Cruise Recommendations

[seaangel]

Leadweight, experiences do differ from time to time. I just reported above about my experience from last week on NCL. Yes , I did have to disembark as a shore excursion, but we were allowed off the ship before any of those going off on their own. We were picked up by the dive operator and their boat at the pier we were on. The dives were not short and we were actually gone an hour longer than were told we would. The DM and boat captain allowed us to give input on where and what kind of dives we wanted to do. As for the cost $80 for a two tank dive is not out of line with what other dive ops offer.

Cruises are great for the cruise, and they are great ways for families to have a vacation together. I don't think divers should go on a cruise with the idea that it will be a like going to a dive resort or on a liveaboard, no way will that experience be the same. But, if traveling with non-divers that have other interests then what is the harm in the diver making one of their choices to dive while in port?? It must be taken for what it is and enjoyed for what it is.

I am a serious and avid diver that enjoys many different experiences in diving. I try to enjoy every opportunity that is available to me and not limit myself to only doing a certain type of vacation, excursion or routine. There are so many ways to get pleasure from dives that I can't sit by and just watch while others dive. I also, care that I spend quality time with my husband and family doing things we both can enjoy. So a cruise once a year, dive with the ship at one or two ports and have fun doing it all. It is only one week once a year, I have many other weeks and places I will dive without my husband even going with me.

To each his own, but if you want to go to a site for just diving then crusing will not be for you. But, for those divers going on a cruise as a vacation with non-divers then a dive excursion is not necessarily a bad thing, or possibly a bad experience to have.

Like I said experiences differ, but it really has alot to do with the expectations one has before they go on the dives. Happy diving wherever and do it the way you feel most comfortable.

 

[falcon]

If you are into just diving, don't cruise. However, if diving is one of many activities you want to participate in during your vacation, cruising has a lot to offer for the money. I enjoy diving, but a dive or two every other day works great for me. Then I enjoy spending time with family and friend socializing and the cruise experience provides for both. The great thing about living in the midwest is that I have NEVER had a poor ocean dive, even in Jamaica. Any ocean dive, even one which has finger sized fish, is better than the 10 foot vis dives in cold rock quarries. So I enjoy Jamaica, the crowded shallows in Cozemel, and the shore dives in Grand Caymen.

 

[AirSuckingDog]

Last April, my wife and I did a 5 day cruise. (Celebrity Cruises, Miami, Key West, Grand Cayman).

I originally tried to book something on our own via the Web rather than using the Ship. I couldn't work this out around when the Ship was scheduled to be in and when the local excursions were. The morning was too early for the Ship. The afternoon dives didn't get back in time.

We probably paid more because of booking through the ship but the biggest things I noticed:

We got REAL funny looks when we showed up with all of our year with the exception of tanks and weights.

The rental gear provided was 'well used'.

The average person on the trip hadn't been in the water diving in 2 years.

Several people had to have help from the boat operator getting the regulator on the tank correctly.

Once in the water, everyone followed the dive master (?) like little ducklings behind the mother duck. We stuck to ourselves and took pictures and I am sure we saw a lot more than any of the other divers. (This was verified when I shared my pics onboard at dinner time). WARNING - 1 hour photo processing on Grand Cayman Is. is VERY expensive!!

The places the cruise ship excursions take you tend to be the close in and shallow areas. I asked the boat captain about this as I was hoping for something that lives up to everything you always read about for Grand Cayman. His response was that my wife and I were the exception to the average and from a liability standpoint, he couldn't afford to take the average cruise ship passenger to the 'more interesting' sights.

Given the chance to dive or not, I would do it again. I just know more what to expect.

 

[CuriousMe]

I generally don't dive with the shore excursions, because the divers tend to not be very experienced, and the dive sites tend to be not as challenging.

Not a hard fast rule...but the tendancy.

Now, there are always tradeoffs....the tradeoff in this case is that there's a lot less hassle. The Dive Operator comes and finds you (either with bus transport to the dive center or the dive boat picks you up at the dock)....and of course there's always the garuntee that you won't miss the ship coming back.

Peace,
Cathie

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

I have dove with Norwegian and Celebrity. The experience can best be summed up as: "It was better than not diving." The best experience I had was arranging my own diving in Cozumel with Aldora. They held back one of their boats for us. I recruited two other divers from the ship nearer my experience level and we had the boat to ourselves for an extra $100.00. It was awesome.

 

[Web Monkey]

DocVikingo once bubbled...
If you're sincerely interested in diving, don't go on a cruise.

