Western Carribean

[Mark GH2O]

Decided to try a cruise with the family in March:
Going to Labadee, Haiti (any decent diving or snorkling here?) could just be a lazy day on the beach.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica - recommendations?

Grand Cayman - Diving for sure. Try to decide if book thru Royal Carribean or on my own? Like to do a wall dive but will have two teenagers along with only 10 dives under their belt. Probably should keep them in the 50 ft range max.

Cozumel - Probably like to dive here also. Never been to Cozumel and do not know much about the diving. Recommendations here?

Mark

 

[Craig66]

Mark, Did the same route over Thanksgiving. Labadee has some fairly lame snorkling and no diving so it turns out to be a beach day.

When we arrived at Ocho Rios the weather resulted in the dive bieng cancelled but from what I understand the reefs have been so overfished by the local fishermen that there is little to see and most people suggest Dunns Falls as an alternative for an excursion

The diving in Grand Cayman was spectacular but I felt very uneasy about the outfit that we were with. There were 19 divers and 3 dive masters but when one of the divers reg started to give trouble prior to the dive one of the divemasters gave up his reg so that the diver could go into the water. This meant that there were now 2 dive masters with 19 typical cruise divers - I saw so many mistakes it was incredible - I was amazed all came back - I do not recall there name but they have the word "sport" in their name and I believe it is the only outfit RCL uses in GC and I would not dive with them again.

In Cozumel we were taken out by Sand Dollar and we were divided into 4 independant groups of 6 divers each group under the very impressive and very watchful eye of their own DM. I can only speak for our DM who was fantastic. It was an incredible dive. The drift diving in Coz is mostly drift diving but with good bouyancy control is very managable


Craig

 

[hdcline]

Decided to try a cruise with the family in March:
Going to Labadee, Haiti (any decent diving or snorkling here?) could just be a lazy day on the beach.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica - recommendations?

Grand Cayman - Diving for sure. Try to decide if book thru Royal Carribean or on my own? Like to do a wall dive but will have two teenagers along with only 10 dives under their belt. Probably should keep them in the 50 ft range max.

Cozumel - Probably like to dive here also. Never been to Cozumel and do not know much about the diving. Recommendations here?

Mark

My family and I have been on the same cruise route a couple of times before. I agree with Craig66, Labadee is just a lazy beach day. Diving in Jamaica isn't much. I have dove in Grand Cayman at leat 4 times and have always went with Neptunesdivers they have always accommadated my son and I with whatever dives we wanted. They are small and will accommadate whatever expenience your sons and you have. On one visit they took only my son and I out. Just let them know in advance what you want and I am sure you will have a safe and enjoyable dive. As for Cozmel we have dove there at least 6 times and have always gone with Papahogs. They to will accommadate whatever you and your sons would like. There is current in Cozumel so expect to deal with it. At one time PapaHogs took only my son and I out. They use fast boats so you won't be on a cattleboat which is what you most likely would have if you go with the cruise line dives.

 

[diveborg]

Here is my opinion:

Going to Labadee, Haiti (any decent diving or snorkling here?) could just be a lazy day on the beach. Beach day

Ocho Rios, Jamaica - recommendations? Stay on the ship.

Grand Cayman - I agree, www.neptunesdivers.com or a shore dive at http://sunsethouse.com/ They have their own on-site dive shop where you can get tanks/weights and gear if you need it.

Cozumel - Definitely dive here. Here are some dive operators to consider:
My personal favorite is www.bluextseadiving.com
- www.scubawithalison.com
- www.scubatony.com
- www.eagleraydivers.com
and www.blueangel-scuba.com if you have a mixed group of divers and snorkelers.

 

[Mark GH2O]

Here is my opinion:


Ocho Rios, Jamaica - recommendations? Stay on the ship

I knew the diving was not anything to brag about. No worthwhile sightseeing?
How safe is it?


I have dove in Grand Cayman a few times. Mostly did the remote east end sites with Cayman Diving Lodge. But that was 20 years ago on our honeymoon!

 

[Trwmodela]

Grand Cayman - I recommend Sunset House Divers located at the Sunset House Resort. You can walk there in 10 minutes from the dock at Georgetown. Also, check out Cathy Church photo shop in the basement of the main reservation office. You can rent gear and do some beach dives there if you want. Also, a nice swimming pool to checkout your rental gear first.

http://www.sunsethouse.com/

Ocho Rios, Jamaica - Stopped there on a Carnival Cruise. It is safe to walk around but they just try to sell you everything. Also, kept asking if I wanted a taxi cab. Best to book an excursion with the ship. They have a neat 600 foot water fall you can climb. Be friendly and you will have no problem. SCUBA not recommended!

Tim