lunula
Contributor
Hello!
My husband and I are currently taking certification classes and if all goes as planned, we will be certified by the end of Feb 2013. We had a big European cruise planned, but we are going to cancel that and book a Caribbean cruise, instead, so that we can go diving!
I was wondering if you could give us your opinions on a few itineraries below?
Our goals are this: We would like nice, easy dives with lots to see, not too deep - I'd like to stick to 40' depth, maybe 50'. We'd like to avoid long boat rides out to dive sites, if possible. Would love to get experience with shore diving, docks and quick boat trips. I am not interested in caves/tunnels or swimming into wrecks; our comfort level is just not there yet. Basically, we would like to experience some variety and build our confidence. We are both very excited, but also very cautious and I think slowly building up to bigger, deeper dives is the way to go!
With that in mind, any suggestions/feedback/advice on an itinerary? Each of these ports is a day-long stop, normally from 8/9 AM to 5/6 PM.
Would love your opinions, also, on whether any of these stops would not be good for beginner diving - so that we can explore for other fun things to do, instead! ALso, all 4 cruises are in April, if that makes any difference.
Option 1 (10-day cruise with following ports):
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
Basseterre, St. Kitts
Bridgetown, Barbados
Roseau, Dominica
Philipsburg, St. Maarten
Option 2 (14-day cruise with following ports):
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
Philipsburg, St. Maarten
St. Johns, Antigua
Castries, St. Lucia
Bridgetown, Barbados
St. George's, Grenada
Oranjestad, Aruba
Willemstad, Curacao
Option 3 (10-day cruise with following ports):
Antigua, Antigua & Barbuda
St. Lucia
Barbados
St. Kitts, St. Kitts & Nevis
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos
Option 4 (10-day cruise with following ports):
Aruba
Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands
Grenada
Dominica
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Princess Cays, Bahamas
Thank you so kindly.
My husband and I are currently taking certification classes and if all goes as planned, we will be certified by the end of Feb 2013. We had a big European cruise planned, but we are going to cancel that and book a Caribbean cruise, instead, so that we can go diving!
I was wondering if you could give us your opinions on a few itineraries below?
Our goals are this: We would like nice, easy dives with lots to see, not too deep - I'd like to stick to 40' depth, maybe 50'. We'd like to avoid long boat rides out to dive sites, if possible. Would love to get experience with shore diving, docks and quick boat trips. I am not interested in caves/tunnels or swimming into wrecks; our comfort level is just not there yet. Basically, we would like to experience some variety and build our confidence. We are both very excited, but also very cautious and I think slowly building up to bigger, deeper dives is the way to go!
With that in mind, any suggestions/feedback/advice on an itinerary? Each of these ports is a day-long stop, normally from 8/9 AM to 5/6 PM.
Would love your opinions, also, on whether any of these stops would not be good for beginner diving - so that we can explore for other fun things to do, instead! ALso, all 4 cruises are in April, if that makes any difference.
Option 1 (10-day cruise with following ports):
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
Basseterre, St. Kitts
Bridgetown, Barbados
Roseau, Dominica
Philipsburg, St. Maarten
Option 2 (14-day cruise with following ports):
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
Philipsburg, St. Maarten
St. Johns, Antigua
Castries, St. Lucia
Bridgetown, Barbados
St. George's, Grenada
Oranjestad, Aruba
Willemstad, Curacao
Option 3 (10-day cruise with following ports):
Antigua, Antigua & Barbuda
St. Lucia
Barbados
St. Kitts, St. Kitts & Nevis
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos
Option 4 (10-day cruise with following ports):
Aruba
Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands
Grenada
Dominica
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Princess Cays, Bahamas
Thank you so kindly.