Prescription Snorkel Mask - Princess Cay?

[KauaiKris]

I've been reading up here and it seems that snorkeling isn't all that great on Princess Cay. However, what I need to know is whether there are prescription snorkel masks available for rent, should we decide to try anyway. We'll have two in our group that wear glasses, but not contact lenses, and so will need the prescription masks. Anyone have info on this?

[elisamarie]

I am near sighted and, although I have my own snorkeling gear, I can see with the rented mask when snorkeling. It has enough magnification to make up for my deficit in vision. My husband, however, needs his prescription to see anything, so we had his prescription put into his mask and we take it along. The rented masks, at least what we have found, do not have prescription available.

 

I can tell you, the little investment in his mask we made was definitely worth it. He loves to snorkel now and he didn't before. Now if we could just get one that works well with his moustache.

[bekkis]

There are a few options available (I'm a scuba instructor posting under my wife's nickname). The first is, if you wear contacts, just wear them with a mask and keep your eyes closed whenever the mask is off your face in the water, which is probably never while snorkeling. Another is off-the-shelf vision correcting lenses, generally for nearsightedness only. My daughter has one of these and loves it. You can have a mask made with your prescription (large cash), or have inserts made to fit pretty much any mask.

As far as the mustache thing, I have a mask with a very sharp edge at the bottom of the mask skirt that fits right under my nose. It still leaks a bit at the surface, but after a few feet underwater the pressure seals it really well.

Hope this helps at all.

[wolfie_47]

Try shaving the moustache down about 1/4" from the nose to give the mask somewhere to seal. When diving I've also used moustache wax, that allows the mask to seal aginst the hair. DO NOT use vaseline or any product that contains petroleum it will damage the silicone in the mask skirt. Hope this helps.