Introducing our new Cruise Forum

[DonWinchester]

Thanks for the info on the Nekton cruisers. We may give them a try in the future. Do you know if they have crises that are shorter in duration where we could give it a try?

Also, I found out that Princess Cruises has a program in partnership with PADI. It seems limited, fairly expensive and there is no package price so I am thinking I might try going directly to the operators, though I like the security (maybe false) that Princess have inspected and approved certain operators and operations enough to put their name on the line.

BTW, since you are from the South Florida area, have you dove off Ft. Lauderdale and if so, do you have a recommendation for somebody we could use while the ship is in port there?

Thanks.

 

[diversteve]

Thanks for the info on the Nekton cruisers. We may give them a try in the future. Do you know if they have crises that are shorter in duration where we could give it a try?

No, every trip is Sat-Sat on Nekton cruises. While Swath boats are really stable, the Windjammer might've been better. I think Nekton compares themselves to the other single-hull sub-100' diveboats that are their competition.

Last summer on Nekton to CaySal, coming back up we hit some headwinds and the boat was pitching pretty good all night - front to back, not side to side. Bad enough that it was hard to walk on deck without holding onto something. Two people were sick next morning. Swath really comes into play when they anchor, they pump water into the hulls to stabilize the boat. I'm almost positive they pump them out before getting underway though. Or the boat had a really bad leak...

 

[georoc01]

I'm new to the forum, But have now done three dive related cruises.

The first was about five years ago. Western Carribean on Princess. I did two discovery dives. On in the Grand Caymans. They use Don Foster's dive shop. The 2nd was at XCaret just south of Playa De Camen. That dive blew me away. My friend who was introducing me to diving was very impressed with that dive as well as we saw so much marine wildlife.

Over Christmas week of this year, I returned on the same cruise (Western Carribean, Princess). It was my plan to get certified on the ship. I had my referrals from the LDS. and the dive instructor on the boat was great. We first did a refresher in the pool on the boat while at sea so he could evaluate our skills prior to heading out into the open water. However, we had the dives cancelled in all three ports. The first was due to arriving in Jamaica late. The last two stops (Grand Caymans and Cozumel) were cancelled due to weather. So I completely struck out at getting my certification on the boat.

I just did a 3rd cruise on the Grand Princess out of Galveston. I had since completed my OW certification prior to the cruise. This boat had four stops (Costa Maya, Belize, Roatan and Cozumel). I didn't dive in Costa Maya and from what I heard, the dives didn't go well. There isn't much fish due to overfishing and high seas made the boat trip to the dive site very rough.

The next three were fantastic. Roatan was at Anthony's Key resort. Belize was through Hugh Parkey, and Cozumel was through Dive House. I did 2 tank dives in all three locations. The dive masters were great in all three locations and accomodated the wide range of divers that we had on the boat.

Overall, I was impressed with NewWaves program that Princess offers through their boats. They have two dive instructors on every cruise ship and evaluate the operators on a weekly basis to ensure quality. When I returned to the ship, the cruise dive instructors would survey us to make sure that all of our needs were met.

We are going to do a southern carribean cruise next year on Princess that makes stops in Aruba, Bonnaire, etc. to do some more dives off of one of hte largest dive boats in the carribean!

 

[missbeluga]

Guys, this is an excellen idea. I hope can give you guys the infos u need, at least most of the infos. I am an organizer of liveabord tripps. In my market research (no agency but my own skin) all over the world I came to several conclusions about Scubacruises - it is not for everyone. You should do your research of the cruiseshipp and should watch for a few things as well. 1. Some cruises seem cheap - but at the end they end up being more expencive than the ones that tell you honestly in the beginning what a whole tripp costs.
2. thing is safety: I literaly was left in the middle of the red sea alone for a few hours with swimming sharks around me (and I am an instructor and was onboard with 10 more of those)!!!! They simply forgott about me

3. Enough about the bad stuff, now some good stuff:
if you go as a group you can ask for specialized tours - that include onboard animation
4. You can ask for singles tours and combine all kinds of fields of interests into your cruise if you know what you want

You can bring your whole family with you and if the staff is just nice not perfect - you would be suprised how easy it is to bring all your loved ones to dive or at least share the experiences....


Ok now, I again talk too much...if u guy r interested I can tell you stories
Bye for now - and safe diving everyone!

 

[psldivebum]

For me Cruise's are the easiest way for me to spend a vacation with the wife and kids plus get my dives in.

I've Dived the caymans, roatan, belize, jamaica, cozumel, costa maya, st.thomas, st.kitts, the bahamas, and aruba....

would highly recommend it.

 

[shiekarj]

Hi, I cruised with RCCL 2 years ago and took the cruise-line sponsored dive trips in Key West and Grand Cayman. Although the dive excursions were slightly more expensive than I could have arranged privately, the convenience was worth it! Also, two distinct locations in one trip.

There are plenty of other activities for my non-diving spouse to do without being bored waiting for me to surface.

...Headed for Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Princess Cays on Princess Cruises in November. I don't plan to dive in Jamaica. Can't wait!

 

[Nesher]

We are going to do a southern carribean cruise next year on Princess that makes stops in Aruba, Bonnaire, etc. to do some more dives off of one of hte largest dive boats in the carribean!

I would like to hear your review of that voyage, the diving and the dive ops Princess used. My wife, father & mother (all non-divers) and I are taking the 14 Dec 2008 trip on the Caribbean Princess.

If you care to share your experience I'd like to hear it.

Thanks,


Dive safely at all times. :14:

 

[CLEAR BLUE]

I will be taking my first cruise in February to grand Cayman and Cozumel. I'll be reading posts to see what to expect.

 

[Natasha]

I will be taking my first cruise in February to grand Cayman and Cozumel. I'll be reading posts to see what to expect.

I'll be in both ports also in Feb. from a cruise ship. What are your dates?

 

[imfreeagle]

Has any one dove at Princess cays? We will be there Feb 22, 2008 and wondering if it is worth diving. Any info would be great.

Thanks in advance.