Cozumel or Grand Cayman?

[anje77o]

Thank you! That's really good to know. I booked two dives and even the SRC snorkel is impossible to make happen with my time limit. =(

 

[scubadada]

(Hijack. We are staying in Bodden Town and plan to use Ocean Frontier for east end diving. Which dive shop would you recommend for west side or north wall?)

I appreciate the confidence but may not have the most contemporary information. Of 10 trips to Grand Cayman, my last 4 were to Cobalt Coast with Divetech and then Compass Point with Ocean Frontiers. Divetech is no longer with Cobalt Coast and is independent at Lighthouse Point. They are a very good operator and I would not hesitate to use them. If I were to go to Cayman today I would use Wall to Wall Diving for the West side and North wall Wall to Wall Diving - Wall to Wall Diving They have 2 beautiful boats and do a really fantastic 3 tanker. I would gladly defer to folks with more recent experience. There are many good operators on Grand Cayman

Good diving, Craig

 

[anje77o]

Cruise Update:

Hi guys, so I ended up diving both places- 2 tank dives at each. I definitely recommend booking with the cruise as it's difficult to time things correctly if you don't. I met a family that missed their excursion because they didn't think about the time difference. Another upside is if you're late, the ship won't leave you because you booked through them. You may save a few bucks booking off-ship but still need to grab a taxi there and back. I just find it much more convenient and more relaxing to have everything already done for you. At GC, divers were the first ones let off the cruise ship as well.

Grand Cayman:
The cruise books with Don Fosters. My experience was disappointing. I dive in a 5mm somewhat newish wetsuit. I used the same wetsuit in Hawaii and learned that I need 18 lbs of weight to keep me down. The DM suggested I go less so we went with 12 instead. We did a weight check and I couldn't descend even 5 feet so they added a couple more lbs. First, I can't stand that we couldn't just descend after jumping off the boat, instead we had to swim from the back of the boat to the front in choppy waters. Everyone was exhausted before descent. Not fun! The first dive spot was Wallstreet (82ft) then ended at the USS Kittiwake(60ft). At the wreck, I was at 1000psi and slowly started floating to the surface. I emptied my BCD, lungs and did everything I could to swim back down but couldn't as I was weighted incorrectly. I was so upset, frustrated, exhausted and scared out of my mind that I could have gotten decompression sickness. Again the water was a bit choppy and I was too exhausted to swim so the Captain had to jump in to come tow me. First I thought it was just me that had a terrible dive but after speaking to a few other divers, they were also disappointed as well as we didn't really see any marine life... it was more of a topography dive. Why would they even think that any of us cared more to see the topography than fishies? I don't know! Fortunately I was ok and thankful that I didn't get too dramatic and decided to go forward with the 2nd dive. We dove Hammer Head Hole, it was a more calm 45ft dive with few marine life but anything was better than dive #1 at that point. I understand that it's not their fault as they're not supposed to know how much weights I needed but I really regret letting them talking me into going less as it killed the entire experience. At least the Captain was the DM on my 2nd dive and showed us a stingray hidden under the sand, that was the highlight of the day. The water was pretty clear, nothing amazing. I guess I expected clearer water than Hawaii... it was about the same. All in all, the boats were clean, the staff was nice but the dive spots were just blah.

