If you wear glasses, find a mask with dual lenses and ask if they have prescriptions available. I have a Dacor mask with prescription lenses.
I have huge old-school fins as well. You can go really fast with them...but they will tax your legs. There are new fins with vents or splits in them, check those out.
My fins require boots, which is good on a boat since it gives you nice grippy soles. A bit more annoying if you use the fins for strict beach snorkling because they get sandy.
Snorkle ... get one with the splash guard on it, and the quick purge. Sometimes people don't even bother with the snorkle when they dive, but you might as well get a snorkle that you can snorkle with!
I suggest not going all out and getting a BCD or regulator just yet, until you decide you enjoy the sport. The rest of the stuff is great for snorkling so you might as well get it. Don't buy weights or a tank as you'll rent those wherever you go.
Also an essential piece of equipment is ... a bag! I bought a nice nylon mesh bag with shoulder (backpack style) straps! Scuba/snorkle gear is massively cumbersome. The bag makes a great beach bag and keeps all your suff together. The mesh is strong and lets stuff dry out.
I don't know how well you can travel with a dive knife nowadays. I have a pair of "dive scissors", which I don't actually even carry usually. It's for fishing lines, not for fighting sharks or evil henchmen.
If you get serious, then get a good dive computer. But for the course you are taking, you need to learn everything without a computer anyway.
A "dive watch" is nice to have too. I took diving as an excuse to buy myself a Tag Hueur dive watch ... which I catually end up not taking on vacations...but instead I wear my $30 Timex "Expedition" (similar to IronMan) watch. I've gone to 132 feet with the Timex, and just to see if it would break, I pressed the buttons on it! It's digital so you might prefer a good analog dive watch. I've found that on any dive that you go with in a group with a local dive master, you don't need the watch even, though you really should take care of yourself rather than rely on a dive master.
Depending on where you plan to dive, eventually a wetsuit or appropriate thickness is handy. Rented wetsuits can really hurt if they are too tight! Plus there is the question of how many (not IF any) people have peed in the wetsuit!
V
