Snorkeling Question

My husband can't swim really well but is NOT afraid of the water. Do any of the snorkeling excursions provide life vests for people like him? He wouldn't mind snorkeling with me, if he had a life vest.

My husband can't swim really well but is NOT afraid of the water. Do any of the snorkeling excursions provide life vests for people like him? He wouldn't mind snorkeling with me, if he had a life vest.

Yes, they all have life vests for swimmers and non-swimmers. Some will allow you to swim without the life vest on, some offer a life vest that you have to put air into it, so if you are a good swimmer you can swim with no air in it and some require you to ware a life vest even if you are a better swimmer than the fish.

Yes they have life vests. He will have a really fun time. I am not a good swimmer and am a little afraid of the water and was nervous about going snorkeling but once I put my head down I was so enthralled and loved it!!!! So not being a good swimmer will not in any way dampen his enjoyment of snorkeling. Have a great time!!!

Every snorkeling excursion I have ever done required everyone to have a life vest.

Just my experience.

BTW, he will have no problem.

If you do a cruise line snorkel excursion they will require everyone to wear a BC (an inflatable life vest). This is an insurance requirement. But if you book a private snorkel tour they will usually have BCs for those who want them... When DW and I go off on our own to snorkel (we bring our own equipment) we do not bother to wear vests (which makes us stupid!).

Hank

My DH is the same as yours, except he has a habit of going into panic attacks during open water snorkeling vs shore snorkeling.

Actually in truth my DH can't swim at all, but we do try to go snorkeling at least once per trip as our DS's really enjoy it and I swam threw high school. Every excursion we ever went on had vests you HAD to wear. Though now I just take our youngest DS out, let our oldest go off but stay in a reasonable distance and DH doesn't bother because we have our own gear. Our 2 cruises booked are going to be sure beach vacations so lots of snorkeling for me!!

I don't know where you are located or when you will be cruising, but I would also suggest maybe looking to see if there are any local dive shops in a reasonable distance from you. We are land locked with the closest larger body of water being Lake Erie about 90 mins away from us and we have 2 dive shops in our city. They offer snorkeling lessons along with their Scuba stuff for pretty cheap ($35 for a 3 hour refresher lesson). It could be worth looking into to make sure your DH is really going to be comfortable with it. :)

Every snorkeling excursion we have been on (whether with the ship or private in port) has required you to wear a life/snorkel vest. They want you to be safe whether you prefer to swim without one and are an experienced snorkeler or not. They don't want any bad publicity for their company which is another reason (safety) for them to have you wear them. (Not saying EVERY place makes you wear it, but I haven't come across any that don't enforce it where I have been).

Another thing to consider is when you are snorkeling in the ocean with salt water, you have more buoyancy and float easier. Also remember although it's very exciting with the sea life that you will come across, the absolute best thing to do is remain still and "float". More sea life will come out than when you are busy kicking and going fast (which is great for those that can't swim...just float). :D

Most of all, have a terrific time. If he ever feels a little uneasy, the tour operators do not mind if you are on the boat either. We have also been on excursions with someone in our party that completely freaks out in the ocean when they see fish and will stay on the boat while we're in the water and take pictures of us snorkeling. :p