Discover Scuba or Shipwreck Snuba in GCM

[elcid79]

I am considering booking either the Discover Scuba or the Shipwreck Snuba in Grand Cayman on my upcoming cruise.

 

A little background,

 

I am 31 years old, my wife is 28.

 

I have taken, and passed easily the open water certification courses (twice) once with SSI, and once with PADI. However, due to being ridiculously busy I never had time to do my open water dives. Therefor my certification never happened. I did a discovery dive years ago with my sister down in Cancun.....

 

Long story short,

 

I would like to introduce my wife to underwater sports in hopes that she will enjoy it and decide to get certified with me in the future.

 

Which one of these two options is the most enjoyable? I am leaning toward the discovery Scuba. But the snuba seems a little more relaxed, and simpler. More in line with snorkeling, which she is excited about. The idea of being way under water, kind of freaks her out a bit. But I know that these discovery dives are usually in shallow coves that are easy to surface, if a problem arises. Plus, I will be right beside her if she gets nervous.

 

So the Discover Scuba will give her a more authentic representation of what we will be doing to get certified. What are your thoughts and opinions?

 

 

Thanks in advance!

[bobsfamily]

I am considering booking either the Discover Scuba or the Shipwreck Snuba in Grand Cayman on my upcoming cruise.

 

A little background,

 

I am 31 years old, my wife is 28.

 

I have taken, and passed easily the open water certification courses (twice) once with SSI, and once with PADI. However, due to being ridiculously busy I never had time to do my open water dives. Therefor my certification never happened. I did a discovery dive years ago with my sister down in Cancun.....

 

Long story short,

 

I would like to introduce my wife to underwater sports in hopes that she will enjoy it and decide to get certified with me in the future.

 

Which one of these two options is the most enjoyable? I am leaning toward the discovery Scuba. But the snuba seems a little more relaxed, and simpler. More in line with snorkeling, which she is excited about. The idea of being way under water, kind of freaks her out a bit. But I know that these discovery dives are usually in shallow coves that are easy to surface, if a problem arises. Plus, I will be right beside her if she gets nervous.

 

So the Discover Scuba will give her a more authentic representation of what we will be doing to get certified. What are your thoughts and opinions?

 

 

Thanks in advance!

 

I have thought about doing the Snuba with my wife who has never dove but does snorkel once in a while (on cruises). She has no wish to be certified, I am certified but it has been a while since I've dove. Where we live the water is murky and nothing like the Carib waters.

 

If you think your wife would like to be certified I would go with the Scuba and let her try it out. I doubt you will be in more than 20-25' deep water and the instructor(s) will be very near. Make sure she understands to breathe constantly! If she likes it then you have your answer, if not then just plan on snorkeling...

Have a wonderful cruise!

[mrsaquashark]

My husband and I (30/28) have done discover scuba twice and snuba once. The scenery on the two types of dives was very similar, but the preparatory instruction was less intensive for snuba, as they just give a quick rundown rather than a full lecture with a quiz. Also, in snuba, the guide was encouraging me to take pictures with my underwater camera and helping me set up good shots, while they did not allow us to bring he camera on discover scuba.

 

I also found that not having to wear my tank allowed me to enjoy the underwater experience a bit more. On our upcoming cruise (same Silhouette sailing as you!) we will be doing the shipwreck snuba in Grand Cayman.

 

Whatever you choose, I'm sure you and your wife will have a fun adventure and fantastic memory!

[elcid79]

Thanks for the input!

 

 

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[elcid79]

My husband and I (30/28) have done discover scuba twice and snuba once. The scenery on the two types of dives was very similar, but the preparatory instruction was less intensive for snuba, as they just give a quick rundown rather than a full lecture with a quiz. Also, in snuba, the guide was encouraging me to take pictures with my underwater camera and helping me set up good shots, while they did not allow us to bring he camera on discover scuba.

 

I also found that not having to wear my tank allowed me to enjoy the underwater experience a bit more. On our upcoming cruise (same Silhouette sailing as you!) we will be doing the shipwreck snuba in Grand Cayman.

 

Whatever you choose, I'm sure you and your wife will have a fun adventure and fantastic memory!

