Dive Site Recomendations

[Devil505]

We are looking at a Western Carrib. cruise (on Carnival Lines) starting
2/14/06 & I am looking for dive recommendations for the best two sites to
dive out of these four places:
Cozumel
Cayman Islands
Roatan Island, Honduras
Belize

Also......Any tips on how these cruise excursion dives work, what I should do/avoid,
etc.

Thanks

 

[Alex777]

To start with, we need to know what time of day you arrive on the island in question. On Grand Cayman, the best dive sites are accessible only by dive boats which leave their docks anywhere from 8:00 AM to 9:15 AM or so. If your cruise line cannot get you here that early, then we are talking about the best shore dives.

 

[Devil505]

To start with, we need to know what time of day you arrive on the island in question. On Grand Cayman, the best dive sites are accessible only by dive boats which leave their docks anywhere from 8:00 AM to 9:15 AM or so. If your cruise line cannot get you here that early, then we are talking about the best shore dives.

Thanks for your reply Alex....The cruise itinerary has us arriving on Grand Cayman at 9:00am & leaving at 5:30pm. The ship's 2 tank dive excursion says:

"This combination shallow reef dive and shipwreck dive has been called one of the best dives in the world.

On this excursion you will:

Take a short transfer from the pier to the dive center for equipment verification before boarding the dive boat.
Experience your first dive along Cayman’s famous “West Wall”. Dive the spectacular wall to an average depth of 70 feet.
See the West Wall’s crevices and overhangs teeming with hard corals, colorful sponges and beautiful gorgon.
Move on to the second dive site, one of Cayman’s beautiful coral reefs or shipwrecks. Dive among the colorful and diverse collection of fish and other marine life. "

It costs $149.00.......Worth it or just do a shore dive?

 

[Devil505]

I've attached the cruise details:



Tue Belize 9:00am 6:00pm


Wed Roatan Island, Honduras 7:00am 3:30pm


Thu Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands 9:00am 5:30pm


Fri Cozumel, Mexico 11:00am 11:00pm

 

[rpodos]

Err... that is very expensive. You might want to try independently coordinating with a local dive op.

 

[scubaotter]

I would highly suggest you contact local dive operators with one exception - Belize. Belize is a long tender out and back to the ship.

I have used Pappa Hogs in Coz while diving from a cruise ship and they were wonderful. You can take care of most everything online and they are sure to get you back to the dock in plenty of time to get back to the ship.

I would suggest Inn of Last Resort for Roatan. They have packages especially for drivers coming from the cruise ships. They will pick you up at the dock, take you out for the dives, feed you lunch and, take you back to the ship.

Diving from a cruise ship can be a bit more of a challenge but, if you plan well you can get in some nice dives for a lot less money than what the cruise line wants to charge you.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Pros of using the ship op: 1) It will be geared for the lowest common denominator if you are rusty (read shallow dive, no current); 2) the ship will wait for you if something happens and you are delayed; 3) it is a hand-held experience from the minute you get off the ship til you get back on.

Cons of using the ship op: 1) It is shallow; 2) It is a cattle boat; 3) It is usually a spot not far from the ship which is not necessarily the best dive in the area; 4) It is usually more expensive.

We did the same itinerary with NCL. It was overall a great experience. We used the ship op everywhere but Coz. Coz was the best experience by far. We chartered our own boat with Aldora for a little more than what the ship op charged. Belize is a tender port and almost immpossible to make your own arrangements. If I had it to do over I would skip the Belize dive. The boat ride was very long (two plus hours each way) In Roatan it was Anthony's Key Resort and Grand Cayman was Red Sail. Both were pretty good and nothing to complain about. Good luck!