How does diving while on a cruise work?

[ScubaSteve]

Booking your dive through the dive shop instead of through the cruise ship is much less expensive, as are any shore excursions. In addition to suggestions here, try cruisecritic.com or tripadvisor.com for reviews and recommendations of dive shops to go through.

To the OP: As will be pointed out many times, booking a dive through the cruise line is likely to come with a premium. My experience is limited and dated about 10 years ago. I have been on one cruise (will never again) and dove at 3 ports. There was one single reason for my choosing to book through the cruise line rather than direct. If you ever run into any issues that delay your return, the cruiseline will make all arrangements to get you back to the ship (even if that means at the next port of call). If you book on your own and miss the departure of the ship, then you are SOL. Delays can be due to odd currents on the dive, boat issues, people issues......or anything really. When looking at the cost of the friggin cruise.......the premium on the dives was no more than a mitt full of celebratory drinks on the cruise. I gladly accepted the premium as "insurance". YMMV (I would suggest confirming the cruise lines policies regarding missed ships for yourself as things can change at any time.

 

[FPDocMatt]

We are going on a week long cruise in March with the extended family. It's a diverse group and the cruise meets the needs of pretty much everyone.

In the 4 ports we are stopping at, we have booked independent dive ops in 2 and are using the cruise operator in 2.

For one of our cruise op's dive days, we just couldn't find a dive op that would work with the time we are scheduled in port enough to make me feel comfortable that we'd make it back to the ship for plenty of time. In the other, my husband is diving without me as I am doing another excursion with my family and I wanted him to be on the cruise ship's operator because it would make me feel better about him getting back to the ship on time.

In the other 2, we found local ops that were happy to meet our needs. In one, we're doing a 2-tank from a small boat. In the other, 3 members of our family are doing the discover scuba class while my husband and I do 1 dive, then we are all going to do their discover scuba dive together.

When I'm diving while in port on a cruise ship, I look for an op that will work around my schedule. I get off the ship as soon as possible and get to the dive shop or boat ready to dive. I don't want to wait around for a couple of hours because I see those hours as "safety" in case something unexpected happens. If all goes swimmingly, we can walk around, shop, have a bite of authentic food, or go to the beach after our dives

Kryssa, it sounds like you're a very good planner. I bet you guys have delightful vacations!

 

[RTee]

My wife is in the beginning stages of planning an extended family cruise for Christmas 2012. We've cruised before, and done a Discover Scuba while cruising. We are now OW certified. Question for you experienced cruise divers: Do you bring your own gear?

Tom...I am not an experienced cruise diver but if I was going on a cruise and had planned scuba diving at most of the stops I would bring mask, fins, snorkel (for snorkeling), reg set-up, dive computer and booties. All but the fins fit in a small carry-on bag I carry with me on planes anyway. Owning a Zeagle Express tech, once the integrated weight system is removed, it fits nicely in a suitcase and takes no more room than a towel. Depending on water temp I might be tempted to only bring a Bare chicken vest to wear on top of a rash guard and swimming trunk and if this is not enough, rent thermal protection at those places where I intend to scuba dive.

 

[Altamira]

We cruise quite a bit, and have used both cruise dive excursions and our own private bookings. Have had good and not-so-good experiences with both types. Generally we will book with the ship when the port requires tendering because if you are not on a ship's excursion, you have little control as to when you get off the ship, and will private book when we have a lot of time in port and don't have to worry if the dive op is 2 hours late getting back to shore. I look at the additonal cost of the cruise ops as stress reducing insurance because I don't have to worry about "problems" that might cause me to miss the ship's departure. We also carry our gear with us, because once we pack the mask, fins, snorkel, reg & computer, and wetsuit that we don't want to "share", the only thing left to add is the bc, so we take it all.

 

[k ellis]

As being one who adores cruise ship diving I can give my imput on diving. As others have mentioned you will either be tendered to the dock or docked in port to where you can just get on and off. When you do this they will form lines on the dock for the various shore excursions if you purchased yours through the cruise line. When you get on the dock you should look for either a sign or a person holding a sign that says " (excursion name) 2 tank dive" or "Discover scuba" sign. these are where you will meet with the tickets that they give you onboard at the time of purchase or if prepurchased they will be delivered to your room.

Now once you meet in this line you will be taken to a dive shop through which the operator provides. Once there the group will be given the prospective paperwork to fill out (Usually the hold harmless and any other vital information) as well as they will want to see your C-Card (Certified dives) after this your group will be divided into two groups and one is the divers who bring their own gear. The second is the ones who rent or pay extra to have the gear provided.

