Newly Certified... who to dive with???

[sslkrissi]

Hello,
I will be visiting Roatan via cruise ship on 6/25/08. Seeing as this will be my very first dive after certification, I am looking for any advice on a good dive operator that will take extra care with us. Please give me your opinions...

Thanks a bunch!

 

[Doc]

I'm going to focus on your words here....

Remember that when you dive, you are in charge of everything in regards to the safety. Unless you hire a private DM, they will not "take extra care" of you any more than any other cruise ship passenger~ of which they are all quite wary.

This means that they will indeed be watching over you. Kinda' and most likely~ in a strange way compared to what you might desire or expect. But anywhere you go- you are on your own. I am honestly not saying this in an effort to be mean or condescending- it's just the way the business operates. You are somebody that must be processed and returned within a six hour period. Move em in, move em out.

Remember, there is absolutely no requirement for any kind of certification for any guide (almost) anywhere in the world to take you out for a dip. The DM's on Roatan, the ones that do cruise ship divers, I don't care if they don't have a c-card... they are really good at diving. They may be really bad about assisting noob divers, but you will quite likely return from your day grinning ear to ear. Divers are really hard to kill.

That said, you are about to be deluged with suggestions from all sorts of fans and operations.

AKR services hundreds of cruise shippers every week. They all survive and some even sign up to meet Flipper!

Or- you could with the words roatan cruise. Same with your Mexico stop and mask selection query. Lots of stuff already published here!

 

[Web Monkey]

Hello,
I will be visiting Roatan via cruise ship on 6/25/08. Seeing as this will be my very first dive after certification, I am looking for any advice on a good dive operator that will take extra care with us. Please give me your opinions...
Thanks a bunch!

If you have the option of diving in Belize, (probably the next or previous stop if you're going to Roatan), I'd recommend waiting for it and diving with Hugh Parkey. If you're going on Carnival or Princess, I beleive they both still use the above operator. If not, you can call the cruise line and check.

They have an extremely well run operation and group people according to their abilities, in small groups with good DMs who are used to new divers (I'd guess they probably do 40+ new divers/day).

I can't help much on Roatan, since I've never done the cruise ship dive from there.

Terry

 

[Web Monkey]

PS. I'll second what RM said above.

I've seen DMs signal back "OK" and keep on going, when a brand new diver signaled 800PSI, then 600PSI, then 500PSI and "Low on Air" @ 80'.

Each signal got an "OK".

Terry

 

[sslkrissi]

Thanks for the replies. Hiring a private DM sounds like a good option! How do I do that?

Thanks

 

[Doc]

Thanks for the replies. Hiring a private DM sounds like a good option! How do I do that?

In Roatan, it really is a good idea. There are any number of really cool little creatures that most of us North Americans just float by. The locals see them all.

Any of the major dive ops will gladly assign you a personal DM, and the cost will be worth it. Tell them you want a guy who is good at finding the small stuff. Have a flashlight or insist that he does.

Get four people and share the cost. But just tell them that you want his personal service upon arrival, through the boat loading as well as departure. You want a personal guide. Be sure to sit down and buy him a few beers afterward as well.

Remember right here using words roatan cruise

If other readers are less inclined to pay more for service, always tell the DM of your concerns. A good one will likely see exactly what kind of diver you are by reading your physical signs before the dive~ but communication is always the key.

 

[RonFrank]

Hello,
I will be visiting Roatan via cruise ship on 6/25/08. Seeing as this will be my very first dive after certification, I am looking for any advice on a good dive operator that will take extra care with us. Please give me your opinions...

Thanks a bunch!

The DM suggestion is a good one.

However before you try and book anything, I'd suggest you determine when the cruise ship arrives and departs Roatan. I know in Coz a lot of the ships don't allow passengers to de-boat until after the normal morning dive departs, and then they want them back on board before the normal afternoon dives end.

If that is the case, you will need to talk to OPs to determine if any wait on the Cruse ship. Maybe in Roatan it's a lot different, but I know that unless you schedule the dive with the cruise ship, they won't wait for you. Scheduling with the cruise ship generally runs about 100% more vs. scheduling locally.

With luck, this is not an issue in Roatan, but better check it out.

 

[Papa_Bear]

Here is the inside scoop! If you doing Belize do Jaguar Paw and Cave Tube and Zip line! Then in Roatan do AKR Dolphin Dive! You will have a life long memories from both! Hugh Parkey is a top notch operation, but your time is limited and you won't have time to do the best! Use the cruise as a sampler and then plan on going back for a week to the places you like! Check out both places here Two Tanked Productions HD & SD Underwater Productions and video services

 

[booth22]

Hit CocoView for the day! We did that during our cruise and had a great time. As you're new to the resort (as well as diving) a DM will go out with your on your first dive (for orientation). Then if you want/need an additional DM guided dive you could hire one out then. Good luck!

 

[peterbj7]

Papa_Bear - some of your information may be out of date.