We are on Celebrity Constellation right now. Heading to Roatan. I am diving with Roatan Dive Center on the 7th in the AM since the boat had no tours offered. I will post a report when I am back!
Anyone else cruise diving in 2024?
- Thread starter ROUS
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Roqtan Dive Center
Cruise ship dive set up completely by email with the staff since our cruise didn't offer diving. Communication was good and prompt.
Pickup at pier went smooth, cannot say the same about the roads! Quick trip to the shop where they got two of us from our ship setup with rental gear. Rob (our DM) moved it to the boat and set it up for us. (Ask him about the chicken and the pig...he's a true sailor in the style of Captain Ron!)
We dove with a group that was staying on the island for a week...a bit jealous of that.
Dives were like diving in an aquarium. Nothing large on our 2 tank trip, but plenty of small beautiful fish as well as the dreaded lionfish. Crabs, a giant parrotfish and trumpet fish were in the mix also.
No current, vis was 100 feet and water was 80ish.
We had 14 on the boat but did not feel crowded. My partner only had 12 dives and Rob was very attentive to making sure he was enjoying himself as well as his safety.
Appreciate the crew and an excellent set of dives. Rental gear was Mares and new. Nothing shabby.
Hope to come back one day and do some staying as well as diving.
Cruise ship dive set up completely by email with the staff since our cruise didn't offer diving. Communication was good and prompt.
Pickup at pier went smooth, cannot say the same about the roads! Quick trip to the shop where they got two of us from our ship setup with rental gear. Rob (our DM) moved it to the boat and set it up for us. (Ask him about the chicken and the pig...he's a true sailor in the style of Captain Ron!)
We dove with a group that was staying on the island for a week...a bit jealous of that.
Dives were like diving in an aquarium. Nothing large on our 2 tank trip, but plenty of small beautiful fish as well as the dreaded lionfish. Crabs, a giant parrotfish and trumpet fish were in the mix also.
No current, vis was 100 feet and water was 80ish.
We had 14 on the boat but did not feel crowded. My partner only had 12 dives and Rob was very attentive to making sure he was enjoying himself as well as his safety.
Appreciate the crew and an excellent set of dives. Rental gear was Mares and new. Nothing shabby.
Hope to come back one day and do some staying as well as diving.
dbak
Registered
We'll be stopping in Cozumel and Roatan next month, May '24. I know that Royal Caribbean uses AKR for excursions in Roatan, but I don't know who they use in Cozumel. Since it's been a while, and I'm traveling with my wife and son, we're doing excursions from the cruise line. I've been to Cozumel before but this will be my first time in Roatan.
Reports to follow after we get back.
Reports to follow after we get back.
TNEngineer
Registered
We've done lots of cruise ship diving as well as destination trips to various Caribbean islands. Next cruise is mid-August. We've arranged for diving on four islands along the way including first time diving off Dominica plus repeats on Bonaire, Curacao, and Barbados. Total of eight tanks plus maybe a ninth on a house reef in the afternoon.
After years of various experiments we've settled on a large wheeled Mares bag for our gear. The only downside is the inevitable confused look of the cruise ship staff as we're going down the ramp... "Are you disembarking, sir?" I always answer "Yes, just like all these other passengers are disembarking. And just like them, we'll be back this afternoon."
We've found the cruise lines have vastly slowed the number of dive "excursions" they pre-arrange. That's fine with us, we've developed a nice network of local dive shops on most of the islands. We simply email them ahead of time and arrange everything. We pay less, they get to keep 100% of it, we build stronger relationships with them, and inevitably have a better diver-to-divemaster ratio.
After years of various experiments we've settled on a large wheeled Mares bag for our gear. The only downside is the inevitable confused look of the cruise ship staff as we're going down the ramp... "Are you disembarking, sir?" I always answer "Yes, just like all these other passengers are disembarking. And just like them, we'll be back this afternoon."
We've found the cruise lines have vastly slowed the number of dive "excursions" they pre-arrange. That's fine with us, we've developed a nice network of local dive shops on most of the islands. We simply email them ahead of time and arrange everything. We pay less, they get to keep 100% of it, we build stronger relationships with them, and inevitably have a better diver-to-divemaster ratio.
TNEngineer
Registered
Most recently for cruise visits in those two, we've had great luck with Island Diving Center in West End, Roatan and Salty Endeavors in Cozumel.
Anthony's Key Resort is awesome for destination trips (we just spent a week there last September) but we LOVE the West End area, and IDC is right in the middle of it. West End has the greatest quantity and variety of sea life of anywhere we've visited on Roatan. If we're only spending a day on Roatan, West End is the place. IDC is next to a recently refurbed hotel that has a nice onshore restaurant for a surface interval snack, too.
