Princess Cruise Line AOW or dives

[Pillow]

I am going to be on a Princess cruise in Nov. We already have dives on St. Lucia and Granada. We were wanting to book St Thomas the dive said that it would likely be a wreck between 70 and 90 feet, AOW or a dive log showing at least 24 dives would be required. I have about 40 dives the deepest is 65 feet. Most of my dives are in high altitude lakes in the Rocky MTs. Since most have a low vis and are very cold we rarely go deeper than 40 or 45 feet. I did not want to book the St. Thomas dive because I thought the might knock me out of it. My dive buddy has AOW and nitrox and would not get knocked out. What would you do?

I also saw somewhere on the board that some one dove Coki beach shore dive. I have been to this beach but would like to know about the diving there?

What about dive knives and Princess cruise lines?

I appreciate any help that you can give.

 

[ScubaDobe]

I haven't cruised with Princess, but have many cruises with Norwegian and have dived in St. Thomas. I'm assumming you're speaking of "pre-registering" for the dives. My suggestion (if you really want to do this dive), do not pre-register, take your dive log (with your AOW buddy) to the shore excursion desk as soon as it opens when you are on board and ask them if you are qualified. I would bet there will still be spots available on the dive tour when you get there especially if it requires AOW.

I have been on 8 NCL cruises since I got certified and only have been denied a dive once due to inexperience. (It was a 140' deep wall drift dive that required AOW or 50 logged dives.) You shouldn't have problems on this dive. I had only logged 8 dives including my certification dives before diving walls in Dominica to 80', a wreck in St. Thomas, wreck of the Rhone in Tortola on my honeymoon cruise the same year.

Dive smart and within your personal limits!

As a side note I applaud Norwegian Cruise Lines for having a "Dive In" program in which they are (or at least were) the only cruise line to hire certified divers for their excursion programs. They have all been with the dive charters and can give knowledgeble information about the dives and the operators before you spend you rmoney.

I hope this helps a bit.

 

[Linthorn]

I just took a Princess cruise (Golden Princess Southern/Eastern Caribbean) and just got my OW the day the ship left. I can't say whether you would be able to do the dive if you don't meet their minimums, but consider this strategy:

If you want to do the St. Thomas dive with the ship, pre-register it. On our cruise (Aug 22-29) every dive but one was booked up. I only got one dive through the ship, and I tried pre-registering two weeks ahead. Now, I was able to book my own dives with local dive operators very easily over the internet. Most will even pick you up at the ship for free. Cost is typically $20 lower if you book yourself. Since dives are in the morning, there is no concern about getting back in time, they are typiclly done by 1:00 or so, and the ship leaves around 6. We even got shopping in after I got back. Only risk is itinerary changes. You may lose a deposit if the ship changes course or is late. Discuss this with the dive outfit. These events are pretty rare though.

Once you get on board, go to the excursion desk, or the New Waves diving office and show them your logs and ask if it will be an issue. If so, you can cancel your dive (it won't cost anything and someone on the waitlist will be happy). Typically you can cancel up to 1-2 days prior to the excursion. They will supply you with the deadline on your excursion ticket.

If you do cancel, you can set up a dive with Coki. I made my reservation with Coki from the Internet Cafe onboard the ship. They came out to the dock and picked me up for free ($10 pp for non-divers) and drove me across the island to their beach. Coki does shore dives. Since there is no boat, it is much cheaper. On my particular dive, It was $45 for the first tank and $20 for the second. I went with a DM who showed me the reef, and it was just the two of us. Very nice people and I had a lot of fun. The dive was pretty comparable to boat dives.

Of course wrecks are fun too, especially if you haven't seen them in the tropics. Meccas for aquatic life

As far as knives, you can't have them on board. They will be confiscated. Leave them at home since you pretty much can't take them anywhere anyway. In fact, in St. Lucia, there is a $5,000 fine if you are caught with a knife or gloves on a dive or dive boat. If you need something, take snips.

