Grand Princess Cruise Feb. 18th

[Minnow]

Hi,

My husband and I will be going on the Grand Princess cruise in the Western Carribbean Feb. 18th through Feb. 25th. Below is our itinerary:

Feb 18 2006 GALVESTON 01:00PM 04:00PM
Feb 19 2006 AT SEA
Feb 20 2006 MAJAHUAL 10:00AM 06:30PM 07:00PM
Feb 21 2006 BELIZE 06:30AM 01:00PM 01:30PM
Feb 22 2006 GRAND CAYMAN 12:00PM 06:30PM 07:00PM
Feb 23 2006 COZUMEL 10:00AM 06:30PM 07:00PM
Feb 24 2006 AT SEA
Feb 25 2006 GALVESTON 07:00AM

For Mahahual we are going to book through Mayan Palms resort. I have heard that Belize is suppose to be wonderful for diving. But I have never been to a rainforest, so will be taking a zip line tour through the Rain Forest.

For Grand Cayman, I am thinking about either booking with Eden Rock divers or Neptune divers. Anyone have any opinion?

Then for Cozumel, was thinking about booking either with Eagle Ray Divers,
Blue XT Sea Diving, Liquid Blue Divers, or Bottom Divers. I have scoured the board and have come up with these. Any opinions pro or con on these dive shops.

Is there anyone who will be on the same Cruise?


Minnow

 

[billeelou]

Coz dive With Martin is supposedly right off the pier where they are docking( don't know exactly where they are tendering into), Used them in Octber, small groups, small boats take you anywhere you want to go...Santa Rosa/Sanfrancisco reefs or the Palancar $60 including equip if needed.Aqua del mar is off the Lancoste Pier also very good at the same price but plus equipment... EDENROCK comes highly reccomended for GC, but Cruisecritic's boards have been screaming about GP's lousy tendering leaving no time to dive...Linda searle in Belize City is also highly reccomended...both her and Edenrock in GRand cayman are close to the docks...Majahual has been a challenge to get comparative stats on...BTW same cruise but on the 21st of Jan....hope this helped....

 

[jaydub]

I have heard that Belize is suppose to be wonderful for diving. But I have never been to a rainforest, so will be taking a zip line tour through the Rain Forest.

If I was going back to belize I would definitely skip the zip line experience and either do a few extra dives, or I would have taken another day trip to one of the mayan ruins. I went to lamanai and it was amazing, would have loved to go to tikal as well.

 

[billeelou]

majahual= Mayapalms.com looks pretty good and lisa j just came back from there...said it was great!

 

[robbcayman]

I would definitely recommend Blue XT Sea Diving.

 

[Minnow]

Hi!

So far I have booked a 2-tank with Mayan Palms resort (same as Lisa_J). I am also going to use Eagle Ray divers in Cozumel. The jury is still out on Grand Cayman. I have contact Neptune Divers and Eden Rock. Neptune Divers have already responded to my email. I am still waiting to hear from Eden Rock. Will let you know which dive shop I decide to use.

Thanks!

Minnow :05:

 

[diveborg]

I would definitely recommend Blue XT Sea Diving.

Me too. Christi is fantastic. www.bluextseadiving.com

Unfortunately, your arrival times in Cozumel and GCM will make scheduling difficult. If Christi can't accommodate you arrival time, I'm sure she will be able to recommend someone. In Grand Cayman, www.neptunesdivers.com is who I went with and really enjoyed the trip. If you can't arrange a boat dive there, my recommendation is to take a taxi to the www.divetech.com shop near the turtle farm and do a shore dive there. Eden rock is a much closer dive site in Georgetown that you can walk to, but the turtle farm dive site is better and will be less crowded.

 

[ItsBruce]

I've done lots of dives while on cruises. My recommendation is to book through the ship. It may be a bit more expensive, but you don't need to worry about the ship arriving too late to go on the dive or leaving without you. Also, in Belize, a dive booked through the ship will pick you up at the ship whereas a dive booked elsewhere will require you to tender to shore first.

BTW: The GP is a great ship (except that the midship stairway does not go all the way up).

Also: There are a number of threads on cruising and diving with some great tips (like dive knives may be confiscated by security). Also, beverage cups in the buffet are too small -- bring your own plastic cup or plan on lots of refils of their 4 oz cups!

 

[Minnow]

I ended up booking with Neptune Divers in GC. All of the dive shops I contacted were willing to accommodate the Cruise schedule, so I was happy!

Thanks for all the input!

Minnow

 

[shivers3]

My wife and I are doing this cruise leaving Galveston Feb 4. If anyone else will be on this cruise and wants to dive, let us know! For Coz we are using Martine. Have dived with him before and it's great! The info I have found for Belize City is that there are only 2 dive shops, Sea Sports and another. Does anyone know of others? Looking forward to hear of others experiences with this cruise!