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

[djesser]

I usually cruise the Caribbean once every three years or so, last time was in October on our second trip aboard the Disney Magic (awesome cruise boat!). I never use the dives set up by the cruise line(s). Very pricey and in my experience you're hurded like cattle no matter what your qualifications. El Orans listed some very good operators (I used Neptune's Divers in Cayman). If you contact the dive shop(s) ahead of time they will give you directions to their locations and a few will even provide pick up. It is easier to go with what is offered by the line, but I've always had better and less expensive diving when I made my own arrangments.

 

[EllyBell]

Thanks for all the advive! I'll definatly have to look into the shops mentioned. Didn't really occur to me to find something on my own insted of going with the boat shore excurison at first.

 

[El Orans]

Here's our list:

• Belize - Not sure yet. We do know that currently Carnival isn't offering any diving.

We have chosen Sea Sports Belize for this destination.

Sea Sports Belize - Cruise Ship Diving

 

[Tazman282]

I am going on this exact same set of destinations on the Carnival Valor May 24th-31st out of Miami. The question is if you were to only dive at two of these destinations and two with shore excursions which would you choose?

Also, keep in mind my wife has limited experience, 10 dives total and deathly afraid of anything that swims bigger than a clown fish. We were diving in Australia and a 75+ lb wrasse swam up to greet her and I actually saw tears under water. Great story for her now but she was truly terrified.

Also, anyone that reads this and wants to team up on a boat let me know.

David

 

[timetraveler]

For myself if I could only dive in two ports, I would do a shore excursion in Belize because there are a lot of interesting ones to choose from and because the boat ride to the dive site is long. I would do one dive in Roatan and the second in Cozumel. Thinking about your wife's inexperience, if she wouldn't be comfortable with drift diving, then dive Grand Cayman instead of Cozumel.

 

[Dragon Eye]

We just got back from our trip! What a fantastic week to be out of MN!!

We dove with Anthony's Key in Roatan- nice boat, great dive masters, and wonderful dives at Great Out House wall, and White Hole. There is a nice ebb and flow to the waters here. They have Nitrox available for $10/tank as well. There is a rinse tank and bathroom facilities both on the boat and at the dock.

In Cozumel, we dove with Aviomar- smaller boat, with a few more people (18). Dive masters Pedro and Manuel were a blast! Nice drift dives at San Francisco Reef, and Paradise. Plenty of sea life at both of these locations! This was our first drift dive so my only advise is definitely watch your depth at San Francisco- it had stronger current and we noticed it was a little too easy to drift downwards there.

If you want to know any specifics, just ask!

 

[kuma1720]

Looks like I'll be booking a week on the Carnival Valor the week of June 7-14 out of my hometown Miami. I wanted to thank everyone for the good info, since I was seriously thinking of diving Belize instead of Roatan, but since changed my mind.

Definitely Cozumel is a must, this is my diving mecca!!


As for Cozumel does Blue XT pick you up at the pier or do you make it to the shop??
Looks like Anthony's Key Resort will be my other operator on the second dive.

I will be doing the stingray city tour in Cayman, easy for the family and we can enjoy it together.
As for Belize don't know, does anyone have any good suggestions?

I found this site helpful for other excursions while on the trip that you could book on your own and may save you some $$$
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1-i10703-k1697611-Carnival_VALOR-Cruises.html

 

[chuck e]

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!

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cruises-liveaboards-charter-boats/96776-carnival-valor-update.html

See the above thread. I assume you will have a dive buddy with similar experience. I suggest you do AOW before diving the deeper sites in Coz and Roatan. I was also unprepared for the workout I got lugging 2 sets of dive equipment off and on the boat. In Roatan, try to book an operator on the southern coast, where the better dive sites are (Mary's Place, Calvin's Crack) and also close to where the ship docks. AKR is on the northside and a pretty good ride from the ship. As an alternative to diving, I recommend the snorkeling with dolphins at AKR. We did this on our last trip to Roatan and it was a blast. Hope this helps.

 

[EllyBell]

Thanks for the cruise update. I've been calling around to some of the places suggested, not sure if I'll have a dive buddy or not and I'll be renting all equipment but my mask and fins.

 

[timetraveler]

As for Cozumel does Blue XT pick you up at the pier or do you make it to the shop??

I tried to book Blue XT-Sea for my cruise on the Legend, but they could not take us because the ship's schedule didn't match their dive trip schedule. Perhaps you'll have better luck with the Valor's schedule. We dove with Blue XT-Sea when we spent a week in Cozumel. They picked us up at the hotel dock every day. But before our first dive, we had to go into their shop to fill out forms and drop off our gear. I don't know how they handle divers from cruise ships when/if they take them.

As for Belize don't know, does anyone have any good suggestions?

Cave tubing.