BOB (Breathable Observ Bubble) Advice

[SKSMIKE5]

A bunch of us are on Carnival Triumph in January and were interested in the underwater scooters, BOB, while in St. Thoma. Has anyone done that through a local agent vs scheduling them through the cruise line? If so, can you share your contact with us? We figured it would be about $90-$100 a person if we booked through Carnival. We greatly appreciate any advice/help. Thanks...

[tef43]

BOB *only* accepts reservations through the cruiselines (or hotels if you are doing a land vacation on STT). Cost, last time I checked, was $99/pp.

[rburns44]

tef43 is right. They only except ship reservations. It is awesome and well worth the money!

 

Becky

[Shibley3]

We did the BOB last February and loved it! It is well worth the money and the crew and the experience could not have been better. We did find a coupon for $10 off and made our reservations right from a website. I have not found that site again though so it looks like they might have joined forces with the hotels and ships for booking rights. We suggest that you book them without delay and go with high expectations of being WOWED!

[27123]

i'm going to try it in Nassau on September 16th when the Carnival Miracle pulls into port. I had to Book it on Shoretrips.com because it was not on the list of excursions offered by Carnival on the ship. The funny thing was Stuarts Dive shop who does the Underwater Bubble Sub tour. has an online site & when i tried to book the tour young lady on the phone said they were closed thursday, the day we pull into port. but Shoretrips booked it listing Stuarts dive Shop as the tour operator. i called them back and she said her boss said she is indeed working that day and the tour is on

[Linda the Book Lover]

What is this underwater scooter excursion? The DH and I are of a certain age and suddenly I have decided to try different things! We did helmet diving in Bermuda and we are looking at ideas of where to go and what to do in 2006. We are going to go on Carnival because we have received such wonderful service from our Carnival vacation planner. Like the prodigal son, the DH and I are coming home to Carnival! :0

[BottledRed]

What is this underwater scooter excursion? The DH and I are of a certain age and suddenly I have decided to try different things! We did helmet diving in Bermuda and we are looking at ideas of where to go and what to do in 2006. We are going to go on Carnival because we have received such wonderful service from our Carnival vacation planner. Like the prodigal son, the DH and I are coming home to Carnival! :0

I found one site to describe it. I'm looking into doing this in the eastern caribbean on the group cruise.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Wow!!! That really looks like fun! Thanks for the info on that one.

[foxxaero]

Thanks Linda for your email. My name is Russ Steffler and I publish a website called the Worlds Most Radical Boat Designs http://foxxaero.homestead.com/newsplash.html

 

The BOB is listed at my site as one of the the worlds most radical boat designs. However, I get many inquiries from people looking for more detailed information on the BOB such as where to purchase ... who is the bulder / manufacturer ... etc.

 

If anyone knows how to contact the manufacturer of these units please contact me. My email address is at the Worlds Most Radical Boat Designs website.

 

Many thanks in advance for any information you can provide.

 

Russ Steffler

Foxxaero Marine Technolgies

Victoria BC Canada

[BIG DADDY ONE]

I am a certified open water diver and this looks like so much fun. Is it available at all the ports now? If not where. My brother is going on the Elation in December and he might enjoy this as well. We are also going together on the Conquest in May. I sure would like to ride one of these on that cruise!

[cruisercathy]

Just a heads up...........I booked this for my last cruise and discovered you can not do this tour if you are on blood pressure medicaiton..........I received a full refund..........

[BIG DADDY ONE]

Cathy, which ports did you find the BOB?

what is the difficulty with high blood pressure medicine?

I am on high blood pressure medicine and also OPEN WATER Certified by PADI.

It does not keep me from diving.

[rburns44]

BOB is available in St. Thomas and Key West. (Well maybe not after Ivan!) Princess did not list it on their list of excursions but I called them and was able to book it. After boarding the Golden the Tour Director called us and said we were the only 2 people to book BOB. Tour Dir. hooked us up with people from the Destiny and we were able to go. BOB people told us that Princess always medic people out so BOB people didn't save spots for Princess. We received the form before we arrived in St. Thomas but the Carnival people got theirs on the excursion. You have to sign a form saying you are not an any prescription drugs. I am but just signed no anyway. Not sure about the BP meds. It was a fantastic excursion and since you are not down very far I didn't think it was dangerous at all. Think the form is just to CYA.

 

Becky

[Linda the Book Lover]

How far do you go down? I think with helmet diving we went down about maybe 12-15 feet (as you could still see the surface). How strong a swimmer do you need to be? How do you stay on that "scooter thing" down there? Eek...I have so many questions don't I? ;) Please tell us a little about your excursion. Thanks!

[cruisercathy]

BIG Daddy One...........

 

I had booked this thru RCCL online............when I visited with a relative who on a previous cruise attemptrd to do BOB.......she being on high BP meds was not allowed to do the excursion...........so.........I emailed BOB from their website and got a reply that unfortunately for the passengers safety I could not do the excursion.....I guess you could fib if you wanted to......I am trying to get my BP under control so at some point in the future I can do it.

[rburns44]

You go down about 15-20 feet. The scooter is connected to a line with a float on top. If you are on the boat you see these floats zipping all over. While you are on BOB it seems like you move very slow. You just duck your head under the water and come up in the helmut and sit on the seat. You don't have to know how to swim. From then on it is just sitting and pressing the button on the hand gripes to move forward. They go over everything ahead of time. You have a diver with you the whole time. And when your turn is over you can snorkle. It is just so cool! Well worth the price!

 

Not sure why on BP meds you can't do it. Good luck CruiserCathy on getting your BP down.

[cathyoo]

the bubble dive is something I would really like to do. I love any water activity. However, because of my weight (5'6" 250) I don't go into water in public places. Can I get some honest opinions about fat folks and the BOB. Has anyone been on a dive with chubbies divers? Can I wear a cover up? I would really appreciate your feedback. Thanks