I am not a strong swimmer but want to snorkel. Is any type of flotation device available so I can stay out in the water unassisted for longer periods of time?
I don't know about this trip but usually life vests are available/recommended when you snorkel with a group or tour. I love to snorkel but usually use a vest so I can enjoy floating/swimming for a longer period of time.
Yes, you are provided life vests and scuba suits too, if you prefer. I used neither. I just wore a t-shirt over my swim suit to protect my back from the sun. I am not the best swimmer in the world either, but it was very easy to swim and snorkel with the group. It is amazing. If you don't have an underwater camera, consider investing in one. We got some amazing photos (and videos) of us swimming with the sea lions and turtles.
Don't worry. Your guides are ALWAYS watching you, from the water and some from inside the panga. If you ever get tired or want/need to get out of the water for any reason, you just raise up your hand and the panga drivers will zip over to you and wisk you back into the boat. The water is actually quite calm, even though it's the ocean. No one in our group had any problems with the snorkeling. And there were a few people on our tour who probably should not have been attempting these things in the conditions they were in. We had some health issues with a few guests, which were tended to by the doctor on the ship. In fact, after one particular traveler became a bit of a health issue waiting-to-happen, the doctor started coming off the boat on all of our excursions and staying with that particular guest.
They'll take good care of you. Tauck always does. The snorkeling will be fun and exciting for even a novice swimmer.
Yes, they have all of the equipment, and it is in very good shape! The only person who brought his own equipment was a guy who required a corrective (lens) mask. We have snorkeled in a lot of places around the world, and this was the BEST snorkeling we have ever done!! Do not miss one opportunity to snorkel! Each experience is a bit different in what you will see.
Are there corrective lens snorkeling masks for those who wear glasses or contact lenses?
I don't know if they carry any corrective lens loaners on the Isabel II, but you can purchase a mask or a pair of goggles with corrective lenses before you go. Just remember unless you special order ones ground to your prescription, which can be very expensive, you don't get them with your prescription and they won't have any correction for astigmatism. What you get are masks with faceplates or goggles with lenses with a certain amount of correction which is listed in diopters, e.g. -1.5, -2.0, -2.5, etc. Since many goggles come in sealed packages, before you go looking you need to know how many diopters your prescription provides. You can check with your optician or an easy way is to try on the cheap reading glasses (cheaters) that are available on racks at Walmart and other pharmacies to see how many diopters you need.
If you will only be "surface" snorkeling and going no deeper than 5', or just gotta have a very wide field of view, you don't need a mask, just swim goggles will do. They typically cost less than $30 at Walmart and sports stores. SPEEDO, Tyr, and other brands of corrective goggles come in a range of diopters usually in half diopter steps. Until I had Lasik eye correction, I swam laps with goggles having 2.0 diopters of correction.
Oh, don't believe any claim and don't pay extra for a mask or goggle that claims to be anti-fogging- I've been swimming and scuba diving for most of my life and never found one that lived up to that claim. All I ever used was spit or sometimes "artificial spit" (commercial anti-fog treatment).
About the corrective lens mask...perhaps HML was on a more recent trip, but when we went they did not have those types of masks. As I said in a previous post, the one person who needed a corrective lens mask brought his own. I wear contact lenses and always wear them swimming, snorkeling, waterskiing, body surfing (that last one not always on purpose...sometimes I just misjudge the waves...more like body slamming) etc. I have never lost a lens, so that is not a snorkeling problem for me. It would be more problematic to have to remove my contacts and travel to the snorkeling spot somewhat blind!! I think Alan's advice about bringing a lens/mask that you are sure works for you is excellent! Also, as I said before, the snorkeling on this trip is the very best we have ever experienced! You do not want to miss any opportunity to get into the water! There are different experiences at every site. I was always the last one to board the pangas, and one time I was the last one in the water amid a group of very playful sea lions. Their antics and my reactions amused those who were on the pangas for quite a while!
nanawhite,
My apologies -I did not read the entire post before replying earlier. I thought you were asking if there were corrective lens snorkelling masks in a general sense. I did not realize that you were asking specifically about the Isabel II. I have not travelled on the Isabel II, yet, so I cannot answer your question. Sorry for the confusion.
Comments
Don't worry. Your guides are ALWAYS watching you, from the water and some from inside the panga. If you ever get tired or want/need to get out of the water for any reason, you just raise up your hand and the panga drivers will zip over to you and wisk you back into the boat. The water is actually quite calm, even though it's the ocean. No one in our group had any problems with the snorkeling. And there were a few people on our tour who probably should not have been attempting these things in the conditions they were in. We had some health issues with a few guests, which were tended to by the doctor on the ship. In fact, after one particular traveler became a bit of a health issue waiting-to-happen, the doctor started coming off the boat on all of our excursions and staying with that particular guest.
They'll take good care of you. Tauck always does. The snorkeling will be fun and exciting for even a novice swimmer.
~~Beth
I don't know if they carry any corrective lens loaners on the Isabel II, but you can purchase a mask or a pair of goggles with corrective lenses before you go. Just remember unless you special order ones ground to your prescription, which can be very expensive, you don't get them with your prescription and they won't have any correction for astigmatism. What you get are masks with faceplates or goggles with lenses with a certain amount of correction which is listed in diopters, e.g. -1.5, -2.0, -2.5, etc. Since many goggles come in sealed packages, before you go looking you need to know how many diopters your prescription provides. You can check with your optician or an easy way is to try on the cheap reading glasses (cheaters) that are available on racks at Walmart and other pharmacies to see how many diopters you need.
If you will only be "surface" snorkeling and going no deeper than 5', or just gotta have a very wide field of view, you don't need a mask, just swim goggles will do. They typically cost less than $30 at Walmart and sports stores. SPEEDO, Tyr, and other brands of corrective goggles come in a range of diopters usually in half diopter steps. Until I had Lasik eye correction, I swam laps with goggles having 2.0 diopters of correction.
Oh, don't believe any claim and don't pay extra for a mask or goggle that claims to be anti-fogging- I've been swimming and scuba diving for most of my life and never found one that lived up to that claim. All I ever used was spit or sometimes "artificial spit" (commercial anti-fog treatment).
My apologies -I did not read the entire post before replying earlier. I thought you were asking if there were corrective lens snorkelling masks in a general sense. I did not realize that you were asking specifically about the Isabel II. I have not travelled on the Isabel II, yet, so I cannot answer your question. Sorry for the confusion.
HML