don't bash us for cruising

[ghosty_old]

Falcon

Just did a one week cruise on RCCL last month. We dove in grand cayman with neptune divers. Casey the DM was very nice and very helpful. Our ship didn't arrive in grand cayman until 9:00 am so most of the operators were allready gone. She said she would meet us on the beach at around 10:00 am which was a short cab ride, and she would drive us back to the ship at the end so as to make sure we were there for when the ship left. Overall good service, great dive. Actually it turned out that my wife and i were the only two on her boat that day so we had it all to ourselves. They also only allow max 8 divers.

Was suppose to dive in cozumel with the ships shore excursion but turns out i had a ear infection that i didn't know about until the dive in Grand Cayman. Sorry can't help you with that one but if you do a search im sure you will find much help. Enjoy your cruise. It was our first and we are hooked.

Also what ship are you sailing on.??

 

[DiverBuoy]

I've done the cruise scuba diving twice - all within the last 3 months. I hate cruising. However, no one who knows me has ever accused me of being a second-class diver. Anyway I viewed the first cruise (to the BVI's) as an opportunity to take my non-diving wife along and keep her fully entertained. The second cruise (probably the same one you're taking) Carnival Conquest out of New Orleans down the Mississippi, was my Father and I's breakfast sampler of diving. You see I now know that I prefer Grand Cayman over all 5 of the other Islands I've visited. Cruising presented the opportunity to "get out" of a bad situation without being stuck for 6 days on a live-aboard in bad conditions, or in a bad area. Cruising is the breakfast sampler of diving! (it still sucks!) It's for newly weds and nearly deads.


Grand Cayman
I can tell you this - bring all your gear except tanks so you don't have to do much in the scuba shops. Get off the ship early and go straight to the shops in George Town. There are 5 or 6 scuba shops right along the docks. I found Eden's Rock to be quite excellent, a good group. They are only about 2 minutes walk from the Tender pier (all cruise ships use tenders on Grand Cayman - no docks).

Anyway arrange with the shop to get a boat for half of your day (morning OR afternoon) and for the other half of the day get two shallow dives in - straight from the steps next to the shop. That's right you heard me - the beauty of Cayman is that the diving is literally right there. Walk out of just about any scuba shop along the road and jump directly into the water - 33 meter visibility!

Cozumel, Mexico
Pretty much all drift diving. The ship puts into the dock. But if you go left off the docks into town (take a cheap cab ride) I counted 15 scuba shops on the way to the airport (12 minute ride). Shops are within 2 minutes walking distance from the pier as well. I didn't see any divers going down any steps into the water, but I did see some snorklers so it might be possible. Basically on Cozumel you want to drift dive (it's all pretty much drift diving) off a boat. Again here if you have all your gear you merely need to get hooked up with a boat. The boats can launch from one place and bring you directly back to the ship pier if you request it - this allows you to make closer calls with ship departure time.

By the way is this cruise ship you are taking going to Jamaica too? If yes and your putting into Montego Bay instead of Ocho Rios, catch a cab (140.00 US - 85 Kilometers) to Negril and dive with Sun Divers - 25 meter vis year round. It's the same cove where Jerry Springer's Hedonism II is held.

Conclusion
Be brave. Bring all your stuff. Go in search of a shop by the seat of your pants. Don't plan it all out in advance, but instead be preparred to make opportunities. So many shops so little time

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

I have dove with NCL at both Grand Cayman and Cozumel. In GC I had trouble arranging my own diving so I dove with the ship op. Not great but better than not diving. In Coz I arranged my own diving with Aldora. They held one of their boats and I recruited two divers from the ship. We did two of the best dives of my life. Ask for the DM Bill Memo if you use Aldora.

As to the debate above I would say that diving is a sport. If you are working at it to make a point of what a die-hard diver you are then you are missing the point. Have fun and dive safe.

 

[Walter]

"I know how many feel about cruises as poor dive vacations."

Cruises are poor dive vacations. They are not, however, poor vacations that can include a bit of diving. I don't believe anyone would put you down for your choice of vacation. It's not my first choice, but we are all different and that keeps the world interesting.

