Seeking Advice on Castaway Cay Snorkeling

[KermitRocks]

Any advice/opinions/thoughts about snorkeling on CC? I haven't snorkeled on CC since 2008. It was fun but it's been so long and I'm wondering if we should do it. Do they still have the underwater statues? Tons of fish? How's the clarity/cloudiness of the water in May? Etc. Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts with me.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Any advice/opinions/thoughts about snorkeling on CC? I haven't snorkeled on CC since 2008. It was fun but it's been so long and I'm wondering if we should do it. Do they still have the underwater statues? Tons of fish? How's the clarity/cloudiness of the water in May? Etc. Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts with me.

Generally, the earlier in the morning you snorkel, the clearer the water. Once everyone's off the ship and playing around in the water, it gets murkier.

Yes, there are statues. One note on this - they are a bit of a distance out from the actual shoreline, so, depending on the surf/wind conditions it could be a challenge for some of us to make the whole distance.

"Tons" of fish? Define "tons". Maybe, maybe not. We saw what I would call "a few". That is, you will see some, whether that's a lot or not....

 

[Scraptographer]

In Jan 2016 I went on a 'ladies cruise' with a group of friends and 3 of us did a biking/snorkelling/manta ray feeding package that was reasonably priced relatively speaking as far as I can remember. Although there were some fish, there were not a lot of fish. On the other hand I really enjoyed spotting the statues etc. Our rented equipment did leak a lot.

Fast forward to April 2017 and I cruised with my husband just last week and had planned to snorkel again, however my husband was only partly convinced- and then when we realized that the cost is now over $30 per person to rent the snorkel equipment we decided to pass.

 

[elvispursley]

the cost is now over $30 per person to rent the snorkel equipment

You can often buy your own snorkel equipment for around this or less (I have bought sets at Costco for around $25). You can then take on other snorkel excursion you may book on your cruise (which is so much preferable to the equipment they sometimes provide you with, even if you're just bringing the snorkel and mask).

 

[_auroraborealis_]

And if you're near-sighted, you can buy snorkel masks with VISION CORRECTION. Magical.

 

[gatordoc]

Snorkeling has slowly gotten better. They're making an effort to provide better habitat for fish, and we saw quite a few more in March than we had a year prior.

 

[truck1]

The amount of fish you see is dependent on the time of year. Fish like specific temperature ranges so if the water is too cool, they leave for warmer waters. Also, atmospherics will play a part. Low pressure systems will tend to push fish in 1 way while high pressure systems will have a reverse effect. I forget which is which off hand. I want to say low pressure pushes them in while high pressure systems will force them out.

 

[GPaLarry]

We have been there and snorkeled four times. The sunken Mickey and Minnie are a ways out...farther than it looks. I am thankful for the required inflatable life vest because the farther out you go, the deeper it gets...it also is less cloudy. There are life guards stationed a ways out there, but I found I needed the vest (inflated) to take a break between sunken treasures. Look for the floating buoys that mark the sunken items. If it looks too far for you to swim, don't do it...it is almost to the rock reef. As far as fish, it is totally random. We bring our own equipment, except for the vests (which are free and located at the lifeguard stations). Be sure to take a camera. As I said, things are somewhat random, so you don't know what you might see or when. Great fun, roped off and free. Keep swimming, swimming!!

 

[Steph1992]

Hi!

On my first Disney Cruise I didn't snorkel at all...mostly because 1) I wear glasses and not contacts and 2) I wasn't super aware on where I could rent the snorkel set. On my second cruise, my mom and I decided to go snorkeling and I did not regret it at all. Even though I couldn't see that well because I didn't have my glasses it was super worth it. I will definitely go snorkeling every time I go to Castaway Cay. I was snorkeling outside of the roped off snorkeling place and still saw plenty of fish. Like others have mentioned I would look into buying your own set if you're a cruise regular and feel like you'll be snorkeling often. I think to rent the set at Castaway Cay it was 35 dollars give or take a few. Moral of the story...definitely go snorkeling !

 

[Bsmitty]

I wasn't all that impressed. If you're going to Cayman, I'd snorkel there instead. If you want a lot of brightly colored fish & large variety, you won't find it on CC. I do appreciate knowing what it's like on CC, so I'd say maybe do it once. There's just not a ton of fish & the sunken treasures were not that elaborate or cool. After doing it once I won't do it again on CC. (My 12 yr old daughter said the same thing.)

 

[ladyofthetramp]

I always see a few schools of fish when I snorkel there. Key is to go early and to float around out there-not to kick hard and scare them. The other thing to mention, and someone else already has is, "out there" is really quite a distance. That is where you will see the most fish, statues, etc. So practice your swimming and get/use fins. The vests are mandatory and free if you bring your own equipment.

 

[MrsSmalls]

We did the snorkel / bike / tube rental for $42 each.

Looking back, I would have done on shore rentals because only one of the kids wanted to snorkel. One used a tube and one wanted to bike ride. Lesson learned! ( But if they had all wanted to do all the activities it would have been a great deal)

My son and husband said there was a lot of fish and stuff to see.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I just bought my kid his own snorkel set at Costco for $29. The adult version was $39, I believe. Obviously, this means you have to pack them, but this may not be a big deal for you. It's not for us.

Mine was pricier, because I have inserts for vision. If nearsighted, you can get non-custom corrective inserts if you know your prescription. Water is good for .25-.5 in magnification, and if you aren't aiming at "being able to see perfectly," you can get a nice set with up to -10 correction (you cannot see anything!) for $70 via a reputable seller on Amazon. You can even pick your color. Mine is a sassy purple.

If you are kinda blind (or really blind! -10 is a lot of correction!) and spending THAT MUCH to be in blue Caribbean waters and want to snorkel, I think buying the set is very worth it.

 

[KermitRocks]

Thanks to everyone for sharing your opinions!!!! I'm going to Costco and see if we have them locally. I will also check Amazon for a corrective lens snorkel. Even if we don't snorkel on CC we should have them for the future. And I love the pics.

View attachment 231233 View attachment 231234 I always see a few schools of fish when I snorkel there.

 

[truck1]

Just a word of warning to those that buy snorkel gear at big box stores. Make sure it fits before you get on the ship. Try it on in the store before you leave. All you have to do is hold the mask up to your face, and inhale and hold your breath. If you can feel air moving, or the mask fall off your face, its the wrong size. Because the last place you want to find out that a mask leaks is in the water. Also, if you plan on using it more then once, make sure that you can get replacement parts like mask straps.

 

[lpizzuro123]

We went snorkeling last time we were on CC (October 2015). In August or September our local CVS had all their summer/snorkeling gear 1/2 price. I think I got our sets (DH and I) for under $10.00 each. This was perfect for us. My DH is not that much into snorkeling so he was able to just fool around by the waters edge. I do love to snorkel so was able to go out as much as I wanted to - I also brought them on our other excursions. As we had them before our cruise, we were able to try them our at our community pool prior to our cruise.

 

[mmouse37]

I went snorkeling at CC last August. I saw some fish (not a ton) but I also went later in the day. Next time I would go much earlier. I bought one of the full face masks on Amazon...I know they are not for everybody but I absolutely loved mine and found it made snorkeling so much more enjoyable for me. I did not wear flippers but next time I will bring mine from home. It would have made it easier to swim back in. My DD's boyfriend saw a beautiful sea turtle that same day. He borrowed my mask and loved it as well.







MJ