Snuba vs sea trek helmet excursion

[Donald & Daisy Duck]

We are looking at these two different excursions in grand cayman for our August cruise and wonder if anyone has done either one. We will have four children with us 10, 14, 18, 20 and I wonder if going that deep will hurt their ears. What do u think? Should we stick with traditional snorkeling?

 

[crafty91]

My DS (13) and I have done both and my DD (11) and DW have only done the snuba. (we did the snuba excursion in Grand Cayman just this past March) Without a doubt I would say snuba HANDS DOWN! There are several reasons for me and DS that snuba is better; 1) you don't HAVE to go under or to the bottom if you don't want to so it allows those that are new to 'breathing' underwater to get used to it (ie, DD and DW). The sea trek the helmet is like 100 pounds, sits on your shoulders and you HAVE to be on the bottom. 2) I'm not claustrophobic at all but you tend to feel that way in the sea trek helmet. There are fairly small 'portholes' to look out and they are such thick glass that it distorts what you see in the water. 3) snuba is basically scuba diving except your tank is floating on a raft at the surface, so this by itself is very cool and it allows you to 'interact' with the things you will see under the water. (there is a sunken ship JUST off the dive shop, and you can literally throw a rock from the pier to the dive shop so its VERY close to everything.)

My DW is NOT what you would call an underwater person and mostly hung out at the surface and watched us 20 ft below. Though by the end she was comfortable going under and swimming around! I was shocked! Anyway JMHO!

Btw, clearing your ears is no different that going down in the deep end of a pool, just take it slow and it is very easy to do. BE WARNED: after you snuba you will hate normal snorkeling!!

 

[sayhello]

I've only done the sea trek helmet excursion (although I did it in Hawaii) and while it was a unique kind of thing to do, the biggest problem is, because you have to walk on the ocean bottom, they tend to take you to flat, non-rocky areas. The problem is, the fish are mostly in the very uneven, rocky areas. So we didn't see much fish. The best part, really, was snorkeling while the other half of the group did the helmet trek (they split us into 2 groups). It *was* a good area for fish, if you got away from the flat, non-rocky area.

Sayhello

 

[algae]

I've done snuba before. It's a lot of fun and I'd do it again. And, I am a completely non-swimmer. I was interested in the SeaTrek things, but didn't get to try it on our last cruise. After reading other posts here, I think I'm glad I didn't try it.

 

[Danielletx]

My mom and I are thinking of trying the snuba. I am TERRIFIED of the idea of sharks. Anyone encounter one on their snuba adventure? Eep! or a barracuda?

 

[bbn1122]

Snubs....it's scuba diving without the tank on your back. My two sons did it a few years ago in the Keys while my DH scuba dove. They loved it! They only could go down about 20-30 feet, which is plenty. It was a great introduction to scuba with all the training. My younger son used up his oxygen quicker than his older brother because he was a little nervous. Of course, the had a certified diver with them the whole time.

 

[bobyetman]

The big difference between the two is if you are like me and need your glasses to see. I did the helmet dive because I could keep my glasses on. It was a good time. It was a bit intimidating at first with the helmet on, but once you got on the bottom, it was fine.

 

[Donald & Daisy Duck]

Do u get to see alot of fish? I think the kids are leaning towards the sea trek helmet rather than snuba

 

[sayhello]

Do u get to see alot of fish? I think the kids are leaning towards the sea trek helmet rather than snuba

Not really. And certainly not near as much as you would see doing snuba.

Sayhello

 

[ludari]

I'm a scuba diver and during my Disney Fantasy Cruise last year I went diving at all the ports and Grand Cayman was the best. I understand that snuba is not the same as scuba diving but I believe its far better than snorkeling. Maybe if you like snuba you'll take the next step and get scuba certified.

 

[N.Lo]

We did the sea trek in St Thomas. DH & I loved it. The fish are so close you can and do touch them. They even picked up a star fish of some kind and I believe a baby crab (looked like a spider to me) and let everyone hold them. I passed on the spider-ish thing. Although the helmet is heavy as soon as they put it on your shoulders once you walk down into the water it is not heavy at all. Only issue was my DS, 10, had a hard time clearing his ears and decided he didn't want to go, so we were out $90. Oh well, he enjoyed sitting up top and talking to the guy who monitored our air.

 

[Plaid Princess]

We did the Sea Trek helmet in Cozumel and LOVED it! We even lucked out... we were the only ones who did the excursion. It was very cool, and my hair barely got wet! Never tried Snuba, so I can't compare though.

Here's the video we purchased at the end. It was pretty awesome!

 

[Donald & Daisy Duck]

OMG your video was awesome!! Thanks so much for sharing!!

 

[sayhello]

We did the Sea Trek helmet in Cozumel and LOVED it! We even lucked out... we were the only ones who did the excursion. It was very cool, and my hair barely got wet! Never tried Snuba, so I can't compare though.

Here's the video we purchased at the end. It was pretty awesome!

Wow! That's way cooler than the one we did in Hawaii! I'm so jealous!

Sayhello

 

[Plaid Princess]

OMG your video was awesome!! Thanks so much for sharing!!

Wow! That's way cooler than the one we did in Hawaii! I'm so jealous!

It was great! We were very spoiled... the other family on our tour cancelled at the last minute, so we had a private tour. There were more guides in the water than us!