Scuba/Snuba/Snorkeling...Whats The Difference???

[KROME1380]

I am going on a western caribbean cruise in May and plan or shall I say WANT to either Scuba, Snuba, or Snorkel but dont know what the difference is between the three and most important DONT KNOW HOW TO DO ANY:mad: :o :mad: !!! First can someone explain the difference between them? Also since I lack the skills for any of the above activities, will it be easy to learn how to do any of them in a short period of time. The most time we will be at any of the ports that offer the activity will be 8-10 hours. Is that enough time to learn and participate as well? Also I have a slight fear of water that is above my head:o so will this interferewith the learning process of any. Do any shore excursions offer any of the activities for novice learners? My ports of call will be Princess Cays, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios, and Cozumel. If anyone is familiar with any of these ports and know of any excursions that may fit my needs please let me know. I find it very interesting and I am very excited to observe marine wildlife in tropical areas. Please let me know of any suggestions:)

[Orcrone]

With scuba diving you strap a tank on your back, stick a regulator in your mouth and go diving under the water. You generally need to be certified, however, many cruiselines offer discover scuba courses that give you classroom and pool time, and then take you out for a shallow (< 30 feet) dive.

 

With snuba they keep a small tank on an inflatable raft. The tank runs to some type of regulator via a 20' tube. That gets rid of the tank on your back. You can't go down more than 20 feet, pretty much eliminating the chances of decompression sickness (bends). I've never done this, so can't really advise.

 

With snorkeling you get in the water with a mask and snorkel. The snorkel is a tube that you put in your mouth, with the other end above the water. This allows you to keep your head under water, looking down, while still breathing. You can hold your breath and dive down if you wish.

 

As far as the ports go; both Cozumel and Grand Cayman are known for their excellent snorkeling and scuba diving. In fact, snorkeling in Grand Cayman in 1990 is what convinced me to become a scuba diver.:)

 

Hope this helps.

[Hilary]

I am going on a western caribbean cruise in May and plan or shall I say WANT to either Scuba, Snuba, or Snorkel but dont know what the difference is between the three and most important DONT KNOW HOW TO DO ANY:mad: :o :mad: !!! First can someone explain the difference between them? Also since I lack the skills for any of the above activities, will it be easy to learn how to do any of them in a short period of time. The most time we will be at any of the ports that offer the activity will be 8-10 hours. Is that enough time to learn and participate as well? Also I have a slight fear of water that is above my head:o so will this interferewith the learning process of any. Do any shore excursions offer any of the activities for novice learners? My ports of call will be Princess Cays, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios, and Cozumel. If anyone is familiar with any of these ports and know of any excursions that may fit my needs please let me know. I find it very interesting and I am very excited to observe marine wildlife in tropical areas. Please let me know of any suggestions:)

 

Because you said you're afraid of water that is above your head, you might start with learning to snorkel. Since you'll basically be just floating on top of the water and looking down at the fish, etc., you'll be much more comfortable than starting off with snuba or Discover Scuba. There is a lot to see while snorkeling and you'll be able to relax and enjoy the scenery. Every snorkeling excursion I've ever been on includes lessons to teach you how to do it. They also provide floatation devices for those that are nervous in the water. All 4 ports that you're going to should be good for snorkeling excursions. I've snorkeled at all of them except Princess Cays, and each had it's good points. I'd suggest that you consider doing Stingray City in Grand Cayman though. That's an experience you'll never forget!

[sea-jay]

I am going on a western caribbean cruise in May and plan or shall I say WANT to either Scuba, Snuba, or Snorkel but dont know what the difference is between the three and most important DONT KNOW HOW TO DO ANY!!!

 

 

What cruise and ship will you be on? We (wife and I) will be on RCL's Explorer of the Seas for the May 8 cruise out of Miami.

