parrotheaddiver:
they are trying to attract the cruise ship crowd.....go quickly before it changes....the rest of the Bay Islands are safe for now...Doc got anything to add?
Yeah, I'll pitch in. The cruise ship stops are inevitable. It is (so far) tolerable. There have been two a week at times.
People are looking for something different. Cruise Shipping is hereditary. Current Pod People grew up hearing their parents whining about the food in Aruba and the "natives" in the Bahamas. Now it's their turn. God bless their pointed heads and the starving Pygmies, but you can't
really SCUBA dive after disembarking from a cruise ship. I know we have a Forum here on SB, but how it got mooshed-in with
liveaboards, I will never figure out.
Cruise Ship want to keep people on-board. They hate the process of disembarking and reloading, they hate docking fees, and most of all, they hate losing Casino revenue. Stops are made as they are an expected thing.
The Western Caribbean route?
Here's an internet quote that (whoops) neglects the Bay Islands:
Ports of call on a Western Caribbean itinerary often include Cozumel or Playa del Carmen, Mexico; Grand Cayman; Key West, FL; the Dominican Republic; Jamaica; Belize; or Costa Rica. If you look at a map, you will see that since the ports of call are further apart, more sailing is usually involved on a western Caribbean cruise. So you may have more time at sea and less time in port or on the beach. The ports of call in the western Caribbean are sometimes on the mainland (Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica) or at larger islands (Jamaica, Dominican Republic). Therefore, the shore excursion options are more varied. You can explore ancient Mayan ruins, hike the rain forests, or go snorkeling or SCUBA diving in some unforgettable locations.
How Jamaica and DR got in the mix, I know not. Usually Cayman is on the list befor eheading West.
Roatan is the leader among the Bay Islands in land sales and economic growth. If but not for Mitch (98) Guanaja would be right in the mix as well. Roatan is a heavily promoted to Italians and South Americans.
The biggest impact so far is the economic and societal changes on the vendors who provide the "straw market" and the shops in Coxen Hole and the West Bay. Secondarily would be the growth of the bars in the West Bay Beach area.
The greatest impact upon Roatan is to the Coxen Hole "downtown" area, West Bay Beach and Anthony Key Resort where the "pod people" go to SCUBA dive and to
fondle Flipper.
Otherwise, as a week-long island based diver, you won't notice them.
Roatan is not commercialized like say cozumel or Grand Cayman....but unfortunatly changes are coming to Roatan:shakehead they are trying to attract the cruise ship crowd.....go quickly before it changes....the rest of the Bay Islands are safe for now....I hope.....
Ok, I got certified so I could dive on a cruise.:14: Not a cattle boat though, I booked a 2 tank dive with a small resort in the west end.
They picked us up at the port and took us back to the ship. There were 3 divers, 1 snorkeler and a dive master in the water. Ideal first fun dive for me.
