Have you ever snuba'd?

[famtrav]

We snorkel a lot, and this looked like fun. If you have ever done this tell me your experience. Thanks!

[Nikkoli110]

I haven't done it yet but I have it booked for St. Thomas through Shoretrips.com. My cruise leaves 4/15, I can do a review after that

[IrishQT]

What is snuba -ing?

[xanax]

I did this for the first time 2 years ago in Cozumel and loved it. I think this is the best both worlds. You can get MUCH deeper than snorkeling, but you do not need to be certified and you don't have to wear the tanks.
Of course you need to decompress as you would in diving.

This is a great way to decide if pursuing a course in diving is for you, because the sensations and precautions are very similar.
I can't comment on other company's, but we did ours through Gary "see below link". He was VERY patient and taught us the essentials and then watched us carefully. I was also impressed with his knowledge and protection of the coral in that area.
http://www.mayanparadisetours.com/

[bulldogmom]

We did this in Aruba and I would HIGHLY recommend it. It is like nothing you have ever experienced (unless you scuba dive of course) LOL It takes snorkeling to a whole new level. We plan on doing it again on our next cruise.

[nalady98]

Originally Posted by bulldogmom

We did this in Aruba and I would HIGHLY recommend it. It is like nothing you have ever experienced (unless you scuba dive of course) LOL It takes snorkeling to a whole new level. We plan on doing it again on our next cruise.

I'd really love try try this but I am VERY claustrophobic, what do you think? I'm afraid I'd hyperventilate. I'm just afraid to pay the money, and then realize that I just can't do it. Can you tell me a little more about it??
Thanks in advance~~~

Martha

[bulldogmom]

I think you would be okay because honestly there isn't anything confining you. It is just like snorkeling except you are all the way under water. The good thing about snuba is that if you aren't comfortable going 20-25 feet down you can easily stay on the top just like you would with snorkeling. It is all really up to you. You are sharing the "boat" (the device that the air tank floats on) but you have your own line so you can stay as far up or go as far down as you'd like. DH isn't a very good swimmer so he was very nervous about this at first, after he got down there and used to it though he loved it. Snuba is literally for all ages and skill levels.

If you have any more questions just let me know.

[bulldogmom]

oh sorry! I will give you a short explanation on what snuba is

Snuba is part snorkeling, part scuba diving. You get to go underwater just like scuba diving except you don't have to have any formal "scuba" certification and it is for all skill levels. You have a regulator just like in scuba for your air but instead of having a "pack" on your back the air tanks float on the surface in little boats. You have a tube connected from the air tank to your regulator, this is much less cumbersome than the big "packs" that you use with scuba, plus you can go to any depth you wish up to about 25 feet. If you aren't comfortable going down that far then you can stay close to the top and just "snorkel" (with a regulator instead of a snorkel - - which is nice because you don't get water in your snorkel)

On our tour we were given training and our fins, masks and regulators then we were fitted with weight belts (a must if you want to stay down). We were given a few minutes in shallow water to get used to breathing with the regulator then we swam out farther where we could either "dive" to about 25 feet or stay on the top or anywhere in between. It was really a neat experience.

Hope this helps you some. I forgot to put this description in my last post, I know you wanted more info on what snuba was, not my opinion on if you could handle it or not! LOL

[nalady98]

Originally Posted by bulldogmom

oh sorry! I will give you a short explanation on what snuba is

Snuba is part snorkeling, part scuba diving. You get to go underwater just like scuba diving except you don't have to have any formal "scuba" certification and it is for all skill levels. You have a regulator just like in scuba for your air but instead of having a "pack" on your back the air tanks float on the surface in little boats. You have a tube connected from the air tank to your regulator, this is much less cumbersome than the big "packs" that you use with scuba, plus you can go to any depth you wish up to about 25 feet. If you aren't comfortable going down that far then you can stay close to the top and just "snorkel" (with a regulator instead of a snorkel - - which is nice because you don't get water in your snorkel)

On our tour we were given training and our fins, masks and regulators then we were fitted with weight belts (a must if you want to stay down). We were given a few minutes in shallow water to get used to breathing with the regulator then we swam out farther where we could either "dive" to about 25 feet or stay on the top or anywhere in between. It was really a neat experience.