 

 

First - Can you swim? How well? In order to Snorkle you should have at least the basics of swimming down. If you wear a snorkle vest (life vest that you can manually inflate with air) it helps keep you afloat but then you cannot dive down and see anything up close. Snorkling generally isn't good for deep water, over 10 feet, unless the water visibility is very clear. Close to shores, the wave action tends to stir up sand and silt and cause the water to be cloudy. Further out, you generally have to take a boat trip to get there. In addition to a mask and the snorkle tube itself, you will need fins. You can snorkle without the fins but you will get more tired from swimming around and the fins can help greatly. You can generally rent all this equipment from any cruise tour. However, mask and fin fit is very important. If the mask doesn't fit right, you will continually having to clear it of water from the leakage and if the fins are the wrong size, you could have abraisions or cut off circulation. Equipment can be purchased in any dive shop and a lot of K-marts or Walmarts/Targets stores but at the discount stores it is difficult to check fit since most of this stuff is prepackaged and sealed in plastic. At a dive shop, you can get a good set up, including vest for about $150-$200 (good equipment is not cheap). An example is the snorkle equipment I purchased for my wife. Mask - $60, Vest - $45, Snorkle - $10, Fins - $45 (Total $160). I suggest you only invest if you plan on doing a lot of this type of activity.

 

 

 

Snuba - Haven't done this myself but have been scuba diving in St. Thomas near the snuba activity. Looks like fun and you don't have to worry too much about pressure on the ears. Orcrone gave a good description of this.

 

Scuba Diving is the best. However, in order to participate you should be a fairly strong swimmer and very comfortable in the water. Unless you meet these two criteria, I would not sign up for the discover scuba course/tour. Although these tours have dive instructors assigned to every two or three divers, you can still panic and get into serious trouble at a depth of "only" 30 feet. If you meet the criteria, I would suggest you try it out. It's better than snuba since you are not tied to the surface and can move about freely and its way better than snorkling.

 

 

However, I have to warn you, scuba diving is very addictive. Once you start, all your cruises are taken only so you can dive in different places. The shore tours are all forgotten.:D

 

You can log onto my photo site and see some of the dive photos I've taken so far. I only have an inexpensive film camera and have just started underwater photography so my photos aren't the best. There are a lot of better photos elsewhere on this board.

 

In any event, have a great cruise and join us divers.

[new_cruiser]

I've never done Snuba. To me it kind of seems half-way there. I've snorkeled and last December I did three scuba dives with Windstar's discover scuba program. I liked it so much I'm planning on getting full certification.

 

Given a fear of water above your head, I think starting with snorkeling is best. Even without that, it is a good place to start. Having your own equipment is nice, but I don't always bring mine along (and on one trip we found the mask we had brought wasn't packed well enough and it shattered). The rental places and trip operators I've used have always had a good enough selection of equipment that I was able to get items that fit properly and comfortably without any of the problems Sea-Jay mentions. A good rental or operator will show you how to test a mask for fit - basically, you put it on your face without putting the strap on being careful to not get your hair under the edge; breath in through your nose; hold your breath and let go of the mask - suction should keep it in place.

 

There are many places where you can snorkel from the beach or a boat and see the reef well - with the right beach and conditions the sand in the water is not a problem. It is good to check locally on conditions. When we were on St. John this last trip, many beaches had poor visability due to the wind and waves but there were at least three that people visited that were protected and had great visability. On Isla Culebra, the first spot recommended to us was too rough and nearly zero visibility. We walked about 100 feet over a small point to the next beach and it was absolutely clear - a wonderful diverse reef right off shore in water maybe 10 feet deep.

 

I find snorkeling much more comfortable then swimming. The power of the fins and not having to coordinate breathing with a stroke make it so much easier.

 

A good ship's excursion or independently booked snorkel boat trip should include instruction for any novices. It took less than 15 minutes the first time I did it. Let them know if you feel you need any extra help.

 

If you find you like and are comfortable with snorkeling, it may help you overcome fear to the point where you want to try diving. It will also get you use to using the fins and mask. I don't have a fear of water but for a long time I didn't diving it because of sinus concerns. The first time far under water with a regulator was weird - "Hey I can breath here" - but great. Discover scuba took about an hour of class, plus an hour or two in the pool (I didn't time it and it was during a roughish sea day when the water in the ship pool was very sloshy which extended the time).