Best Dive in the Carribean

[mgunnycappo]

Hi All,
My son and I are new to diving. We are planning a cruise to St. Thomas, St. Maarten and the Bahamas in December. I've heard bad things about signing up for scuba diving with the cruise ship (we're going with Norwegian).

Can anyone give me some advice on which dive operators are the best and which sites are the best for newer divers. My son is only 13 and limited to 70 ft. after he completed his advanced OW with PADI.

Thanks a bunch for your suggestions.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Given your son's restrictions I might stick with the cruise ship sponsored dives. I have used the ship ops on Norwegian before and they were okay if not great.

 

[dpaustex]

I can't specifically comment on the cruise lines, but friends of ours who are divers have found that if you book the dives yourself (while on a cruise), directly with the place you are docking, you will save quite a bit of money. You can easily check your schedule, then google "dive operators" or "scuba diving" at the port where you'll be, to easily find the operators. The operators will often pick you up right at the dock and take you diving, all the while getting you back to the ship in plenty of time.

 

[Scubadam]

I have never been on a Norwegian cruise, or any cruise line for that matter. I do know of the above places you mentioned St. Thomas has the most beautiful diving. I do not know exactly what the depths are for the sites, but my friends have been diving in St. Thomas, and they told me it was a great experience.