Cruise ship excursion dives for newbies question

[parzdiver]

21bjohn - the course you took was the PADI course and you didn't necessarily get any less of an education than you would have at a local dive shop. Some shops do provide great educational opportunities, but some will push you through as quickly as they can. I was certified on a cruise ship and think I got as good an education as if I'd done it with an LDS.

As I have said, most of the dives I have done from cruise ship excursions have been fairly shallow. I don't recall any of them that couldn't have been done at a max depth of 60', just keep your eyes on your depth and, of course, your air. Enjoy the dives.

I see you are from New York. If you head over to the Dive NY - ScubaBoard forum, you'll find many other divers from NY and surrounding states. It is a great group and they can offer a ton of advice, especially on local shops and dive sites.

 

[xjeslesx]

Regardless of the max depth of the dives you can stay at whatever depth you are confortable with. When the viz is 100' it really doesn't matter if you are 20 or 30' away from the bottom, you will still see what everyone else is seeing. If you want your dive profile to max at 40' just drop down to that depth and follow the other divers that are below you.
Have fun down there, Grand Cayman is beautiful!

 

[diversteve]

Or walk 200? yards the other way and dive with the Cruise operator for most of the other lines - Don Fosters. Welcome to Don Foster's Dive Cayman Come Dive with Us I doubt they go very deep.

If you are traveling on a cruiseline that is not featured in the above list and would like to dive in Grand Cayman please do contact us to see whether we can accommodate you.

Aquarium is an excellent site well within your comfort zone. To the sand it was 40'. Lots of big coral heads to look around/under. And as the name infers - thousands of fish. Look for the cleaning stations (fish hovering motionless near the coral) - the cleaner shrimp are almost fluorescent.

You may want to pre-book with Eden Rock also. The afternoon we were there - 2 cruise ships in town - they had one staff person running everything - no DM's in sight.

Another option might be working within the cruise program thru Lobster Post Dive center - they book three different 8 divers max dive operations. But given their nature, the likelihood of them going deeper to accommodate other guests might be higher. Grand Cayman Dive Operator - Scuba Training | Boat Dives | Shore Diving | Cayman Diving - The Lobsterpot Dive Center

Of course there's also Stingray City - most fun dive you'll ever have in 15'. Book the dive though, not the Sandbar Snorkel nearby. A lot of Cayman operators do it around 1PM - I think Divers Down does it in the morning. It's kind of a one time experience also - I don't think anyone does two dives there.

Two other things about Cayman - Local Time and Ship Time are often different. And they tender you to/from the cruise port so you may need to make some allowance for that - at least on arrival - if booking privately.

 

[21bjohn]

Don't get me wrong, the padi resort OW course covers everything but as you said, can run through things quickly. I'm the kind that needs to keep practicing to get comfortable with something new. The mask removal/clearing for instance. I want to practice it as much as I can. I've heard some instructors will pull the thing off of you when your not expecting it to simulate a fin kick. That's the type of practice/ training that I feel will make me a better/safer diver.


Thanks for the link to NYS forum. I'll check it out.

 

[warmwaterturner]

Something else to keep in mind - Royal Carribean (used to) will allow you to cancel your dive excursion within 24 hours of the dive port. I would suggest booking in advance (before sailing) - thay way you are guarnteed the ticket. Then you can cancel if you just don't feel good about the profile once on board. BUT, please check with them first to make sure this policy is still in effect.

 

[EastEndDiver]

Eden Rock/Devils Grotto dive is a very easy dive which is marked by three surface buoys and has a MAX depth of about 45'.They also rent anything you might need.I always enjoy diving there,lots of marine life.The dive shop will show you a map of the area and point out whats where.

 

[Damselfish]

Don't get me wrong, the padi resort OW course covers everything but as you said, can run through things quickly.

again, the fact that you did your training at a resort had nothing to do with what was covered or how fast. There are (too) many classes at what you are probably referring to as "training centers" at home that go through things quickly as well. And classes both places that go through things slow enough. And the fact is, most people come out of OW training, even if it was pretty good, needing more practice. For a while, you might think of your OW card as a learners permit. And you never really stop learning.

I would suggest that you don't keep using the term "resort" to refer to your training as that will simply keep confusing people. "Resort" course has a specific meaning that is not what you did. Resort courses are most commonly done at warm water resort type places, but all courses done at resorts are not "resort" courses.

 

[Amphiprion]

If you were planning on diving in the pacific northwest on a cruise, I might say stay within your limits as you are going to be in a different environment and using different equipment than you used in Cancun and the DR.

However, this is not the case in grand cayman. You are a certified open water diver who is capable of diving in a warm tropical environment with good vis. I am going to assume that you understand dive tables or how to work a dive computer and understand that you will be on a guided tour anyway.

With the exception of decreased NDL times, there really isn't much of a difference between diving to 40' and diving to 85' in grand cayman. You can still use air, you are still using the same equipment, you can still perform a CESA in an emergency if you find yourself OOA and without a buddy. You will likely not feel narcosis.

There is really no magic to going to these depths in grand cayman, even for a new diver. You won't suddenly find yourself over your head.

If you wanted to dive to 130' my response would be different, but between 40 and 100 for a diver who is adequately certified and experienced to dive in tropical good vis environments, I wouldn't worry.

 

[Laurie S.]

I did the ship's excursion a year ago on the Maasdam with Don Foster's. Word of warning, they took us to 85 feet. I enjoyed it!

 

[EastEndDiver]

21bJohn ,enjoy your trip and do NOT dive past your comfort level. If 40' is where you are comfortable and don't want to go deeper....Don't.It's your vacation do what you feel is comfortable for you.