Is this a good idea???

[SeaHound]

I have been reading posts about what a nightmare it can be when we dive from a cruise and use the dive op suggested by the cruise line. Since they do not see you as a returning customer they put you in a cattleboat full of other non-returning customers and take you our for a muck-dive away from their paying customers and yada yada ...

I want to take a cruise that will go through Nassau and wanted to do shark dives with Stuart Cove. Has anyone had a similar cattleboat experience with them too? I understand that a significant portion of their customers are cruise passengers so I am assuming that they would have a different attitude towards them?

Please share your thoughts / experiences ...

Thanks

 

[idocsteve]

I had a good experience with Stuart's Cove..I spent a few days with them in September and did the Shark Dive, the DPV wall dive, and checked out some of the wrecks that were used in famous movies.

I didn't find the boats all that crowded, and there were only 2 other divers with me on the Shark Dive.

I don't think the cruise throws you on a cattleboat because they don't care about you because you're a nonreturning customer, I think it's because most cruisers don't know any better and blindly choose the scuba shore excursion through the ship because it's easy, convenient, safe (you can't miss the cruise ship) and because they don't do their homework. Therefore cruise ship scuba excursions get busy..and many of those divers are vacation divers who have poor skills because they don't dive very often. The more experienced divers know better and find private dive Ops at their destinations.

 

[ewaiea]

I'm not sure what your motivating factors are for taking a cruise, but I've heard great things about the AquaCat, they dive that area and the Exumas as well. You can beach comb, snorkel, kayak, and scuba dive. It's a liveaboard dive boat with other water sports as an option. If I were going to go back to the Bahamas, that would be the op I would choose. Plus they stop in port at the end of the week so you can enjoy the casinos, restaurants, bars, and any other stuff you'd want to do on land that a cruise ship would offer.

Oh wait a minute, I'm willing to bet you have a non-diving companion right? Don't know what to tell you there, except to convince them that the AquaCat is the greatest thing under the sun!

Best of luck to you and have fun in the Bahamas!

***T-minus 11 weeks and counting to the Star Dancer, Papua New Guinea!***

 

[SeaHound]

HAHA! You got it man. I do have a companion who is a non-diver at the moment. If she gets her Open Water, it would be a different story. Besides that another motivation is the $$$ I can get a Bahamas cruise for under 300$ per person. If I was to fly to Bahamas and book a day of diving and 2-3 days of stay it would cost more in hotel and food and car rental. Am I making sense?