Life Vests

[peachygreen]

Crazy question but do you pack a life vest for your child to use at the beach?

I have our life vests 1 for the infant and 1 for my older daughter. Depending on what we are doing at the beach I would typically require them. The only beach we plan to visit is CC. Do they have them available or do I need to bring my own? I know they have snorkel vests but I haven't read anything about kids life vests.

I'd love to not have to pack them as they will pretty much take up half a duffle bag on their own. I guess I could just bite the bullet and have one bag dedicated to life vests, snorkel equipment, and other beach related stuff. If I didn't have to bring the life vests I could probably put the snorkle stuff into my DH and my individual bags.

 

[SILLYANDI]

We brought ours when the kids were smaller and it seemed like a waste of space because we only used them in Grand Cayman.
CC has the snorkling vests but not full life vests. The water is so calm and shallow that it is not like a typical beach. If you think you will not be right there by the kids' side to keep an eye on them though, bring them for the peace of mind.

We've also found it a waste of space to bring our own snorkel gear anymore. Now with airlines charging for all luggage, space is a premiuim. Especially if you are only going to snorkel at CC, I would just rent them there.

 

[peachygreen]

We brought ours when the kids were smaller and it seemed like a waste of space because we only used them in Grand Cayman.
CC has the snorkling vests but not full life vests. The water is so calm and shallow that it is not like a typical beach. If you think you will not be right there by the kids' side to keep an eye on them though, bring them for the peace of mind.

We've also found it a waste of space to bring our own snorkel gear anymore. Now with airlines charging for all luggage, space is a premiuim. Especially if you are only going to snorkel at CC, I would just rent them there.

The only reason I'm bringing our own snorkel gear is because the masks are prescription. I'm not sure if I'm going to bring fins, but will bring the mask and snorkel. If we snorkel at CC it will be our 2nd snorkel event. My DH and I are leaving the girls with my parents to do some snorkeling in St. Thomas.

I seriously doubt I'll bring the baby into the ocean any deeper than her knees and she would never be out of my arms. I use the life vest if the older one wants to go out deeper and play in waves but if there aren't really any then maybe I can just leave them at home.

We are flying SW so we wouldn't be paying for the bag, but it is still one more bag to have to keep track of, store in the cabin, haul around etc.

 

[clawmachine]

From a tip I got here on the boards, we bought one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003648OQY/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
to bring along for DD3. DS6 and DS8 can wear the inflatable vests through Captain Marvin's on Grand Cayman, but they are not rated for kids under 4, so we figured it was a good idea to get one. She seems to love it and it is the simplest, most compact design I've seen. They go as low as $13-$15 on Amazon and Walmart...

 

[kcashner]

Several years ago Gils on Castaway Cay had life vests for kids--free. You just had to go and pick one up. This is the same place you get the snorkel equipment, but they were regular vests, not the snorkel vests. Sorry, I can't address whether they still have these or not.

 

[quentina]

I was under the impression that the water was quite deep in the new play area (that they swim out to)....am I wrong?

 

[andrewsmommy]

I just ordered this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001QDPHEE/ref=oss_product

Great price, and coastguard approved.

 

[SILLYANDI]

I was under the impression that the water was quite deep in the new play area (that they swim out to)....am I wrong?

Pelican plunge was 4-6 ft deep depending on the tides, when we went I could walk the whole way to the platform & I'm 5'7". I wouldn't take my non-swimming kids anywhere near it (and they do require kids of a certain height to wear a vest to go on it even if they can swim). It's a good 30-40 yd swim out to the platform, so if your child is not a swimmer it's probably not a good idea to begin with.

I'll post a pic from our Dec 11th cruise..

 

[SILLYANDI]

The only reason I'm bringing our own snorkel gear is because the masks are prescription. I'm not sure if I'm going to bring fins, but will bring the mask and snorkel. If we snorkel at CC it will be our 2nd snorkel event. My DH and I are leaving the girls with my parents to do some snorkeling in St. Thomas.

I seriously doubt I'll bring the baby into the ocean any deeper than her knees and she would never be out of my arms. I use the life vest if the older one wants to go out deeper and play in waves but if there aren't really any then maybe I can just leave them at home.

We are flying SW so we wouldn't be paying for the bag, but it is still one more bag to have to keep track of, store in the cabin, haul around etc.

I forgot, they DO have regular lifevests at Pelican Plunge that they make kids under 48 inches wear even if they can swim (my 6 yr old is a strong swimmer, on a swim team even & she had to wear it), but they made you take it off as you exit. They also had them at the aqua trikes & kayaks. If they have them there, they probably do have them at Gil's to rent or loan.

Here's the vest at PP

and the splash play area: