Royal Caribbean - Bermuda: 2 Tank Dive

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Thyamine

Registered
Messages
17
Reaction score
5
Location
Coatesville, PA
# of dives
25 - 49
Hey everyone,

We have an upcoming cruise to Bermuda, and are signed up for the 2 tank dive excursion. I can't seem to find any reviews or info regarding it beyond the standard verbiage on the main cruise page. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had a chance to try out this excursion and had any comments.

I imagine that the dive shop changes up the reef/wreck locations depending on weather, season, number of people but had hoped to get to do a little research about where we might go.

Thanks!
 
Royal Caribbean docks in Royal Dockyards, also known as Kings Wharf. We take Norwegian Dawn to same dockyard, which is fun tourist destination. We used Fantasea Dive Shop for two different trips. First was an excursion, we walked off ship down to get on their boat, on which we stopped off at another point to pick out fitted gear, and then we did a couple nice dives, wreck and reef.
The second cruise trip we did our check out dives for PADI Rescue with same shop, but We rolled our Hockey bags full of gear down the dock, kept walking another block to Snorkel Beach where they have a dive shop with gear. We dove the afternoon we arrived, the whole second day, and the morning before we left. Beach will charge admission if you’re not there with dive shop.
If I went back for just Diving i would do boat dive, as the shore dive does not have a lot to keep interest for multiple dives.
 
Thanks for that Bubble. I was hoping that there might be something within walking distance we could hit right on the beach. We just got certified this year, but we've been hitting the quarry near us over and over, so we are excited for anything different. Even if the beach isn't super exciting, squeezing in another dive or two that we can just walk to would be great.
 
In that case, you may have fun looking for the submerged antique cannon not far off the beach, and maybe find a few musket balls, as this beach is below the historic fortress.
There are swimmers and snorkelers later in the day, so my advice is go straight there from ship.
 
This is a little more of a general cruise/diving question, but has anyone run into issues when taking their gear on these sorts of trips? I see that knives are considered restricted items, and that the excursion provides all your gear. I understand a lot of divers may not have or want to bring their gear, but I'm planning on bringing everything. Just wondering if people have run into any problems or know any advice for first time cruise as a diver.
 
I have been on multiple cruises and have brought my own gear- I bring a small dive kniv and pack in suitcase & also bring a EZ cutter & scissors with me- no problem but you cannot bring a pony tank. As far a Bermuda they will not let you dive from pier are- too much boat traffic. I always use Blue Water Divers which are in Somerset- a 10 min. taxi or bus ride from Dockyard-diving is not cheap in Bermuda and paying a extra $50 for cruise excursion to me is crazy...
 
This is a little more of a general cruise/diving question, but has anyone run into issues when taking their gear on these sorts of trips? I see that knives are considered restricted items, and that the excursion provides all your gear. I understand a lot of divers may not have or want to bring their gear, but I'm planning on bringing everything. Just wondering if people have run into any problems or know any advice for first time cruise as a diver.
Bring everything, except knives, but bring it in a dive bag with rollers. I use a rolling hockey bag, as they are plentiful and cheap used in Massachusetts. Also, lithium battery flashlights have to be in your carry on. I used to just accept whatever dive gear I was given, but it can ruin a dive to have overly beat up rental gear.
 
Thanks for that. That's my plan, and I have a bag that was part of the purchase for my gear with rollers similar to what you are saying. Having no experience with taking my dive equipment on a trip, I keep coming up with questions that I feel I'm overthinking. Thankfully it's a cruise, so I can literally roll it on more or less.
 
I always take my own dive gear, except knife, even if the dive ops provide the gear as part of the excursion package. Yes, it is a bit of a PITA to deal with after the dives, but it is my stuff, I bought it, I know the history, I know it works, where everything is located, and have seen how many dive ops clean their rental gear. No thanks. If you take a dive knife with you, it will be temporarily confiscated by ship's security if they find it, but you can check it out every time you depart the ship to dive and recheck it when you return. Personally, I just carry my safety shears when cruising to avoid the hassle and likelihood I will forget to retrieve it at the end of the cruise.
After going through a number of dive bag types, I finally found the best solution for me. I hook everything to my bcd except regs and computer which I carry in a separate bag with towel, etc., thread the wetsuit through the tank straps, and wear the bcd to/from the ship. Skipping the dive bag means one less thing I have to dry in my room or on the balcony.
The biggest problem you will have with taking your own dive gear on a cruise is having space in your room to dry your gear after diving, which makes having a balcony cabin very nice if you are willing to pay the additional costs. If you and your cabin mate both dive, a balcony cabin is almost a necessity. Having an interior or ocean view cabin is doable, but it is not much fun trying to dry two sets of dive gear in them.
 
Thanks everyone for the comments. We just got back, and as Bubblesong said, the dives were organized through Fantasea . Walked right down the dock and got onto the boat, captain and dive lead were very friendly. We dove on the Lartington for the first dive, and the Constellation and Montana for the second (wreck map: Map of Bermuda's famous shipwrecks ). It was a bit choppy, but was amazing. Clarity of the water was great. I didn't take my knife, but _everyone_ on the ship and in security asked multiple times what was in my rolling scuba bag, although no one checked once I told them it was scuba equipment.

If we go back there, I would use them again. Never got a chance to try out Snorkel Beach, but friends snorkeled there and said it was fun.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

Back
Top Bottom