Without a doubt, eyewear is among the most common things to bring on a cruise. In fact, a previous post we shared on must-have travel accessories notes that sunglasses are important since they ensure your visual comfort and prevent eye damage while traveling. After all, you’re not only focusing your eyes on more sights, but you’re also more exposed to UV rays while you’re out and about.
That said, while packing sunnies might seem like a given, choosing which kind of corrective eye gear to bring is less so. While many people like to bring traditional prescription glasses, there are also those cruise passengers who might prefer wearing contact lenses. But given the high seas and strong winds, do contact lenses really have a place on a cruise?
Contacts and cruises
To put it simply, yes, you can definitely wear contact lenses on a cruise. They’re not necessarily better or worse than wearing typical eyeglasses, but they offer significant benefits to cruise passengers. First, they are less vulnerable to condensation. As highlighted in the last few years, wherein wearing masks has become more commonplace, glasses can easily fog up whenever there’s exposure to water vapor and cold air—both of which are in constant supply on a cruise. To be fair, there are technologies that can combat this. For instance, the brand Zoff has released an anti-fog spray. However, while these initiatives can help, they do require you to consistently use them, which can be a hassle on a busy cruise ship. Contacts, on the other hand, don’t fog up as they lay directly on your eyeball.
Aside from this, contacts are also safe from the corrosion that seawater can do to glasses. Getting splashed by the sea is rather unavoidable on a cruise, and this happening repeatedly can cause the fine metal materials on specs to rust and loosen. In some cases, the seawater can even degrade lens coatings. While contacts are not impervious to seawater, they do have a smaller surface area that makes them less susceptible to splashes.
Finally, contacts have the advantage of offering an unobstructed view. A big reason why many go on cruises is to bask in the open ocean and whatever stunning ports this may take you. With contacts, you can see all this more naturally without any frames getting in the way of the landscape. Contacts are also less likely to experience glare, so you won’t have to deal with harsh light reflections.
Safety tips for wearing contacts on a cruise
Contacts are still medical devices that need to be treated with care, so here are some tips:
Choose lenses with protective properties
Aside from your prescription, your lenses should offer additional protective benefits like lubrication and UV filtering. Many contact lenses nowadays offer these regardless of whether you require single vision, multivision, bifocal, or toric contacts. Case in point, Acuvue OASYS offers lenses with their Hydraclear Plus tech. With this, eyes are less prone to dryness, even in cold or windy environments. It also comes with the highest UVA and UVB protection. When paired with sunglasses, this will ensure that you can see clearly, comfortably, and safely throughout your ocean journey.
Remove them as needed
Part of what makes contacts convenient is that you don’t need to worry about putting them on and off as much as glasses. However, this doesn’t mean you should wear them all the time. As foreign materials, contacts are not meant to stay on longer than what your doctor and the lens manufacturer advise. This extends to removing them for certain activities like swimming or bathing. Healthcare professionals warn that insisting on doing so heightens your risk for eye infections. At the very least, this can lead to dry eyes, stinging, redness, and itching. That said, if you’re somebody who plans to make the most of the cruise ship and the host cities sans swimming, you may want to look into lenses that can be worn for longer periods. One example of this is the Air Optix Night and Day contacts, which can be worn continuously for 30 days.
Bring the right sanitation materials
No matter what type of lenses you bring, it’s best practice to pack a contact lens case and cleaning solutions. This will safeguard your lenses when you need to take them out so they stay clean and safe for your next use. Cases like the Flent Soft Grips are leak-proof options that are compact and don’t take up a lot of space. Meanwhile, for contact solutions, choose something multipurpose to streamline packing. For instance, Renu Bausch + Lomb has a gentle solution you can use to store, disinfect, and lubricate your lenses. Just be sure to check your cruise line’s policies on bringing liquids aboard.