 

Which activity gave you more time underwater just tooling about? I am squarely on the fence right now. Also, in Snuba, do you have some sort of weighting/flotation to allow yourself to stay neutrally buoyant?

 

Thanks!

[mrsaquashark]

Both activities gave relatively equal times underwater. I think the main advantage to the scuba is that first dive toward certification. Both go with groups of 4 or less. The only difference between the gear for the two is where the air tank is. For scuba it is on your back, for snuba, it is on a raft on the surface and each person has a 20 foot long air hose back to it.

[elcid79]

You would also say that the underwater life and scenery is pretty similar? Often times "wrecks" make for amazing dive experiences...

 

 

Thanks for your advice!

[mrsaquashark]

Yes, I found it to be pretty similar, a variety of fish, coral, etc. I have found scenery more dependent on location, but did not feel like I missed anything with snuba. When I did snuba in St. Maarten last year, the guide actually picked up a sea urchin, gestured for me to put out my hand, placed it there, and then indicated I should take a picture! A unique experience to say the least!

 

I am very much looking forward to my upcoming snuba adventure in grand cayman, as I have heard that the underwater scenery is top notch!

[elcid79]

snuba sounds less scary to my wife, I wanted her to have a great first experience. So with that said, I think I will book the snuba. Thanks for the advice!

 

J

[aquashark]

Very cool -- look forward to meeting you guys!

[elcid79]

Me 2! Thanks for the help!

[bobsfamily]

snuba sounds less scary to my wife, I wanted her to have a great first experience. So with that said, I think I will book the snuba. Thanks for the advice!

 

J

Listen to the wife!

 

One thing about Snuba is that with the air tanks at the surface there is no chance of an air embolism. The air you are breathing thru the tube does not compress as it would in tanks. If for some reason you needed to remove the helmet you could swim up to the surface without worrying about blowing out the air as you rise.

 

Have a wonderful cruise and a great Snuba time!

[elcid79]

Is it a helmet? It looked just like a regulator and a compressed air tank with a long hose?

 

 

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[vivi9909]

Listen to the wife!

 

One thing about Snuba is that with the air tanks at the surface there is no chance of an air embolism. The air you are breathing thru the tube does not compress as it would in tanks. If for some reason you needed to remove the helmet you could swim up to the surface without worrying about blowing out the air as you rise.

 

Have a wonderful cruise and a great Snuba time!

 

In order to fill up your helmet, the air has to be blown in at the same pressure of the water at the depth you are. Depending on the depth you are, yes, embolism problems might occur if you go back up too fast exactly like with a scuba. However, these Snubas are of course limited by the length of the tube and never go very deep.

[elcid79]

It looks like a regulator and not a helmet from everything I have read.

 

If it's a helmet dive I am not really interested in it.

 

 

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[SNUBA]

Hey guys, People often get SNUBA mixed up with another great underwater activity called SEA TREK (Helmet Diving). SNUBA is the surfaced supplied air from a raft, a 20 foot hose and a Basic Diving Regulator. It gives you the feel of SCUBA diving without having to be certified, and the comfort of knowing you're attached to a raft with a specially trained SNUBA Guide right by your side. It's actually a great introduction into feeling what it's like to breathe underwater, and I recommend checking it out before you go strait into SCUBA. As for the question with the buoyancy we use basic weight belts to help find neutrality under water. We have over 70 awesome locations that you can check out on our website: http://www.snuba.com. If you have any other questions feel free to email me at scott@snuba.com. Enjoy your dive!

[vivi9909]

Hey guys, People often get SNUBA mixed up with another great underwater activity called SEA TREK (Helmet Diving). SNUBA is the surfaced supplied air from a raft, a 20 foot hose and a Basic Diving Regulator. It gives you the feel of SCUBA diving without having to be certified, and the comfort of knowing you're attached to a raft with a specially trained SNUBA Guide right by your side. It's actually a great introduction into feeling what it's like to breathe underwater, and I recommend checking it out before you go strait into SCUBA. As for the question with the buoyancy we use basic weight belts to help find neutrality under water. We have over 70 awesome locations that you can check out on our website: http://www.snuba.com. If you have any other questions feel free to email me at scott@snuba.com. Enjoy your dive!

