St. Thomas Submarine Excursion ?

[cowhiting]

Hello all!!

As we (DW and twin DDs (7)) prepare for our cruise, we had a talk with friends who will be joining us on the ship. When we get to St. Thomas my friend's wife wants to take her 2 kids (DS (6) and DD (10)), along with my girls, on the submarine excursion. This will happen while friend, DW, and I go scuba diving. What we want to know is any information anyone may have about this excursion. We have read it is 2.5 hrs. long. Is this too long for this age group? Will they get bored? Will they see me swim by in the mouth of a shark?? Just kidding!!!

Really, any assistance you can give will be greatly appreciated.

Mike

 

[jlp651]

bump!

Is this the 350 $ excursion where you have 2 people in the submarine? That looks so cool...but if we did it -it would probably be the only excursion we did...$700.00 for 2 people for an excursion is a bit much...but its not something you do everyday....

 

[TheWog]

I did this with my 6 year old son. 2.5 hours seems like a long estimate. The actual time spent underwater is about 40-45 minutes. There is about a 15 min boat ride to the island where the sub is (and then back). If anyone is afraid of confined spaces they need to think about it. The little hole you go down was intimidating to some and the reason my wife backed out of doing it. We had a great time and would do it again (if there was so much more to do and see next time). We saw sharks, barracuda, turtles, lobster and parts of an old boat that wrecked. We went down between 70-80 feet as the deepest for our tour. The tour guides are a lot of fun and if you are snorkeling at Buck's Island they just might see you, but we did not see any scuba divers. It was worth the $125.00 for me and my son. He loved it. Pick the earliest time so that you have the rest of the day for that all important shopping. They arrange to bring you back to the pier or to downtown. They do make the obligatory stop at the souvenier shop to buy their stuff. Just wait for town. Time wasn't too long for my 6 yo son.

You have any other questions, just ask away.

As an aside, while gathering on the ship and waiting don't ask for towels for this tour (as some other tours need them). One woman asked if we needed towels for the submarine ride and the response was "if you need a towel underwater in a submarine, you have bigger problems"

 

[cowhiting]

Wog,

Thank you very much for the information. It is very useful in making our decision. I think the 2.5 hrs is the total time you can spend from the time you leave the ship to the time you get back but I just wanted to make sure. You have laid those fears to rest.

Since it will be mostly women on this excursion, I think I can guarantee the shopping that will be done.

Thanks again


jlp651...This is not a 2 person sub and I did not see that excursion listed. Sound great though. I bet it would be a lot of fun.

 

[tbuot]

Could a 3 soon to be 4 yr. old do this excursion with us and his 6 yr. old brother??

 

[TheWog]

I think the two person sub is in Grand Cayman.

I don't believe there is an age minimum, but I could be wrong. I think the 4 year old would love it if they like to sit for a little while and are into that type of thing. There is some room to move, but not a lot. But you do get great views of the fish and animals and the boat ride over is fun, especially if they open the bow for you to ride in, which they did for us. I would not have worried about my son when he was 4 doing this tour.

 

[tbuot]

Thanks TheWog!