Cruise ship excursion dives for newbies question

[parzdiver]

Not important, but PADI AOW has always been to 100'. Did they change that to 90'?

You are correct, the PADI AOW guideline is 100 feet (30m).

[cruisensnooze]

Hi John
We do a lot of cruise ship diving and I wouldn't worry about the depth. I think nearly all dives we have been on have not been deeper than 60 feet. There are usually 2 DM on board and they will spilit the group and keep the novices shallower. Maybe we have been lucky as we are on british cruise ships and not many people dive so we are lucky if we have 6 on the dive - oh bliss. Go to the cruise forum and you may find others on the same cruise as you.
Good luck, Chris - only 52 days to our cruise and not counting!!!

[cocoajoe]

That's been my experience too.

But I wonder why you (21bjohn) don't feel qualified past 40'? Maybe not 'comfortable' would be a better term but still, at 40' you may be missing a lot of stuff.

[k ellis]

Hi John
We do a lot of cruise ship diving and I wouldn't worry about the depth. I think nearly all dives we have been on have not been deeper than 60 feet. There are usually 2 DM on board and they will spilit the group and keep the novices shallower. Maybe we have been lucky as we are on british cruise ships and not many people dive so we are lucky if we have 6 on the dive - oh bliss. Go to the cruise forum and you may find others on the same cruise as you.
Good luck, Chris - only 52 days to our cruise and not counting!!!

Have a great time on your cruise. Mine is in 5 days!

[rivers]

I work on a cruise ship, so I dive off of a cruise ship more often than most people. My advice to you is to book yourself in with an outside dive op (not affiliated with the ship shore excursion). My reason for this is you will get more personalized service and it would be easier for you to get your needs and wants met. Just today, I did a 2 tank dive in Grand Cayman. A gentleman and his son (about 12,13 years old), both from one of the ships, had just gotten certified and were making their very first post-cert dives. Since they booked with an op outside of the ship, they were able to get on a boat with other beginner and JOW divers, and did dives that were more in their comfort range. The rest of diving happily did a dive to 100ft for our first of the day. With an outside op, you are able to get that more personalized service, as well as diving in a smaller group of people (which is way more comfortable than a large group). The prices are generally the same with an outside op, and sometimes even cheaper. So it's something I would consider. Also, another thing to consider, in Grand Cayman at least, is a shore dive. There are many shore dive sites on the island, within walking distance of the tender piers. You can book in to have a guided shore dive, which would be shallow as well (30-40ft). Just some things to think about. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Just remember, don't dive outside your comfort range. If you don't feel comfortable diving deeper than 60 ft, then don't.