Look at metridium's response as a direct answer to your question, instead of expecting hostility, you may find it takes on a different meaning.

"Any suggestions to help us maximize our diving opportunities?"

"Jump ship."

It is not hostile, it is the perfect answer to your question. The fact it is not one you can use makes it funny.

Enjoy your cruise. Enjoy your dives. Enjoy humor where you find it.

 

[falcon]

Thanks all for the help. Jonathan, thanks for you comment. I agree that “quips” can rub the wrong way. We will certainly be taking our own equipment. We have done this itinerary before, but were just seeing if others had some additional insight. Thanks ghostly for that tip. We are in Jamaica also. The several times we dove there (Ocho Rios), it was and adventure. I was difficult for us to find a legitimate dive operation ahead of time. We kind of stumbled upon one has we got off the ship. The diving was not what Caymen or Cozumel were, but keep in mind that we are from the Midwest, and any ocean dive is better than the quarries and cold lakes we are use to diving in. Thanks diverbuoy. I am also a msdt with PADI. I appreciate the advice.

 

[scubawife]

I do marketing & communications work for the cruise industry and although I don't usually choose to cruise as a dive vacation, they are a perfect choice for a family, couple or group that has a mix or divers and non-divers. I can't tell you how many people I've known who go on their first cruise kicking and screaming and then can't wait for the next one! There is so much variety now with ships and destinations that it's really not the old "Love Boat" anymore.

There are lines with full scuba programs that offer OW cert courses (very cool, pool & classroom done onboard then dives with the ships DM's/Instructors at the ports), discover scuba port dives and seperate dives for certified divers. From experience, I don't think I'd do the ship's excursion if they don't seperate out the groups unless there was no other option to get a dive in.

My experience with cruising and diving in Grand Cayman and Cozumel was that we had a better dive when we made our own arrangements. This only works if you've got port times that match the dive boat times. In Cozumel we had no problem arranging an afternoon dive since we didn't have to be back onboard until 6pm. In GC the options were to shore dive on our own (Eden Rock & Sunset House have nice shore dives and are close to get to from the pier) or take the ship's dive. You could easily do a couple shore dives at your own pace and have a decent time. You could even take a taxi (expensive) to the North Shore and do the shore dive at Cobalt Coast. It's pretty good.

If you take the ship's dive, keep in mind that there will probably be several people with you who haven't dove in years, dive very infrequently or are new divers. Based on that, the operator doing the ship excursions tend to go to easier, shallower dive sites. You probably won't get a spectacular Cayman wall dive, but you'll still get a decent reef dive.

Check your port times then check the dive times with shops close to the pier (or who will pick you up) in both Cayman and Cozumel. Both of these destinations are making much more money from cruise ships now then they are from land-based visitors so some operators are starting to offer a cruise friendly schedule on the days when 3 or more ships are in port.

For port excursions (mostly non-diving) check out PortPromotions.com. I've worked with them for about 5 yrs. They are a solid company. They're tours are a little cheaper then the cruise ships. They WILL get you back to the ship on time. You won't be with a huge group.

 

[falcon]

thanks for the advice, scubawife, very helpful

 

[metridium]

Walter wrote...
Look at metridium's response as a direct answer to your question, instead of expecting hostility, you may find it takes on a different meaning.

"Any suggestions to help us maximize our diving opportunities?"

"Jump ship."

It is not hostile, it is the perfect answer to your question. The fact it is not one you can use makes it funny.

Thanks, Walter. Glad to see somebody gets my sense of humor.

 

[falcon]

I still don't find it humorous, rather I find it sarcastic, but to each his own. Metridium, maybe I will achieve you level of expertise someday.

 

[metridium]

falcon wrote...
I still don't find it humorous, rather I find it sarcastic, but to each his own.

Nah, sarcastic would have been suggesting opening all the scuppers (?) while in port so you could have a boat dive and a neat wreck dive all in one.

falcon wrote...
Metridium, maybe I will achieve you level of expertise someday.

At being a smarta**? If so, good luck!



Seriously, enjoy your trip. I still don't get the defensiveness, though.