oils from hands and feet will not be welcome by those tiny inhabitants. If you go on a snorkeling excursion you will, no doubt, get the standard lecture about this. I even took shoes for Cash to wear because of the hot pavement, too.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

To backup what Minnie&Mickey said, YOU MUST HAVE WATER SHOES (or some other form of protection) IF YOU GO WADING IN THE WATERS OFF THE ADULT BEACH!!!

The adult beach is open to the ocean and contains sea urchines. These urchines have spines that are very sharp, and if you step on one, the spines will likely break off in your foot.

We didn't know about the likelyhood of stepping on a sea urchine, and went wading in thigh deep water, she stepped on one and was still getting spin pieces out of her foot for a month. Thank goodness this happened near the end of the day on the last day of the cruise because it hurt to walk on for a couple of days.

The other beaches are protected (to a degree) from the open ocean and therefore do not have urchines to worry about. We've spent almost all of our time on CC at the adult beach, so I can't speak to the need of shoes at the other beaches because of rocks.

 

[SeaSpray]

Originally posted by aprilgail2
I liked having them on in the water..there is A LOT f seaweed growing on the bottom and it felt really weird on my feet so I wore the water shoes at CC in the water. Also the sand and pavement were very hot and I don't like walking with flip flops in the sand.

There's seaweed in the water at CC??

I grew up and lived near the ocean in NJ, and the sand there is SO soft, and NO seaweed (usually). I can't stand going in the ocean and having "things" brushing against my legs and feet. Guess I'll pack my water shoes.

 

[two-foxes]

Let's toss another "YES" for water shoes. You don't know what is in the water. Granted we never set foot on the family beach, but what I did see on the adult beach ocean floor I certainly didn't want my feet touching....I think they were aallliiiiiive! Seriously, it is a common sense precaution, IMHO. You can't see where you are stepping. You are wandering in place that is a home to creatures and other misc things that can be painful if stepped on. Reduce you chances of getting hurt and increase you chances of being comfortable and safe. Run to Wal Mart, find a cheap pair and take them with you. They are inexpensive, they take up very little packing space and they are worth it.

 

[Tluvs2talk]

YES!!! you need water shoes in some areas. There are rocks and the sand in very coarse. I live in SC and we have powdery soft sand. I bougt a great pair of water shoes that look and lace up like tennis shoes at Walmart for around $7.00 a pair for me and my Hubby. We LOVED them. They are very light weight and dry quickly. I guess if you have tough calloused feet you would be fine, but my feet are too tender to walk over shells and rocks.


Teri

 

[Aquagirl]

I used my TEVAS. They worked just fine. I was at Paradise beach last week too and it was rocky. No problems with my sandals. Last year there were a lot of urchins on the adult beach, last week not so much, but a lot of seaweed. There were all sorts of creatures. Big seastars, all kinds of fish, a few rays, crabs flounders, baracudas, even a shark.

 

[Aquagirl]

I was talking about the adult beach on CC. Sorry I forgot to type that.