leiserom:
Thanks. Didnt know Cocoview welcomed cruise ship divers
Yeah, they do bring them in, onesy-twosey like, but it is not a mainstay and staple of the operation. You do the front yard, then they take you on a medium-long drop off dive to swim back in (or maybe a two tank boat dive- depends on your schedule). Truly the greatest part of CCV is the 'front yard', and the dives you go on will probably make you want to stay for a week. You will not interface to any extent with guests.... CCV keeps things seperate because weeklong guests don't want to be slowed down by cruise ship divers.
Simply by deffinition, a cruise ship diver is a slow down and difficulty to any dive op. First concern is the physical safety of some unknown vacationer with a c-card wanting rental gear (or not). CCV handles it well, but some resorts thrive on it and are designed for it- but a burden on the regular guests as well.
AKR handles a hell of a lot of tour ship guests. They make 90% of their money doing so. I forget the exact numbers, but they are staggering... maybe 300 bodies in a couple of days of Dolphin Circus activity. They know the drill intimately, kind of like going to a local ski hill and getting boots, poles and ski gear.
The single best day dive op currently playing the game is the long standing SubWay Watersports at French Harbour Yacht Club. Right next door is the "Italians" who run Wiakula Shark Dives. I'd skip the shark dive, you can do that anywhere, but Subway has great, fast boats, good DM's, etc. Attach yourself to your DM's flippers and watch what he points out. Go slow, not on your own.... and carry a magnifying glass!
I've been to Roatan bunches and have seen it all, but I always stay at CCV. If you have the inclination to see a resort that might keep a real diver off of the ship's manifest next year!