Once the formalities are done then you will be taken to the boat (If its a boat dive which 95 percent of the time they are for certified 2 tank dives) and begin the routine thats typical of all dives.

Now there are a handful of dives I have been on that they dock out in port where tenders pick up cruise ship guest and I have seen a dive boat pull right up to the ship and the divers will load directly on to this boat and be taken to the prospective dive shop to begin the above mentioned process. I particularly enjoyed this one.......

Now just to give some brief information about the cruise to answer your indirect questions. You asked if you dive off the ship (Not sure if you were meaning do they have a ships dock thats lowered or not) but by most cruise line policies as well as laws in several diffrent countries a cruise ship is treated like royalty due to the fact that it brings so much tourism to a country. Because of this most if not all countries have VERY strict laws that prohibit any boat traffic coming within a specified distance (I know it was at one time 500 feet) Violations of this in many countries can result in severe penalities of which most people can not afford in their life times.

You will find that cruising and diving poses a unique experience that brings both love and hatred to many divers alike. Its an awesome experience in that it provides a low cost way to dive and enjoy traveling at the same time. You can see some great countries and experience alot of diffrent local flavors. The downsides though are often why you hear alot of more experienced divers look down on it. The reasons most dont care for cruise diving are as follows.

(1.) Cruise ships bring big bucks with that there is a potential that there may be 28 to 30 or even more people wanting to dive. This creates a condition we know as "Cattle boating" Its not overly common but its still a big enough possibility that most experienced divers avoid this like the plague.
(2.) cruise ship diving is often so avoided by more experienced divers that often you will get a seasonal diver. Most of these divers that they do get may only have 20 dives or less or be the guy thats been diving since 1979 and only logged 10 dives. It can be interesting to watch these new divers but also a pain in the back side to have them push you out of the way to see that eel or lobster. Even to the point of having mask knocked off of you.
(3.) Because you are on a very cuise your schedule is very strict (3,000 people on a cruise not everyone wants to spend their entire time in one port.) you usually will have 8 hours. This can pose a logistal problem if you are with a family. In Cozumel as an example the excursion may last 4 - 6 hours so when you get back you may have a little time but not enough to go see the Mayan Ruins. A loved one may break your crack your skull for not getting to see what she/he wanted to see.

Other then that Cruising is a VERY wonderful way to see the world and one that allows you to see a great many Exotic destinations for a very very reasonable price. I always suggest people cruise first to see the diffrent places in the world and then pick one based upon what they saw first hand for that special week long get away in the future with someone special!

 

[k ellis]

My wife is in the beginning stages of planning an extended family cruise for Christmas 2012. We've cruised before, and done a Discover Scuba while cruising. We are now OW certified. Question for you experienced cruise divers: Do you bring your own gear?

If you want to its optional. It will sometimes save you 10 to 20 dollars.

 

[RonFrank]

Rental gear would be more like $40-60 per stop.

I think booking through a cruise is more like 50% or more. That for a crowded dive boat on a shallow and popular reef. The main reason to book outside the cruise is for better diving on a less crowded boat. I guess it depends on how much diving you have done. When your new everything is magic. After diving for a while you appreciate the life and beauty you encounter infrequently, and that may not be on the more popular reefs.

I think if cruising is what you want great, but diving is not the major activity. If diving is the goal pick a destination, and go diving. A cruise restricts shore time too much to do a lot of stuff, and I would think you won't see much of the ports if you are trying to dive at every stop.

Have fun!

 

[k ellis]

Rental gear would be more like $40-60 per stop.

I was just basing it off of my old ads from a year ago. In Cozumel a 2 tank dive with gear provided was $85.00 with out gear provided was $75.00

 

[Kryssa]

If you want to its optional. It will sometimes save you 10 to 20 dollars.

You are right on with this number.

We do not bring our gear to save money; we bring our gear because we like diving our gear. I haven't worn a jacket BCD in years and don't want to start now.

 

[k ellis]

You are right on with this number.

We do not bring our gear to save money; we bring our gear because we like diving our gear. I haven't worn a jacket BCD in years and don't want to start now.

LOL When I go on cruises I will even bring all my gear. I have had rooms just big enough to open the door and slide past the rest room to get to the bed. With only walking distance around the room my girlfriend will be so mad too because she complains that I am taking up all the room. I just suggest we put the gear in the bed and tuck it in for the night then me and her go sleep out in the deck chairs. Usually it ends up a solo for me though

I do believe in my own gear. I know where my gear has been and trust it with my life. God only knows what pappa John has done with his to get one more season of rentals out of it.