BOSS on St. Thomas or Sonny Liston tour ???

[mizona]

DH and I are cruising with 2 other couples in mid October. We've been tossing around the idea of doing the BOSS dive or an island tour with Sonny Liston. Now it looks as if only my dear friend and I really want to do the BOSS. Husbands will probably go with couple #3 on the tour. Is the BOSS experience worth it? Or will we miss out by not doing the tour? My inclination is that the BOSS is kind of a once in a lifetime experience. Still, for the cost, sounds like Sonny is a bargain. Any thoughts? TIA :confused:

[martinchem]

Sounds like you have to compromise with your group.

[Court's DH]

Is the BOSS experience worth it?

 

I did the "BOB" a few years ago, which is the exact same thing (by another operator? Did they rename it to BOSS? Don't know...). It was definitely the greatest thing I've ever done with clothes on. ;)

 

The fish are amazing - colorful and wonderfully close! You feel like in one of those super aquariums with the gigantic tanks - except the tables are turned this time: The land based mammal is in the middle, for all the fish to look at. :)

 

You really don't need any diving experience, because you'll never be deeper than 8 or maybe 10 feet, and a diver (sans scooter - just diving with a mask and a tank) is always with you, so there is absolutely ZERO risk.

 

Contrary to what they say on their website, I would, however, recommend that (generic) you know how to swim and ride a bicycle, just to feel a bit more familiar with the ride and have the ability to focus on the underwater world, as opposed to fiddling with the scooter and worry about stuff. So even though they may be right in that you wouldn't have to know how to swim, I'd say it definitely improves the overall experience.

 

I can't recommend this highly enough. The whole thing got me so hooked I took a diving course on our next vacation. ;)

[bogeydi]

I did the "BOB" a few years ago' date=' which is the exact same thing (by another operator? Did they rename it to BOSS? Don't know...). It was definitely the greatest thing I've ever done with clothes on. ;)

 

The fish are amazing - colorful and wonderfully close! You feel like in one of those super aquariums with the gigantic tanks - except the tables are turned this time: The land based mammal is in the middle, for all the fish to look at. :)

 

You really don't need any diving experience, because you'll never be deeper than 8 or maybe 10 feet, and a diver (sans scooter - just diving with a mask and a tank) is always with you, so there is absolutely ZERO risk.

 

Contrary to what they say on their website, I would, however, recommend that (generic) you know how to swim and ride a bicycle, just to feel a bit more familiar with the ride and have the ability to focus on the underwater world, as opposed to fiddling with the scooter and worry about stuff. So even though they may be right in that you wouldn't have to know how to swim, I'd say it definitely improves the overall experience.

 

I can't recommend this highly enough. The whole thing got me so hooked I took a diving course on our next vacation. ;)[/quote']

 

I'm convinced! I am signing up now! Thank you for the informative report!

[Court's DH]

I'm convinced! I am signing up now! Thank you for the informative report!

 

Anytime! You'll love it - have a great cruise and tell the fish on St. Thomas I said hi! ;)

[bogeydi]

Anytime! You'll love it - have a great cruise and tell the fish on St. Thomas I said hi! ;)

 

I will! Thanks.

[doccath]

this sounds great. My husband is a big guy- will he feel clautophobic in the helmet contraption?

[The Islander]

The helmet only goes over the head. You sit on the scooter part with your head under/inside the helmet. You can see photos of the scooters on their website http://bossusvi.com/. If you have a tendancy to feel claustrophobic then you will likely feel some doing this no matter your size. If you are concerned you might email BOSS and ask them.

 

--Islander

[laraja]

I had my BOSS (Breathing Observatioal Submersible Scooter) adventure in St. Thomas this past April and it was absolutely GREAT!

 

The helmet is very roomy and once I was in I never gave it another thought. They took us out in groups of two and, while one group was BOSSing around, they supplied snorkeling equipment for the group waiting their turn. The BOSS crew was great as well, very entertaining and patient and sensitive with those who were a little (or a lot) nervous.

 

Bring cash for an underwater camera (or bring one from home). Just the reaction you get when people see your pictures is worth the tour price!

[Gordo]

I would have to say that prior to our cruise this was the tour I was most excited about but after being on the tour I would have to say that while it was interesting I was disappointed.

 

We did this tour on 10/10/09. There were some engine issues with the BOSS boat so they had a different boat take us out to the site. The boat reminded me of a pirate ship and we had a very enjoyable ride.

 

Once you get out to the boat they spend some time explaining their safety rules and how to use the scooter. They put us into three separate groups and allow you to snorkel before and/or after your scooter experience (unfortunately there weren't alot of fish in the area).

 

When it is your groups' turn, they have you stand at the end of the boat and assign you a scooter. You then jump in the water and swim over to the scooter. Scuba divers are in the water with you the entire time and assist you with getting on the scooter.

 

It was really cool getting loaded into the helmet and I was really excited to get started but unfortunately my scooter did not work well and the scuba diver had to keep pulling/pushing my scooter along. That was very disappointing. In addition, we were only on the scooter for about twenty minutes and that included the time they take to set-up and take your pictures. We thought that we would have a lot more time on the scooters.

 

We did really enjoy the crews on both boats and overall had a very nice time and the scenery was gorgeous as well. But in all honesty while we thought it was a unique concept we were disappointed with the experience.