Snorkel Gear Question

[gretnagirl]

Hi there!

 

I'm a first-time cruiser heading to the Southern Caribbean on Caribbean Princess from December 20-27. My main question is whether prescription snorkel masks are available for rent on the islands, specifically Bonaire. I read in a previous post about Princess's snorkel renting area on board (can't remember the name, sorry!) and wondered if someone could elaborate on that. Cost, availability, ease of taking equpiment off the ship, etc.

 

Are water taxis to Klein Bonaire readily available and easy to find? Or would we be better simply booking the excursion through Princess? And if we book through Princess, will there be prescription masks available?

 

Thanks!

[cruzegirl]

As far as I know and from I've seen, no one rents prescription masks. No prescription is the same and it would be a waste of money for them to do that. They have generic masks at best. If you need a prescription one, then I would invest and get your own.

[SusieKay]

I wouldn't think of renting a snorkel or mask-whether it was generic or prescription. We stopped renting them years ago when we noticed the only cleaning procedures seemed to be soaking them all together in a bucket of salt water. Perhaps things have changed since then, and they probably have, but no way am I putting one in my mouth and over my eyes and nose when I don't know for certain how well it has been cleaned!! We now take our own mask and snorkel-we know they will fit -and they actually take up little room in the suitcase. At least I know whose mouth it has been in before I put it in mine!

We can then rent the vest and/or flippers if needed or required.

[Islandbear]

I agree, if you are going to Bonaire invest in your own mask & snorkle. This is snorkle heaven! A quick stop in at a local dive shop before you go will make your trip so much more enjoyable. I am near sighted -1.25 / -1.25 and snorkel without perscription lenses. Under water I seem to do just fine. But, If you decide to use one buy it don't rent it.

[Readytogo85]

I also need corrective lenses and the first time I snorkeled I used a non-prescription mask and it wasn't very enjoyable since everything was blurry. After researching prescription masks for another trip, I contacted my eye care physician and was told I was perfectly fine wearing my contact lenses with a well sealed mask. They did stress the importance of cleaning my lenses really well afterwards. (I always travel with a back-up pair "just in case"). I've snorkeled twice now wearing my contacts and have had no trouble and thoroughly enjoyed the experiences since I could see perfectly. If you're a contact lens wearer, you might give it a try.

[rjscott]

Don't know about Bonaire, but some larger dive shops do rent Rx masks. My husband, before he bought his Rx mask, rented one to try it out, in Key Largo. How it works is: they carry a limited quantity of lenses in various Rx strengths for each eye. The masks are the kind with two lenses instead of a single lens. They pop out each lens and insert the lens closest to your Rx for that side (you'll need to know your Rx for your glasses). He liked it and so bought one at a dive shop near our home, which is where we bought the rest of our snorkel equipment. I wear contact lenses and so I just bought a regular mask.

However, I have been on many Princess ships, and I am not aware of any Princess ships that rent snorkel equipment. In fact, most of the cruise lines have gotten away from having onboard equipment and when passengers book a snorkeling excursion, the passengers receive their equipment from the excursion contractor. These contractors, however, would not be able to provide an Rx mask, as they would just have standard equipment available for the excursions.

[Seal]

I also need corrective lenses and the first time I snorkeled I used a non-prescription mask and it wasn't very enjoyable since everything was blurry. After researching prescription masks for another trip, I contacted my eye care physician and was told I was perfectly fine wearing my contact lenses with a well sealed mask. They did stress the importance of cleaning my lenses really well afterwards. (I always travel with a back-up pair "just in case"). I've snorkeled twice now wearing my contacts and have had no trouble and thoroughly enjoyed the experiences since I could see perfectly. If you're a contact lens wearer, you might give it a try.

 

This is so strange--I have NEVER thought about not wearing my contacts with a mask--I wear them swimming--don't see the difference--guess I never have known that you are not supposed to enjoy water sports without your contacts--that wouldn't be very good for me either>

 

Nancy:D

[Wayfairers]

I have worn my contacts snorkeling, waterskiing, wakeboarding, windsurfing, swimming...every time I have been in water since I started wearing contacts 30 years ago and have never lost a contact. The only problem I have had is the original soft contacts (25-30 years ago) dried out some and you couldn't get them out if you tried for about a half hour after being in the water - I don't notice that with my latest lens. We also travel with our masks and snorkels - same cleanliness issue others have talked about. We have fins, but don't usually carry them because of their size - we use the fins that come with the excursions. We have plans to buy some of the new smaller fins that work as well as the large ones, but take up much less room.

[rjscott]

Wayfairers, my hubby has the shorter fins and really likes them. He found them at Dick's Sporting Goods.

[sunseeker09]

I'm an instructor and wear contacts all the time for diving. Never a problem. The only thing is, if you do get water in your eyes, you should toss the contacts as the salt water destroys them and is bad for your eyes (this straight from the optometrist), so best to wear some dailies if you can.

Otherwise, you can apparently buy these stick on lenses that stick inside your mask. I've not tried them. If you don't want to wear contacts, I strongly suggest you buy your own prescription mask that fits you well and is your prescription rather than one sight fits all. Oh, and be sure to take your glasses for before/after diving!