GC-Cruise ship dives?

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matthewkavanagh

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Location
Washington, DC
# of dives
100 - 199
wondering if anyone has suggestion for best dive ops in Grand Cayman that can work with folks off a cruise ship... advanced divers looking for some good dives, ideally not on a cattle boat, but realizing we're coming off a cruise ship so... Thanks for any ideas.
 
Fosters has most of the cruise contracts, Red Sail still does Disney afaik. Don Foster's Dive Grand Cayman
IMO Not what you want.

There's several smaller operators witn a short walk (with gear) to consider. Contact them and see what you can work out - it somewhat depends on your time in port.

Wall to W Diving all or Deep Blue work out of the Lobster Pot Dive Center a short walk north from the tender dock. Cruise Ship Diving Trips | Diving Trips Cruise Ships - Grand Cayman

Off the Wall is nearby also. They seem to bcruise schedule friendly. Off The Wall Divers

There's several others (Divers Down, DNS Diving) but IDK what they offer to cruisers.

If you get done early, Cheeseburger Reef is just off Lobster Pot and they'll give you a tank.

Eden Rock is adjacent to the cruise port but IMO is kind of mrh. Decades of cruisers have not helped Home

You can also take a 10 min cab ride to Sunset House dive resort, there's a couple dives there. Close enough that you'll see your ship. https://www.sunsethouse.com/
 
Biggest problem is that most ops are leaving the dock at 8 for the morning 2T so it can be a bit of a challenge. However there are couple that work on schedules more user friendly for a slightly later start. We start at 9 but that is beach pick up at their condo/hotels so still leaving dock at by 8:15/8:30. If you have enough people to do a pc, most small ops will customize the trip including departure time for you. Contacting Lobster Pot is a great idea. There are several small ops that run from there and they can certainly tell you if someone like Cayman Turtle Divers is running specific cruise guests trips. I believe you can request an early tender departure in advance of reaching GC if that helps.
 
Give Mike Painting at Lobster Pot a call or email and see what he can set up for you. He runs a great dive op, and works closely with Wall to Wall and Deep Blue as mentioned by @diversteve. Lobster Pot is my go to dive op in GC, and I usually arrive by cruise ship, and Mike has always set up dives to accommodate my ship's arrival (usually 8AM). Mike does not run cattle boats, and has comfortable dive boats and excellent crews. The last three times I was there, they had a boat go about about 10AM for a two tank dive. I think they also have an afternoon dive, but have never tried that because of the ship departure time. Lobster Pot is a very convenient and easy 8 minute walk to the north from the cruise terminal, and having the three dive ops in the same location makes it easy for Mike to work with the other two ops to set you up if he is full or your arrival time is not compatible. Tell Mike, Guy and several others on SB recommended him. I don't have any vested interest in the company, but I really like them.
GC being a tender port can sometimes be a bit dicey getting off the ship in a timely manner, but you can beat the rush and be near the gangway well before they clear the ship for disembarkation. The ships give tender priority to their excursions, but they can always squeeze in a couple extra people on every tender I have been on.
 
Red Sail and Fosters might not be what you are looking for. If scheduled diving with Lobster Pot does not work out then next best bet would be to book a 6 pack charter so you can do a 2 tank wall dive without the turkey divers you usually see getting off of cruise ships. A charter would allow you to dive where and when you want. I would not recommend shore diving Cheeseburger or Sunset House. If you are advanced divers, the wall is what Cayman is famous for. I personally have liked diving with DNS and Wall to Wall both of which will do a charter. I'm sure the other ops mentioned would be good as well. If you can get out to the North Wall you will be fortunate. If not, the West Wall is still very good. East End is too far for you to go. I personally would avoid the Kittiwake and Stingray City dives. IMO they are gimmicky.
 
I'd recommend taking a taxi up to Northwest Point and do some shore dives at Lighthouse Point (Divetech) and Macabuca (Sun Divers). Both great dives that are the equal if not better than many boat dives (especially the ones closer to the port). You can do both the deep wall and shallower 'mini' wall easily from shore.
No time stress to catch a boat or be back in time. And it being a 20 min taxi ride hardly any cruise ship guests come out there, so no crowds!

 
Menno's suggestion is both a good one and economical compared to boat diving. The shore dives at theses sites are quite good and both have tanks and full gear rental if you need.
A wall dive followed by a shallow on the miniwall makes for a pretty good half day of diving. There is a restaurant at each of these sites and a full bar at Macabuca for apres diving enjoyment.
 
I have a cruise in Jan and booked with Off the Wall Divers at the suggestion of a trusted friend. They've been really easy to work with thus far.
 
Fosters has most of the cruise contracts, Red Sail still does Disney afaik. Don Foster's Dive Grand Cayman
IMO Not what you want.

There's several smaller operators witn a short walk (with gear) to consider. Contact them and see what you can work out - it somewhat depends on your time in port.

Wall to W Diving all or Deep Blue work out of the Lobster Pot Dive Center a short walk north from the tender dock. Cruise Ship Diving Trips | Diving Trips Cruise Ships - Grand Cayman

Off the Wall is nearby also. They seem to bcruise schedule friendly. Off The Wall Divers

There's several others (Divers Down, DNS Diving) but IDK what they offer to cruisers.

If you get done early, Cheeseburger Reef is just off Lobster Pot and they'll give you a tank.

Eden Rock is adjacent to the cruise port but IMO is kind of mrh. Decades of cruisers have not helped Home

You can also take a 10 min cab ride to Sunset House dive resort, there's a couple dives there. Close enough that you'll see your ship. https://www.sunsethouse.com/

YES! Off The Wall Divers is “ship” friendly. If we have a boat available, we take you diving and do not restrict your dive time. 6-8 divers max.
 
Give Mike Painting at Lobster Pot a call or email and see what he can set up for you. He runs a great dive op, and works closely with Wall to Wall and Deep Blue as mentioned by @diversteve. Lobster Pot is my go to dive op in GC, and I usually arrive by cruise ship, and Mike has always set up dives to accommodate my ship's arrival (usually 8AM). Mike does not run cattle boats, and has comfortable dive boats and excellent crews. The last three times I was there, they had a boat go about about 10AM for a two tank dive. I think they also have an afternoon dive, but have never tried that because of the ship departure time. Lobster Pot is a very convenient and easy 8 minute walk to the north from the cruise terminal, and having the three dive ops in the same location makes it easy for Mike to work with the other two ops to set you up if he is full or your arrival time is not compatible. Tell Mike, Guy and several others on SB recommended him. I don't have any vested interest in the company, but I really like them.
GC being a tender port can sometimes be a bit dicey getting off the ship in a timely manner, but you can beat the rush and be near the gangway well before they clear the ship for disembarkation. The ships give tender priority to their excursions, but they can always squeeze in a couple extra people on every tender I have been on.

Off The Wall Divers is based at the Lobster Pot Dive Center too and can take care of you. Having two (2) boats gives us a bit of flexibility. Contact us at fish@candw.ky
 
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