Scuba Booking and Cruises

[lardo5150]

Sooooo, my boss (wife) says we have to go on a cruise since I have got to go on our scuba vacations in the past. I still get to dive though on this.
I have never been on a cruise before.
Below is what we are doing...

1 Miami, Florida --- 4:00 p.m.
2 At Sea --- ---
3 George Town, Grand Cayman 7:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m.
4 Roatan (Isla Roatan), Bay Islands, Honduras 11:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m.
5 Belize City, Belize 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m.
6 Cozumel, Mexico 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m.
7 At Sea --- ---
8 Miami, Florida 8:00 a.m. ---

So how do you normally book diving? Is it with the cruise ship? For example, when I am in Coz, I stay/dive with Blue Angel. Do I just call them ahead of time and book? The other problem is the dive boats at blue angel (and most other places) leave dock at 8am, same time we get in. Do I just book for the afternoon dives instead?

I am going to check the other forums for anyone who has dived in Belize and Roatan, I am wondering what it is like.

 

[ScubaDiva]

Book all of your diving ahead of time. I worked on a cruise ship years ago. Sometimes, it takes a while to get on and off the ship, so you need to account for that. I would email the operation you like in Cozumel (Blue Angel), or I'd recommend Dive Paradise (closer to the ship, I think....not sure exactly where Blue Angel docks), and let them know that you're coming and want to be sure to get a dive or two in. You may have to schedule your own small boat and pay a little extra...you may not. It will be well worth the extra fee. Those large cattle herder charters can suck up a lot of non-dive time, and you don't have that extra play when you need to make it back to the cruise ship.

I went to Roatan last April. If you can schedule the Waihuka shark dive....DO IT!!! We went on a Wednesday, but that is just because we were staying at CoCo View. Here is their schedule. Book a Shark Dive in Roatan It was AMAZING!

Haven't been to Belize yet...heading there this August.

 

[lardo5150]

I would MUCH rather go with Blue Angel, but would it just be easier to book with the cruise? Or do they even do that?

 

[diversteve]

Afaik cruise dives on Roatan are contracted to Anthony's Key Resort. Due to the short window of time you have there it might not be your best option since they're probably 1/2 hr. or more each way from Coxen Hole/Mahogany Bay where your ship will dock. They pickup at the cruise pier and typically if you book a dive through the cruise, it doesn't sail till you return but personally I'd try to schedule the shark dive instead.

The Shark dive, in addition to being a great experience, is done off the airport a few minutes from Coxen Hole.

Another option is Barefoot Divers, they book cruise dives also and are probably the closest diveop to the cruise port. http://www.barefootdiversroatan.com/Diving/CruiseShipShoreExcursions/ And they are directly off one of the best dives on Roatan, Mary's Place. Really a first-class high quality operation, I recommend them highly.

On Cayman, cruise dives are contracted to either Don Fosters or Red Sail afaik. Fosters is in Georgetown and walking distance but I'm not a fan of big dive boats as that often means lots of divers - in their case it's 18-24/boat according to their website. Another option often mentioned is the Eden Rock shore dive as you can walk there from the cruise dock but it's seen a lot of divers over the years. In a week of diving, it was the worst dive we did. Shallow, average and a lot of coral damage.

Since you're in so early in the morning, I'd contact any of the smaller diveops listed here: Cayman Islands - Grand Cayman Travel and Tourism Site - Diving for a 2-tank AM dive. Most of the diveops on GC pick up at resorts along Seven Mile Beach so I can't see why someone couldn't pick you up at/near the dock. Or it's a short cab ride north to their boat location. Some that are recommended here often: Neptunes Divers, Off the Wall, Wall to Wall, Ambassador Divers, Indigo. All are 6-8 divers max. per trip.

Unless it's changed recently you are tendered in from your ship in GC (they were building a cruise pier last I read) so plan for that.

 

[Altamira]

A word of advice. Make sure you know the difference between the ship's time for arrival/departure verses the local time for dive departures and arrivals, and whether or not the particular dive location uses DST. If you are booking the dive through the cruise ship, it is no big deal because the ship won't leave without you. If you are doing your own bookings, an hour time difference could bite you in the butt. Almost happened to me during a recent cruise stop at Roatan when I thought I had another hour to play with, only to realize Roatan did not use DST and the ship did. Oops!.
Guy
Guy

 

[didi440]

I have done diving from cruise ships and on my own when my hubby and I do cruises. My personal experience has been far better if I used operators that I already knew or that were recommended by my dive shop. Most of the diving with the ship uses the same operators, but I found that if I booked individually, I got more individual attention, was paired with a buddy whose experience, level of dives and profiles were similar to mine or I was paired with a DM. When I booked through the cruise ship, I found that it was like a huge cattle call and I could be paired with anyone.

Just make sure you and the operator are aware of the arrival and departure times of the ship when making the arrangements.

 

[DivingPrincessE]

I have done dives both with the ops contracted by the cruise ship, and ops I found on my own via SB research. The dive ops I chose on my own were FAR better than those the cruise ship contracts with.

The cruise ship dive excursion will be a cattle boat to the 10th power. It will be extremely overcrowded, will most likely go to a pretty close location, even if there are better locations a little bit further away. I've found that dive ops who contract with the cruise ship really "don't care" about giving the customers the best experience. They already have their guaranteed money by working with the cruise ship, so their primary concern is to limit spending (i.e. fuel to get to better locations and less divers on their boat to give everyone more room). Well that and getting everyone back to the ship as quickly as possible.

Also, not only were the dives I did with the cruise ship contracted op less impressive, but it also cost quite a bit more than if I had gone with a non-contracted dive op.

The last cruise I dived on, I chose three dive ops based on the recommendations here on SB, and two of three were wonderful! Just make sure to choose a reputable shop with good reviews (it's especially good if they deal with cruise shippers a lot). You want to make sure they have in the past, and will continue to get divers BACK to the ship in time.

 

[ScubaDiva]

I'm sorry....my reply was a bit unclear. I was suggesting that you contact your operators of choice directly and not use the cruise ship operators. For all of the same reasons mentioned in the other replies. You'll generally pay more and be less satisfied when booking through the cruise ship.

 

[lardo5150]

Thanks everyone, I will shoot BA an email and see how they handle cruises, if they do.

 

[Altamira]

I used Cocoanut Tree Divers in Roatan and XT Blue Sea in Cozumel and was extremely happy with both shops. See my post on Mexico and Central America in the travel section.
Guy