There HAS to be diving in Costa Maya

[likelite]

Hey folks, I'm doing the Holland America cruise in Feb. and went ahead & booked through the cruise line for Cayman. Should I do the two tank dive, or is Stingray City so great I shouldn't miss it?

I saw HUGE (6+ foot) rays in Belize this year, so I guess I'm feeling like I can live without the rays...I've heard the diving in Cayman is good, so I figured I'd do that. What do you think?

For whomever was looking for Belize operators: We had a pretty good experience with Aquadives (http://www.aquadives.com/). It's all "hot boat" (you giant stride, but there's no mooring line...the captain follows your bubbles and comes to pick you up); we had a couple minor mechanical problems, etc.; but the guys were really nice. Ask for Francoise.

 

[billeelou]

how committed are they to getting me back ontime??

 

[billeelou]

tried your aquadives link...404 error message

 

[henrywl]

Folks, I dove with DreamTime Diving last week. They are awesome. Booking direct (WWW.DREAMTIMEDIVING.COM) is simple and a two tank dive is just $75 (I provided my equipment). As of today Carnival still does not book a diving excursion but rumor has it that they are working on it.

To do so you need to contact the shop via e-mail and make a reservation and give a credit card. There is no charge if the ship does not show up.

To get there you go through the cruise ship villiage and get a $3 cab voucher and go to town. You transfer to a "yellow Cab" and pay $2 and ask to go to the dive shop. It is north of the actual town. The cruise ship villiage is not the town. To get back the shop calls a cab and you pay $5 to the "yellow Cab" to get you back.

These folks are very accommodating. They schedule dives every two hours. The surface interval is back at the shop since diving is soooo close. They also offer underwater videotaping and do a good job.

I am going back to Costa May in May via Carnival's Holiday out of Mobile, AL. I will dive with these folks again!

FYI, there is virtually no risk of being left behind because the cruise ship pier is ten minutes away, the diving is close and frequent, and the shop understands the needs of cruisers. Remember to never set your watch to local time; stay on ships time.

 

[billeelou]

dreamtime is now mcruiseline only big frown an
and 149 per...bigger frown..any other suggestions?

 

[annlaur]

I also dove with Dreamtime last year and I definitely recommend it. I never had to worry about time as I was vacationning in Mahahual, but people from the cruise ship crashed in everyday, with no reservation, and they were always able to dive and be back on the boat well before it left. I think it’s a good thing Dreamtime is now affiliated with the cruise ship, they’re very environment and safety-oriented, so hopefully they’ll grow enough to ensure the protection of this amazing reef for decades to come.

 

[billeelou]

I dove with Maya Palms, whata good dive!!- see my reports posted elsewhere....

 

[KidK9]

There is a small fishing village about 3 to 3 1\2 miles south of where the ship ties up at. Its called Mahahual. Dreamtime Divers is the only PADI dive resort there. Look up a guy by the name of Jono, he is co-owner. He will give you prices and and the diving from what I hear is great because he knows where the spots are that haven't been raped buy tourests yet. All this is from what I have read in Sport diver mag. Although I have been there but couldn't dive at the time myself.

Sport Diver knows all the secrets! (heavy sarcasm)

The whole area is pretty much untouched. I mean compared to places like Cozumel, Caymans, Bonaire....the place is absolutely untouched.

 

[billeelou]

the only Padi Certified Dive co there.

 

[billeelou]

the only Padi Certified Dive co there. Maya Palms is also a Padi certified dive operator...I have dove there , in fact I dove there two weeks ago( seems a lot longer) it is amazing and no other divers around....

In fact before posting, go to the PADI.ORG site and verify, a little harder than reading a magazine( who posts by the amount of advertising they do)...but well worth the effort of having a smaller group, for less money....