Salty Endeavors was a first for us in May of last year and they took GREAT care of us. Jesus, our DM, had just the two of us for two tanks and took us through an absolute playground of swimthroughs. My wife wasn't a fan of swimthroughs before but she surfaced from that dive and started asking when we were going back.
For one-day visits I strongly recommend both of the above two LDS's. Hope this helps!
Royal Caribbean uses Sand Dollar Sports for Cozumel.
That’s helpful to know about IDC in Roatan. I just got back from a Royal Caribbean cruise and dove through the ship with AKR in Roatan and SDS in Cozumel (due to timing) and posted reviews of each. I wish I had gone with IDC in Roatan. I had them booked as a back up in case Royal cancelled the AKR dive, since I heard good things about AKR and it was my first time to Roatan. The diving was okay, but I was concerned about the AKR DM (I explain it in my trip report).
I was really considering Salty Endeavors in Cozumel, but their timing looked too tight (pick up at 1.45p at the El Cid pier, then back about 6p). How long was it from start to finish with Salty?
I’m going on an ABC cruise next June 2025. Who do you use in Bonaire & Curaco?
That’s helpful to know about IDC in Roatan. I just got back from a Royal Caribbean cruise and dove through the ship with AKR in Roatan and SDS in Cozumel (due to timing) and posted reviews of each. I wish I had gone with IDC in Roatan. I had them booked as a back up in case Royal cancelled the AKR dive, since I heard good things about AKR and it was my first time to Roatan. The diving was okay, but I was concerned about the AKR DM (I explain it in my trip report).
I was really considering Salty Endeavors in Cozumel, but their timing looked too tight (pick up at 1.45p at the El Cid pier, then back about 6p). How long was it from start to finish with Salty?
I’m going on an ABC cruise next June 2025. Who do you use in Bonaire & Curaco?
TNEngineer
Registered
I don't remember how long the overall "trip" was with Salty Endeavors but it wasn't tight. My wife is sensitive to scheduling and she wasn't worried at all. I'd use them again without question if the ship's schedule permitted it.
In Bonaire, it's Buddy Dive all the way. We've stayed with them and are using them for our one-day visit this August off the ship. They have a downtown location that is walkable from the cruise terminal. You go there, and they drive you to the shore diving spots. We asked about boat dives that day (we've always just shore dived on Bonaire) but scheduling doesn't make that possible. We have a pair of 2-tank dives scheduled for the morning, then we have some family with us that wants to do Discovery Dives so we'll probably take them up to Buddy's main location up the west coast a bit and do those at their (excellent!) house reef in the afternoon.
In Curacao we tried The Dive Bus one time and it was AWFUL. Not the bus, but the management. They sent the bus away without us before we got there (and we were ahead of schedule), then just tossed us across the street to their so-called house reef... which was just a low grade reef with a couple of sunken cars. Really boring, we will NOT be going back.
This trip we're using a new Curacao LDS, Ocean Encounters at the LionsDive Beach Resort. Super communicative and helpful. You have to get your own taxi to and from, but otherwise they take care of everything.
Hope this helps!
In Bonaire, it's Buddy Dive all the way. We've stayed with them and are using them for our one-day visit this August off the ship. They have a downtown location that is walkable from the cruise terminal. You go there, and they drive you to the shore diving spots. We asked about boat dives that day (we've always just shore dived on Bonaire) but scheduling doesn't make that possible. We have a pair of 2-tank dives scheduled for the morning, then we have some family with us that wants to do Discovery Dives so we'll probably take them up to Buddy's main location up the west coast a bit and do those at their (excellent!) house reef in the afternoon.
In Curacao we tried The Dive Bus one time and it was AWFUL. Not the bus, but the management. They sent the bus away without us before we got there (and we were ahead of schedule), then just tossed us across the street to their so-called house reef... which was just a low grade reef with a couple of sunken cars. Really boring, we will NOT be going back.
This trip we're using a new Curacao LDS, Ocean Encounters at the LionsDive Beach Resort. Super communicative and helpful. You have to get your own taxi to and from, but otherwise they take care of everything.
Hope this helps!
Thanks. I'd read to avoid Buddy Dive for boat diving since they group everyone together and there are often newly certified divers in the group but didn't know anything about shore diving with them.
I've also read that Ocean Encounters is mostly large cattle boats with 8:1 or 10:1 ratios but don't have any experience with them. I'll be curious to hear what your experience with them is like.
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