Helmet Diving: Walk Underwater Beneath The Waves!
I never tried snorkeling until I was well into my adult years. I snorkeled for the first time while on a trip to Hawaii, and once I’d done it, it was all that I wanted to do! I was totally blown away when I first glimpsed the amazing numbers of reef fish and the beautiful coral that was hidden below the surface of sea . It was like a whole new world being opened up.
I was so excited by my snorkeling experience that I even thought about giving scuba diving a try. Unfortunately, the weight of all that scuba gear made me feel slightly panicky and claustrophobic. I figured that floating around on top of the water and peering downward would be about the extent of my exploration underneath the surface of the ocean. And then I heard about helmet diving.
My family lives far apart, scattered through several different states. My parents came up with the grand idea of a family adventure vacation, and that is how David and I found ourselves on board the Disney Fantasy. While I wouldn’t have guessed that being on a Disney Cruise would be my thing, turns out that going on a cruise with the whole family is a fabulous way to spend time together and create unforgettable memories. Disney sure knows how to offer a magical experience for their guests, and their port excursions are top-notch.
While ashore in St. Maarten, some of us opted for a day of snorkeling at the beach, others headed out on a bus tour of the island. David and I suited up for Sea Trek Helmet Diving adventure: basically a walk around the bottom of the ocean while wearing an astronaut-like helmet. It’s a fabulous way to see to see what lies below the ocean’s surface!
Our excursion started with an orientation and a safety briefing. We learned a few hand signals in case we needed to communicate with our guides while underwater. Participants need to sign a liability form, so check with your doctor before hand if you have any health concerns. David and I brought our own water shoes. The operator provides them for people who need them.
The size of the SeaTrek helmet was a bit intimidating. Weighing in at 75 pounds, the helmet equaled three quarters of my body weight! Luckily, I wasn’t expected to carry it anywhere. One of the crew members led us to a a sea wall, with a ladder disappearing into the depths. We each climbed down the ladder until the water was up to our shoulders, and then the crew members positioned the helmet over our heads. There was time for one last panicky thought of “What am I doing?!” before descending about 35 feet down to the ocean floor.
I was delighted to discover that the helmet felt virtually weightless under the water. Air continuously flows into the helmet through a low pressure hose. The constant force of the air flow prevents water from entering the helmet. I found I could simply breathe normally without even thinking about it: no mouthpiece needed! My face remained completely dry. One of the members of our group was actually wearing his glasses at the bottom of the sea!
Once everyone in our small group had reached the bottom, we set out following our guide along a cement walk way. The strength of the current that far down took me by surprise, and we literally had to hang onto the railing the entire time to avoid being swept away. In addition to our guide, we were accompanied by a couple of professional dive masters in scuba gear, so we felt perfectly safe.
During the safety briefing, they demonstrate how to equalize the pressure in your ears. Turns out that I needed to do this several times during the underwater walk. I got a feeling of pressure in my ears very similar to how my ears sometimes feel while flying in an airplane. This was easily taken care of by reaching up into my helmet, pinching my nose and exhaling.
Scores of colorful tropical fish swam all around us. They were particularly interested in the guys in the scuba gear: every once in a while our guides would toss out a handful of fish food to keep the fish nearby. There was also an abundance of coral, sea urchins, starfish and sponges.
This area is a designated marine park, and there are several algae-encrusted 19th century cannons submerged here that came from Fort Amsterdam, built on St. Maarten by the Dutch. We passed by a sunken submarine and a helicopter along the way. The dive operators also created a “Pirate Jail,” basically a metal grid that is used for a photo opportunity. Our guides also allowed everyone to have their photo taken while holding a sea urchin.
The Dive Company does take professional-quality underwater photos, and they are available for purchase at the end of the excursion. Of course they were a bit pricey, and we declined to buy them. I figured my photos with my cheap single-use waterproof camera would be sufficient. Wrong! These grainy photos do not begin to do justice to the beauty of that underwater world, and I do wish that I had splurged on a high quality photo or two.
All too soon it was time to climb back up the ladder to the surface. Once again, an attendant was present to lift the helmet off of our shoulders. David and I swapped out our helmet for snorkeling gear, and we had a bit more time to spend in the water. While we saw some cool schools of fish, it was nowhere near as stunning as what we’d seen down below. I accidentally sucked in a mouthful of water through my snorkel: no chance of that happening on the helmet dive!
Helmet diving turned out to be a thrilling, unique experience, and an ideal way for a non-scuba person to explore the ocean floor. Not only do you not need to know how to dive, you don’t even need to know how to swim! I wondered why the name for the excursion even included the word “dive.” Seems like “helmet walk” would be a more accurate description, although that doesn’t begin to convey how exhilarating our undersea adventure actually felt.
Helmet Diving is available in a variety of places, including Cozumel, Bermuda, San Juan, Moorea, and the Great Barrier Reef.
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Now, this is something I would do! It looks really fun. Disney is our favorite cruise line. They do a fantastic job and they have some great excursions as well.
A Disney Cruise really is a fabulous family adventure. Check out the helmet diving if you go again!
Wow – this is so cool. First, love the family vacation idea. But this whole underwater helmet thing – amazing and how fun. I have always imagined just being able to walk around under water – have never snorkeled. Fun pictures. Thanks for the post.
Disney is the ultimate for family vacations! Helmet diving was unlike anything we have ever done: so glad we stumbled across it!
I agree! A cruise is a fun family vacay!
Great pics! Helmet diving is new to me!
