Question Recommended Dive Ops with service to RCCL ports

[Brojas]

Hi, I'm gonna be going on my first cruise in March 22. My (soon to be) wife and I will be taking a cruise with Royal. Naturally, I'm looking to get some dives in. Looking for ops with either service to pick up from the cruise docks or those that are able to be taxied to with only a short dive. I plan on bringing all my own gear minus tanks and weights, but my wife will need to rent equipment. Any advice appreciated. My particular cruise ports in:

• Coco Cay- only option is through RCCL and they are currently booked up:/ guess snorkeling, drinking, and laying in the sun are the only option at the moment.
• Cozumel- I know there are almost too many options, but just want one reliable and willing to pick us up.
• Roatan- Super excited for this one. Will be porting in Coxen hole, but have no knowledge of who to use.
• Puerto Costa Maya- I haven't seen as much info for dive ops in this area. I wonder if there is good diving in this area?

 

[Altamira]

I dive from cruise ships quite frequently, and have dived at each of your cruise stops numerous times, except for Coco Cay, and like you, carry my own dive gear any time I plan to dive. Some suggestions follow.

Coco Cay. Keep checking back with RCCL shore excursion division since people cancel their cruises/excursions with regularity.

Cozumel. If you are getting into port at 0700, you will have a pretty good selection of dive ops to choose from a pretty long list of reliable and quality dive ops. If your arrival time is later than that, you might consider using the ship's dive excursion.

Roatan. If your port arrival time is 0900, you may be too late for most dive ops, so you might want to use the ship's dive op, which was Anthony's Key Resort the last time I was there. AKR is an excellent dive, and would be one of my top choices for Roatan regardless of arrival method.
Although a longer drive from Coxen Hole, also consider Barefoot Dive Resort, just east of Mahogany Bay, which has dive boats going out at 0830, 1030, and 2 PM, and they used to have a nice BBQ available for purchase after the second dive trip. I have used them, and they are also excellent.

Costa Maya. Dream Time Divers used to be the ship's dive op, and is an excellent choice. The Dive Doctor, a little closer to the cruise port is also excellent.

All of your ports, with the possible exception of Coco Cay (have not dived there) are very good dive locations, and I would not hesitate to use the ship's dive op at any of these cruise stops. While you might get slightly longer dives with some off ship vendors (that is not always the case), and with the ship's dive op, you never have to worry about missing your dive because of late arrivals or other problems.

 

[living4experiences]

@Altamira gave a good overview, so I'll just add to those points. I also dive from cruise ships and have been to all of your ports. If you can, booking through the cruise ship is the best way to dive, at least for the first time. Once you've done it through the ship and get familiar with the layout of the island you're visiting, you can certainly book on your own in the future.

CocoCay is not worth diving. When I was there in March 2020, the only offering was a 1-tank dive and it's a shore dive. CocoCay does not have any nearby reef and it's a long swim to see anything. I elected not to do it. Instead, I enjoyed the Beach Club for the day. There's a small fee, but it is capacity limited, so you won't be trying to relax on the beach with mobs of people.

Cozumel has plenty of choices, and the timing of your arrival is important. You'll also want to know what pier you're coming into. RCCL used to dock at the International Pier. I don't know of any dive ops that will pick you up from the cruise pier. You'll need to take a taxi or walk. Having just been to Cozumel as a cruise ship stop in November 2021, I can recommend Sand Dollar Sports, sds@sanddollarsports.co. The cruise line cancelled all of my diving on this cruise, so I was on my own. The coordination with Angelica was very easy. A 2-tank dive is $100 and includes all your equipment rental. They did a good job. The shop is about a 10-15 minute walk from the International Pier.

Anthony's Key Resort is still the RCCL dive operator. They're a great op. Getting their on your own could be a challenge by the time you get off the ship, find transportation, and get to the dive shop, so it's best to book through the ship.

Costa Maya is just "meh" for diving, but you've got to do it at least once to say you've done it, and you'll know next time you're there, you won't be missing much if you don't dive. All the diving is from Mahahual, which requires a taxi ride if you're going on your own. I used Doctor Dive, and they did fine. Mahahual is a fishing village, so the dive boat was a little crude, but it got the job done. There weren't many fish or critters to see and it was quite boring for me. I actually got more enjoyment doing some snorkeling after the dives and saw better stuff snorkeling than diving.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[BigDaddyGlad]

I'm on this same itinerary in August on Symphony (barring yet another COVID wave). I too have all my own gear and will be bringing it along, though I'm cruising with my wife and two 20-something kids, so I may not have the opportunity to break away at every port stop.

I was able to take advantage of an RCL sale (50% off) for the Coco Cay 1-tank dive. For $25, it'll get me up and out early in the morning and I'll probably be done before my family gets their day started.

In Cozumel, I had a good experience this past November with Dive Paradise off a cruise ship. They have a 10:00 Express Boat specifically for cruise passengers, and their shop is about 5 or 10 minutes cab ride up the road from the cruise pier. I also liked that they still went out with just me and a dive buddy and didn't require a full boat.

I've never been to Roatan, so I'll be watching this thread for recommendations. There's nothing listed yet with RCL, but Shore Excursions Group (who I've used before) offer a couple options so I'll probably book with them. I will probably book something with them for Costa Maya as well, unless we decide to book a family beach day at Maya Chan.

 

[Brojas]

RCCL opened more spots and I was able to reserve dives through the ship directly!

 

[Tuckster]

I'm was hoping to dive with Allison. Taxi ride looks to be 5 minutes and I've dove with her before and loved it. Still unsure of the ships docking time compared to local time. We sail on Sunday 3/13 which is the day the time (Florida) changes to DST. I know Cozumel does not change so if we dock at 7:00 ship time (Florida time), that will be 8:00 Cozumel time and I won't make her 8:00 departure time. may have to check out Dive Paradise if they have a 10:00 dive.

 

[Eric802]

I snorkeled at Coco Cay in November. I haven't heard too many good things about the diving there and after watching the divers get dragged out to the dive site behind a jetski, I didn't regret skipping it.

We will be diving through RC in Aruba in May, though.

 

[mac66]

We dived with Sun Divers in Roatan in Dec '21.

 

[Tuckster]

Off which cruise line ??? I'm assuming you set it up on your own ??

 

[tursiops]

Costa Maya is just "meh" for diving, but you've got to do it at least once to say you've done it, and you'll know next time you're there, you won't be missing much if you don't dive. All the diving is from Mahahual, which requires a taxi ride if you're going on your own. I used Doctor Dive, and they did fine. Mahahual is a fishing village, so the dive boat was a little crude, but it got the job done. There weren't many fish or critters to see and it was quite boring for me. I actually got more enjoyment doing some snorkeling after the dives and saw better stuff snorkeling than diving.

If you can get to Banco Chinchorro - Wikipedia then the diving could be pretty good.