Dive stops in Western Caribbean (Carnival Cruise lines) - Advice!

[EllyBell]

Hi! I'm new to diving. I've always been a good swimmer and on my last cruise tried snuba and realize I had to get scuba certified as 20ft down wasn't enough. Well, I have a cruise planned for January 2010 and I plan on getting certified this summer. I'll be doing 4 open water dives for the cert, but will probably do more just to get comfortable with it.

Ok, enough about me. Now for the question. I will be sailing on Carnival Cruise lines and we will be stopping at Cozumel, Belize, Grand Cayman and Isla Roatan. I was wondering if anyone as been on any of these stops and could give me their opinions on the dive shore excursions offered - Any that are just ok, any to pass on, ones I should not miss, etc.

Their online shore excursion guide only says this about where you will be diving:

Cozumel: Sand Dollar
Belize: Turneffe Atoll
Isla Roatan: Anthony's Key
Grand Cayman: wall dive followed by a shallow reef or wreck dive.

Any help or thoughts would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks!

 

[El Orans]

Funny,

it's the exact cruise we'll be taking in March.

We won't be using Carnival's dive ops though.

Here's our list:

• Grand Cayman - Neptune's Divers, Cayman's Original 8 Divers Max
• Roatan - Roatan Shark Dive
• Belize - Not sure yet. We do know that currently Carnival isn't offering any diving.
• Cozumel - Cozumel Diving: Blue XT SEA Diving, Cozumel Mexico

 

[EllyBell]

My boyfriend and I are both going to be new divers, would going with one of the places you listed still be ok?

Also, any info you get on how to get there, how long the dives took, prices, etc would be greatly appreciated. I want to get the best experience possible.

Are you sailing on the Legend, the Legend, the Glory, or the Valor?

 

[EllyBell]

Sorry, just saw something else. You said Carnival isn't offering any dives for Belize. They have a two tank dive listed on their shore excursion list.

 

[El Orans]

We'll be going on the Valor with four other SB members, all experienced divers. As we will be diving on every stop, we're bringing our own gear.

The sharkdive in Roatan will have you spending at lot of time at 70 feet so you'd want to have a bit more experience than just OW. I recommend AOW and some other dive experience afterwards.

There will be a extensive trip report when we get back.

Sorry, just saw something else. You said Carnival isn't offering any dives for Belize. They have a two tank dive listed on their shore excursion list.

It's still listed but you cannot book it. We already tried. They may have some other dive op in place next year though.

 

[Dive Junky]

I will be taking that same cruise in November. I have dived all these locations before and you can't really go wrong. If the ship doesn't offer diving in any of the ports you can easily make your own reservations with a local charter. Just be sure they know you are on a cruise ship, when you arrive and when you need to be back by. Most of them are familiar with all the ship schedules so you should be ok.

 

[timetraveler]

EllyBell, If you want to do a good, easy, and convenient dive in Grand Cayman while saving some money, you might want to book a shore dive with Eden Rock Diving Center. Cayman?s best shore and boat diving shop (this description comes with the URL; I don't mean it as my opinion) Their shop is within an easy walk of the cruise ship dock. They offer gear and locker rental, boat diving and shore diving. I did shore dives there last year and plan to do so again this coming May when we're in port on the Carnival Legend. Since you're new, I'd recommend a GUIDED shore dive. It would be a good idea to make arrangements for that in advance. Here's some of the information they emailed to me yesterday:

See the best of Eden Rock and Devil's Grotto do a Guided shore dive with instructor, the Cost $65.00 for a one tank and $100.00 for a 2 tank dive includes equipment rental time by arrangement.

A Quotation from Diving & Snorkeling Cayman Islands
Page 65

Eden Rock & Devil's Grotto

Welcome to grotto-land, boys and girls! Both of these superb shore-diving sites feature grottos and caverns aplenty, and because of the shallow depths, you won't have to hurry home. Snorkelers will have a super time here, too.

Access couldn't be easier Eden Rock Diving Center can provide a map showing the underwater labyrinth. Divers should snorkel out to the buoys, then drop down and begin to explore. The caverns have plenty of light but bring a flashlight along to peer into all the crevices. Snorkelers can glide right over the caverns that divers explore and watch their bubbles escape from the Swiss cheese-like structures. You're likely to see schools of little silversides and shimmering silver tarpon.

 

[robint]

I wouldn't recommend the shark dive for you as the dive sight has lots of current and not really a beginner dive. The diving in Roatan is fantastic, so be sure to dive there though. The dive with Anthony's Key dive op will be great.

Belize is one of those places that you might want to skip the diving and head to some of the topside adventures, if you haven't been there before. There are several Mayan ruin tours that are not to be missed. The good diving in Belize is far from where the cruise ships dock, so it is a long long trip to the good spots. The closer diving isn't worth bothering with from what a friend told me recently, in fact she hated the dives. It was rushed and unpleasant for her, a more experienced diver than the rest of group. In fact one lady panicked underwater and kicked another diver in the face causing injuries! My friend wished she had skipped the diving and done the topside touring instead.

Cozumel diving will be good for you, all you do is follow the DM for the whole dive and then the boat will pick you up. No navigation skills required. I have heard that SandDollar does a good job start to finish.

Don't know about the Grand Cayman dive ops who service the cruise ships.

robin

 

[Dragon Eye]

In a few short weeks now, I'll be on NCL Pearl- with dives in Roatan and Cozumel- I'll report back when I return

 

[TN Traveler]

We are doing a Western Cruise at the end of March. Here is what we are doing:

Roatan: Coconut Tree Divers
Belize: Ship's Excursion (Hugh Parkey)
Cozumel: Scuba With Allison

For Roatan and Cozumel you need to book with the above ops early - they run smaller boats and fill up quickly, since they are well respected.

If we were stopping at Grand Cayman - I'd take a cab up to Turtle Reef and do a shore dive there (have done it and would do it again and again and again .....