Keep helmet diving in mind if you head out on another cruise.
wow! I have never heard of this type of diving! I think I might consider doing it, but also freak out about it a little bit! Ha!
The thought of it can be a little anxiety-producing. But all of those uncertainties disappeared the second we went underwater.
I think I hyperventilated looking at your pictures, but it looks like you had an amazing experience. I tried snorkeling once, for about 10 minutes, and decided water activities such as this were not meant for me. My husband loves it though!
I’m so sorry to hear that snorkeling isn’t your thing. Hopefully you can find other ways to enjoy the water!
My husband and I went snorkeling on our honeymoon in the Virgin Islands. I thought it was neat, but my husband really loved it!
I’m with your husband. Once I tried snorkeling, that’s about all I want to do.
Wow that is the neatest thing Iāve ever seen! I need to look into this!
I hope you get to experience it for yourself one day.
WOW! What an awesome adventure! I never thought about helmet divig… but I am now! Thank you for sharing your journey!
So glad to hear you are thinking about it!
That sounds like a fun adventure! I might have to try it on our next trip!
It’s just so much fun to try something that you’ve never tried before.
I must admit I have never heard of helmet diving before. It looks so cool!
We hadn’t heard about it, either. So glad we found out!
I hate the prices they charge for photos but they can make a difference. The Dolphin experiences will not even let you take a camera in. It looks like a great excursion!
I agree completely. The excursions are pricey to begin with, and there are always add-ons. We had to save up for quite some time.
This looks really fun, although I can get a little anxious in small spaces! Love looking at your photos though!
This looks like so much fun! We did something similar (it was a huge bubble helmet like this, but with a sort of underwater “bicycle”) in Cancun 19 years ago. Such a great memory!
Underwater bicycling? How fun is that!
This sounds really cool! My husband and I honeymooned in St. Maarten and have wanted to go back. Maybe we’ll try it on a cruise some time.
Love St. Maarten!
Looks like such a cool experience! I would probably chicken out though.
You might be surprised. Once I actually got in the water I forget all about my misgivings.
I would LOVE to do this! It looks so beautiful and peaceful!
It really was beautiful. I can’t say that I picked up a peaceful vibe exactly: I was far too excited!
So cool that you can do that without a diving certification!
I know, right? There is a whole lot more involved if you are up for scuba diving.
I’ve never heard of this. Sounds like fun, though.
We hadn’t heard of it, either. We had planned on hitting the beach with the rest of the family, and we learned about this opportunity at the last minute.
Now thereās something I could underwater! I canāt swim, good to know this activity doesnāt require swimming know-how.
This is actually a perfect activity for non-swimmers!
I have never heard of this before, but it looks like a fun experience. I am very claustrophobic and the idea of being down in the ocean freaks me out. But there are so many things that I want to try, like snorkeling and scuba diving. I just don’t know how I’m going to overcome my fears. This may be something I could work myself up to if snorkeling goes well first…
This could very well be a great first step. I also feel claustrophobic about scuba diving. Helmet diving seems very tame in comparison.
As an avid diver, I’m glad you were able to experience the “inner world” of oceans bottom. Curious, what education were you given as far as coral reef preservation etc?
They did tell us to stay on the path and be sure not to touch any coral. In hindsight, I felt a little guilty about holding the sea urchin. The guide accompanying us handed it to me, and I was so excited I took it without thinking. When I asked him about this later, he said that sea urchins aren’t endangered in the way that coral is. He said many of the people in that area collect sea urchins for food.
I feel the same about scuba diving – I get claustrophobia just thinking about it! I may have to try this first before I tackle my fear of scuba!
I also feel claustrophobic about scuba diving. Something about all of that gear and going so deep under the water. I was very pleasantly surprised when none of those panicky feelings kicked in during our helmet dive!
How cool! It’s like an old-fashioned concept reconfigured for today!
It is, isn’t it? So much fun!
Wow, what a great experience! I would be a little scared to try it but it sounds very safe.
I was a little scared, too. I’ve had so many great experiences when I’ve been able to push past the initial fear.
The first time my husband and I snorkeled was in hawaii as well, and we were just as blown away and you! It’s addicting!
My very first snorkeling experience was also in Hawaii. Being blown away is a perfect description: I’d had no idea how much there was to see under the water!
That looks so fun! Iād love to walk along the ocean floor and see that underwater world.
We are very thankful to have had the opportunity to enjoy such a unique experience.
This looks like it would be amazing I have always wanted to do something like this. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for checking out my post! Keep helmet diving on your bucket list: you won’t regret it!
That sounds amazing. Good tip about the photos, they always seem like an extravagance….
We almost never buy the official photos. But in this case with underwater photos, I do wish we’d bought at least one.
OMG this is still a thing!?!? I had no idea – I have always wanted to do something like this and didn’t realize that you could! Guess what I am looking into now!
Love it! So glad to hear you are looking into it.
That looks like an amazing experience!
Wow! That’s so cool! I don’t think I’ll ever try scuba diving but maybe I could try this. š We are currently trying to save up for a Disney Cruise in October but I’m not sure it’s going to happen. We will see but I’ve only heard amazing things about them.
Disney Cruises are an incredible family experience. If October doesn’t work out, be sure to keep it in your future plans.
What an amazing experience! I love that the helmet felt weightless! I tried scuba diving for the first time in the Florida Keys and loved it!
Helmet diving truly was an amazing experience! I had no idea how much I was going to love it.