Flower Gardens on the Spree- March 15-16th

[Hemlon]

Is anyone signed up on the Spree for the dates mentioned above?

Let's get this party started!

 

[hydro12]

An instructor (Robert White) from my LDS (Paradise Scuba) will be aboard that trip. I'd be there if I wasn't going on a trip to Cozumel. Robert will be acting DM for the Paradise group. If you see him, tell him I said to give him hell.

 

[SteveDiver]

Whats up with the prices for the Flower Gardens trips? We were going to go in October however, we found it cheaper to take Carnival Cruiselines for a five day cruise and dive in Cozumel and Progresso....

 

[Debraw]

You found a Carnival Cruise, 5 days with 2 days of two tank boat diving for $450? Including the taxes and fees? What ship, what date, please share! Who are you diving with in Cozumel and who are you diving with in Progreso? What dive sites are you diving in Progreso?

 

[SteveDiver]

You found a Carnival Cruise, 5 days with 2 days of two tank boat diving for $450? Including the taxes and fees? What ship, what date, please share! Who are you diving with in Cozumel and who are you diving with in Progreso? What dive sites are you diving in Progreso?

Debraw,
The diving is seperate than the cruise. I figured for a couple of hundred dollars more why not dive in Cozumel and Playa Del Carmen and have a comfortable cabin to stay in on top of more days. Go to www.carnivalcruiselines.com the price starts at 299.00 for 5 days on the ship Ecstasy leaves October 29th; there will be a cool halloween party from what I hear. I will be diving with www.scubawithalison.com in Cozumel and with www.tankha.com in Playa Del Carmen (Progresso). I have dove with them on many ocassions and they are nice. I recently booked a trip to Barcelona Spain for only 549.00 per person! through Royal Caribbean; leaving from Galveston for 13DAYS! the only thing though is that the ship is not coming back and one will have to fly back to Houston from Barcelona. I have another post on here regarding the trip also.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the flower garden trips however to me, the price is getting to high and the quarters are VERY CRAMPED. I like to have my own cabin and bathroom and more days. Good luck and let me know if you have anymore questions.

 

[Debraw]

"we found it cheaper to take Carnival Cruiselines"

Ahhh so it's not cheaper. I was wondering about that.. Progeso is actually on the northern side of the Yucatan and Playa Del carmen is on the southern side. I went to Progreso about 2 years ago and searched for diving and could not find any. I just don't think you can compare the two. I would say once you book the cruise, pay taxes, book the diving, take a couple of cab rides, not to mention the extras ona cruise ( althouht I usually do not spend to much extra) the FG trips are about half of a cruise and diving. I have taken 10 cruises and dove on all but one of them. I take the FG trips because I have a limited amount of time and I want to get the best diving I can for my diving dollar. if I want more comfort and privacy then I take a cruise. If I want to just dive my butt off all day for 5 or 6 days then I take a resort vacation. I thought maybe you had a sceret we all needed to get in on when you said it was cheaper, just checking, I thought I missed something.

 

[Hemlon]

Diving + Progreso=

 

[SteveDiver]

What's cheap to me may not be cheap to you.. have fun on your trip to the Flower Gardens. I think 349.00 including taxes.. for a five day cruise is better than paying almost that for two days going to the FG. When one offers a suggestion or mentions a trip it is not very polite to shoot them down because their ideals are not the same as yours... People can decide themselves, all they have to do is go to carnivalcruiselines.com It is all about what one's expectations are... You are correct however, if one wants to have multiple dives over a two day period then the Flower Gardens is a great trip. I only paid 349.00 including port fees and taxes.
5 Day Western Caribbean from $299 *
Ship Ecstasy

Sailing From Galveston, TX on 10/29/2007

Itinerary Galveston, TX ; Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico ; Cozumel, Mexico ; Galveston, TX

M/V Fling Saturday/Sunday $445.00

 

[Hemlon]

Steve, I don't think that Debraw wasn't "getting along"...she was just trying to find out how inexpensive your cruise is going to be.

As an avid cruiser, I often rave about the benefits of cruising. I'm hoping that the FG trip will be fun too!

 

[Debraw]

Whats up with the prices for the Flower Gardens trips? We were going to go in October however, we found it cheaper to take Carnival Cruiselines for a five day cruise and dive in Cozumel and Progresso....

Let's see I think you said it was "cheaper" to go on a cruise. It is not cheaper. You asked a question, I answered. If you wanted to make a statement you should not have included a question mark. I am not "shooting you down". I replied with a question of how you got the cruise with diving for $450 based on the least expensive FG trip. You then replied that you had not included the diving. I have been a travel agent for 9 years and am a Accredited Cruise Counselor with CLIA. If you want to accuse me of making disparaging remarks about cruises ( which I did not) simply because I make money on FG trips you are way off base. I make WAY more money on cruises then I ever have on FG trips. Good grief.