family 6 divers to Grand Cayman: Dive shop or private boat?

[derrski]

We will be diving Grand Cayman in late March (spring break). I'm wondering if we should just connect with a local dive shop, or is it better service, etc to find a smaller boat with dive master and have a more "custom" experience?

2 adults, 4 kids age: 13, 17, 20, 20

 

[howswedeofme]

There are a number of operators with small boats you could book with to go through a dive "shop." Quite a few don't actually have physical shops, though. We dove with Cayman 6 Pack Divers/Cayman Dive School two years ago (6-8 divers per boat) and had a very good experience, although I don't know what, if anything, has changed since then because they switched ownership and dive master staff since then. We are diving with Ambassador for at least part of our trip this coming January who also takes small groups (ask for Siggy as a DM - I think she is fantastic with all levels/ages of divers and why we are diving with Ambassador this trip!). Both C6P and Ambassador also do private charters (I'm assuming most would).

 

[shrkdive]

I would definitely look for a boat that accommodates just the 6 of you. I always prefer this as compared to the larger boats. My family of 5 just dove for a full week in early August with Cayman Turtle Divers. They were fantastic and I would highly recommend them. Our main DM for the week was Shawn. They traded out the other DM on the boat each day. I even think they offer you a deal for booking all 6 spots on the boat (cheaper than their normal per person rate). Cayman Turtle Divers has a small shop on north end of 7MB and they offer full valet service by taking our gear each day back to their shop to rinse/dry, etc. They also let us pick the dive sites based on our interests each day.

 

[derrski]

Thanks for the replies so far. Keep them coming.

DNS sure gets good reviews here on the board. I also found Indigo Divers on the web, they look like a small boat outfit.

Good point (above) about not having a dive shop. I don't think that bothers me. We'll either bring our gear or rent for a week from a shop.

 

[howswedeofme]

The ones without a storefront can still rent gear if you need it. We always bring our own, but they did have gear on board already with C6P for a couple who didn't bring their own. Stingray Watersports rents out full gear including a 3mm shortie for $125 for the week (which our friends are doing in January because we plan to do shore diving as well). I'm not sure if others have comparable rental rates for the week; I've only seen by the day.

The owner of DNS is a friend of a friend, and I have heard nothing but really good things about their operation. They have a couple bigger boats and a couple smaller boats, if I remember correctly. I know they used to limit their boats to 6-8 divers, as well, but I am not sure if that's how they still are. We might do a day of diving with them in January, as well.

 

[derrski]

^^^thanks.

Wife and I have been to GC diving in the 1990's, and in 2013 for 2 days diving. This time all the kids are AOW, so we are excited to share the dive experience as a family.
Last spring break we did St. Thomas; looking forward to Grand Cayman again.

 

[KathyV]

We will be diving Grand Cayman in late March (spring break). I'm wondering if we should just connect with a local dive shop, or is it better service, etc to find a smaller boat with dive master and have a more "custom" experience? 2 adults, 4 kids age: 13, 17, 20, 20

Just want to mention that DiveTech at Lighthouse Point does a lot of work with kids, teens, and families:

Grand Cayman Scuba Diving Divetech.com

 

[diversteve]

We travel in a group of 7-10 often so were interested in charters. Until we did the math.

At DNS they have package rates of 10 dives/$500. Or charter rates at $850 since they'll take 8.

I like Wall to Wall Diving - know the owner casually.

They do 10/$540 or $650/charter. So more reasonable but still more expensive.

Personally what I'd do is book daily diving with one of the 6-8 divers max operators. Far enough out so they don't have any other divers booked. On some it would be like a private charter anyway - minus lunch - although they all provide fruit/water etc. FYI Indigo Divers larger boat maxes out at 6 divers. It might even be a little crowded.

Other options I'm pretty sure limit diver load are Ambassador, Neptune's Divers, Off the Wall and Deep Blue. The latter two are based in Georegetown so that's no fun with the cruise traffic daily. Although they work out of Lobster Pot's dock which is almost far enough north to be less affected.

Often on Cayman boats they take suggestions/vote if conditions are decent. So your family would "own" that most days. Watch some of the videos on Dive in Cayman, Grand Cayman Diving, Cayman Islands Scuba Diving to get a good idea of sites.

Here's a pretty complete list of dive operators in your search for others. Cayman Islands Tourism Association - Things To Do In Cayman, Cayman Culture,Cayman Islands Watersports

Some that are probably too large are Fosters (cruise contracts and downtown), Red Sail (cruise and multiple locations) Sunset House (resort guests and only morning dives except for afternoon specialty dives) and probably Divetech unless they added to their fleet since they now support 4 resorts with the same two boats they had at Cobalt Coast afaik.

Lighthouse Point is a good shore dive, so is Turtle Reef nearby. With as many divers as you're paying for it's a consideration..lol. Sunset House is also worth an afternoon, there's two decent dives - the Mermaid and the LCM wreck, the Cathy Church photo gallery/store and MyBar is waterfront for inexpensive food.

I'd bring the gear also. Complete rental package rates range from $80-125+/wk. I don't know of any shop that includes it. Many of the operators are dock based so storing it is an issue for them as well.

 

[Doctorfish]

For us, part of the fun of diving is meeting other people on the boat. DNS and Wall to Wall have interesting, often entertaining regular clientele. If there are 6 of you, you will have a fair amount of say in where they go but in general, both ops always strive for the best available sites on any given day anyway. We were on GC in April and DNS provided outstanding service. Their captains and DMs went out of their way and the owner, Dusty, is an avid underwater photographer and was on the boat about half the time.

Wall to Wall provides excellent service as well but the owner, Giles, is rarely out on the boat himself these days.


I am sure there are many other good operators on GC, but my personal experience with these 2 ops has always been positive.

Another advantage of going with an operator like Wall to Wall or DNS is that their boats are big, dry and have good shelter. some of the smaller 6 pack type boats, not so much.

1+ for Turtle Reef for afternoon shore and night dives. Cobalt Coast has excellent shore diving as well if the weather cooperates.

 

[diver 85]

Back in the early 90's when we dove GC as a family---2 adults & 3 kids ages 12,15, & 19---we always did a dive shop trip.........What great family memories I have----too.....