Cozumel:
The cruise books with Sand Dollar. These guys are freakin' awesome! They are super efficient and very friendly. You literally jump in the water and descend within 10 seconds. No floating around waiting, no unnecessary swimming and the water was super calm. This was my first drift diving experience and as a new diver, it was awesome! Now maybe I was lucky and the current wasn't too strong but it was moving along and took me a minute to realize that I don't really need to kick all that much. The first spot was Tormento(56 ft), tons of marine life. It was beautiful- the perfect dive! It was super calm and relaxing. I'm glad we didn't go down to 80ft.... that's not necessary for me. I'd be happy never going to 80ft again. Open Water divers are only certified to 60ft so I don't understand why in GC we weren't taken so low, most of the divers had the same C-Card as I do. Anywho, I've always struggled with my 3min safety stops as I float to the surface. My DM made sure that we all knew that we do our stops together and ascend together, we just need to stay below him. I finally figured out how to stop correctly, no kicking at all for me. =) It was a bit scary as we were doing our stop though, the boat came right near us and I thought that if someone couldn't do a stop correctly then what if they ended up under the boat motor. Some of the divers had done less dives than I but everyone was able to do their safety stop. The next dive spot was at Paradise(38 ft). This spot was even better than the last and I swear I didn't want to get out. There was so much to look at and some of the colorful fishies were pretty big too. =) Overall, it was a wonderful experience and Cozumel is my favorite dive spot to date. For beginners, I don't think Sand Dollar would take you to a spot where the current is too strong. Everything was perfect.

I recommend waking up really early and eating breakfast on the ship first. They don't give snacks on the dive boats, just water bottles. In GC, our dive schedule was way early and there was nothing available to eat at that time so we dove hungry in choppy waters, nobody was a happy camper.

 

[mi000ke]

I have done about 15 dives while on a cruise, and I always choose my dive op based on their reputation, not whether they are affiliated with the cruise company. I generally check the reviews here on SB, then contact the dive op directly with our in-port schedule to make sure they can accommodate us. Many of the independents take cruisers and are quite familiar with the routine, and a few just say they cannot accommodate our schedule. Also the cruise excursions tend to take large groups, but we like to go with smaller operations. We have never had a bad dive and have never come close to missing our ship's departure. As I usually go with 2-3 others, we have gotten our own dive boat a few times and were able to arrange the dives to suit our schedule perfectly. It is a shame to have wasted a dive day with a bad experience. That said, we did use the cruise dive op once while in Belize, because we were tendering and they were able to pick us up and drop us off at the ship saving about an hour. But the operator had good reviews on SB, was priced fairly and we had great dives. Glad your Coz experience was good.

 

[jonhall]

Which one has more marine life? =)

Have been to both a couple of times. They both, obviously, have marine life, but if that is your main criteria, Coz is along the 2nd largest reef in the world and most diving sites are in the protected national marine park. Based on the pictures I've taken, I saw more in Coz ON THE DAYS I DOVE than on the days I dove in GC, but I saw plenty there as well. I would say that, in general, you might see more in Coz, but everyday is different. Ask the dive op if they can take you to a place that is more than likely to have marine life. I get pretty excited when I'm told one of the dive sites is called Aquarium, Fish Tank, etc, because the name says it all.

Sounds like you have a choice, as you are going on a cruise. Not knowing the time of year you're going, check the weather conditions out. There can be iffy diving days in Coz (fortunately it's all been good for me, even on rainy days), but the west side (close to cruise ships) of GC is usually pretty calm. Both are great!

Posted this after your trip. Ha ha. Glad you had a great time.

 

[diver0008]

I've always struggled with my 3min safety stops as I float to the surface.

Consider a refresher course before your next dive.

 

[anje77o]

I took one about 10 days prior to the trip.

 

[diver0008]

Perhaps a course on buoyancy control might help.

 

[Altamira]

Pay close attention to, and document, how much weight you on each dive. If you find through experience that 18# of weight works well for you in a 5mil suit, don't let some DM convince you to drop 6 of your 18#s. It is really annoying to follow bad weighting advice, not be able to descend, and then have to delay the group waiting to get the lead you know you needed. I have had DMs tell me I could dive with "X" pounds less weight, and I just tell them "I'll bet your tip that I can't" As you gain more dive experience, you may find that you can drop a few pounds of weight as you fine tune your buoyancy, but that should be your decision, not some DM"s that sees you for the first time on the boat.

 

[robint]

Glad to hear you enjoyed the dives..... and I told you that Cozumel reefs and fishlife are better than GC. Glad you got to do both.

I agree about being sure to document the weights you use at each place, which wetsuit, etc. You will drop weights off as you get more experienced, as others have said.