I suspect you will have no problem qualifying for the dive. On our trip, the "rules" said you had to have logged dives within the past 6 months. No one asked for anything beyond a C-card, and our first dive was to 80'. That was my very first dive after OW certification. You should just be able to show them 40 dives and they will be happy.

This type of situation is why I just did my AOW last weekend. The silly thing is that according the the "rules", I am qualified to do the dive and you may not be although you have nearly 3 times as much experience as I do (I have 16 dives).

Feel free to contact me if I can help any more.

Good luck and enjoy your cruise you lucky ba**ard.

Linthorn

 

[Pillow]

I want to thank both of ou for the info. I will try for the deep dive and if al else fails I will dive Coki beach. Thats good to know that they will haul non divers to the beach 4 of our six are non divers. I know, I am just hanging with a bad crowd

Thanks again.

 

[DEEPLOU]

As a side note I applaud Norwegian Cruise Lines for having a "Dive In" program in which they are (or at least were) the only cruise line to hire certified divers for their excursion programs. They have all been with the dive charters and can give knowledgeble information about the dives and the operators before you spend you rmoney

Unfortunately, I read in a thread somewhere (i think in this forum) that "Dive In" program has gone the way of the DoDo.

What about dive knives and Princess cruise lines?

As far as knives, you can't have them on board. They will be confiscated. Leave them at home since you pretty much can't take them anywhere anyway. In fact, in St. Lucia, there is a $5,000 fine if you are caught with a knife or gloves on a dive or dive boat. If you need something, take snips.

Don't even need snips. Almost everywhere you go in the Carribean is protected to some extent. You are not competing w/ fishermen who leave monofiliment on the bottom. Thus there is little if any chance for entanglement.


As for qualifications, just out of class, you might be just as qualified at the person who has been diving for 10 years, and has 15 dives under their belt and last dove 3 years ago. Don't laugh, I have run into some like this.

 

[TheRedHead]

I want to thank both of ou for the info. I will try for the deep dive and if al else fails I will dive Coki beach. Thats good to know that they will haul non divers to the beach 4 of our six are non divers. I know, I am just hanging with a bad crowd

Thanks again.

You also may want to consider diving on St. John (45 minute ferry ride from Charlotte Amalie). The Carvel Rocks are spectacular. I have spent a lot of vacations in the USVI and if I were disembarking from a cruise ship, I would head straight to St. John. You can snorkel anywhere on the island. Just get in one of the "taxis" and hop off at one of the beaches which are all beautiful and free.

Chris Sawyer Dive Center in St. Thomas (I've never dived with them) http://www.sawyerdive.vi/ goes to Carvel Rocks. They have some pretty good reviews on Trip Advisor.

Here's a list of the sites:

http://www.sawyerdive.vi/sites.htm

The Ledges of Little St. James is another one of my favorites because of the Hawksbill Turtles which hang out there.

The contact information for Chris Sawyer Dive Shop is on their site. We usually use Cruz Bay Watersports at the Westin in St. John. It would not be as convenient for you.

Have a great trip!

 

[Pillow]

You also may want to consider diving on St. John (45 minute ferry ride from Charlotte Amalie). The Carvel Rocks are spectacular. I have spent a lot of vacations in the USVI and if I were disembarking from a cruise ship, I would head straight to St. John. You can snorkel anywhere on the island. Just get in one of the "taxis" and hop off at one of the beaches which are all beautiful and free.

Chris Sawyer Dive Center in St. Thomas (I've never dived with them) http://www.sawyerdive.vi/ goes to Carvel Rocks. They have some pretty good reviews on Trip Advisor.

Here's a list of the sites:

http://www.sawyerdive.vi/sites.htm

The Ledges of Little St. James is another one of my favorites because of the Hawksbill Turtles which hang out there.

The contact information for Chris Sawyer Dive Shop is on their site. We usually use Cruz Bay Watersports at the Westin in St. John. It would not be as convenient for you.

Have a great trip!

That is a good site.
Thanks