How do cruises work? For divers..

[Altamira]

I have done a lot of cruise diving in the past eleven years, and there are many good comments in the above posts. When deciding who to dive with at a specific port I evaluate the following criteria:

1. How long is the port time and what are the arrival and departure times? If a long port time, and the arrival/departure times are compatible with the local dive op schedules, then I have maximum flexibility to choose whether to use the ship's excursion or a non-contract dive op.

2. Is the ship docked or tendered? If a tendered port, divers that do not have any priority disembarkation (loyalty status perk) would probably be better off using the ship's dive op. The reason is that the ship's excursions are given priority for the tenders, and if the arrival time is pretty close to the non-contract dive ops departure time, you may not be able to get off the ship in time. I have been on numerous cruises where divers that had booked with other than the ship's dive op could not get off the ship in time, while I had two wonderful dives using the ship's excursion. This has been an ongoing situation at Grand Cayman, especially if the winds are up a bit, and the tender operation can be very slow if a lot of ships in port.

3. Who is the ship's dive op? In most cases, I have had no issues with the ship's dive op, and not infrequently would likely have considered/used them anyway. Just realize that your fellow cruise ship divers may not be up to your dive capabilities, so you may get a more shallow, less challenging dive that you would prefer. However, this could occur just as easily with a independent dive op. I enjoy the dives no matter the dive time or low experience level of fellow divers. It is all good.

4. Lastly, I evaluate how much it is going to cost me should I miss the ship's departure time while using a non-ship vendor? Frequently, the potential cost of trying to catch up with the cruise ship, or having a pissed off wife, if you don't make it back in time, far exceeds the few extra excursion cost or additional 10-15 minutes of dive time that you might get with a different vendor.

5. I always carry all of my dive gear, so I do not have to consider the cost of equipment rental which is usually included in the ship's excursion.

 

[Rick Brant]

I've done a few dives during cruises and they worked well for me. Agree with all the above. One more note, On the Cruise Critic website there is a thing called "roll call" for every scheduled cruise. If you join that for your cruise, you may find that other divers will arrange a meet-up on-board the cruise, or perhaps pre-schedule a dive with each other. It's a good way to connect with other divers in advance, if you want to.

 

[Bert van den Berg]

The wife and my one experience trying to do a scuba dive while on a cruise ship was very disappointing. The cruise ship always arrived at the island we wanted to dive after the dive boats left. We had to be happy snorkeling - which was beautiful I might say. This was in the S. Pacific and your experience elsewhere might vary.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

We never had a problem getting back to the boat on time. The problem was getting off the boat. Unless you know a secret handshake, you are at the mercy of the ship if you have to be off as soon as you pull in. Getting 2000-4000 people off through 2 exits is not going to be fast, no matter how you do it.

Some cruises used to let you purchase early disembarkation so you are more likely to meet your dive boat on time, but even then, most dive ops leave for a morning 2 tank dive before the ship even docks. The way we did it was to just charter our own dive boat. With 4 divers, it did not cost much more than paying the regular rate and you owned the boat. It left when you got there. It went where you wanted and came back as soon as your second dive was done. We always had time to explore the town a bit after taking our gear back to the ship.

Even if you don't charter your own boat, there will be dive ops that will cater to divers at each port. You just have to find them. Using the cruise line operator would be my last resort, but I hate cattle boats and short dives. We have our own gear so rental gear was never an issue.

Good luck, please post a trip report when you get back.

Jay

 

[jonhall]

Frequently, the potential cost of trying to catch up with the cruise ship, or having a pissed off wife, if you don't make it back in time, far exceeds the few extra excursion cost or additional 10-15 minutes of dive time that you might get with a different vendor.

Glad I haven't experienced this!! lol!!

 

[parzdiver]

I will agree with just about everything everyone has said. Getting off and back on the boat are a lock when diving with the cruise excursion. While there are some risks with going independent, if the dive operation specifically caters to the cruise crowd, they know what they are doing and will work with the ships schedule. For me, the piece of mind going through the cruise excursion is worth the few extra dollars.

 

[shmuggy]

All of the comments so far are 100%. I would also add that if you go on one the ships excursions, you will quite likely be with inexperienced divers- which may or may not suit you.

 

[Doc]

All of the comments so far are 100%. I would also add that if you go on one the ships excursions, you will quite likely be with inexperienced divers- which may or may not suit you.

In a way….Equally the case if you “just show up” to any privately arranged dive charter.

They will treat you like any other unknown visitor, with the affirming credential of being a cruise ship diver. In the DM mind, you’re from a suspect group, per-se. Right or wrong, it’s the way it is. (I have led 5 cruise ship dives as a land based excursion. Never again, the things you see!)

As to the “guaranteed that they’ll wait for you” thing…

The cruise provided excursions all have what NASA used to refer to as a “built-in hold”. Remember when the countdown would just stop at T-5 minutes and the clock would also “stop” for 10 minutes? The absurdity of that wasn’t lost on a few of us.

There is a lot of slop-factor in any authorized excursion schedule, down-time that you will barely notice if you just are enjoying the big adventure off ship. Personal charters might get you more action, dive times or something?

Cruise ships also have this same built-in hold as they seem to take forever to get moving. Airlines use this game to mathematically ensure ‘on-time’ departures and arrivals.

Fun Fact #459: There is always someone on that cruise ship dock with a hat, clipboard & vest waiting to explain to anyone running on the dock…what their next options will cost. It is just another service.

As was pointed out in earlier posts, unless you have proven previous experience with this privately arranged charter, you will be swimming firmly in the noob category.

And, as to the OP… Nassau? I’d pass.

 

[yle]

I have dived from cruise ships extensively. My family dives, so our cruise trips in the Caribbean are diving trips. We dive at every port.

I have never used the cruise ship's excursion. I have always done my own research and booked my diving directly with the dive ops we used. I've found this to be a huge advantage, not only in cost but also to avoid the cruise ship diving crowd. (One day in St Thomas our dive boat picked us up right next to the cruise ship. There were six divers on our boat. The dive boat for the cruise ship divers, i.e. the excursion booked through the ship, was loading tanks on their dive boat... about 80 tanks. Yikes!)

I have never come remotely close to missing the ship, always done with hours to spare. Ships are typically in port for about 8 hours, and a dive excursion is typically 4 to 5 hours. And it's an island. Very low risk of not being able to get back to the ship.

 

[yle]

While there are some risks with going independent, if the dive operation specifically caters to the cruise crowd, they know what they are doing and will work with the ships schedule. For me, the piece of mind going through the cruise excursion is worth the few extra dollars.

In the Caribbean, where cruise ships bring tourists (and divers) on a regular schedule, ALL the dive shops are very aware of the cruise ships' schedule. It's been my experience that every shop I've booked with has been able to tell me exactly what to expect for the timing to get off the ship, get to the shop, go diving, and get back to the ship.

All of the shops do this all of the time, not just the shop that contracts with the ship. The cruise ships have a vested interest in convincing people that it's "safer" going with their contracted dive shop. But it's been my direct (and extensive) experience that all the dive shops have the same information as it relates to the cruise ship schedules, and ensure that their diving cruise ship customers get back to the ship with plenty of time to spare.