Good day trips from Cruise in Cabo, PV or Acapulco

[RS]

Hi,

I'm on a princess cruise right now and will have stops in Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas over the next week. The ship doesn't have much info on the trips they offer.

Wondering if anyone out there has good or bad info they can share on operations that cater to divers on cruises (in other words are good at getting passengers back to the boat on time and can offer a good dive trip). Also what are some good dive sites to try to get to??

Thank you for your help in advance!!

 

[Chocoholic]

Hi,

I'm on a princess cruise right now and will have stops in Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas over the next week. The ship doesn't have much info on the trips they offer.

Wondering if anyone out there has good or bad info they can share on operations that cater to divers on cruises (in other words are good at getting passengers back to the boat on time and can offer a good dive trip). Also what are some good dive sites to try to get to??

Thank you for your help in advance!!

I have never gone on a cruise, but when I dove with Amigos del Mar in Cabo we waited for a couple of people from a cruise ship to arrive when we were going diving. The diving in Cabo is pretty good, the water may be a bit chilly this time of year (70's is my guess) but you should see sea lions and lots of porcupine fish, rays and eels. The dive op Amigos del Mar is right close to the cruise ship dock area and their boat is kept a few yards from the cruise ship dock area. The boat rides out to the dive sites are about 5 minutes (if that) and they usually have us back to the dock by 12:30 or 1pm at the latest. If you tell them you are from the cruise ship and need to be back by xx time they will work with you.
Puerto Vallarta water temps might be a little higher but I'm thinking by not that much. the dive sites in PV are at least 30 minutes away (Los Arcos) and 90 minutes away (Las Marietas) so you will spend most of your time on the boat going and coming and not get to see much of PV.
I haven't been to Acapulco so not much help there.

Have fun on your cruise.

 

[suedownunder1]

Hello Diver:I have used Baja Dive for the last several years.Shop is close to the dock. They will meet you at the cruise ship dock and get you back before time to leave.The last Dive there there was three divers from the Cruise ship And we were back at 12;30 after two dives.contact cooldiver2@yahoo.com for more info.

 

[Dermochelys]

I went on a cruise last year with HAL. I did dives in Cabo and PV as well. I dove with Lands End Divers in Cabo (http://www.mexonline.com/landsend.htm). Everyone at there shop was very friendly and helpful. They split the divers up by experience, which was nice. Our DM was "Chucky", again very friendly and helpful. We dove Pelican Rock, which was my first dive after certification. No current, no swell, and about 50-75 foot viz. It was a wonderful dive full of lots of fish of all sorts. All in all I had a wonderful time with them. My only regret was that I only got to do one dive that day because HAL didn't offer a two tank dive. If you have a one tank signed up through the ship I would suggest asking whoever you dive with to go on a second dive after your first. The dive sights seem to be no more then 10 minutes from the harbor, and boats they used were a bigger water taxi with a canopy. My only VERY small complaint was that we had to walk quite a ways to and from the shop to get the gear and then onto their boat.

PV was a little different. I dove with Vallarta Adventures (http://www.vallarta-adventures.com), again booked through HAL, but this time for 2 tanks. It is a LONG boat ride to our site, Las Marietas. It was also a cattle boat with about 50 snorkelers from 2 cruise ships and about 15 divers. I have to say though the staff was really great at telling jokes and stories on the way out which helped to pass the time. It was like going to a comedy club. We even stopped to do a little whale watching. They split us up by experience so each DM had 6 or 7 divers with him. I forget the name of my DM, but he was skinny and bald, if that helps. Anyway, there was a bit of a swell at our dive sites so some people got seasick, especially after the long boat ride. There were no where near as many fish, and the reef looked pretty dull. We did get to swim through some lava tubes, which was fun. But after the two dives we had another long boat ride, this time in a water taxi, to catch up to the main boat where the snorklers were. In such a small boat and in high surf for what seemed like 30 minutes I got a little sea sick. Then it was another long trip back and by then I felt terrible.

To sum up, both dive operators were good, but Vallarta Adventures really packed their boats. If I had to choose I would have done 2 tanks in Cabo and done something else in PV.

Hope this helps and have fun!

 

[Chocoholic]

I dive with Amigos Del Mar everytime we go to Cabo (7 trips). The boat that Amigos uses is a wide, stable catamaran with lots of room for stowage, a head, and a dive platform (with oxygen on board). They go out on a two tank dive morning trip each day and then an afternoon dive sometimes. Several dive ops use open pangas with a ladder to get back into the boat, ask them what type of boat they have before you go with them. Have fun!