Need help picking dive spots for upcoming cruise.....

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

turtlemoye

Registered
Messages
46
Reaction score
3
Location
Greensboro
# of dives
100 - 199
I'm taking my wife and 8 yr old daughter on a cruise in two weeks and we will be in the following ports: Coz, Belieze, Rotan, and Costa Maya. While I'm sure they all offer fine diving I really need to narrow my diving down to 2 or possibly 3 days at the most. Me..... AOW, Nitrox, somewhere around 100+ dives including about 10 in the last year.

I've read through several of the other post and have narrowed down which off boat dive ops I would use but can't figure out which one or two spots to skip.

So three basic questions for the group:
1. Which port would be the best for all 3 of us to snorkel? CozumelH2O get fantastic reviews but I was really hoping to dive that day with Aldora. Any other ports or off boat specific companies to try.
2. Which dive ports would you not miss or possibly rank all four.
3. Any other non dive excursion suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks in advance
 
Last edited:
I think Costa Maya is mahahual in the south of mexico close to belize. You dont need to go diving there cause Coz, Belize and Roatan are better dive spots.
All 3 of them offer also good snorkel locations. Belize offers some fun kayak and snorkel tours in the jungle i think you have to wait till you are on the ship and see what they offer.

Have fun !!!
 
Roatan might work for both. Subway Watersports will pick you up at the cruise port. http://www.subwaywatersports.com/shore_excursion.htm#.UiDScX-Za2k

Another option is Barefoot Cay - they're the only cruise friendly operator near the cruise ports. The Cay is very nice - small beach, semi-private, they offer an excellent lunch option and depending on what port you dock at either a 5 or 15 min. cab ride there. There's a palapa that extends out into the water and a barrier reef that makes a large lagoon area in front of the resort very calm for snorkeling. It's only about 15' deep at the deepest point from what I've been told also. http://www.barefootdiversroatan.com/Diving/CruiseShipShoreExcursions/

Literally 2 minutes on the other side of that reef is Mary's Place, one of the signature Roatan dives. So you could probably do that then join the family for snorkeling, lunch etc. They will arrange for a cab (costs extra) so you would have control over when you returned to the ship. They also take snorkelers on some trips - depending on destination. I think the reef starts at about 15' at Insidious Reef but I'm not sure.

The third option might be to do the ships dive. It's with Anthony's Key Resort - they shuttle you over to the north side to dive typically. They do decent nearby sites, I've seen Overheat Reef mentioned several times. I dove it, it's pretty typical of Roatan's north side.

One family friendly option is that AKR is where the Dolphins are. Dolphin Activities - Anthony's Key Resort - Roatan - Honduras There's four activities, even your 8 year old could do three of them (with you/Mom) There's a beach encounter - an "action" encounter - you get pushed around and hold onto dorsal fins for a ride, an open snorkel in the pens and the dive. The first three are at Bailey Key where the dolphins are, the last is 5mins away on a sandy patch of the reef. We did the dive. I think I've read that you have to book it thru the cruise line if you're on one.

There's probably a West Bay Beach excursion via the cruise ship. There's good snorkeling in one area there off the west point. And the best beach on Roatan that you can easily get to. Also several dive operators at resorts nearby.

There must be something similar to the West End since that's where most of the tourist shops, restaurants etc. are. We could tell by the foot traffic when the cruisers were in port. We dove with Coconut Tree Divers and twice had cruise divers on the boat. I think West End Divers has a cruise option also. The snorkel off Half Moon Bay Cabins on the east side of Half Moon Bay Beach is mentioned in snorkeling guides for the area.

If you're not on Carnival any of these other options are about equally distant from the cruise port in Coxen Hole as Barefoot Cay is. Carnival has their own cruise "resort" at Mahogany Bay, there's a beach, some shops, an overhead "ski-lift" ride there. So the family might find enough to do there while you dive elsewhere.

IDK anything about Mexico.
 
I've dived at all of those ports and Belize was the worst by far. We used the cruise ship to book through, and we had 2 cruise ships divers on one dive boat (about 25 divers) and it was like a Wal-Mart underwater. It could have been so much better. Booking dives independant of the ship at Belize is kind of tricky due to having to tender to shore, so it's got a drawback from that point alone. Booking through the ship is secure (they won't leave you), but they jack there prices up because they know most divers will book through the ship.

