We booked the first trip of the day on 7 June 2006, which departed at 11am. Once all the passengers were together, we got on a bigger boat and were sailed off to meet the submarine already at sea, which took about 15mins. On the way we got an airline style briefing on safety aboard the sub (life jackets, smoke hoods, etc). The sea was a bit choppy at this time, but the journey was only short.
The sub was floating on the surface, and we off-loaded down a short gangplank onto the sub, then through a hatch and down a ladder the pasenger compartment. This is already below the surface, so you are technically underwater already. Once all aboard, they closed the hatch and off we went. The ride was very gently once we were below the surface, and quite like flying. We descended to a maximium depth of 150 feet, but most of the time we were at about 50 feet depth.
We saw a shipwreck, many different fish, a group of lobsters under a rock, and a few turtles. We did take some pictures, but the colours are bit washed out and you can't take things more than a few feet away. Throughout the dive there was a running commentary about the various fish, plants, etc we could see.
The total dive was about 50 minutes. Once we got back to the surface the transfer boat was waiting for us, and had the next load of passengers for the next dive.We had to hang around whilst first we all got off, then they all got on. This was a bit annoying, but at least we only had to do it on the return journey. We then watched the submarine dive on its second trip, before we sailed back. The total trip was around 2 hours.
It was good fun to see the marine life, but to be honest you will get a better view if you dive or even snorkel. However, as a novel experience it was great fun, and on balance probably worth about £45 each, but more for the novelty than the views
Some tips: First trip of the day was a good idea. You don't have to wait for anyone to get off before you board, and as we arrived about half hour early, we saw the submarine being moved (empty) out of its dock from the previous night and off towards the diving zone.
You need to descend about a ten rung ladder to get on and off the sub. Children didn't seem too much of a problem as the crew helped carry them, but this would be difficult/impossible if you are mobility impaired. However, it did seem difficult to hold very young children's attention for the whole journey.
If you can, be one of the first few onto the submarine. that way you get to see out the front (over the pilot's shoulder) as well as through your port-hole.
Our holiday company also sold this trip bundled with a helicopter flight, as the heliport is only 10 mins away
