The Cayman Islands continue to attract scuba diving celebrities

Scuba divers have been able to enjoy the crystal clear waters of the Cayman Islands since 1957 when it was first established as the Caribbean's birthplace for recreational diving. Over the years, the islands have attracted thousands of divers, including a few famous faces who have made it their regular Caribbean destination for scuba diving holidays.

One of these famous faces is astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who walked on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. The astronaut has been scuba diving in the Cayman Islands on four different occasions and during his last visit he shared his underwater adventures with the winner of a charity auction which raised money for the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.

"Grand Cayman is one of my favourite dive destinations in the world," Aldrin explained. "We continue to bring patrons of the non-profit Astronaut Scholarship Foundation to the island because the people there strongly support our efforts by donating their services and facilities. The hospitality is, pardon the pun, out of this world."

Nancy Easterbrook, the owner of Divetech, chose to work with the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation because of the link between scuba diving and astronauts' training.

"We dive deep oceans, go to the moon, so I thought we'd get involved," she commented. "He [Aldrin] taught our staff to do an upside walk on the bottom of the boat, and explained that this is like a moonwalk. They all thought it was a hoot, they had fun."

Al Roker, NBC Today Show's weatherman, first visited the Cayman Islands in 1995 to record a news report on Stingray City. Since then, he completed a scuba diving course with Red Sail Sports and has been enjoying scuba diving holidays with his family ever since.

"Cayman can be any kind of vacation you want – it's friendly, easy, has wonderful scuba diving, the food is great – it's hassle-free," Roker said.

Underwater film and photography expert, Stan Waterman has worked on films including Blue Water White Death and The Deep, and he has become the unofficial ambassador for Cayman Islands scuba diving.

"I am often asked by people who haven't come to the Caribbean where they should start and I tell them that Cayman has more that can be depended on than any other place I know," said Waterman. "You have these jewels in your crown like Tarpon Alley, Stingray City, the drop offs, the wrecks that have been put down.

"There's more here for people who are coming diving than anywhere else in the Caribbean. Without being paid to do so, I always beat the drums of Cayman."

With crystal clear waters, sunken wrecks, thriving coral reefs and an abundance of spectacular marine creatures, it's no wonder why Hollywood stars such as Jessica Alba, Leslie Neilson, Tom Cruise, Michael Keaton and Gene Hackman have enjoyed and continue to enjoy the excellent conditions of one of the Caribbean's - and the world's - leading scuba diving destinations.