Anyone try BOB?

[BaltiGator]

Now that I've done this excursion, I can answer a couple of my own questions as well as a couple of others.

 

First, you can only book through a cruise line.

 

Second, the snorkeling is very good - better, in fact, than what you'll see while in the BOB. Don't misunderstand - the BOB is loads of fun and well worth it, but your movements are limited and you have to stay with the divers. Whereas, you can snorkel anywhere within the cove and you can see some fantastic stuff.

 

Next, you'll have about an hour to snorkel in addition to 30 minutes in the BOB. The only caveat here is that if you're part of the middle group of the three BOB groups, your snorkeling time will be split into two separate periods. A bit of a pain since you don't wear any of the snorkel equipment while using the BOB. Probably the crew should ask those who either don't want to snorkel at all or don't intend to snorkel much to volunteer for the middle BOB group. But on our tour, they didn't give anyone any options - they just went around tagging people with wristbands and you were in the group you were in. We got lucky - we were the third group, meaning we got to snorkel for about an hour, then got to save the BOB part for last. But being in the first BOB group would be just as good IMO, and I do see that another poster in this thread was in the middle group and actually liked that arrangement. So no worries.

 

Another thing - the crew are great. Very entertaining and also they take your safety VERY seriously. For each group of 8-10 BOBs there are 4-5 divers down there with you.

 

Another nice thing - they pick you up right at the pier and put you on the boat - no wasted time on buses or ferries. Very nice.

 

Also - the snorkeling equipment on this excursion is of a higher grade than many other tours (not professional quality, but more than decent) and it is VERIFIABLY sterilized between uses.

 

At $100 or so a person this is not a cheap excursion - it only lasts 3.5 hours and that includes the usual "downtime" (safety discussions, instructions, etc.). But IMO it is very well worth it for those who like to snorkel and also want the novelty excitement of being in one of the BOBs.

 

If you do it, you absolutely MUST bring an underwater camera. One of the divers will gather your friends and family and take several pictures of you all in the BOBs with your own camera(s). This is not only a nice feature of the excursion, it is also a nice gesture that they do not try to sell you something by taking pictures with company cameras instead.

 

We had so much fun we bought the tee-shirts they sell on the boat and tipped the crew too. They aren't pushy about either of these things though.

 

Oh, and of course there are nice snacks/soft drinks/water on the boat, as well as a restroom.

 

Very well organized overall, very much fun, and highly recommended!!!! :D

[Dphipps2]

Thanks for the update. Can you give me a little more info regarding non swimmers. My husband doesn't swim but would really like to do the excursion. He can only put his head under water if he is holding onto something. In your opinion do you think this would be an ok excursion for non swimmers?

[chrisdige]

Gator,

 

Great post! Very informative. Thanks for taking the time to document your experience. I may not bring my snorkal gear now.

 

Regards, Chris

[BaltiGator]

Thanks for the update. Can you give me a little more info regarding non swimmers. My husband doesn't swim but would really like to do the excursion. He can only put his head under water if he is holding onto something. In your opinion do you think this would be an ok excursion for non swimmers?

 

This is not an easy question to answer. It depends on the person in question. Before I give you my own opinion, I will tell you that the BOB crew said they frequently have non-swimmers on board who do fine. No one didn't swim on our excursion, though, and frankly I would think a non-swimmer would be a little apprehensive about this excursion.

 

No question the crew can get a non-swimmer in and out of the BOB without the person having to let go of something solid (like the ladder on the boat) - mostly. There is still a moment when you more or less have to "float" into and then out of the head gear. It isn't a big deal, but some non-swimmers might panic even at that slight loss of control. That doesn't mean they'll get into trouble - there are too many crew around and too much emphasis on safety for that to happen. But it could ruin someone's experience and/or make them quite embarrassed.

 

Also, when you're in the BOB you are 8 feet below. A non-swimmer might also find this situation very anxiety-producing.

 

Having briefly been a lifeguard many many moons ago, I'm always concerned about people who can't swim getting panicked in the water - that's the way a lot of them get into trouble.

 

Now, if your DH is the sort of easy-going laid-back person who isn't going to have this problem, then sure, he'll probably have a lot of fun. It might even give him the impetus to learn to swim (which he ought to do if you're going to continue to cruise!). But keep in mind that you're also paying for about an hour of very nice snorkeling, during which time DH is going to be sitting on deck with nothing to do but chit-chat with others or watch the action in the water. Not necessarily a bad way to spend a morning on vacation, but not really worth $100 IMO.

[BaltiGator]

Gator,

 

Great post! Very informative. Thanks for taking the time to document your experience. I may not bring my snorkal gear now.

 

Regards, Chris

 

Thanks, Chris.

 

Whether or not to bring your own gear is always a tough call. I would say it depends on two things: (1) how picky are you, and (2) how much snorkeling you are planning to do on this cruise.

 

The BOB boats have decent gear on board, as I said, but it's still a long way from pro grade and it won't be what you're used to if you have high-quality gear of your own. Some experienced divers shrug it off and work with what they have. But I've also been with one or two who got very frustrated when using rental-type gear and didn't really enjoy themselves.

 

Snorkel gear gobbles up a lot of precious luggage space. If you're only doing the BOB, it probably isn't worth it to bring your own for an hour of snorkeling. But if you've got a couple of other snorkel outings planned, it might be worth it to haul your own gear along.