Hope this helps you some. I forgot to put this description in my last post, I know you wanted more info on what snuba was, not my opinion on if you could handle it or not! LOL

Thanks so much for the details, you make it sound so great! I think I'd really hate to limit myself by not at least trying it once. So...........I'll plan on it in Sept.

[scubaran]

Originally Posted by nalady98

I'd really love try try this but I am VERY claustrophobic, what do you think? I'm afraid I'd hyperventilate. I'm just afraid to pay the money, and then realize that I just can't do it. Can you tell me a little more about it??
Thanks in advance~~~

Martha

Hi Martha,

As a snorkeler, and a certified diver, I'd rather Snuba (or dive of course) than snorkel any time. You actually feel LESS claustrophobic when you snuba, or dive, than when you snorkel. If you think about it, when you snorkel each breath has to draw air from the surface, down 6-7 inches, around a bend in the tub to get the air to your mouth. When you snuba, you use a regulator that supplies air to you just like as if you were on the surface (it actually provides more air as you go deeper to compensate for the additional depth). As such, you feel like flipper, gliding through the water, up, down, whatever way without the constraints of having to worry about breathing. It's actually more freeing than on the surface since you don't have gravity to contend with. So I'd say "go for it". You'll be surprised at how much fun "under" the water can be.

Randall

[bruce-r]

Originally Posted by IrishQT

What is snuba -ing?

www.snuba.com

[Texas_Divers]

We did it in Cozumel on our first cruise because at the time, my honey wasn't certified to dive.

It was dreadful!

You are connected by a hose to a surface unit which supplies your air. That part wasn't too bad. But being connected to 5 other people who were all kicking, splashing, and LOUD was awful!

Had that been the only experience my honey had with breathing underwater, she probably wouldn't have ever pursued anything else. Thankfully, while on the same trip, our dive master took us on a "Discover Scuba" experience and she was hooked!

She got certified after we arrived home. Now we get to dive on each cruise!!

Bottom line: If you try snuba and hate it, it doesn't mean that you aren't cut out to dive!

D.

[nalady98]

Originally Posted by bruce-r

www.snuba.com

This is the best site i've seen, and it helped make me feel alot more comfortable about giving it a try. Looks like another addiction for me tho ! LOL !!!!!!! Thanks!

[bruce-r]

Originally Posted by nalady98

This is the best site i've seen, and it helped make me feel alot more comfortable about giving it a try. Looks like another addiction for me tho ! LOL !!!!!!! Thanks!

snuba is only a "gateway" activity to the real addiction, scuba diving.

[scubaran]

Originally Posted by bruce-r

snuba is only a "gateway" activity to the real addiction, scuba diving.

Yeah, I agree. I think of it as "cutting the imbillical" when you get into real diving.

[xanax]

Just wanted to add, for the record. That I was never hooked up to more than one person (SO) and the air line is very generous.

I'm not sure what the above poster was referring to when referencing 5 other people!?!

[CoNEY46]

Very interesting thread.

I tried to make reservations to snuba in St Thomas, but we will be there on a Sunday, and they only operated on St Johns on sundays.

Aftr a 15 minute phone conversation the lady finally recomended we take the beginers scuba course with the cokidiveclub.

WE have decided to and I am glad we did after reading this thread

coney46

[Texas_Divers]

Originally Posted by CoNEY46

Very interesting thread.

I tried to make reservations to snuba in St Thomas, but we will be there on a Sunday, and they only operated on St Johns on sundays.

Aftr a 15 minute phone conversation the lady finally recomended we take the beginers scuba course with the cokidiveclub.

WE have decided to and I am glad we did after reading this thread

coney46

Let us know how you like it. Many certified divers start with a resort course like the one you have mentioned. After loving it, they come home and get certified. (My honey is one of those people!)

D.

[bulldogmom]

I was hooked with 2 other people (3 including myself) and we didn't get in each other's way at all, in fact it was almost like we weren't connected in any way. The only time we were even near each other was coming in and going out. There was only room for one other person on our "little boat" for a total of 4. Even with the other person I don't think it would have been crowded though. I actaully tried to get a picture with DH and the friend who went with us together under water and never could because they were never near each other. I never heard them while underwater either. I'm really sorry that Texas_diver had such a bad experience.