Cruise Ship Diving or Independent Dive Shop?

[eric080]

I am leaving soon on a cruise and was wondering if booking the dives through the ship is more costly or are there greater discounts because there may be more divers? thanks
eric

---------- Post added January 17th, 2013 at 01:10 PM ----------

Its me again, I just read some reviews from other divers on this question and think that the security of having ship wait for you is paramount! I believe is all the insurance one can gather so its cruise ship scheduling all the way! thanks everyone!

 

[Damselfish]

as you've probably picked up from the other threads you read, the cruise ship dive excursions will be more expensive, and often not as good. But yes, you don't have to worry about the ship leaving you which for some folks will trump everything else.

I think if you've been to a destination before and are familiar with it, and perhaps have gotten some experience working out your own dive excursions, you might become more comfortable with the idea of doing your own thing. As far as the timing goes, that is really location dependent. Some places it's relatively easy to book your own and work out the logistics, and other places the cruise ship excursion can make a lot of sense.

 

[00wabbit]

Second the above. The cruise dives will be a little more expensive, but the ship wont leave you behind.
On the other hand the dives will be very easy since cruise ship divers might be less experienced.

I dove on my cruise for my first ocean dives. I had fun and saw cool stuff. Some of the divers were pretty un-experienced but I did meet one guy at the beginning and we buddied up for other dives later and when I saw him on the ship we could stop and chat about diving so that was cool.

 

[drrich2]

The destination is a big factor. At some destinations, such as Cozumel, private op.s may offer you such amenities as larger tanks, and dive time may be longer. A cruise ship dive excursion is pretty much going to be an 80 cf tank, with a dive time likely around 45 minutes I suspect.

Living Underwater in Cozumel, on the other hand, could set up up with a steel 120 cf tank. Very nice.

Richard.

 

[00wabbit]

One dive I did in St. Thomas was al72 tanks and 38 minute dive time because they were on the cruise ship clock and had to run other dives after ours.

The other 2 operators I dove with were al80's and we dove them until they were "empty" They weren't as concerned with the clock. I always went on the morning trips at 8:30 or 9 and was back at 12-1. One of the trips had us back around 2:30 because we dropped off some passengers on shore then had to go pick them up afterward (seasick). It doesnt leave any time really to see the ports because you had to be back on ship by 4:30. I didn't care I would rather be diving

 

[flots am]

I am leaving soon on a cruise and was wondering if booking the dives through the ship is more costly or are there greater discounts because there may be more divers? thanks
eric

---------- Post added January 17th, 2013 at 01:10 PM ----------

Its me again, I just read some reviews from other divers on this question and think that the security of having ship wait for you is paramount! I believe is all the insurance one can gather so its cruise ship scheduling all the way! thanks everyone!

Depends on "where"

On Curacao with long port times, I'd spend the day with The Dive Bus on their house reef.

In Belize with the ship mooring out in open water and tendering people in, and a short port time, I'd use the ship's dive.

flots.

 

[cannon fodder]

I'd spend the day with The Dive Bus on their house reef

+1 for Mark at the Dive Bus, if you are headed that way. Timing is important, if the ship docks at 8am and you do not have to be back until 8pm, it is a bit different that a 10am arrival with a 3pm departure. I did a cruise stop in St. Thomas once where the ship did not sail until Midnight, Tortola (the next port) is not that far away. The wife and I had a great dinner on shore and got back with several hours to spare.

 

[jwillh9181]

My experience is that doing any excursion is better if you set it up yourself, especially tours, and cheaper. But if there is time constraint then I could see using the boat excursions. All of the cruises I have been on since the first I/we do our own thing.

You can hire a taxi driver for the whole day and see what you want for as long as you want. And if you get a good one he/she can show you things that the boat tours can't. This would go for dive operations also. My guess is they make some good money offering dives to people on boats so they know the time constraints and make sure you will be back on the boat in time, otherwise they would not get much business.

 

[Altamira]

As a frequent cruiser, I get amused when I hear a lot of divers on SB knocking the cruise ops because from my experieces some of the best and worst dives I have enjoyed have been with both cruise ops and independent operators. It very much depends on the specific dive op, as well as a lot of other factors such as crew, fellow divers, weather, water conditions and what you got to see on the dive. If not missing the ship's departure is a concern to you, then I recommend using the ship's op so you can really relax and enjoy the dive for all it has to offer. So what if you only get to dive 40-45 minutes instead of 55 minutes. An additional 10-15 minutes per dive may not be worth the stress of worrying about getting to the ship on time. In fact, on my last cruise, a group of pax got left because they did not get back in time, and I wondered how much money they had to spend to catch up to the ship verses how much they thought they were going to save on their independent tour. There are a lot of folks that think the potential for screwing up a very expensive cruise to save a few bucks on an excursion is not worth the risk, but that is where your decision making is paramount.

 

[SOFDiver]

I agree with all of Altamira's comments. Additionaly, I have never concerned myself with the abilities of other divers on the boat. I have found that crews/DMs are very good about sizing up divers, and grouping divers based on skill. On several trips crew provided briefing on site and allowed my daughter and I to dive the site and not stick with the group (did not ask for this, they offered). If you want to dive on a ships trip, reserve your spots right away. They fill up quickly as many divers only dive on a cruise. I have also arranged my own trip when the cruise trips(s) were full. Again this worked well when the cruise ships schedule allowed. Best dives I had on a cruise was self planned on Grand Turk, got off the ship early taxi to dive shop and on the boat before cruise trip was off the pier. By the way don't miss a chance to dive in Grand Turk if the opportunity presents itself, one of my favorites.