Snorkeling at CC family friendly?

[BZMomNJ]

I recently came across a blog post that listed some fun family activities for Castaway Cay. They mentioned the floating platform at the family beach and snorkeling among other things. Is snorkeling something we could all do together? My kids will be 4 and 6 at the the of our trip. I don't expect my 4 year old to be able to snorkel but can we all swim out there together with life vests? How large is the snorkel area?

Does anyone know the approximate rental costs for masks and flippers?

Thanks in advance!

 

[jskacoc]

My youngest daughter was one month shy of 5 when she tried it. Got water in her mouth and she was done, wouldn't even put the mask on. Oldest was one month after turning 7. She loved it and has done it each time we went.
I believe we paid approx $100 for 2 kids and 2 adults. Edit: this was in August 2015
The snorkeling area is marked off so there isn't anyone just swimming in that area. It's a pretty decent size area that goes out a ways too.

 

[TeaBee]

I recently came across a blog post that listed some fun family activities for Castaway Cay. They mentioned the floating platform at the family beach and snorkeling among other things. Is snorkeling something we could all do together? My kids will be 4 and 6 at the the of our trip. I don't expect my 4 year old to be able to snorkel but can we all swim out there together with life vests? How large is the snorkel area?

Does anyone know the approximate rental costs for masks and flippers?

Thanks in advance!

There is a snorkeling area, but with kids your age I'd recommend snorkeling in the family beach area instead. You can't bring any inflatables or floats in the snorkeling area except for your vests. My 10 year old got pretty tired out swimming back from the snorkeling area - the underwater statues are pretty far out. After that, we used a raft and did a snorkel float together in the family swim area instead. We both laid crossways across the raft with our faces in the water. There is plenty to see out towards the lifeguard tower. In fact, that's where we spotted a barracuda! It was a lot of fun and I liked that I didn't have to worry about her being so exhausted that I'd have to somehow tow her back to shore. We brought our own snorkel masks with us so I'm not sure on rental prices. The raft was $10/day last summer.

 

[JMHDisney]

It's pretty far out before you can see much. I did it with my 6 year old last year and he enjoyed it but got a little panicked at one point when we were out there and it was a long way to haul him back in (and we didn't go all the way out)! I think it depends on the kids. If yours are fish, no problem. If they aren't strong swimmers, you might be better off getting some rafts and floating around in the family beach area using snorkel masks there (there will be a few fish to see). There's no shortage of fun stuff to do on Castaway!

 

[Captainkate]

. In fact, that's where we spotted a barracuda!

I had heard before that there were barracudas in the water at CC. I was hoping that was not true. Did it seem aggressive?

 

[BigredNole]

I had heard before that there were barracudas in the water at CC. I was hoping that was not true. Did it seem aggressive?

Barracuda are everywhere in the waters. They are almost completely nonaggressive to people. As with most things in the ocean, do not wear anything that is shiny (if it is silvery and reflects light, it is not good).

 

[Ozarkglittergirl]

Was the water so deep that you had to swim all that way to see the underwater mickeys or was it shallow enough to stand up and walk if you became tired?

 

[rantnnravin]

Was the water so deep that you had to swim all that way to see the underwater mickeys or was it shallow enough to stand up and walk if you became tired?

I'm just shy of 5 feet, and it's pretty deep - way over my head. The current is super strong. I got really tired trying to make it out there (I am not a good swimmer) and wound up having to use the barrier rope to pull myself back in against the tide.

 

[Ozarkglittergirl]

I'm just shy of 5 feet, and it's pretty deep - way over my head. The current is super strong. I got really tired trying to make it out there (I am not a good swimmer) and wound up having to use the barrier rope to pull myself back in against the tide.

This is disappointing and good to know. I'm not sure I want my 12 and 11 year old grandchildren to try this? They've never been in the ocean.

Will they allow you to use the rental snorkel equipment in the family portion of the beach? Another poster mentioned using their own masks.

 

[rantnnravin]

This is disappointing and good to know. I'm not sure I want my 12 and 11 year old grandchildren to try this? They've never been in the ocean.

Will they allow you to use the rental snorkel equipment in the family portion of the beach? Another poster mentioned using their own masks.

