New diver going on Eastern Caribbean Cruise in October

[scottb27]

I am going on the Allure of the Seas through the Eastern Caribbean in October and was wondering how you find a dive trip to go on. I am a new diver that was just OW certified so I am not looking for anything to extreme, but would like to dive a couple times durring the cruise.

We are going to Nassau, St Thomas, and St Maarten durring the trip. What is the best way to get a nice dive or two in.

Thanks!

 

[sparky923]

I dove on three of the four stops on our last cruise and also am new to diving. All of those 3 that we dove, had a long port time and the ship was docked (no tenders to wait on to get to port), so they were really easy to ensure that we would have ample time. It looks like your ship will have a long time in port on a couple of days, so those stops should be pretty easy to set up a dive with a LDS.

How I picked the LDS to use? I did a lot of searching on the internet and reading up on them. Then I emailed them several times to ensure that they would be able to ensure that I would be able to dive with them and make it back to the ship in time. The shop in Roatan even had a cab waiting at the dock for us.

If you don't want to risk getting back late to the ship, you can always use the cruise ships dive excursions, but I was scared they would be cattle boats and certainly didn't want that.

In Costa Maya, my young kids and I swam with dolphins first and then my older son and I went on a 2 tank dive. We were ensured that we had ample time by the dive shop, and it worked out that we did. BUT, I told the DM before I first dive, that if we were running late, that I would pull the plug on the second dive if time was an issue. He told me not to worry that dive boat captain was also the pilot that the cruise ship used to navigate out of the port, so they weren't going anywhere without us. :cool2:

I saved 30-50 bucks on my son and my dives EACH by using LDS's instead of the the cruise lines, and I think we had a much better experience than we would have. Just realize that the only way to ENSURE you won't get left is to use the cruise excursions. The boat will wait for thier excursions, but they won't wait for anything not booked through them.

Also, when trying to book the dophin swim and dive excursions in Costa Maya, the dolphin swim had to be booked through the ship. When I booked them early, the guy with the cruise line told me that I couldn't do both dolphin swim and dive. They couldn't work around both excursions. By booking the dive through an LDS, we did both and it went great.

Good luck, and I know you will have a blast. It is truly incredible for beginners to be able to dive in those spots. I kept telling myself to remember to BREATH!

As far as extreme, just let the dive shop know what level/comfort you are, and they should work well with you. I know ours did.

 

[scottb27]

Thanks for the info.

After talking with my LDS they gave me a good shop to go with at Nassau, but do you know of a good shop in St Thomas or St Maarten?

 

[sparky923]

No, I've never been to the Virgin Islands, but I'm sure there are lots that cater to cruise ship excursions though. My cruise in July was our first dive trip, so I'm really new to all of this.

Glad to here you found a shop in Nassau. I'm sure ya'll will have the time of your lives.

 

[diversteve]

I don't know what your LDS told you but a good option in Nassau might be Stuart Cove's. The good thing is that they'll group you by experience level. They're about 45mins. south of the cruise port so have a free shuttle. Many of their dives are good and fairly shallow - on a lot of them the likelihood of seeing sharks is high. One of their dives is where they filmed one of the 007 movies. For several of the cruise lines you book it thru your ship and they guarantee 2 dives upon arrival with a return b4 you sail. Details: Stuart Cove's Aqua Adventures - Cruise Ships

Bahama Divers is a lot closer (about a mile away) but you'd need to be there earlier. Their schedule doesn't work for a lot of cruise divers since it's tight once you get off the ship and clear customs. The boat(s) depart at 8:30 for the 2 tank morning dive. Bahama Divers Home Page

In St. Thomas, try either Admiralty Dive: St. Thomas Wreck Diving USVI Tours Vacations Scuba & Snorkel Equipment Rentals or Blue Island Divers: http://www.blueislanddivers.com/ - both pick you up at the cruise port. Blue Island will pick you up off the WICO dock with their boat, if you dock at Crown Point instead you can walk there.

 

[scottb27]

Thanks. Stuart's Cove is the place my LDS recommended, so its nice to hear another recommendation. I shot them an email last night to see about setting up a dive with them. My issue in Nassau is that we are only there from 7am-3pm so I just dont know whats going to work there.

Thanks for the shops on St Thomas

 

[sparky923]

Stuart Cove's Cruise Ships Shark Cage Diving Bahamas Stuart Cove's Aqua Adventures - Cruise Ships

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.

That from Stuart cove website. Looks a good chance they are providing your Cruise provided excursions. If that's the case, they will ensure your choices coincide with your time in port.

 

[scottb27]

After emailing back and forth all morning I booked a 2 tank dive with Stewart Cove's on Nassau. Im working on the other two islands, but getting ahold of the shops on St Thomas and St Maarten seem to be a bit more of a chore.

 

[mbwilliamn]

Make sure you take an underwater camera, preferably with video, on your Stuart Cove's dive. Trust me, you'll want it. Went out with them and had a good time. Just watch yourself in and out of the boats. They may want you to doff your gear before getting back on. If so, just remember to take inflate your BC completely and take your belt off first if you use one!

I've dove in St Thomas before, but can't remember the name of the shop. It was one major cove left of the Cruise port, so it was a little bit of a drive getting there, but was well worth it...4 divers on the trip with an in water DM.

Have fun!

 

[scottb27]

I dont have an underwater camera yet, can you rent them at most dive shops?