Recommendations for Dive Excursion on a Cruise

[sneakysnook]

I went on Carnival Cruise this past July and had a great time diving in Cozumel. It was my first time doing a drift dive at 70' and then 35' it was a lot of fun. Water was crystal clear and the boat picks you up right at the pier. I booked my trip with the cruise ship and had no problems. There were only 8 people on our dive. We had 2 dive masters so they split us up in two four people groups. We did see other boats that were loaded with a lot more than what we had on our boat.

 

[Torontonian]

I am a beginner diver with just 12 dives at a local quarry here in Northern Virginia. I am going on a Royal Caribbean cruise the first week of October. Three of the ports offer dive excursions; Montego Bay (Jamiaca), George Town (Grand Cayman), and Cosumal (Mexico). I will probably only have the opportunity to dive at on of the ports. I am really looking forward to diving at a location where I don't need a 7mm suit, hood and gloves and have more than 5-10 feet of visibility. Based on my low experience level which port would be the best choice to do a diving excursion at. Thanks, v/r, John

I just came back from Carnival Miracle cruise trip and arranged my own diving in all ports: Belize, Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Cayman. Pre-cruise we flew to Tampa 2 days early. We drove to stay at Crystal River. At Crystal River we did manatee snorkeling then King's bay snorkel/dive combo (I dove while friends snorkeled). In the afternoon we went drift diving/snorkeling at Rainbow River.

Depending on where the cruise ship departs, you can think about adding some dives there pre-cruise.

Don't bother diving in Jamaica, it's overfished there and they don't protect the environment. I only have 17 dives before this trip and now 28 dives after this trip. I'm not a good swimmer but fairly athletic, so it's something to compare. Before Cozumel I did only two drift dives before (once last year during the AOW dives, and in Rainbow River, FL), but I thoroughly enjoyed the drift diving in Coz. Depending on your skill and comfort level (i.e. no lines tied down for you do hang on to go down so it's jump in and down, and need to stay close to the DM; should have good buoyancy control to enjoy some of the swim throughs).

In Cayman I did 2-tank boat diving with Neptune Divers. Then in the afternoon did shore diving at Eden Rock. All were good dives. The diving at Eden Rock was very good, swam a bit way to the left to come to reefs and saw lots of fish including a 8' nurse shark, then lots of fish on way back including 7 tarpoons some 4' long.

Between Cayman and Coz, I have to give the edge to the drift diving in Coz. It was great drifting by some of the walls, like flying. There were more fish in Cayman, but in Coz saw some really large fish, including an 8' nurse shark (couldn't be the same one we saw in Cayman), and some really really large groupers, and a 5' spotted eagle ray.


Oh, our Carnival Miracle cruise itininary was changed from the order of Cayman, Coz, Belize, and Costa Maya, to Belize, Coz, Costa Maya, and Cayman. It was to avoid hurricane Ernesto. No big deal, I called in Tampa, then used internet to re-confirm most of the tours, and booked with another dive op in Cayman (the original one leaves early but our ship changed to arrive later than their time). After hearing a lot of the horror stories of cattleboat dives thru the ship excursions, I booked all the dives independently and enjoyed all of them (and saved a lot of money compared to the ship excursions).

 

[Web Monkey]

The other ports are great, but I wouldn't even get off the boat in Jamaica. It's like being dropped off in a bad part of LA, except they have nicer trees and less smog.

If you stop in Cozumel, Christie @ Blue XT Sea diving can set you up with some really nice dives (you'll probably have time for 3) from a small boat, which is great, since you won't be with 50 other people that will scare off all the fish.

Terry

I am a beginner diver with just 12 dives at a local quarry here in Northern Virginia. I am going on a Royal Caribbean cruise the first week of October. Three of the ports offer dive excursions; Montego Bay (Jamiaca), George Town (Grand Cayman), and Cosumal (Mexico). I will probably only have the opportunity to dive at on of the ports. I am really looking forward to diving at a location where I don't need a 7mm suit, hood and gloves and have more than 5-10 feet of visibility. Based on my low experience level which port would be the best choice to do a diving excursion at. Thanks, v/r, John

 

[meesier42]

Caymans' are awesome, skip 7 mile beach and head to the East shores, incredible wall dives that side, a longer trip to get there, but well worth it. Eden Rock dive shop are good guys down there ( call ahead, they will go there if they plan it ahead). they will take good care of you and even have an really good site right at their feet. Not to mention they are right next to where the boat pulls in. I would do 2 tanks on the boat then do 2 more right there on the shore (max depth ~35ft). Be early cause they fill the boats and get out within about 10 minutes of the boat arriving, but they are in an out often.

Jaimaca- skip the diving and head to Dunns River Falls, its alot of fun, but take your booties with you. There are probably dives, but I have never found them.

 

[FireDiver443]

ItsBruce made a good point about the dive charter not leaving without you if you book through the cruise, but here's another... perhaps even more important: Your CRUISE SHIP won't leave without you if your charter is late to return if you book through them (at least that's Carnival's stated policy).

Check with your cruise line to determine if they do the same thing.

Being stuck in a tropical paradise doesn't sound too bad when you first say it, but being stuck in a tropical paradise with the clothes on your back, cash in your pocket and no passport (and are you carrying your own gear? Gets heavy after a while!) could be something else entirely! Not that you might not be able to charter a local boat to ferry you out to your cruise ship if it leaves without you, but it can be pricey proposition.

The cruise line wants you to enjoy yourself so you'll come back and give them more of your money, so they try to make sure they're offering you a good experience on all their shore excursions. Something else to think about if you don't want to book ahead of time or immediately when you board, ask around once you're on board and find out what crew dive excursions might be going out. On my last cruise, booked passengers got to go to a couple pretty good spots in Belize but scuba-certified crew members went to the Blue Hole.

Just my 2 cents worth. See you down there.

 

[MEL-DC Diver]

The cruise lines all will leave without you, but almost all of the independents are well versed in dealing w/ the cruise ships - the ships operate on the same schedule every week. Frankly, I avoid the ship's excursions like the plague. I know what I want to do and take care of it myself. Do I take on more responsibility, sure, but there are advantages. For instance, my family and I got off the boat in Ocho Rios and booked our own passage to Dunn's River Falls: The result, we got to enjoy the falls with absolutely no one else there for half an hour - not one single tourist. Then the cruise hoardes showed up and we went to the beach. Can't beat that.

Back on topic: I just posted a thread on a great operator in Grand Cayman - here's the link: http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=158495