snorkel gear

[Partridge4ever]

I was thinking of buying snorkel gear to save money, but I don't know what to get. I've seen the masks and snorkels at Wal Mart. Are the vest and fins necessary? Should I just rent them from Disney to be on the safe side? It would just be my DD and me.

 

[Favorite Auntie]

The fins really help you navigate through the water. The vest is not necessary. While on Castaway Cay DIsney provides them for everyone that is snorkeling, wether you rent from them or not.

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

We bought our own masks & snorkles but used Disney's vests & fins. The vests are free but there was a small charge to use the fins. I don't believe that they would let you snorkle without some type of life vest or their inflatable snorkle vests. It was a pain to haul the equipment for the four of us but the stuff provided by DCL is the old type masks that are really hard to get to fit correctly.

 

[mobetsy]

I bought snorkel/mask combos for myself and my 2 sons (age 5 and 8) at Walmart, and we just had a chance to use them on a beach vacation. Ds5 didn't like the snorkel, nor the strap on the mask but he was happy to hold it to his face and look underwater for a few moments. Someone posted recently with a suggestion for replacing the mask strap with something more comfortable; wish I could remember it. Ds8 was very happy with his set and floated around for long periods watching the tiny fish and grass. He and I both had only a little bit of water seep in, nothing annoying and probably just an adjustment issue, and found the snorkels to work well, so for our purposes the cheap versions were fine (I think the kids' were about $10-12, mine a few $ more). The two things I was sure of on the snorkels are that they have the tops that reduce the amount of water that can get in (rather than just an open hole) and a "spit valve" (beats me the real name) at the bottom; it's a one way valve that lets you clear any accumulated water/spit out just by blowing, w/o taking the snorkel out of your mouth. I was glad for both. We didn't have fins, but I might look for a set for ds8; I don't think we are likely to be going far enough snorkeling that we really need them.

 

[SeaSpray]

DH and I went on our first cruise this summer (Royal Caribbean to Bermuda) and we bought our own snorkel gear before we left home because my brother, who cruises frequently, told me about the first time he ever snorkeled and rented the equipment; when he put the mouthpiece in his mouth, he could feel all the bite marks and teeth marks from the people who had rented it before him. That was enough to make me want to buy my own. LOL We went to a sporting goods store and for a good mask and snorkel it cost only about $20. It was definitely worth the investment, and now we'll have our own gear for all future cruises. The gear isn't heavy at all, just a bit cumbersome because it's long and narrow. I use a small canvas tote bag to keep our gear in.

 

[SeaSpray]

P.S. We will buy DSs their own snorkel gear before our family cruise next summer I think they'd be more comfortable with their own, and they can practice using it at the beach (here at home) before we cruise.

 

[BAKAROMA]

Fins seem harder to come by. How important are they to a succesful snorkel? We live in northern Utah so not a lot of stores carry much for snorkeling. We are set for masks and snorkels though.

 

[S. C.]

We bought ours at sams club. It's the body glove brand and has the dry snorkel, set included mask, snorkel, fins and a nice back pack type to carry it with.
we paid around $49 adult. a few weeks ago we saw these same sets at sams for $36. I also read that cosco has them.

I figure if we use them 2x then they will pay for themselves vs renting, and we know they are clean.

We used the vest for free from disney at CC.

 

[BAKAROMA]

Does anyone have a source for cheap fins w/o the snorkel and mask?

 

[Partridge4ever]

I got some of the cheap toy-like kind at Wal Mart for $5. I have no idea if they'll work, but we're only planning to snorkel at Castaway Cay. I saw a nice professional looking complete set at Sams Club for only $26 but they were out of the sizes I needed.