Just got back from the NCL Sea. The cruise itself was great. Love the freestyle dinning. Was a bit concerned at first because the ship was smaller than those I had been on and the doors to the pool deck and restraunt up there didn't automatically open. This was only a problem because of mom-in -laws wheel chair. Also the elevators are small. But once I figured out to stick to the restraunts on deck 4 everything was great. Oscars makes a great frozen cappachino. Embarkation and debarkation went very well. And poor hubby didn't have a nightmare trying to pick us up.
Diving:
Cozumel- For diving in cozumel I went through the ship. We only had 8 people diving in cozumel. The dive operators were quite understandable and the dives were great! We dove Tormentos Reef which was fantastic. and Paradise Reef. Paradise reef seemed to have alot of sandy area but I saw my first star fish there. He was a pretty big one. The dive operator was great. They set up all of the gear, held very informative dive briefings and just all around pampered us all. They even rinsed out all of my gear for me before I packed it up to leave. The operator was Snorkel Center and Dive.
Roatan:
For Roatan I opted to use Subway Watersports which someone else on the board had previously used. All I can say is WOW Roatan has some awsome diving. Visibility was in the 60-70 ft range but the coral and fish were just awesome. We dove fish soup. I couldn't believe how many fish we saw swimming around and with us. These guys wold get just a few feet away and swim with you. These were not drift dives which was a first for me in salt water. The dive master had us signal when we were at half a tank and paid close attention to everyone on the dive. The second spot was called Johns spot. I saw a green morray swimming on this dive and tried to get a pic but missed it. There was no current on these dives but the pace was leisurely so you could see as much as possible. The two dives were with just me and a couple from the ship I dove with in Cozumel. Our gear was set up for us and for the surface interval. They also had a shower so you could shower off before getting back on the ship. They had a tank with fresh water so I could rinse out my gear before packing it back up. The owner of the shop picked me up just outside the gates of the pier and had a sign held up with my name on it. Made it very nice and easy to find him. The couple I dove with hadn't planned to dive with Subway but when they found out I was they decided to go along and were welcomed no problem even though there had been no reservation. They were outfitted with gear and off we went. Would definitly dive with them again.
Belize-
This dive I booked through the ship. We had 11 people from our ship and 13 from the NCL Sun. They picked us up right at the ship. and had snacks for us onboard. We were not pampered on this trip like on the other two but that is understandable with 23 divers on board. Several people brought thier own gear but most used rental gear. We were split into 3 groups by experience and air consumption. This again was not a drift dive. The visiblity was as good or better than cozumel. The dive operator was Hugh Parkleys. The first dive site I don't remember the name of unfortunately but there was alot to see. The atoll is like a nursery. Many of the larger fish you see elsewhere you get to see as juveniles here. There was no current on this dive. The second dive was at a corner or "elbow". There was current here and since it was not a drift dive you had to work a little bit the first half of the dive. Here I saw a barracuda. There was also a green morray in a hole that the dive master tried to coax out. They had shower heads on board so you could rinse off and a water hose to rinse your gear. There were two ladders so that two people could come up at once.
I chose not to dive cancun. Figured I had already done the best dives and wanted the extra day to make sure my gear was dry before heading home. The NCL Sea doesn't offer a dive excursion here yet and the tender boats were crowded. Would have been a pain to take my gear. The NCL Sea even though smaller than the other ships I have been on had plenty of room for my gear. There were two closets in the room. One I used to put my regs, fins and dive bag. The string in the shower was good for hanging the BC and there were hooks to hold my dive skin and bathing suit. The towel rack made a great place for booties since there was alot of extra room. The food was excellent on the ship and everything seemed well organized. I was concerned when I first went into the room because the beds looked tiny. It didn't take long to discover that the back rest raises up. So during the day you have 2 couches but at night you have two almost twin beds. The Sea is to be moved from houston in june or july and the NCL Dream is taking it's place. Its a newer ship and bigger I think. I look forward to sailing her probably in the fall.
Sorry this was so long but hopefully the information will be useful to someone else.
Judy
Diving:
Cozumel- For diving in cozumel I went through the ship. We only had 8 people diving in cozumel. The dive operators were quite understandable and the dives were great! We dove Tormentos Reef which was fantastic. and Paradise Reef. Paradise reef seemed to have alot of sandy area but I saw my first star fish there. He was a pretty big one. The dive operator was great. They set up all of the gear, held very informative dive briefings and just all around pampered us all. They even rinsed out all of my gear for me before I packed it up to leave. The operator was Snorkel Center and Dive.
Roatan:
For Roatan I opted to use Subway Watersports which someone else on the board had previously used. All I can say is WOW Roatan has some awsome diving. Visibility was in the 60-70 ft range but the coral and fish were just awesome. We dove fish soup. I couldn't believe how many fish we saw swimming around and with us. These guys wold get just a few feet away and swim with you. These were not drift dives which was a first for me in salt water. The dive master had us signal when we were at half a tank and paid close attention to everyone on the dive. The second spot was called Johns spot. I saw a green morray swimming on this dive and tried to get a pic but missed it. There was no current on these dives but the pace was leisurely so you could see as much as possible. The two dives were with just me and a couple from the ship I dove with in Cozumel. Our gear was set up for us and for the surface interval. They also had a shower so you could shower off before getting back on the ship. They had a tank with fresh water so I could rinse out my gear before packing it back up. The owner of the shop picked me up just outside the gates of the pier and had a sign held up with my name on it. Made it very nice and easy to find him. The couple I dove with hadn't planned to dive with Subway but when they found out I was they decided to go along and were welcomed no problem even though there had been no reservation. They were outfitted with gear and off we went. Would definitly dive with them again.
Belize-
This dive I booked through the ship. We had 11 people from our ship and 13 from the NCL Sun. They picked us up right at the ship. and had snacks for us onboard. We were not pampered on this trip like on the other two but that is understandable with 23 divers on board. Several people brought thier own gear but most used rental gear. We were split into 3 groups by experience and air consumption. This again was not a drift dive. The visiblity was as good or better than cozumel. The dive operator was Hugh Parkleys. The first dive site I don't remember the name of unfortunately but there was alot to see. The atoll is like a nursery. Many of the larger fish you see elsewhere you get to see as juveniles here. There was no current on this dive. The second dive was at a corner or "elbow". There was current here and since it was not a drift dive you had to work a little bit the first half of the dive. Here I saw a barracuda. There was also a green morray in a hole that the dive master tried to coax out. They had shower heads on board so you could rinse off and a water hose to rinse your gear. There were two ladders so that two people could come up at once.
I chose not to dive cancun. Figured I had already done the best dives and wanted the extra day to make sure my gear was dry before heading home. The NCL Sea doesn't offer a dive excursion here yet and the tender boats were crowded. Would have been a pain to take my gear. The NCL Sea even though smaller than the other ships I have been on had plenty of room for my gear. There were two closets in the room. One I used to put my regs, fins and dive bag. The string in the shower was good for hanging the BC and there were hooks to hold my dive skin and bathing suit. The towel rack made a great place for booties since there was alot of extra room. The food was excellent on the ship and everything seemed well organized. I was concerned when I first went into the room because the beds looked tiny. It didn't take long to discover that the back rest raises up. So during the day you have 2 couches but at night you have two almost twin beds. The Sea is to be moved from houston in june or july and the NCL Dream is taking it's place. Its a newer ship and bigger I think. I look forward to sailing her probably in the fall.
Sorry this was so long but hopefully the information will be useful to someone else.
Judy
