Recommendations for Dive Excursion on a Cruise

[jemar]

I am a beginner diver with just 12 dives at a local quarry here in Northern Virginia. I am going on a Royal Caribbean cruise the first week of October. Three of the ports offer dive excursions; Montego Bay (Jamiaca), George Town (Grand Cayman), and Cosumal (Mexico). I will probably only have the opportunity to dive at on of the ports. I am really looking forward to diving at a location where I don't need a 7mm suit, hood and gloves and have more than 5-10 feet of visibility. Based on my low experience level which port would be the best choice to do a diving excursion at. Thanks, v/r, John

 

[BurBunny]

John, for ease of diving, I'd recommend Grand Cayman. Cozumel is logistically easier (especially to arrange on your own away from the cruise ship if you wish), but sometimes new divers are apprehensive about the drift diving.

Be sure you let your dive master know you're new. First dives tend to be to 80'. If you're not comfortable with that, don't be pressured into doing it and ask to stay at 60'.

I wouldn't recommend the diving in Montego Bay. Even though you're new, and would see neat things, both Cozumel and Grand Cayman are so far superior that it's just not worth it, especially if only diving one stop. (Consider doing both Cozumel and Grand Cayman - they're terrific).

 

[ItsBruce]

Ditto. An additional note: Book your dive through the ship. Even though it may be a bit more expensive, there is a lot less that can go wrong. There is lots of info about diving while cruising on SB. Check it out.

 

[Skinsfan1311]

Ditto. An additional note: Book your dive through the ship. Even though it may be a bit more expensive, there is a lot less that can go wrong. There is lots of info about diving while cruising on SB. Check it out.

Ordinarily, I'd agree with ItsBruce statement. But, I disagree here, at least concerning Cayman and probably Cozumel. Most peoples concerns, on cruise ships, are the "cattle-dive" ops that the cruise-lines contract with and getting back to the ship before it leaves port. This is not a problem in Grand Cayman. There is a wonderful shore dive, about 200 or so yards from the tender pier. Eden Rock dive center. I used 'em last summer, on a cruise. They offer guided dives, with a DM and they're fun dives. You can book it for the a.m. and have plenty of time to bum around Georgetown the rest of the day. Here's the link for more info
http://www.edenrockdive.com/ You'll save a lot of money, and won't have all day tied up diving.

For Coz, I said "probably" because I don't know how long that the ships dock there. Last summer, we were there until 10:00 at night. If that's the case, you'll have plenty of time to book a dive yourself. We used Eagle Ray Divers, and did a 2-tank in the morning, went back to the ship, took showers, and hit the town. We had a great time and saved some money money over the ships tours. I believe that you get a lot more personal attention, than on a ships tour. Just tell the owner that you're a new diver, and they'll take good care of you. Here's the link
http://www.eagleraydivers.com/Gear.htm I believe that they have a section on Cruise Ship diving on their site.

Please feel free to PM me with any questions concerning those locations. I don't know anything about diving Montego Bay....I did dive in Negril, a couple of years ago, and it sucked. Hope this helps!

 

[ItsBruce]

One thing I like about booking trough the ship is that the dive won't leave without you. If the ship arrives late or disembarking is a problem, you may have a problem with a private dive. (On the other hand, if you book privately, at least make sure you explain you are coming by ship and that there may be time issues.)

 

[atallfunguy]

I just dove in Cos from a cruise ship.

I booked it with the ship and we did a 2 tank dive.

We walked off the boat and they were right there. We were on the boat and geared up within 1 hour.

The experiance was great.

85 feet first dive
60 feet second dive (drift dive)

AMAZING

 

[diversteve]

I agree with ItsBruce, at least about Cayman. With 12 dives, a cruise-ship booked "cattleboat" dive is exactly the type of dive the OP should go on. The DM's know that a high percentage of their divers are newbies or resort course divers so they pick shallower locations for the dive(s) And as someone mentioned, the boat doesn't leave without you if you book through them.

Eden Rock, while convenient, was probably the worst dive we did there all week - nice people though. It's rundown and tired from the thousands of cruisers who dive there daily. Any westside dive on a "cattleboat" would be better.

If you want to shoredive instead, try setting something up with Sunset House, it's about 1/2 mile away and considerably better diving. Followed by lunch at MyBar there, it's the divers hangout. Catch a cab there though, it's too far to walk with gear.

Red Sail is the dive operator for RCL cruises - http://www.redsailcayman.com/gc_cruise.html

Aquarium is a great shallow dive - 45' or less if you get asked. Also you could probably also do Stingray City in the afternoon and easily get back for your departure. It's called the most fun you can have diving in 15' of water.

If you do book with someone else, know that on Cayman, all the passengers are tendered off the ship, there's no cruise dock there, so factor that into your planning. But anyone who'll pick you up knows that, they do it daily.

With twelve dives, I'd stay away from drift diving in Coz. Since it's technically more challenging, especially the drops/pickups and some (not all!!) of the DM's are known for their inattentiveness. It's a dive for someone with more self-reliance in their diving.

my .02

 

[deepstops]

Yep, book your dives through RCCL. The extra $10 dollars the cruise line charges includes the transportation to Red Sail in Cayman. In Coz, the dive boats pick you up on the pier. (at least that's how it worked pre-Wilma). Don't bother with diving in Jamaica (as others have stated).

That being said, if for any reason Royal cancels the dive trip (it's happened to me once and it was in Cayman), when you get off the (early) tender, turn right and walk about 10 minutes until you come upon Don Foster's.

And don't forget, Miami has some good diving too.

BTW, be careful, cruising with Royal can be addicting. I'm Platinum with the Crown and Society now.....

 

[diversteve]

In Coz, the dive boats pick you up on the pier. (at least that's how it worked pre-Wilma)

Unless they've rebuilt it recently, I don't think the pier is there anymore - the new one was trashed during Wilma.

 

[BurBunny]

The Royal Caribbean pier in Cozumel is partially rebuilt. Can't take the Freedom yet, but can handle most of their ships.