I just got back from a week of diving in Mahahual (Costa Maya) and it was fantastic. We had dolphins swim right up to the boat, but we couldn't get in the water fast enough before they swam off. we saw Eagle rays, stingrays, reef squid, turtles, you name it! They have some pretty deep canyons and ravines as well as a really healthy reef. I really do enjoy diving there. They have a lot of excursions from the boat, that are pretty standard fare for the Caribbean. My family usually goes to the beach, and the dive op can pick you up there if you chose to. Everything is pretty reasonably priced in Costa Maya. I'd book everything through independant as well. Everything you do will be really close to the port.

Cozumel diving was great, but intimidating with the fast current. We were knewly certified and it was overwhelming, but that aside, it was great diving. We went with Aldora, and would definitely use again. Now that I have a few more dives under my belt, Cozumel is on my to do again list, but we have started going to Chankanaab park with the kids. They have an excellent dolphin swim excursion and my youngest kids (twin boy/girl 10 year olds) love it so that's probably where I will be in Coz.

My son and I used Barefoot in Roatan, and they are first class. They have excellent facilities, and great dive sites right out thier front door.

My family is going to the same ports next March as your cruise and we are diving Bucanero del Caribe, in Costa Maya (Mahahual) while my family does the beach excursion at Pez Quadro (40 Cannons). We'll dive Barefoot in Roatan while my wife and kids go to Tabyanna beach. In Coz, the whole family will go to Chankanaab park in Coz, and in Belize, we'll probably go to a island beach.

Oh, the amount of time you have in port could effect your decisions as well. Luckily, our times are usually pretty equal (9-10 hours) at each port.

That's just my 2 cents.
 
I've already planed my trip to follow in line much like Sparky923 did.

I did quite a bit of research on here regarding diving at Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, and Grand Cayman.

Cozumel was a definite dive spot in my mind but my wife insisted on seeing the Island because she's never been to Mexico. Therefore I choose Chankanaab Park. My wife and I may wind up diving right there at the park shore or at the very least snorkel. She's newly certified and I want her to get as comfortable with diving as possible.

For the same reasons as Sparky923 mentioned, I decided to skip Belize for diving. I had planned to only dive 2 of the 4 ports anyways. I booked independently with Cave-tubing.com. I might also do the Jungle ATV with them as a package deal. They are a highly rated outfit.

Roatan is a dive pick for us. Per many recommendations, I booked with Barefoot. We have a short port stay there so we will only get a single tank dive in.

Since we've been to Grand Cayman before and shopping is not our thing, we choose this as another dive port. As per many recoomendations, we booked with Lobster Pot. We will be doing 2 tank dives.

This trip of ours is in about 3 weeks. Can't wait.
 
I've already planed my trip to follow in line much like Sparky923 did.

I did quite a bit of research on here regarding diving at Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, and Grand Cayman.

Cozumel was a definite dive spot in my mind but my wife insisted on seeing the Island because she's never been to Mexico. Therefore I choose Chankanaab Park. My wife and I may wind up diving right there at the park shore or at the very least snorkel. She's newly certified and I want her to get as comfortable with diving as possible.

For the same reasons as Sparky923 mentioned, I decided to skip Belize for diving. I had planned to only dive 2 of the 4 ports anyways. I booked independently with Cave-tubing.com. I might also do the Jungle ATV with them as a package deal. They are a highly rated outfit.

Roatan is a dive pick for us. Per many recommendations, I booked with Barefoot. We have a short port stay there so we will only get a single tank dive in.

Since we've been to Grand Cayman before and shopping is not our thing, we choose this as another dive port. As per many recoomendations, we booked with Lobster Pot. We will be doing 2 tank dives.

This trip of ours is in about 3 weeks. Can't wait.

Update: I've changed my Cozumel itinerary to a single tank dive with Aldora Divers, the the other half of the day will be to explore around Cozumel and have a meal. Now the question is what to explore and where to eat. Any ideas?
 

Back
Top Bottom