Advice needed - PADI certified divers but 1st time Cruisers

[olphart]

Thank you all for your help. One more question?

The bulk of our experience is lake diving with no more than 15' visibility. We dove Cozumel and Maui both last year and (for obvious reasons) fell in love with them! Of the ports listed below, Carnival is offering dive excursions on Grand Turk & St. Kitts. Which ones should we dive?

St. Maarten(9a - 6p)
St. Kitts (7a-5p)
San Juan (7a-2p)
Grand Turk (9a-5p)

I would definitely give St Maarten a miss.

 

[decompression]

I did an amazing shark dive in St Maartens......one of the best in thousands of dives....[emoji226]


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[PhatD1ver]

Compared to what other group of divers? If you compare cruise ship divers in general to people that dive every weekend or perhaps several times a week, then yes, they probably are not as proficient or capable, nor would you expect them to be. However, from what I have seen, cruise divers are no more, or less, capable than the majority of "vacation divers" that I have seen on cruises, land based vacation resorts or just on a weekend trip. These infrequent or low experienced divers all have to deal with the same issues related to the amount and frequency of their dives, and should not be compared to the overwhelming number of super divers on this website. I think many super divers sometimes forget that they were once the un-proficient, incompetent, and needy divers that they love to criticize. As far as tipping is concerned, I think the problem is that most vacation divers do not read ScubaBoard, or any other dive forums, and are not schooled in dive tipping etiquette, and the problem is worse if the diver comes from non-tipping societies. Lead by example.

Just wait, there is a new wave of 'bad' divers coming... the Chinese. If you haven't been on a vacation in the same place as a hoard (or even a small family) of mainland Chinese, it's horrible. And now, they are processing their kids thru dive classes in droves. The problem is that these kids and their parents already think that their money means they can do what they want above and beneath the sea. They might not end your dive due to air consumption, and some kids are pretty technical (and I mean, fancy, hi-tech gear... I've seen 15-16 year old kids diving in the Philippines with $5000 dive computers), but they are kids, and they do KID stuff.

The more important point is that what is inexperienced? I'm going to hit my 100th dive here in a few weeks in barely over a year... I think that is a lot of diving for someone who has a full-time job and doesn't live a drivable distance from a dive location. I think of myself as safe, I can follow a dive plan, and use my compass, we don't need to be babysat, but it's still not 500 or 1000 dives... but it doesn't mean I'm a vacation diver in my mind either. I consider myself a serious diver who make every effort to plan and dive my next trip as soon as possible.

---------- Post added May 8th, 2015 at 12:00 AM ----------

What Roatan Joe is saying might have some validity. My ex-wife loved to go on cruises. Let her see many ports and I got to dive many ports. Some of the worse divers I have ever seen were once a year divers from the cruise ship. I would say however that the majority of people on the cruise ship excursions were average divers. Some were new but not bad. Some were seasoned divers who just decided to get some dives in while on vacation. But there was almost always 2 or 3 divers who were just horrible (diving with no exposure protection and wearing 30 lbs of lead, using the inflator as an elevator button, standing on the coral, etc.).

Maybe it was the cruises I went on but 90% seems to be an exaggeration. However, you just need one twit to make a dive horrible. I just learned to find a buddy, go off and do our own thing, come back to the boat when we are ready. Before I get wet I make sure the boat master remembers me so the dive boat doesn't leave without me.

Hey, I haven't dove off a cruise yet, but I'm sure they'll see me coming in my blue and bright yellow shorty, weighing in over $3.00, and then if they pay attention while we are diving, they'll find out I pride myself on near flawless buoyancy, spacial awareness, and safety... I'm still learning, I'm in the middle of my rescue diver, and going to get my sidemount and wreck specialties next month.... but it's all about constantly learning and pushing myself... yeah, you don't have to work hard do see me underwater, and I might could lose a few pounds. But I'm sure I'll turn a head in a positive way if they give me a chance, because I always try to think I wouldn't want anyone to ask "who certified that guy?"

 

[NAM001]

I dont think there is any way to measure experience and get a measurable figure.. Its an honor/ integrity issue. you can have 1000 dives and not have dove in 10 years. your are out of porficiency perhaps. That is an easy one to catch up on. there is you with 100 dives if they are recent and quality dives then you are not inexperienced. If you have 25 dives your are inexperienced period. now to what degree.???? like wise you can be the king of quarry divers and you are inexperienced in a ocean dive with a current. Put me int he great lakes and i am totally inexperienced. In the gulf i am right at home.

 

[stevegd]

Which cruise line? Which ports? Sometimes it is not worth trying to book privately and I'd just go with the cruise line. However, which cruise line and which port will make a difference. Mostly, which port you go to will make a difference. Some ports the dive shops understand the cruise line schedules and they can pick you up at the cruise ship port. Other islands don't allow dive boats to pick you up at the cruise ship port. What time you get into port and how long you are going to be there can make a difference. For example, I'd go with Ocean Encounters or The Dive Bus in Curacao. However they are both not near the cruise line port and you have to find your way to the dive shop and back to the cruise ship. If the ship disembarks late and leaves early, you might not be able to go out with certain dive shops.

If you miss the ship because the cruise ship approved dive shop is late, the ship will wait for you. If you are late because a private dive shop ran late, the cruise ship will leave without you. You then have to find a way to catch up with the ship at the next port.

Typically, if you go with the cruise ship excursions they will be packed and short. The dive operator is trying to maximize profits. The first person to run out of air usually ends the dive. You are expected to stay with the guide and everyone ends the dive at the same time. This typically makes the dives fairly short. I usually hang out on CruiseCritic.com and ask the divers there. Most will tell me for a given port and cruise line whether I should book privately and with who I should book.

Yes if you go with a cruise ship option it is a guaranteed trip so the ship will wait for you, they are also insured and thats a positive when in and Caribbean island. As for the dive ending shortly well yeah that happens in a lot of ports, its not because they want to end, its usually because as a whole most cruise divers forget one vital piece of equipment, a timing device so if that happens then the dive leader has to time the dive and the safety stop for the group. I dove in Grand Turk and they dropped divers who were low off at the boat with a buddy only if they have a watch or computer with which to time the safety stop. This differs from port to port as all dive pros want to end a dive trip on a safe note. Now I know a lot of people think they can dive with the dive leader/dm and have them time them but remember you didn't dive his/her dive, you dove your dive and maybe you went a little deep (read as A LOT sometimes) instead of sticking with the dive plan so again its your safety they have in mind as well as their own work place safety.
And who can blame them for wanting to be able to do what they love safely and without mishap.