Cruise ship stops in Nassau and Freeport

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doghouse

Contributor
Messages
226
Reaction score
1
Location
Huntingtown, MD
# of dives
25 - 49
I have a cruise that is stopping in both ports. On day is from 7am-1:30pm the other is 11:am to 8 pm.
I started looking for dives, and from what I can see:
1. Morning dives run from 9:00 to 1:00 a little tight to get back on the ship.
2. There are no listed afternoon dives or only a 1 tank afternoon dive. so that knocks the other day out.

Please don't tell me I have to spend this entire week stuck on a ship and not get any bubble time out of it!

Someone please tell me there is an alternative!
 
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sad news.....have a good time anyway.
 
In Nassau (at least last August) Stuart Cove's picked up from the cruise ship area around noon, for afternoon 2 tank dives, and returned to the ships by 5:30.
They seemed to go out of their way to accommodate the ships schedule.
I also recall some "cruise ship people" on the morning dives, but that was 2 years ago.
It couldn't hurt to give them a call.
 
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Just dove with Stuarts cove in December - booked through the ship. It was a good two tank dive and we had about 10 divers from the ship. The transit time from the dock to Stuarts Cove was about 45 minutes by shuttle. Considering your port times, I would try and book through the ship. I normally book my own but my time line was too tight. I would have spent the whole dive time worring about getting back to the ship. If the excursion is running late, you are not going to get left while on a ship excursion. You dont mention which line you are sailing with but we were with RCC.
 
Cove's has a contractual obligation with some cruise lines but I think your short time in port falls outside their parameters:
The exception to the above timetable is if you are traveling on Holland America, a Disney Cruise Lines, or a Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines ship. Stuart Cove's Aqua Adventures is contractually bound with HAL to provide diving, snorkeling and SUB experiences; with Disney for 2-tank dives: and with Royal Caribbean for 2-tank dives and SUB experiences to some of their ships when they visit Nassau. If your ship is one that we are contracted to provide services for, the cruise line has arranged for special charter times to make the excursion work. In this situation, you will have to book your excursion directly with the cruise line or once on board the ship. This will ensure the proper pick-ups and services are provided to you.

Check with Bahama Divers also. With that early of an arrival, as long as their boat is back b4 1:00 or so you should be able to get back to your ship - it's a 5 min. ride.
Arrival Policy - Cruise Ship Guests

Port restrictions make it difficult to plan pick-ups. We do offer complimentary return transportation to the Port for our guests. If you have made a reservation and are arriving by cruise ship please take a cab or local bus to the Dive Shop by the check-in times. All standard AM Excursions check-in at 8:30am. All standard PM Excursions check-in at 1:30pm. We are about a 5 minute taxi ride from the Cruise Ship Port making it very simple to get to us if you are on a tight schedule. If you need any help with planning feel free to contact us and we can advise. All questions or queries related to this booking/excursion should be directed to Bahama Divers at (242) 393-5644, (242) 393-1466, (954) 602-7731, or bahamadiversres@gmail.com.

Last option might be Explore Scuba on Paradise Island - a few minutes farther away than Bahama Divers. IDK much about them. Explore Scuba - Custom Dive Charters in The Bahamas
 
If your 7am is in Freeport and the 11 am is in Nassau, you can dive both ports. We just did this off the Carnival Pride. Booked Stuart Coves in Nassau independently for the afternoon dives, and booked with UNEXCO in Freeport (thru the ship) for morning dives. Both days had less than 8 divers on the boat and one day only 3 from the ship, the other day there were 5 from the ship.
 
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