Helmet Dive in St.Thomas

[JerseyGirl83]

Has anyone tried this :confused: . I was just wondering if you liked it, loved it, or if i was a waste of time. Also, how long the excursion lasted.:)

[JerseyGirl83]

I was wondering if anyone did this:confused: . I was wondering if you liked it, loved it, or could deal without it. Also I was wondering how long this excursion lasted and if you did it through royal caribbean or through Coral world themselves:o

[disneyfand]

I was wondering the same thing. It looks like a lot of fun!

[I2BZ2W8]

My fiance would also like to do this but I haven't book with the ship and I am not sure if I want to pre-book directly with the island

[dizkid]

My DW and I did this excursion a couple of years ago. It had to be booked thru the Cruise line only. We are both in our 50's. The ages ranged from teen to us older folks. :D

 

My DW was not thrilled about going, but once we did it.... WOW was she a happy camper. The crew was very helpful and mindful of those who were scared.

 

Basically, its a boat ride out to the area where you "dive". On the way out they tell you everything you need to know. Our group was a bit large, so we were divided into 3 groups. Each group had their turn while the other two groups snorkled (all equipment provided).

 

You exit the boat by jumping into the water and then you duck under the water and into the helmet. You're then sitting on a "scooter" that has handle bars for steering. The scooter only goes about 3mph. Once you're comfortable, they release the air and you begin to sink. You're attached to a floating bobber, so you only go down 10'. I had to clear my ears on the way down, but once that was over, I had no problems.

 

Once everyone is down, then they guide you to the viewing area. We saw all manner of fish and even a turtle. We took an underwater camera with us and they took pics of us with it. Each group had 2 to 3 professional (certified) divers with them. We felt very safe at all times. The dive lasted about 20 minutes or so. When the dive is over, they then refill the air tank and you raise to the surface.

 

I think they also provided water/juices. Can't remember for sure.

 

I've attached a link to our pics. If you are unable to view them, let me know and I'll email them to you.

 

Any questions?

 

Paul

 

http://*****.com/ynkble

or

http://s211.photobucket.com/albums/bb30/pseese/BOB%20-%20St%20Thomas%20VI/

[I2BZ2W8]

My DW and I did this excursion a couple of years ago. It had to be booked thru the Cruise line only. We are both in our 50's. The ages ranged from teen to us older folks. :D

 

My DW was not thrilled about going, but once we did it.... WOW was she a happy camper. The crew was very helpful and mindful of those who were scared.

 

Basically, its a boat ride out to the area where you "dive". On the way out they tell you everything you need to know. Our group was a bit large, so we were divided into 3 groups. Each group had their turn while the other two groups snorkled (all equipment provided).

 

You exit the boat by jumping into the water and then you duck under the water and into the helmet. You're then sitting on a "scooter" that has handle bars for steering. The scooter only goes about 3mph. Once you're comfortable, they release the air and you begin to sink. You're attached to a floating bobber, so you only go down 10'. I had to clear my ears on the way down, but once that was over, I had no problems.

 

Once everyone is down, then they guide you to the viewing area. We saw all manner of fish and even a turtle. We took an underwater camera with us and they took pics of us with it. Each group had 2 to 3 professional (certified) divers with them. We felt very safe at all times. The dive lasted about 20 minutes or so. When the dive is over, they then refill the air tank and you raise to the surface.

 

I think they also provided water/juices. Can't remember for sure.

 

I've attached a link to our pics. If you are unable to view them, let me know and I'll email them to you.

 

Any questions?

 

Paul

 

http://*****.com/ynkble

or

http://s211.photobucket.com/albums/bb30/pseese/BOB%20-%20St%20Thomas%20VI/

 

Wow this looks cool - I am not sure if this style is used any more what was the name of the actual excursion.

[Cabana Girl]

We have done the Helmet dive at Coral World. Booked it through the cruise line (Carnival or Princess). I think DizKid did a scooter type excursion.

 

Worth it and fun. You get a good photo at the end.:D

 

For the helmet dive, it is from the pier at the Coral World park. They have a dedicated pier where you gather. You climb down a big ladder into 20-30 feet of water. The helmet gear is so heavy out of the water (~60 lbs), that they do not lower it onto your shoulders until you are up to your shoulder in the water (on the big ladder). You finish climbing down the ladder (very easy) and when you get to the bottom you join your group for the walk along the bottom. Everyone holds a rope.

 

It was very cool, but surprisingly noisy because of the air hose. You have to be careful not to bend over. I was worried that I could not do this because of claustrophobia - but it was not a problem at all. We had one woman who chickened out at the last minute - but she did not know how to swim! :eek: What was she thinking?

 

Overall, it was a great experience. The only question I had when it was over was what happens if you had a problem on the bottom? They really did not give us any instructions on what to do except to follow the leader.

 

Coral world was also a cute little park with aquariums and such.

[dizkid]

I guess I misunderstood the difference. :D I wasn't aware of the "helmet" dive/walking tour. Our tour was on RCCL. Here's the link:

http://*****.com/3e2he8 or

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do;jsessionid=0000oknBvplgwkXWX3pR0GexCZc:10ktmer4a?sourcePage=shorexByPort&ProductCode=ST61&DestinationCode=CARIB

 

Paul

[Cabana Girl]

Dizkid,

 

No worries, I loved hearing about your excursion and can't wait to try it someday. Thanks! It actually sounded like loads more fun that the helmet walking tour, but I am not sure how well I would handle that many moving parts!:D

[YellowDog]

I did the helmet dive walking tour last year, and I booked through Princess. I am not an adventurous person...never snorkled and have limited swimming ability (ie, I can keep myself from dying, thats about it) ...and I LOVED it. The event was just like the poster above mentioned and I thought I would chicken out, but didnt. The helmet was a little claustraphobic, and it doesnt seal around the neck, which I didnt realize ahead of time. The pumped in air keeps the water out. The amount of fish and creatures we saw was stagering and I imagine it was what it felt like walking on the moon as we bounced around down there for almost a half hour. We did get very specific instructions for emergencies (or if we freaked out), but nobody did. As a limited swimmer who is scared by most ocean beasts, it was awesome.

[Raceroc]

We booked "Sea Trek" directly with Coral World. The experience is as described above.