 

I confess I was confusing both; thank you for the clarification.

 

My previous post was about Sea Trek but my comment about the air pressure still holds and it has to be the same for Helmet Diving as it is for Scuba and Snuba and the risk of embolism is the same for the three and is only related to the depth of the dive.

Edited January 5, 2015 by vivi9909

[elcid79]

Thanks for the clarification and advice everyone!

[cpayne]

snuba sounds less scary to my wife, I wanted her to have a great first experience. So with that said, I think I will book the snuba. Thanks for the advice!

 

J

 

Definitely try snuba first. I speak from 1st hand experience as a non diver married to a very experienced diver. When we met yrs ago he of course was very excited to introduce me to scuba. Having been around the water my whole life(life guard, swim instructor, etc) I too was excited to try this. Our 1st mistake:

 

My intro to scuba course was NOT in a pool. It was in the open water in Cozumel with a large group. The lessons went fast and I tend to ask a lot of questions. I couldn't keep up with the instructions and felt nervous and confused. I'm short at only 5 ft tall/95 lbs and the water was very choppy that day. We did some of the instruction on the beach and then moved to what was waist deep water for most. For me w/ the big waves it was waves up and over my head at some times. The large tanks were also overwhelming for me given my size and the water conditions. It was a MISERABLE introduction to scuba and was afraid to try it again for some time.

 

The next time I eventually tried was in a 1:1 situation in a pool at a resort in Domincan Republic. Controlled environment, instructor available to go at my pace and answer all my crazy questions, husband was right there with me which made me feel at ease, etc...... Now once I got in to the open water I still struggled, but that was my issue. I have since tried scuba several other times, but once I get past about 30 ft I feel claustrophobic! I have given up unfortunately!

 

I would recommend for your wife: Snuba to see if she even likes the "sensation". Not as much equipment to man handle and easier to just get the feel of breathing, etc.... If this goes well, then try a scuba course in the pool More controlled environment to allow her to build her confidence. Then move to an open water intro dive.

 

Hope this helps and hope her results are better than mine!

[Capt_BJ]

When we married, I was a diver and DW was close to legally blind without her glasses ... anything involving face in the water and seeing was a very foreign concept. Trusting me, I got her a very good fitting mask with prescription lenses and we started snorkeling .... over the course of 2 years we went on better than 50 snorkel trips in the Keys and on cruises (we lived in Miami). She became VERY comfortable in the water.

 

Then, on a cruise I suggested a discovery dive .... to 'try it.' She loved it, loved that she was no longer 'looking down from the outside but right there with the fishies', signed up for classes as soon as we got home, was certified 4 weeks later and told me she'd booked us a week at Sunset House for the following month!

 

What's my point?

 

The idea of being way under water, kind of freaks her out a bit.

 

I beat this one first .... sometimes you need to take things slow and easy ..... don't push too hard .... if you go discovery or snuba at this time and she freaks, you're done.

 

Take a step back and do some quality snorkeling .... EDEN ROCK or SUNSET HOUSE are recommended . . .

 

consider taking her to a dive shop to get a good fitting mask .... a leaking mask is a BIG turn off to newbies ... all she needs now is a poor fitting mask on a discovery or snuba and you are game over . . .

 

my 2 cents and experience .....

[bobsfamily]

Hey guys, People often get SNUBA mixed up with another great underwater activity called SEA TREK (Helmet Diving). SNUBA is the surfaced supplied air from a raft, a 20 foot hose and a Basic Diving Regulator. It gives you the feel of SCUBA diving without having to be certified, and the comfort of knowing you're attached to a raft with a specially trained SNUBA Guide right by your side. It's actually a great introduction into feeling what it's like to breathe underwater, and I recommend checking it out before you go strait into SCUBA. As for the question with the buoyancy we use basic weight belts to help find neutrality under water. We have over 70 awesome locations that you can check out on our website: www.snuba.com. If you have any other questions feel free to email me at scott@snuba.com. Enjoy your dive!

Thanks! As others stated I was getting the 2 mixed up. I was thinking the helmet but knowing it was the regulator. What is the helmet thingy called?