Operators to book with on cruise??

[divedadepths]

Hello everybody-
Im going on a cruise to the south caribean this summer and am definetly doing some diving. I have definetly determined not to go through the ship and to call ahead and book some dives. I was wondering if anybody could recommend any dive operators and share your good/bad expirence with them. The boat stops at:
Bridgetown, Barabados
Castries, St. Lucia
St. Johns, Antigua
Phillipsburg, St. Maarten
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas


Thanks so much!

 

[Doc]

I have definetly determined not to go through the ship and to call ahead and book some dives.

Why not? Booking with the cruise ship will guarantee that they boat will wait for you upon departure.

Hate to be blunt, but that's why I get the big money. With your profile's 0~24 logged dives and the destinations you have listed, the Cruise Ship tours will be a great choice. You really don't go on a cruise to dive. Have fun, get some sun, enjoy a little diving. Let them handle the details.

 

[divedadepths]

well i have heard that the trips through the cruise are way overpriced (a friend of mine went on a two tank dive through the boat for over $100 and somebody from the ship was at the same site for $15) and i have also read some stories on the board about bad expirences through the boat.

 

[huskychemist]

Well, I've done two cruise-ship "sailings" and had pretty good dive experiences using the shore excursions.

Last year, I dove at Dominica (GREAT spot...) and Tortola. (Another great spot.) Both operators were a fair price through the cruise, and I knew I'd be back to the cruise ship before it left port. Also, you get to meet more divers on the cruise, so that makes it more enjoyable.

This year, I dove Cozumel, and Belize. In Cozumel, I paid $80 for the "official" shore excursion two-tank dive. Others were able to pay $60... That's something...but I certainly liked the guarantee that I'd be back on the boat. For Belize, we paid $149 for a two-tank dive to Turneffe Atoll. Well, I thought that was a bit much...so I checked out the tour-operators official website. Price: $149. So we ended up paying the same price. Could others have found a cheaper operator? Maybe, but this was a first-class organization.

So...my own two-cents... Use the shore excursions desk. I've had no trouble with it, and never felt like I got ripped off.

But regardless, happy and safe diving!

 

[Jim Baldwin]

Hello everybody-
Im going on a cruise to the south caribean this summer and am definetly doing some diving. I have definetly determined not to go through the ship and to call ahead and book some dives. I was wondering if anybody could recommend any dive operators and share your good/bad expirence with them. The boat stops at:
Bridgetown, Barabados
Castries, St. Lucia
St. Johns, Antigua
Phillipsburg, St. Maarten
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas


Thanks so much!

I agree with the other posters. Book through the cruise ship and enjoy the dives. It will take the stress out of diving. There may be some stops where there are simply not enough divers and the diving gets cancelled.

If that happens and you want to dive go to Plan B. Get off the ship and ask a taxi driver to take you to a good place to dive. Tell him you need to be back to the ship at a certain time and you need him back to pick you up.

I did this in Playa Del Carmen a few yeas ago and got in two excellent dives. The cab driver ask the dive op when to be back. After I got my gear cleaned up and had a coke the cab driver pulled up loaded up my bag and had me back at my ship with a couple of hours to spare. I gave him a nice tip.

 

[deepstops]

well i have heard that the trips through the cruise are way overpriced (a friend of mine went on a two tank dive through the boat for over $100 and somebody from the ship was at the same site for $15) and i have also read some stories on the board about bad expirences through the boat.

Someone is feeding you a line of crap.... $15 versus $100??? Maybe they were trying to convey it was $15 less than the ship.

I've got almost 1,000 dives and live in Fort Lauderdale and I'm Titanium level with Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor frequent cruisers program. I almost always book with the ship.

Let me a debunk a myth about the cruise line over-charging. That's BS, it's typically about $10 more than a walk-in customer. Also remember that typically the dive boat isn't next to cruise dock so if you go it alone, remember what the taxi costs because the cruise line includes the transportation in their price. The cruise line buys space on the dive boats in bulk so they're paying less than the lowest price you'll see published.

Now, let's remember that cruise ships aren't always on-time (kinda like flying). I did a Christmas cruise with RCCL and the ship fell 2 hours behind schedule due to a little mechanical problem in the middle of the night. We arrived at Ocho Rios (I didn't dive here) at 2pm instead of noon. The dive operators were right there waiting for divers from the ship. I can pretty much guarantee that wouldn't have happened if you'd booked on your own.

Now, what if YOUR charter operator's boat breaks down and you don't get back to ship in time. Do you think they will wait for you if you booked on your own?? They will if you're using their charter operator.

If you're logged dive count is accurate, I've done more dives with cruise ships than you've done all together.

 

[divedadepths]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I will talk to my friend tomorrow and clarify his story. Good point about the added transportation cost. I think i may call the cruiseline and ask about it and compare with the local operator price. Thanks for the advice.

 

[somewhereinla]

Furthermore rather than assuming the ship will be more expensive, why don't you ask them how much they charge for each of the destinations so that you can compare prices.

 

[deepstops]

Furthermore rather than assuming the ship will be more expensive, why don't you ask them how much they charge for each of the destinations so that you can compare prices.

I always book all my shore excursions online thru RCCL's website (so all the prices are right there).

 

[divedadepths]

I always book all my shore excursions online thru RCCL's website (so all the prices are right there).

great idea! ill have to remember that when it gets closer to the cruise.