[Dphipps2]

Thanks. I'll give him the info and let him decide from there. He has been talking about swimming lessons and we still have a while before our cruise so maybe we'll start there and not have to worry about it.

[tenbylin]

Baltigator,

 

Can you answer a question for me. We have this excursion booked for August. I am getting a little nervous about being claustrophobic in the BOB gear. My sister is extremlely nervous, she is seriously concidering cancelling and just staying on the ship and wait for the rest of us to get back (7). Can you give us your personal opinion about getting in and out of the BOB? Are we getting ourselves nervous about nothing.:confused:

[BaltiGator]

Baltigator,

 

Can you answer a question for me. We have this excursion booked for August. I am getting a little nervous about being claustrophobic in the BOB gear. My sister is extremlely nervous, she is seriously concidering cancelling and just staying on the ship and wait for the rest of us to get back (7). Can you give us your personal opinion about getting in and out of the BOB? Are we getting ourselves nervous about nothing.:confused:

 

I don't suffer from claustrophobia, but it is entirely possible that someone who does could get panicked inside the BOB. It completely encloses your head, though of course with plenty of room to spare. While you're in it and lowered to 8 feet deep, a person with claustrophobic tendencies might indeed feel constrained. After all, you have to breathe inside this thing (but you just breathe normally, nothing to it). You might do fine. I think being nervous beforehand, though, is not a good sign. The crew will do a wonderful job of TRYING to put you at ease, but you may be better off just picking a different excursion. I don't want to talk you out of it, it's a lot of fun, but - it would be inconsiderate of me just to say, nah, you'll definitely do fine. I can't answer that for you. Best wishes.

[Bevard]

I'm laughing at this post because this is exactly the way I felt when I was considering parasailing. I wanted to do it, BUT........ In the end I decided to do something I was excited about rather than scared about and think that was the best decision. You need to anticipate the excursion with excitement, not fear. This is your vacation after all.

[tenbylin]

Thanks for your honesty. i'll see when we get there, if we still feel uneasy with it we will just snokel. We don't want to ruin the other 6 peoples fun.:)

[tempo8247]

I also tried the BOB excursion and had a great time!!!

 

I have to agree that the workers are wonderful and very attentive when you are in the water, and funny when you are not. Bill, the Captain, gives a demonstration while on the ship so you know exactly what you need to do once in the water.

 

However, I was nervous I would forget EVERYTHING... and I think I did too, but the divers were there to help you out.

 

In order to get into the BOB, you need to duck under the water, and put your head into the bubble. (If you wear contacts, you just need to tell the diver so they guide your head under the bubble and you can close your eyes)

 

Once you are on the machine, which was easier than I feared, they make sure you are comfortable. I have to admit that it was an odd sensation for me... being in a bubble underwater breathing warm air. But, I just took a couple deep breaths and realized I could pop out anytime and there WAS oxygen.

 

You are only about 8 feet from the surface when you are underwater at the deepest. When they take you under, they show you how to equalize the pressure in your ears... (IE Blow out nose while holding your nose and closing your mouth.)

 

If you are having troubles you just let them know and they will take you down slower. If for some reason you still are not comfortable, you can scoot around about 1 foot under the water's surface.

 

It really is all about you and how comfortable you are.

 

They do have some medical questions, IE, surgeries within 2 years, asthma, diabetic, pregnant. As long as you have your asthma controlled you can take part... but are told that they do not have medical personnel to help if there is an emergency. (so we were told, but there was not an issue.) When we went, I know one woman just observed because she was diabetic. Another woman backed out and did not dive because she was not comfortable in the bubble. My friend actually got an extra shot at BOB because she was in the area when that happened. Yay!!

 

People of all sizes, heights and swimming level took part. On our excursion there was one woman who admitted that she was not a swimmer. They just gave her an extra armband when going into the water which indicated they needed to take her to the surface and let her off BOB should there be an issue.

 

I think they keep their eye more on the non swimmers, but I also felt supervised the entire time I was down. Any time I was having issues (Boy those things are hard to steer!) they were there to help.

 

At all times when you are in the water you have on these bright yellow inflatable life jackets. Even when you are on BOB you wear it, though they are deflated at that point.

 

When you are in the water skorkeling, you can blow some air into the jacket to help you float. I did not need to do this since I am an avid swimmer.

 

I would highly recommend this excursion. It is worth every cent for the attention the crew pays to you to ensure a safe adventure.

 

Bill, the Capt., was great too.

 

I recommend bringing some cash for a t-shirt ($20) and definitely a tip for the divers. They are well worth the extra $$$.

[tempo8247]

Thanks for the update. Can you give me a little more info regarding non swimmers. My husband doesn't swim but would really like to do the excursion. He can only put his head under water if he is holding onto something. In your opinion do you think this would be an ok excursion for non swimmers?

 

As long as your husband can put his head under the water in order to get into the bubble he should be fine on BOB. The entire time you have this machine (that floats) to hold on to. And, they really do help make you feel safe and comfortable.

 

Essentially, you are holding onto the back of the bubble when you go under. There will be a diver to guide you. (Since I wore contacts I needed to close my eyes.)

 

The Capt did mention they do get non-swimmers, so I would imagine they are used to accomodating them in order to ensure a lovely experience.

[tempo8247]

Here are some pictures from the BOB excursion.

 

http://community.webshots.com/album/550172124MMyIBm

 

(Taken with a fujifilm disposable underwater camera.)