Western Carribean ports for new divers

[mdod]

Hi,
I'm new to the forum. My husband was talking about getting scuba certified so I told him we'd get certified for our Christmas present. I was looking for info on certification dives and, by coincidence, the link I clicked was a page for the American Pro Diving Center in Crystal River, FL. That caught my eye because a friend mentioned diving there recently and my in-laws live a little over an hour from there.

They have a two day PADI OW course with the classwork done at home in advance. The local scuba classes are not at convenient times or locations so I was thinking we could get certified there, visit the in-laws and then take a Western Carribean cruise out of Tampa (to Roatan, Belize City, Costa Maya and Cozumel) the second week of Feb to get some dives under our belt.

If we did that, any thoughts as to which of those ports (and dive operators) would be the best for novice divers? Will we have a hard time getting trip booked with good dive operations this late?

Also, I read another post that mentioned that Jan is rough for diving. Is the second week of Feb a bad time to dive? I picked that week because it's before the spring breakers start. We went on this same cruise about the same time two years ago and we did hit rough conditions at Costa Maya.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[diversteve]

A lot of Cozumel is deeper drift diving. Not all of it but make sure you're clear about your skill level if you book with someone there.
The last thing you want is to be on a boat with more advanced divers who want to go deep. It puts the DM in an awkward spot if you have to go up sooner - he can't really let you because of overhead boat traffic and he can't bring the whole group up early. Many operators group by skill level and assign DM's accordingly for that reason.

I can't speak to Belize except that they'll tender you in from the ship. One of the operators (Hugh Parkey's) does/did pick up at the ship.

On Roatan the cruise dive operator is Anthony's Key Resort. They'll pick you up at the cruise port. I believe it's booked thru the ship. You'll have your own boat with your fellow cruise pax. Dive Excursions - Anthony's Key Resort - Roatan - Honduras

Other Roatan options are Barefoot Divers or Subway Watersports. I've no experience with Subway but often recommend Barefoot. They're a smaller operation on the south side - about the closest to the cruise ports (either one) and do small group valet diving. They also do a nice lunch.

Dive Tours Roatán - Ship Shore Excursions - Barefoot Divers
Isla Roatan cruise ship shore excursions / tours Western Caribbean

Some of the West Bay/West End dive shops also work with cruise schedules. They typically run 3 single tank dives so you can pick the 2 that work best with your schedule. West Bay Divers, Coconut Tree Divers, West End Divers are all options. If there was a chance of rougher water in Roatan in the winter it would be on the north side if a "Norther" blows in. You probably have to take a cab there.

IDK Costa Maya at all.

 

[mdod]

Thanks for the quick response. Yes, I was wondering about Cozumel. I read that you needed to be careful because it was a drift dive but several people recommended it for beginners. I guess the key is to find a good operator that will group by skill as you say. I hate to ruin the trip for others in the group.

 

[Altamira]

Took my 12 year old, newly certified, grandson to Cozumel, Belize, and Roatan. None of them was a problem for him, but the current at Cozumel was not ripping either, but since it was a drift dive, I do not think it would have been problematic for him even with stronger currents. If you book the dives with the cruise ship or independent operator, just make sure they know your new diver status so they can group you appropriately. Also, at Belize, I recommend you use the ship's dive op, Hugh Parkey, because they have a good operation and will pick you up and return you to the ship, saving you tendering to and from shore. I have also had very good dives with AKR (ship dive op), Barefoot Divers, and Coconut Tree Divers in Roatan.

 

[mdod]

Thanks for the suggestions Altamira. We're still trying to figure out the logistics and I'm trying to make sure I can even do it. I've got some back problems and had a microdiscectomy 18 mos ago so I have to make sure that isn't a problem before we book anything.