New to board. What would you do?

[zclight01]

Hi! I am new to this board and diving. I am not certified yet. I'm going on a cruise in June '09 to San Juan, PR, St Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, St Lucia, Antiqua, and St Kitts.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I want to shark cage dive, if possible. Also, I would like to be certified before the trip so I can scuba dive.

I haven't been to any of these islands before. The cruise is only one day in each port...What would you do? Looking for advise.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[RTRski]

A one-day-per-island cruise isn't the best way to get many dives in. Check thru the cruise lines as to how much the dives cost, and what the cost is for 'resort' dives (uncertified) vs. certified.

Of the islands listed you're not going to get 'cage diving' in any of them to my knowledge. Visibility is probably best in St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Antigua, Barbadoes, and Dominica, and can be so-so in PR. Dive depths are probably shallower in St. Kitts, Barbados, and PR and possibly Antigua and St. Lucia as well. Dominica and I think St. Lucia tend to 'deeper' dives for the good stuff. (by 'deeper' I mean 60-90 feet, not > 100 feet). So that also influences your choices since 'resort' dives are usually limited to shallower depths like 30 - 40 ft.

In all it depends how interested you are in diving. Do you think it's somethign you want to pick up and the cruise is just the first opportunity, or do you just want to because of the cruise? If you want to 'dive' for real, know that usually the cruise-ship trips due to time limitations and 'consistency' of the offering don't get to see the 'best' sites at any particular island, so you might be a little disappointed if you're expecting National Geographic like views. On the other hand, if you just want to try it out, doing a resort dive on a cruise is probably not the worst way to try, as you do have several islands to choose from and usually the cruise lines won't give the local outing contract to some fly-by-night operation if only out of the interest in avoiding liability.

Maybe rank islands in order of how 'good' you read the diving is - then counter-rank them based on how interested you are in topside experiences there, and pick the best one that pops out of the bunch to dive on without sacrificing a good island day. If you're only spending a day per island I can't see you really wanting to dive EVERY day...kind of ruins the point of the cruise?

p.s. I've dove Dominica (loved it), St. Kitts (enjoyed it but no candle to Dominica), and snorkeled in PR. Others I am only guessing somewhat from what I read around various scuba trip reports and the like.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Welcome to scubaboard. That's quite a first post. Get certfied before you go and decide where you are going to dive after you decide if you actually like the sport. On that list I would definitely dive St. Lucia and Dominica. If you stick with the sport you will kick yourself foir missing those two. There is no cage diving that I'm aware of in the Caribbean. If you want lots of sharks you will probably be disappointed with all of the foregoing destinations since none of them are known for shark dives.

 

[schu1842]

Email Andrew at Eco Divers in Barbados. He is a great instructor/guide and will see if he can match your skills with the schedule. He will also pick you up at the ship and make
sure you get back in time.

 

[Bratface]

I've spoken to many cruise ship divers. Most are men who are on cruises with their wives who are non-divers. It seems to be a good compromise for both. However, I think that, once you get certified, as a new diver, you would enjoy the dives and be less tired if you did a liveaboard specific to diving. You would also be surrounded by other divers who would be willing to share their experiences.

Cruise ships offer opportunites to relax, eat, sightsee, eat, shop, eat, shop, see a little local flavor. Liveaboards on the other hand, are about diving.

 

[irie1029]

Florida has warm water so get certified before you go. I know in St Kitts Prodivers will pick you up at the dock by the cruise ships and drop you off there. Most likely you will be renting equip and all there stuff was new. If you get a chance to dive the "monkey shoals" you will really enjoy and to me it is a bench mark to judge other dive sites... (I have not been to Dominica).

Good Luck.

 

[GradyDiver]

I would suggest getting certified and then trying to get in enough dives to be very comfortable with your abilities. If you get to that point and are comfortable with the idea, look into an underwater digital camera. It can be a bit overwhelming for a new diver, but enough local dives where you are without and with the camera (after you're ready) will set you up well for the trip. There is so much to see on these dives, that not having pictures for would probably be very disappointing for you. I was recently in Dominica and saw Seahorses on every dive and Frogfish on about every other. There is plenty else to see as well. I personally took hundreds of pictures over a week of diving. The beauty of modern cameras is that you can click away until the battery dies. Out of my hundreds of pictures, I have dozens that I am impressed with. Many more will be kept just for memories of particular dives. The rest will be discarded.

It sounds like you're going to have a great time. Enjoy and be safe.

 

[DivingPrincessE]

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/le...ntigua-st-kitts.html?highlight=kitts+dominica

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/lesser-antilles/228144-trip-review-st-thomas-dominica-st-kitts.html

Where in FL are you located? I can make a recommendation for a great instructor located in Boynton Beach (Kevin Metz with Underwater Explorers Underwater Explorers - SCUBA Diving Boynton Beach, Delray, Palm Beach, Reefs and Wrecks)

 

[muzicgirl]

Cage Diving? In the Caribbean? Maybe some nice shark dives in the bahamas. Seriously though, if you aren't even certified yet I would take it slow. Get certified and get some dives under your belt...you'll probably appreciate and enjoy the sport more that wayy.

 

[thedebinator]

While I haven't done any diving in those places- I did take the same cruise last year, and it was fabulous!! We did a fair bit of snorkeling (I am in the process of getting certified to dive now) The most awesome snorkeling was in St. Lucia- we went on a tour with Cosul tours and it was fantastic!!!!! 50 bucks per person got us a tour,that included a number of stops along the way to a 2 hour snorkeling stop at Jalousie (Anse des Piton Marine Reserve) We were fed local favorites and there was a seemingly never ending supply of rum punch and Piton Beer!! Obviously my favorite part of the entire trip. I would have to say that I felt like I really didn't have enough time at any one place to do too much ( I was concerned about missing the ship LOL)unless it was a reputable tour arranged either through the ship (pricey) or through sources I found online prior to the trip (Cosul tours was one of them)

Hope this helps at least a little sorry I didn't have much to say about the diving.