Don't lose hope, DeepLou. Have you posted over at CruiseCritic.com? More of the non-diving cruisers hang out there, including spouses of divers. I haven't connected with any divers from the Mar. 6th, but have located a couple of families with similar aged kids.
The ship excursions aren't bad, just a tad bit more expensive and usually w/o little extras that some shops offer. For example, with Subway in Roatan, they have a AL100 tank that I will use & are willing to take us out on three dives (1 tank each) on two areas of our choice (one is very shallow), and LiquidBlue has some larger steel tanks (as opposed to the std steel they use,) and we negotiated our dive sites
(very nice people, there...) At the end of the day, we may be diving the same sites as the boat sponsored trips
and if something goes wrong, they will wait for you...
The Cenote trip can be a kick. I did one last year from Cancun. Drove down to PDC in a open top jeep, swam the cenote, then had lunch at a cool beach resort that was something out of the movies. The swim is fairly short (30-45 min.), but with nifty fish, and crystal clear water. Pretty neat.
Yeah, Belize is a pain to do anything not sponsored by the boat. Belize City is my least favorite port of the four, but having to tender in just added to the frustration. Being picked up at the ship has the added advantage of being dropped off there, saving the long tender ride in/out (unless, of course, y'all are planning on shopping there <grimace>.) I have talked my family into splitting up in Belize. Half of us are headed inland to do the tube/cave excursion, and half are heading out to the stingray/shark snorkling trip. It is a shame to miss the diving in Belize, but that will just have to wait.
Cayman is the great unknown. I have never been there, and am looking forward to the dives. BTW, in Cozumel, try to find the ice cream guy at the central square. He sells coconut ice cream out of a little cart that is delicious. I am looking forward to Coz, if, for no other reason, we don't sail until 11, so we can hang out down there, catch dinner and watch the locals
Tres cool...
Let us know how the trip goes, though, and bring back lotsa pics...
Jerry