Personal calculation. In my opinion a couple of dives in a tropical location are almost always worth the hassle.
Is it worth going to Ambergris for the day from a cruise ship?
- Thread starter UKmarcus
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large_diver
Contributor
Not being a fan of cruise ships.....getting off and doing something in each port would be a high priority for me.
The good news about Ambergris is that there are dive operations that are very close to the airport...Hugh Parkeys is literally across the street at the Sunbreeze Hotel. The flight is something like 17 minutes from Belize City. If there are operations that will pick you up at the airport - even better.
Given the time you have, will this be the most amazing diving you've ever done? Probably not. But there are some nice sites within a 10 minute boat ride of Ambergris. For me, this would be more fun than long, hot van rides into the jungle for cave tubing.....and you want to talk about a cattle experience, cruise ship cave tubing IS IT
. We went cave tubing during our non-cruise-ship trip to Belize in December. We were in a small group, but saw from a distance the cruise hordes. Think of 60+ screaming cave tubers all bunched together........moooo. Hard to escape from the hordes of people on a cruise ship....diving might be the perfect antidote for that.
My $0.02
Chris
The good news about Ambergris is that there are dive operations that are very close to the airport...Hugh Parkeys is literally across the street at the Sunbreeze Hotel. The flight is something like 17 minutes from Belize City. If there are operations that will pick you up at the airport - even better.
Given the time you have, will this be the most amazing diving you've ever done? Probably not. But there are some nice sites within a 10 minute boat ride of Ambergris. For me, this would be more fun than long, hot van rides into the jungle for cave tubing.....and you want to talk about a cattle experience, cruise ship cave tubing IS IT
. We went cave tubing during our non-cruise-ship trip to Belize in December. We were in a small group, but saw from a distance the cruise hordes. Think of 60+ screaming cave tubers all bunched together........moooo. Hard to escape from the hordes of people on a cruise ship....diving might be the perfect antidote for that.My $0.02
Chris
The only thing I wonder about is the cost of using a cruise line selected shop... are the rates for two dives the same as if you arranged it yourself? I don't mind if a two dive trip is $100 from the ship versus $75, but if its nearly double, I'd just as soon make a couple phone calls and get to the dive shop myself (principle kind of thing)...
Anyway, thoughts on that?
This may not be an issue but I am raising the point just in case. I remember flying in a small plane for a short flight when we went to Ambergris Cay from Belize City. I don't recall details about altitude so my question is "does the wait to fly rule" impact air transport to/from Ambergris Cay? If it does then Ambergris probably isn't an option for a cruise ship stop.
I dont remember them being anything out of line price wise. 75 to 100 bucks were the standard for all of Carnival's dive excursions, all two tank boat dives.
You can go to their website, click on a port and look through available excursions for that port including prices and reviews
OP
UKmarcus
Registered
Kathy, I'm assured it's not an issue, it flies very low - and only for about 15 minutes. But I'm appreciative of the feedback and it sure does sound like a needless hassle and a risk, given the time available. I think I'm going to pass and either do something I can't do elsewhere or maybe try the cruise ship offer and compare it with the others that I've arranged myself, like the one in Cozumel and Grand Cayman. It does sound like the cruise ship one, although convenient is a.) more expensive and b.) more crowded.
I think if cost is a concern flying to San Pedro to dive would be ruled out when transportation is considered. BZE to San Pedro on Tropic Air is around $140RT, probably cheaper from the municipal airport. Then add taxi fair to the airport. Local 2 tank dives in San Pedro are $75 or $87 after tax then add another $20-$25 if you need to rent gear. This would be a pretty expensive two tank dive. I think in Belize the cruise ship dive excursion would be the way to go.
I am not a cruise ship fan but sometimes the prices are too good to pass up. In Feb. I took an 11 day cruise and was able to dive in Grand Cayman, Aruba, Grenada, and Dominica. Also had stops in Bonaire and St. Martin but didn't dive there. The cost of the cruise was less than flying to any of these places.
I am not a cruise ship fan but sometimes the prices are too good to pass up. In Feb. I took an 11 day cruise and was able to dive in Grand Cayman, Aruba, Grenada, and Dominica. Also had stops in Bonaire and St. Martin but didn't dive there. The cost of the cruise was less than flying to any of these places.
diver 85
Contributor
Stinky lil quiet fishing village last time(s) we were there in the mid thru latter 80's------but------I'm sure most of that has changed.....
Downing
Contributor
...and you want to talk about a cattle experience, cruise ship cave tubing IS IT
Boy, I had forgotten about that. The first time my wife and I went cave tubing, we were in BZ City for a few days doing tours from there. The first day, our tour guide suggested we go elsewhere in the morning and do the cave tubing in the afternoon because a cruise ship was in town. So we went after lunch and were on the road in as the buses were leaving. I've never seen so many buses in my life! By the time we arrived the last of the buses was pulling out, so we had the place pretty much to ourselves. Would have been a totally different experience had we gone there in the morning.
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