Arriving by Cruise ship....... ???

[Islandheart]

I've not dove in Roatan before and will arrive by cruise ship.

Am I better off just using the ship's contract dive charter or can someone recommend a ease to get to Dive Shop/ Operation ???

Thanks for your replies.

Bob C.

 

[Doc]

A very often asked question here on the Bay Islands forum... search on the Cruise Ship forum as well.

The cruise ship contract operators seem to deliver a good product, on par with any similar situation.

The big discussion for most people is whether to do the AKR Dolphin Dive... or the snorkel Encounter. Most votes, by far, favor the Encounter.

The other "gotta dive" is the Shark Dive, also well discussed here in both the previously mentioned forums. It is not for the absolute noob, but for anyone who can follow directions and firmly hang onto a down line in potentially serious current, it's pretty much-so an easy deal.

A dive operator would be breaking local rules if he were to take you to the so-called "signature dive" of Mary's Place on your first and only dive day in Roatan. There are some who will slip you in, but is that the character of dive-op that you want to hang your survival on?

The general tally in most of these forums is to go with the provided operators. IF however you are considering spending a week at a resort or locale on a future trip for a Dive Vacation, why not consider contacting that opeartion and tell them that you wish to hire their services and have them arrange a day for you, door to door? It may cost you a few bucks extra, but if they handle it right, the diving as well as the cab driver- you picked a winner. If they go the extra distance and get it all set-up up for you~ you'll know you've picked a winner. Send out a few e-mails, see who responds correctly.

 

[CajunDiva]

Anthony's Key Resort has the dive contract with every cruise line that sails into Roatan, so if you book your dives through the ship that's who you'll be diving with. You could certainly do much worse. AKR is a respected dive operation and they provide an excellent dive experience.

If you decide to strike out on your own, be careful that you get back to the ship on time. They won't wait for you if you're not on a ship-sponsored trip.

 

[Islandheart]

Thanks....

I done the cruise and dive thing before in G. Cayman (contracted) and Cozumel (selected my own).

This will be a 4 stop cruise and will add Roatan and Belize to the mix.

Being that I tend to be either with my wife or brother, neither which dive, it does make it nice to hookup with the ship's contract on the 1st stop.

That way I find out who on the ship dives and can socialize from there. Too bad the ship's don't offer any way to find out who else on-board dives.

Thanks, I'll look up AKR and go from there.

 

[CajunDiva]

Sounds like a plan. But maybe one day your wife or brother will decide to take the plunge with you

 

[georoc01]

Thanks....

I done the cruise and dive thing before in G. Cayman (contracted) and Cozumel (selected my own).

This will be a 4 stop cruise and will add Roatan and Belize to the mix.

Being that I tend to be either with my wife or brother, neither which dive, it does make it nice to hookup with the ship's contract on the 1st stop.

That way I find out who on the ship dives and can socialize from there. Too bad the ship's don't offer any way to find out who else on-board dives.

Thanks, I'll look up AKR and go from there.

Cruise Critic's forums have roll calls where you can exchange messages with others on the same cruise as you. It might be a good way to find someone prior to travel.

 

[Waterskier1]

Thanks....

I done the cruise and dive thing before in G. Cayman (contracted) and Cozumel (selected my own).

This will be a 4 stop cruise and will add Roatan and Belize to the mix.

Being that I tend to be either with my wife or brother, neither which dive, it does make it nice to hookup with the ship's contract on the 1st stop.

That way I find out who on the ship dives and can socialize from there. Too bad the ship's don't offer any way to find out who else on-board dives.

Thanks, I'll look up AKR and go from there.

I did the same cruise stops last September. I found my own dive ops for Grand Cayman and Roatan. I used the ship in Belize because of the distance to tender to shore and back. I also used the ship in Cozumel. That was the worst dive op I've ever been on. I thought it would be easy, but it was truly a cattle boat with max 25 minute dives.

In Roatan, I used Coconut Tree Divers. They worked with us to get in 2 dives. I recommend them. You do have to find your own taxi, but the one we got agreed upon a fair price, and he didn't take our money until he returned us back to the port.

 

[DivingNole]

I just did a similar itinerary on a cruise in October. I dove in Cozumel and Roatan, booking both independently. I dove with Bananarama in Roatan since I had stayed there before and trusted they dive op. They picked us up and I got a 2 tank dive with getting back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. Through the cruisecritic.com roll call for my particular cruise, I found two dive buddies for Roatan and got a recommendation of a dive operator for Cozumel. We set up a meeting place and time before boarding the ship so we could at least meet one another before we headed out in Roatan.