Submarine in Grand Cayman

[cbressler76]

Should I book the submarine through Carnival or wait until we get to the Island and then book it then? I have two little boys who would LOVE to go on a submarine.....I just don't know where the best place to book it is... Thanks!

[Mamasitarica]

I am no expert so take what I say with a grain of salt. I find it a cheaper 9 times out of 10 to book with a private company. Check online there may be several places that have them. You can check out atlantisadventuresdotcom. They had an online exclusive deal going on that may still be in effect.

[marshhawk]

When I checked the web site it was the same as the fare that the cruise ship offered. Frommers states this is one of the best three things to do in Cayman. We are booked in February. Hope you enjoy your trip.

[drew sailbum]

At this time there is only one submarine operator in Cayman - Atlantis. In the past there had been one other which operated a two passenger sub with the pilot outside wearing scuba gear.

 

Atlantis operates several times each day, assuming conditions allow. Often the ship's schedule only lists two trips. If those times don;t work well for you then you can check directly with Atlantis to see what other times may be offered.

[marshhawk]

We just got back from our cruise, and we really enjoyed the submarine. We went down to 101 feet, and it was so well airconditioned and pressurized, I (the pannicky one) was completely content. Best 100 $ I ever spent. Saw sea turtles, lots if different kinds of fish, and we saw the WALL! the guide was very funny, and we had a wonderful time. The sub seats 40, there were less than 20 people there.We got to move from port to starboard as animals of interest appeared.

If you do not scuba, I highly recommend this tour.:)

[Winston112]

Thanks for the information on the submarine. I think we'll do that as we don't snorkel. When you go to Atlantis website they list a price for teens ($20 cheaper). I noticed that on the Carnival website they only list a price adults and children.

[margincall]

Was curious whether grand cayman or cozumel is a better port for the atlantis-also is it true that you cannot see colors well as you go deeper?

[drew sailbum]

...also is it true that you cannot see colors well as you go deeper?

 

That is true. It is physics at work.

 

As sunlight passes through water certain wavelengths of light are absorbed. First to go is red. A bit deeper and orange is gone. The deeper you go, and the more water the light passes through, the more colors you lose.

 

But if you can then turn on a light you are carrying with you, that light source does not have to travel through such a great distance of water to reach your eyes. When that light goes on, the colors return! This is actually an effect that the sub demonstrates for you.

[TheWog]

That is true. It is physics at work.

 

As sunlight passes through water certain wavelengths of light are absorbed. First to go is red. A bit deeper and orange is gone. The deeper you go, and the more water the light passes through, the more colors you lose.

 

But if you can then turn on a light you are carrying with you, that light source does not have to travel through such a great distance of water to reach your eyes. When that light goes on, the colors return! This is actually an effect that the sub demonstrates for you.

 

Yes, this is true and very cool to experience. We did it on St. Thomas and saw the same thing. Quite cool.

[margincall]

ok now the question of which is better-Cayman or Cozumel or do i just let whichever has the better "other "excursions be the one i dont do it at

[Capt_BJ]

as an avid diver that has many many hours underwater at both locations I can tell you that which is better on any given day has a lot to do with prevailing weather conditions and the pure random chance of critter appearances.

 

Both places can have fantastic visibility on a great day and an average day has pretty good vis.

 

The one area I'd possibly differentiate on is that Cayman very tightly monitors their water sport operations in my experience while Coz - Mexico - does less so in my experience.

 

Where the sub dives in Cayman is close to Sunset House so you might see some divers. Diving in Barbados a few years back one of these subs decended on us and I guess we were part of the show.

 

The 'other' sub in Cayman from a number of years back went thru a few iterations but the pilot was not outside on the one I know of. The sub was a 3 seater and went down to 800 feet!

[margincall]

Thanks Captain I appreciate it

[drew sailbum]

I have been a part of that diver show for the Cayman sub.

 

On rare occasion the visibility is not-so-great here. It is unusual, but it does occasionally happen.

 

On one of those days the Atlantis sub set down in a sand patch near Sunset House while their company's divers used bait to bring fish up against the windows. I was diving in the area using a rebreather (no bubbles!) and used the opportunity of the stopped sub to do a close external examination of the sub. It was fun to "float" upside-down and pop my head into windows where kids were peeking out.

[BecciBoo]

:DDrew: I need some good advice from a local. We've been to Grand Cayman in 2006 and dove at Eden Rock Dive Center. The problem is that back then the coral was deader than a doornail and all we saw in the canyons there were barracuda and tarpon. We have snorkeled Bonaire (our fave) so we have had supreme snorkeling. Lately all the comments about Eden Rock are good. Has it improved all that much since 2006??? We are doing a catamaran excursion in Nov. and need to know if Coral Gardens or the reef would be better snorkeling??? Can you help us? Thanks

[flvol77]

Somehow I got my wife on this the last time we were in GC, it was a last minute spur of the moment thing. We went along the Wall were it goes from 100 ft deep to 1600 ft deep.

 

It was really cool thing, I took a ton of pictures and I will try to post them later.

 

we went to 105 ft deep, and I have a picture of it. We will never dive so it was a very cool experience.