ports of call -- not the best part of my first cruise

[Malpaso]

Diving on a cruise is a great way for us since we have two divers and two non-divers. We can split the ports up based on what we want to do as a whole group or in our two half groups. From research and experience it is better to book your own dives instead of going through the cruise service. We dove while on Carnival at St Thomas through Admiralty and St Kitts through Dive St Kitts. We had great experiences in both cases. Neither time did we get treated as if we were "cruise divers".

 

[flots am]

So, having now experienced what it's like to call on a port and do a so-called shore excursion, I cannot imagine trying to squeeze in a dive of any quality. The whole thing felt seriously rushed--a race against the clock. We had brought snorkeling gear, and even that turned out to be a waste of space--all for 20 or 30 minutes in the water.

You're just doing it wrong.

Before you choose the cruise, compare the port times and make sure you get ports that arrive early and leave late.

Then make arrangements with dive ops on the island for whatever diving you want.

For example, when the ship stopped on Curacao, I got off, hopped in a taxi and spent the entire day on the reef across the street from The Dive Bus. It was awesome, and inexpensive. You could easily (?) do 4 or 5 dives if you wanted to, and the dives are limited only by gas and NDL, since you're on your own, unless you hired a DM.

Same thing with snorkeling. Grab your gear, get off, take a taxi to a quiet beach and spend the day.

Diving from the ship pretty much sucks everywhere, since they all assume you haven't been in the water for years, will probably attempt suicide or have a heart attack and consider "buoyancy control" to mean "you'll stop when you hit the sand". Quite often, they're not wrong, so as bad as it sucks, it's usually right for their passengers.

I cruise with my friends every year, since most of us have non-diving spouses and it's a nice way for everybody to do what they like.

flots.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Flots, yep, I think other replies in the thread hit on the same point: Some cruise lines give you more time in port than others. Ours happened to be on a quick turn schedule, it seems. We didn't pick the cruise--it was a wedding. Now I know that different cruises spend varying amounts of time in ports.

 

[Streydog]

I have been on two 5 day cruises and keep telling myself I will not cruse again, just not enough port time. But 6 month later I get an offer I can't refuse. I will see Gran Cayman, Aruba, Bonair, Grenada, Dominica, St Marteen and San Juan with all flights and travel fees for less than $600. Sure I will spend more on diving, drinking and gambling but I don't have to. I have never been to any of these places so I can scout them out, although I realize you don't get the real feel with a short stop. Over the last couple years I have spent a week each in Belize, Roatan and Isle Mujeres. I enjoy these trips much more than cruises but I can only afford them at most a couple times a year I am also very new diver so the basic cruise ship dives , sorry to say, are designed just for me.

 

[diver 85]

People 'do it' all the time-ie "squeeze in a dive of any quality"---in fact 2 dives are done.........btw, your 2 ports 'o call(for diving ) were not that good IMO, you need to hit the Lesser Antilles chain out of PR for better cruise ship diving......

 

[zhenghao]

My wife and I recently took our first cruise. We never thought we'd be interested in cruising, but it was a friend's wedding, and it seemed like the right opportunity to give it a try. We briefly considered doing a dive in our ports of call in Grand Cayman and/or Cozumel, but decided not to. It was an easy decision because the obvious shore excursion to choose was whatever the rest of the wedding party was doing. And a party it was. We did Stingray City on Grand Cayman, a bit of snorkeling on Paradise Reef in Coz, and a whole lot of drinking.

So, having now experienced what it's like to call on a port and do a so-called shore excursion, I cannot imagine trying to squeeze in a dive of any quality. The whole thing felt seriously rushed--a race against the clock. We had brought snorkeling gear, and even that turned out to be a waste of space--all for 20 or 30 minutes in the water. And it's not like we had never been to Cozumel before--just not on a cruise ship. I would have been seriously annoyed if I had lugged my dive gear along just for a dive or two on Paradise Reef. It seems clear that cruise ship people are not going to be able to do the best dives a place has to offer. Our decision to separate cruising and diving turned out to be right for us.

Calling on ports was actually our LEAST favorite aspect of our cruise. In contrast, we loved the days at sea. The days at sea are relaxed, and everything you need is right there--the whole point of a "floating resort" as I see it. But the days in port we felt hurried and more stressed. If we ever take another cruise--and I suspect we may not--we would choose one that maximizes the days at sea and minimizes the days in port. If we want to see a place or experience some activity, we will just make a separate non-cruise trip there and do things on our own schedule.

There are some To-Nowhere Cruises that do not have any port of call en route