Cruise ship excursion dives for newbies question

[21bjohn]

Hi Everyone,

I just received my Padi open water certification via "resort" training and just finished my 6th dive off a cattle boat down in the D.R. My deepest dives so far was to 40' to explore a wreck and to the edge of the wall off Catalina island. I think this sport is the most exciting thing I've ever done and look forward to reading all the information on this website.

My question is this for some of the experienced instructors/divers that may be viewing this tread;

I will be going on a 11 day cruise in January on RCCL which has stops in Aruba and Grand Cayman and see that they have 2 tank dives on their excursions for each island. I would be interested in diving but I'm concerned about signing on without knowing the depths of the dives. Reading other post, some dives may be on reefs down to 40' which I feel comfortable with but some wall dives in the Caymans might be past 60' which I do not feel I'm qualified to attempt with my limited experience at this time.

Is their a way to contact the cruise ships instructor or the dive boat company to ensure I get on a boat that would be diving in shallower depths. I don't want to get on a boat where everyone else expects to dive to 80' and have me and my dive partner wanting to dive at a shallower location.
I've found that Red Sail Sports may handle RCCL dives in the Caymans. Should I try to contact them to see if they could reserve a spot on a boat that will be making shallower dives?

Any advice or other's experience would be appreciated!

 

[TMHeimer]

It may be difficult to find out the deapths--I would think you'd have to get contact info. to an Instructor of Divemaster who will be doing the dives. If you're unsuccessful, you may also consider hiring a DM to be with you if the dives are deeper than you would like (again, if that's possible on the ship). This is how many novice divers start diving deeper. Even going below the "suggested" limit of 60' is not taboo if you have a pro with you. But if you're still uncomfortable, don't do it. You are commended for using good judgement.

 

[EastEndDiver]

In Grand Cayman you will usually find that the first dive is to the Wall with depths from 70' to 100+ and the second dive is a shallow one.Most operators on Grand Cayman use this "profile".Find out from the ship who does the dive excursions and contact them and ask the question.I thnink it might be Don Fosters on Grand Cayman.

 

[warmwaterturner]

In the past on Royal Carribean the ship "dive master" has known the various depths at the locations visited. They also require you to fill out a profile of experience, including stating your deepest dive. The down side of my experience with cruise ship diving is the cattle boat effect that you mention and the fact that due to the limited number of divers allowed - at times I had a lot of trouble booking at the time we sailed. Sorry - we are all booked up BEFORE we even left port the first day! Now - I research my ports and make my own arrangements. Hire your own dive master if you feel the need. Tell him what you want in the way of depth. The only real downside of this approach is that you better be back to the ship on time as it has no obligation to wait for you if you use a charter not affiliated with the cruise line.

 

[parzdiver]

I have dived many times with cruise ship excursion and actually received my Open Water cert through Royal Caribbean. All of the dive operations, for liability purposes with RCCL, have agreed to lead no dive below 90'. In my experience they are generally kept much shallower than that. All dives are also guided via the dive operator. I wouldn't worry about the depths, but make sure to speak with the dive master once on the dive boat and indicate you are a new diver and give them your profiles. In my experience they are typically willing to work with you.

Good luck and enjoy the diving.

 

[KeithG]

You should be okay - just make sure the DM on the dive boat is aware of your desires.

In general they make the assumption that cruise divers are less experienced and hence match the appropriate dive profile. This is possible since they do not normally mix "land" divers with cruise divers on the same dive boat. They dedicate the dive boat(s) to just the cruise divers. We often see the resort we are staying at send an empty dive boat over to the cruise ship dock.

I think you will find that many experienced divers do not book their cruise dives via the boat, but instead contact the dive shop directly so that they can dive from a dive boat that is not crowded with cruise cattle.

So you are their target market and you will be fine. It should be fun & enjoyable diving.

 

[Doc]

I believe you are stating that you are NOT open water certified, but have a "Resort Course" certificate. Under certain agencies, this means that you will dive only with the close accompaniment of a SCUBA dive professional.

Dive ops that service cruise ship divers are well used to leading "resort course dives" which will fit within your profile.

Many dive sites that we visit have wall structures that allow divers to stay at shallower depths while the main dive group probes much deeper. Although we all encourage you to proceed to actual certification, I will tell you- the cool stuff is shallow.

As others have mentioned- a universal rule: before any dive, ask questions. The earlier, the better.

Now, go have fun.

 

[tyesai]

I've found that Red Sail Sports may handle RCCL dives in the Caymans. Should I try to contact them to see if they could reserve a spot on a boat that will be making shallower dives?

That would make sense.

 

[k ellis]

I do think that from what you mentioned that you have a resort course. I strongly would recommend to get the best for your dollar looking at getting the full open water certification. I have done alot of my dives off of Cruise ships though and to my liking I find them relaxing as they are geared towards new or infrequent divers.

The profile in most of these excursions is typicaly 70 feet operating range with 80 foot as a 10 foot buffer in their plan (They plan it based off of 80 feet but try to stay around 70 just because new divers sometimes get interested in something and take off after it and the dive masters have to get them back on depth plan)

Another thing to consider too is often times if your not comfortable at 60 or deeper you can sometimes work out with the dive master to swim shallower then 60 feet and simply follow the group. Often in this event they will have one of the dive masters stay in your range as it helps looking downward on the remainder of the group and keeping them in site.

But relax and dont get so nervous about depth and just work your way at your pace to the depth you are comfortable at. As in every thing else if your pushing yourself to a deeper depth then you feel comfortable with then its no longer fun and fun is what scuba is all about!

 

[21bjohn]

Thanks everyone for your input. To clarify, I have just successfully completed the open water Padi certification. All of the confined and open water testing was done at two different "resorts" during the last year. I received the "Scuba Diver" cert. in Cancun last December and then did the open water part last week in Punta Cana, D.R.
As everyone is aware, these resort courses allow people like me with limited time to experience the sport of diving but really do not provide the same level of training that you would receive at a dive training center. Unfortunately, the closest dive shop to me is almost a hours drive each way so I went with the resort training. Now that I'm getting hooked on the sport, I'm going to start reading up on the local dive groups/clubs in my area.

As WarmWaterTurner indicated, I want to sign up in advance for the excursions so we don't miss out on getting a spot reserved in case they fill up before we board the cruise ship. I also want to stay with the cruise line if at all possible so I don't have to worry about being left behind or having to cancel if the ship doesn't make port on time. Being new, the cattle boats aren't a issue with us (for now!)
Hopefully we can get a refund if the dive profile exceeds our comfort level. As I understand it a novice should limit their depth to 60'. I've been to 40' which was the edge of the wall in the D.R and watched the divers below. I would have loved to go deeper but stuck to the dive plan. I would like to slowly increase my depth limits to say 20 ft increments. Going to 90' for our next dive is to deep for now.

My back-up plan is to walk up and hire a DM at Eden Rock for a shore dive out to the grotto if things don't work out.

Thanks again everyone!