Ever since I earned my Open Water, I've made it a point to go diving whenever we go on vacation. The wife is totally on board with it and is very supportive, it works out because the times I go diving she is relaxing and having a lazy day until I return. Our latest adventure was a 12-night cruise of Norway on Royal Caribbean. There were two cruise ports stops that were above the Arctic Circle, so my immediate focus was to get a dive in at least one of those stops. Being a planner, I like to call and start making reservations months in advance. When I started inquiring about dives in Norway I was met with sounds of crickets. I either did not get any replies back or the replies I got indicated that some of the organizations don't cater to cruise ship passengers due to the tight schedule. There are many dive clubs in Norway, but they only cater to their members. As our sail date approached, I was worried I wouldn't be able to dive at all and then slowly I began to make progress and about one week before traveling I was able to book dives at 3 ports of call!
All of the places I dived are called fjords, in the Pacific Northwest they are called inlets but they both were formed by retreating glaciers and incoming sea water. The fjords of Norway are clear, unique and full of life. Near the shore it is a gradual slope to about 15 - 20 feet and then it quickly drops off. Some of these fjords are over 400ft in depth but for my dives we stayed in the 60ft - 95ft range. I brought my own gear, so I only needed to rent a tank and weights and after each dive I rinsed my gear at the shops and then again in our cabin on the ship. I really don't mind bringing my own gear on trips and because we have tier status with the airlines, I don't pay a luggage fee for the extra bag. When the other passengers found out I was going diving, they thought I was looney, it was at that point that I had to explain the concept of drysuits and cold weather diving. The ship staff on the other hand thought it was pretty cool.
My first dive was in Tromso, Norway, which is above the Arctic circle and a bucket list item for that reason. The local dive shop was undergoing a change of ownership and at the time of my inquiry they were not offering any dives. I eventually was put in contact with a local diver who was happy to help out as he has a passion for diving and for spreading that passion to other divers. To this point I had not dived salt water in my dry suit, so we spent about 45 minutes dialing in my buoyancy. While we were getting set up there were two whales that had briefly surfaced but by the time we got in the water they had moved on. The rock formations and walls were stunning. We had talked about diving some WWII wrecks but due to distance to get to the wrecks and time constraints I didn't get that chance. That being said I still had a wonderful time. During my dive I had arranged for my wife to go on a land tour and we coordinated everything so that when I was done diving, they came and picked me up. I got to tour for a bit and then have lunch before heading back to the ship.
The next place I dove was in Alesund at Ålesund Dykkersenter. The dive shop was small and quaint, I went on a guided tour with the owner. We tweaked in my buoyancy some more by removing 2 kilos and away we went. Once again I had an excellent dive, taking in the sights and enjoying the experience.
My final stop was in Kristansand at One Ocean Dive Resort. The owner was surprised to see me because he said that divers from the cruise ships normally no show whenever they make an appointment. Not only was I the first cruise ship diver to actually show up, I was also the first American to show up! He had the perception that Americans only dove in warm waters and I was more than happy to show him otherwise! Therefore, if you're making reservations please show up, it'll make it easier on others who may want to dive in the future. I think that was one reason why it was hard in the beginning to secure a reservation. As for me, I willing to dive in any climate or place, I just want to dive.
I've added the names of the cities and dive shops to this post for divers looking for a place to dive while in Western Norway. Just make sure to show up if you do schedule an appointment. Everywhere I dove everyone was so helpful, kind and friendly. In Kristansand I dove in a group that consisted of Open Water students. We went our separate ways as we got in the water, but we had a nice fellowship and the shop prepared a nice lunch for us all during our surface interval. During all my dives, I saw a Wolf Fish which is basically an Atlantic catfish, also seen plenty of star fish, cod, sea urchins and crabs galore! There were also quite a few small jellyfish but thankfully the viz was so good, they were easy to avoid. I had missed out on the seals as it was mating season I was told. The average water temp was 44 degrees. I had such a great experience with the people and diving that I would definitely return!
All of the places I dived are called fjords, in the Pacific Northwest they are called inlets but they both were formed by retreating glaciers and incoming sea water. The fjords of Norway are clear, unique and full of life. Near the shore it is a gradual slope to about 15 - 20 feet and then it quickly drops off. Some of these fjords are over 400ft in depth but for my dives we stayed in the 60ft - 95ft range. I brought my own gear, so I only needed to rent a tank and weights and after each dive I rinsed my gear at the shops and then again in our cabin on the ship. I really don't mind bringing my own gear on trips and because we have tier status with the airlines, I don't pay a luggage fee for the extra bag. When the other passengers found out I was going diving, they thought I was looney, it was at that point that I had to explain the concept of drysuits and cold weather diving. The ship staff on the other hand thought it was pretty cool.
My first dive was in Tromso, Norway, which is above the Arctic circle and a bucket list item for that reason. The local dive shop was undergoing a change of ownership and at the time of my inquiry they were not offering any dives. I eventually was put in contact with a local diver who was happy to help out as he has a passion for diving and for spreading that passion to other divers. To this point I had not dived salt water in my dry suit, so we spent about 45 minutes dialing in my buoyancy. While we were getting set up there were two whales that had briefly surfaced but by the time we got in the water they had moved on. The rock formations and walls were stunning. We had talked about diving some WWII wrecks but due to distance to get to the wrecks and time constraints I didn't get that chance. That being said I still had a wonderful time. During my dive I had arranged for my wife to go on a land tour and we coordinated everything so that when I was done diving, they came and picked me up. I got to tour for a bit and then have lunch before heading back to the ship.
The next place I dove was in Alesund at Ålesund Dykkersenter. The dive shop was small and quaint, I went on a guided tour with the owner. We tweaked in my buoyancy some more by removing 2 kilos and away we went. Once again I had an excellent dive, taking in the sights and enjoying the experience.
My final stop was in Kristansand at One Ocean Dive Resort. The owner was surprised to see me because he said that divers from the cruise ships normally no show whenever they make an appointment. Not only was I the first cruise ship diver to actually show up, I was also the first American to show up! He had the perception that Americans only dove in warm waters and I was more than happy to show him otherwise! Therefore, if you're making reservations please show up, it'll make it easier on others who may want to dive in the future. I think that was one reason why it was hard in the beginning to secure a reservation. As for me, I willing to dive in any climate or place, I just want to dive.
I've added the names of the cities and dive shops to this post for divers looking for a place to dive while in Western Norway. Just make sure to show up if you do schedule an appointment. Everywhere I dove everyone was so helpful, kind and friendly. In Kristansand I dove in a group that consisted of Open Water students. We went our separate ways as we got in the water, but we had a nice fellowship and the shop prepared a nice lunch for us all during our surface interval. During all my dives, I saw a Wolf Fish which is basically an Atlantic catfish, also seen plenty of star fish, cod, sea urchins and crabs galore! There were also quite a few small jellyfish but thankfully the viz was so good, they were easy to avoid. I had missed out on the seals as it was mating season I was told. The average water temp was 44 degrees. I had such a great experience with the people and diving that I would definitely return!