These floating megaresorts generally offer scuba diving as one of many activities, but rarely is it a focal point. This places them the most removed of water borne diving, with dedicated dive live-aboards being at the top. Between these two are the smaller boats operated by the likes of the Windjammer & Law fleets, which cater to those wanting some serious diving, but also a relaxed atmosphere and other diversions. Cruise ships do afford DocVikingo

I know this is an old message, but I thought I'd pop in anyway.

Cruise ships are great for diving, as long as you don't use them for anything more than arriving at your destination. This is especially true when you have to make your non-diving spouse happy, as well as indulge your need to go see the fish.

Just consider it to be a really slow airplane that lets you off near the shore. If you arrange your own dives with local operators, it should be great.

Web Monkey

 

[kjunheart]

Mr. Nice Guy once bubbled...
Hello,
Any recommendations on a 4-5 day cruise out of FLA. to the western carribian?

One diver and 4 non-divers. ah. Only interested in the diving, the others can take care of themselves.

Using cruise setup or should I go with local ops?

Thanks

Went on a 7 day Royal Caribbean Cruise out of Miami to the western caribbean and returned yesterday (March 16th). I didn't dive in Jamaica but dove in Grand Cayman & Cozumel.

In Grand Cayman, I booked my dive with a private dive op, Neptunes Divers (www.neptunesdivers.com). Casey & Kevin were great! They were very laid back and took us to excellent dive sites. There were only a total of 6 divers and Kevin & Casey were our guides. Beautiful wall dive with swim throughs then to a wreck/reef dive. Plus, they were flexible & worked around the boat schedule which is something I found some dive shops were not willing to even try. The only problem is the ship was late getting into port & cleared so I was a bit stressed out about getting to their boat on time. But the dive made up for everything!

I booked my dive in Cozumel through the ship and wasn't disappointed - but then how could you ever get disappointed with a dive in Cozumel? There were 24 divers on our boat which were separated into three groups of eight per dive master plus a videographer. The dive op was very thorough & fun. Pro: don't have to worry about getting to the dive op on time or missing your ship for departure. Con: Being a solo diver, I was paired up with a buddy who unfortunately had a really bad experience with his rental equipment and I don't think he was all too comfortable with the drift dive. He was all over the place because he couldn't control his buoyancy & his mask constantly flooded. Thankfully he decided to skip the 2nd dive because he was too uncomfortable and I was able to really enjoy myself on the second dive.

Hope that helps!

 

[JRRKAR]

My wife an I did a Carnival cruise two years ago to Cozumel, Jamacia and Grand Cayman. I agree with the concensus above...cruise diving is OK if you want to take a vacation and do a little diving in a few places. It's not for the avid diver. We made two dives in Cozumel and GC. For the price of just a hotel in GC for a week, we paid for the whole cruise so the value is very good. We got to see a little of what each has to offer. Now two years later we are doing a dive vacation in Cayman Brac. Cruising is not for us, but we got a lot of much needed rest on the cruise.

My only advice for cruise diving ....is sign up for the dives immediatley upon getting on the ship. The trips that we were on were limited to about 12 people and filled up quick. Yes you can always find a dive shop off the ship, but I'm the type of person that likes to plan in advance and didn't want totake a chance and not find a local dive op., or missing the departure of the ship.

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Hello,

Thanks all for the replys. I agree that a cruise is not a ideal "dive vacation". As stated in the original post I be the only diver so I can only sneak away for a few dives. I do have to keep the wife happy the rest of the time.

I had concerns about the dives offered through the ship as being poor and over crowded. I also had concerns about missing the boat if I dove with a local operator.

Your replys helped.

Thanks

 

[Diver Kat]

We did Celebrity out Charleston in Dec and prebooked all our dives independently of the cruise line in Belize & Cozumel. (We did shore diving in Grand Caymen - so no need to pre-book.) We actually setup the Belize dive with another couple that we found on the Cruise Critic Board, since SeaSport Belize would not guaranty the trip without a minimum of 4. We ended up with a 3rd couple from the ship that booked independently. And although the ship was late and getting off was a pain - we had the most terrific dives, and they dropped us off directly at the ship an hour before departure.

We enjoyed it so much, we have booked another cruise this Dec (NCL out of Houston) that will hit Cancun, Belize, Roatan & Cozumel. I guess I look at it as an opportunity to dive a variety of places that I might never get to by doing one dive trip locale at a time .... also if a place really bowls me over on a day trip, then I can try to plan an extended trip to just that spot.

Just my .02 !!