Don't worry too much - as i said, i'm short and not a good swimmer - which is ironic, since I'm born and raised on Long Island. My daughter is a fish and she and my BF have a blast snorkeling - I just can't go far out with them. The whole area is roped off, so no one will be floating out to sea. It's zero-entry, so there are shallow areas, there's just not the "interesting" stuff until you go further out. You can snorkel in other areas of CC, you just need to be wearing one of their snorkel vests, so they can tell what you're doing.

 

[Ozarkglittergirl]

Ok thank you. As a grandparent I'm not able to keep up with the grands like a younger person could.

 

[com_op_2000]

I had heard before that there were barracudas in the water at CC. I was hoping that was not true. Did it seem aggressive?

Checkout this thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2371788
It is originally from 2010 but has pictures of fish, barracudas, sharks, and other sea life taken at CC. It also has my encounter with a Black Tip Shark at the CC-SB beach.

 

[BZMomNJ]

It's pretty far out before you can see much. I did it with my 6 year old last year and he enjoyed it but got a little panicked at one point when we were out there and it was a long way to haul him back in (and we didn't go all the way out)! I think it depends on the kids. If yours are fish, no problem. If they aren't strong swimmers, you might be better off getting some rafts and floating around in the family beach area using snorkel masks there (there will be a few fish to see). There's no shortage of fun stuff to do on Castaway!

Thank you! I didn't realize we could use the masks in the famil beach area. We'll prob stick with that since my littles love the water but aren't great swimmers yet.

 

[BZMomNJ]

There is a snorkeling area, but with kids your age I'd recommend snorkeling in the family beach area instead. You can't bring any inflatables or floats in the snorkeling area except for your vests. My 10 year old got pretty tired out swimming back from the snorkeling area - the underwater statues are pretty far out. After that, we used a raft and did a snorkel float together in the family swim area instead. We both laid crossways across the raft with our faces in the water. There is plenty to see out towards the lifeguard tower. In fact, that's where we spotted a barracuda! It was a lot of fun and I liked that I didn't have to worry about her being so exhausted that I'd have to somehow tow her back to shore. We brought our own snorkel masks with us so I'm not sure on rental prices. The raft was $10/day last summer.

Excellent info thank you! We'll plan to do what you suggested!

 

[DixieDelights]

I'm just shy of 5 feet, and it's pretty deep - way over my head. The current is super strong. I got really tired trying to make it out there (I am not a good swimmer) and wound up having to use the barrier rope to pull myself back in against the tide.

We had the same experience. My 9 year old son is a good swimmer but had a tough time with it. My 6 year old quit as soon as he swallowed a mouth full of water

 

[ladyofthetramp]

It is quite a way out there and well over your head. This last trip there were several fish swimming around everyone's legs in knee deep water, many young children were having a blast with that. Sometimes there are stingrays around to look at, in close to shore- just be careful not to step on them. Love the idea of floating on a raft and looking down for young ones and those who are not strong swimmers. Not a lot to see, but gives them a taste of what it is like to snorkel.

 

[TeaBee]

I had heard before that there were barracudas in the water at CC. I was hoping that was not true. Did it seem aggressive?

Not at all. It took a look at us and we watched it for a few seconds and then it swam away. It's one of my daughter's favorite memories of our cruise! We informed the lifeguard (who was withing speaking distance) and he seemed completely unconcerned.

 

[TeaBee]

I checked the prices for snorkeling gear at Castaway and it's $31.18 (ages 10 and up) and $15.05 (ages 5 to 9). We bought our snorkel masks on Amazon for about $35 and have been happy with them. The brand is Seavenger. We just bring one pair of fins with us (the kids and my husband don't like them) and the masks and snorkels really aren't hard to fit in our luggage. Just wanted to share in case anyone else is grossed out by the idea of using a previously used snorkel.

 

[Hundredacre]

You can use mask/goggles in the family beach area but not snorkel or flippers. For that the lifeguards will force you to go into the snorkel area. My kids are strong swimmers and still get tired snorkeling out to see mickey and Minnie, beg me to pull them back in.

 

[TeaBee]

You can use mask/goggles in the family beach area but not snorkel or flippers. For that the lifeguards will force you to go into the snorkel area. My kids are strong swimmers and still get tired snorkeling out to see mickey and Minnie, beg me to pull them back in.

We were able to use snorkels in the family area and were right by the lifeguard tower. He didn't have a problem with it - maybe it's dependent on the lifeguard?