Cruise Ship diving

[lsorenson]

So out of these 4 cruise stops, sounds like Roatan and Cozumel are the choice places to dive. Native sons tells me there is a $60 dollar cab fare to get to their boat...and Carnival departs that day at 3:00, so I think I will book both dives thru the cruise ship to play it safe. Isorenson...thanks for the recommendation!
Divers, please share your experiences in Cozumel and Roatan!

60.00 sounds about right but then that includes the return trip as well... Gets you into town (you can walk from Native Sons to the far end of town in about 5 minutes) and out of Mahogany Bay as Carnival wants you to spend all your time and money on THEIR property... Hope your not disappointed with the ships dive and its the reason I have booked my own dives... Belize was the only time I considered a ships excursion since the time in port was very short and they picked you up at the ship since all passengers have to be transported via tenders to land. As it turned out, Carnival was in a pissing contest with the tenders and during our second day at sea, they were kind enough to tell us they were blowing off Belize and going to the Caymans instead... Bad news for us as checking out Belize and Coz was the reason for the trip...!!!

Just my 2 cents but I am sure you will have a good time regardless of where or who you dive with...! Please let us know how it goes... lee

 

[pasley]

1. Cozumel is a must dive
2. Grand Cayman
3. Roatan
would be my top 3 in that order. I could go either way number 2 and 3, but the new wreck at Grand Cayman which was a great dive before moved it up to 2 for me (although I have not been there since the wreck was sunk.).

 

[diversteve]

I'd pick Grand Cayman over Roatan also. Personally Fosters doesn't work for me but I don't like big boats with lots of divers. Find somebody with a 6pack operation - most of them use bigger boats anyway. The two I mentioned above thru Lobster Pot also moor near the cruise port - you can see a Carnival ship behind their dock in their gallery photos. So you're likely paying more for an average dive for the slight convenience of walking off the boat and getting Fosters to shuttle you the 1/4 mile to their shop/boats.

Anytime you get on a cruise sponsored dive, the dive site selection is going to be geared for the least qualified diver on the boat. AKR only has one boat allocated for cruise divers in Roatan so...

Unless AKR is going to pick you up with their boat at Mahogany Bay, Barefoot Divers is closer and possibly cheaper - IDK what you're paying Carnival. A cab there is $20 - not sure if that's both directions since it's only 5mins. away - but you pay more being a cruise visitor out of Mahogany Bay. . The AKR shuttle is 1/2 hr. each way - judging by the line in front of us one day, that includes a stop at their gift shop.

Fwiw a cab ride to the West End (Native Sons) is fixed at $20 one way - maybe that's $30 now IDK - it's been a few years. Nothing wrong with Native Sons but Coconut Tree Divers nearby has bigger boats. Afaik all Native Sons had was pangas off the beach. You'd need to be in the West End before 9AM to dive with CTD, they leave promptly since they do 2 dives before noon.

 

[jstef]

We dove with Barefoot Cay in Roatan off a cruise and it is a top notch operation and we had no problems with time. Also, their equipment was almost new.

 

[tankbreather]

I know my reply is late, but maybe it will help someone. I also did the Carnival Valor cruise and dove with Anthony's Key in Roatan which was really good, nice little wall dive where we saw an 8' hammerhead. We also dove Cozumel which was fantastic! I love drift diving and this was the place for that, a must do.

My only complaint was with the Roatan dive as we had a large group of divers all chained up like kids going to school however, Anthony's did a good job splitting the new divers away from the more experienced and placed each on different boats.

 

[Carol202]

A couple of years ago I booked the dive excursion in Cozumel during a Carnival cruise out of Mobile. Other than dealing with some inexperienced divers that were good at waving their arms around and kicking up sand on the bottom, I had a wonderful time. The water was clear, and the fish life on the nearby reef was plentiful and friendly. I managed to get lots of great photos on the two morning dives we did. I can't speak for the other cruise excursions. I have done dives in Roatan and Caymans that were not cruise connected and all I can say is, if you get the chance, go! Hope you have tons of fun.

 

[mfox007]

Are some of the dive operations contracted with Carnival the same as the ones contracted with Norwegian? We did the Norwegian Pearl earlier this year, and couldn't do any of the scuba excursions because we weren't certified (this is what prompted me to get PADI OW certified). We were happy with the Norwegian, and will cruise with them again.

 

[Tuckster]

I would say book thru the ship ONLY if you are a novice .. at least in Cozumel. I just posted a report on my recent experience using RCCL to book my Cozumel dive. Sand Dollar Sports was the OP and the dives were weak. If you want more bang for your buck, book it yourself. Just know which dock your ship is using. As for Belize, using the ship might be a good option as they pick you up at the ship (tender) which is very convenient. It really depends on what kind of dive you are looking for. I was told NO WALLS in Cozumel because there were novices along. Don't miss the Walls if you go to Cozumel.