recommended for cruise ship pickup

[Altamira]

May not have been a good thing, but I see this done all the time, and not just at Roatan. What astounds me in those situations is that the DMs still come up with adequate air, despite having an air hog breathing on their octo. I can only dream about having a SAC rate that low. Most of those divers were not actually out of air, but just a lot lower than the rest of the group. Perhaps just being with the DM tends to slow down the breathing rate of divers that find themselves in that situation because most of the time those divers are the ones on the boat that are talking a good story about all the places they have dived. To me, too much talking about one's experience on the dive boat is an indicator of nervousness and insecurity. Of course, I could be 100% wrong about that.

 

[robint]

I hate to go against everyone here, but in May this year we used the cruise ship dive op...Anthony's Key...and loved them. The divers, there were 8-10 of us that week, all the same people each port, and NONE were noobs. Since Roatan was our first port, we were all checking each other out for skills and only a couple looked like they hadn't been diving for awhile so a little up and down the first dives. AKR had us all on the same boat, with 2 DMs, one leading and one following. They were very friendly, and accomodating. Dive briefing was great, and the boat was great. We did a dive not far from resort, of course the resort sits right ON the reefs on that side so no big deal. Then back to resort for SI, then back out for second dive, then rinse off and bus back to port. It went smooth as silk. In fact, many of us in the group no are considering a land vacation to AKR. It was a great dive day!

We did Green outhouse wall for first dive, then we did Deep eel garden & Aguila wreck as second dive. Both great dives, both withing sight of the resort. Saw an eagle ray swim right by us at Eel garden, too. Sweet dives with tons of fish. Very different from the southside of island where we have always dived from CCV land trips. Not better, just very different.

robin

 

[Altamira]

@robint. You are not going against everyone here. I have had the exact same experience as you did while diving with AKR numerous times from a cruise ship, and have posted that information. From what I have seen, if all divers are fairly compatible in experience, they will put one DM in front and one pulling up the rear, but if they have a group of experienced and newbies, they will break up the divers in two groups based on stated experience levels.

 

[NikoleS]

Great info in this thread! I will be going on my first solo vacation, a cruise, in December. I am relatively new diver - certified a little over two years but haven't logged a dive in almost a year - I lost my dive buddy in the divorce earlier this year! I only have about fifteen dives so far and that was within the first eight months or so of being certified (includes several dives in Cozumel, Dos Ojos, the Gulf of Mexico, and various lakes around Central Texas). The ship will be docking in Cozumel first and I'll be diving with a company there that I've been out with a couple of times before while there on vacation so I'll have an opportunity to get comfortable again and with someone that I know before arriving in Honduras.

Right now, I've booked the cruise ship excursion with Black Pearl Divers from Pristine Bay Resort but did notice that AKR was also available - I don't know anything about either one of them, which is why I'm online trying to read reviews etc. Does anyone have any info on Black Pearl Divers? I prefer being with more experienced divers and thought about trying to find a shop that wasn't part of the cruise ships options but also don't want to take a chance on something happening since I am there solo.

Any thoughts or suggestions overall, and specifically about Black Pearl Divers?

Thanks in advance! Nikole

 

[NikoleS]

We have booked a cruise that will be stopping in Roatan and we want to get some good dives in. What dive shop do you recommend I contact in Roatan? We do not want to go with a bunch of newbies thru the cruise ships dive setup.

simcoediver, when is your cruise and have you made a decision on who you are booking with yet?

 

[diversteve]

Black Pearl seems like they'll give you more of what you want, afaik they still dive from a single? smaller boat and being farther east than some can access some of those dives.

AKR is the default cruise operation for Carnival and some of the others so the likelihood of being with newer divers - hence dumbed down dive sites - is a possibility. They do provide a dedicated cruise only boat for those dives.

If you're not set on Black Pearl, take another look at Barefoot Divers - they only have 2-3 boats total and many of the guests at their affiliated small resort don't even dive. My group of 7 was their entire business one morning and we dove Mary's Place - one of the signature Roatan dives which happens to be 5mins. from their dock. Then did a 2nd dive on the Prince Albert wreck off Cocoview - another known good site.

They will also arrange a cab for you (costs $20) that will be waiting on arrival. And lunch is included in the dive price. Thet're a really nice valet diving operation also - we literally could not touch my gear once it was dropped on their dock until it was returned clean to us. Should you need rentals - their gear was all Scubapro. A buddy commented that their rental gear was better than his gear.

 

[Altamira]

Great info in this thread! I will be going on my first solo vacation, a cruise, in December. I am relatively new diver - certified a little over two years but haven't logged a dive in almost a year - I lost my dive buddy in the divorce earlier this year! I only have about fifteen dives so far and that was within the first eight months or so of being certified (includes several dives in Cozumel, Dos Ojos, the Gulf of Mexico, and various lakes around Central Texas). The ship will be docking in Cozumel first and I'll be diving with a company there that I've been out with a couple of times before while there on vacation so I'll have an opportunity to get comfortable again and with someone that I know before arriving in Honduras.

Right now, I've booked the cruise ship excursion with Black Pearl Divers from Pristine Bay Resort but did notice that AKR was also available - I don't know anything about either one of them, which is why I'm online trying to read reviews etc. Does anyone have any info on Black Pearl Divers? I prefer being with more experienced divers and thought about trying to find a shop that wasn't part of the cruise ships options but also don't want to take a chance on something happening since I am there solo.

Any thoughts or suggestions overall, and specifically about Black Pearl Divers?

Thanks in advance! Nikole

Black Pearl Divers is also a great dive op. Pristine Bay Resort is a lovely place and you will be able to spend some time after the dives, taking advantage of some of their facilities. When I dived with them, Mike, the dive shop manager, was our DM, and he was super. At the end of the dive, those of us that still had air, were allowed to stay below above the shallow reef to extend our dive time. The reefs we visited were among the best I have seen in Roatan, the dive boat and equipment were excellent, so I have nothing but high praise for Black Pearl Divers. Those comments are not meant to detract from AKR because it also is an excellent dive op. I would not hesitate to dive with either op.

 

[Altamira]

I agree with diversteve's assessment of Barefoot Divers, and would not hesitate to use them as well as Black Pearl and AKR. You might want to evaluate your time in port and how tight the time might be between end of dives and ship departure time. If you use an off ship dive op, make sure you know the difference between ship time and local time. The first time I went to Roatan, that little piece of information almost bit me in the butt. The good news for you is that there really is no bad choice in your dive ops--all are excellent in my opinion.

 

[NikoleS]

If you use an off ship dive op, make sure you know the difference between ship time and local time. The first time I went to Roatan, that little piece of information almost bit me in the butt.

Yeah that's the part I'm worried about there! I certainly wouldn't want to run into any issues, especially being by myself and having never even been to Roatan before.

Thanks you guys for the input - I'm going to stick with Black Pearl then. Being able to take advantage of their facilities if there's time after the dive does also sound appealing.