snturner
Contributor
We went on the Navigator of the Seas from Nov. 21st to the 26th. The cruise it's self had numerous problems but I will discuss the dive I did in Ocho Rios.
There were only 6 divers so that was nice. One open water, 3 dive masters, 1 master diver, and one rescue diver. Pretty nice group. We walked a short distance down the pier to the dive boat. We had to cross over one boat to get to the dive boat. Not easy with all your gear but several people were there to help us across. The dive boat was good size. We had plenty of room to get our equipment on. The dive master who would lead the dive was full of energy and wanted to get things going in a hurry. The first dive site was close. A short briefing, and C-card gathering and we were instructed to get our gear on. We hadn't even left the dock yet. It didn't take 15 mins to get to the first site.
Keep in mind I was ready for disappointment on these dives, because of the reviews I had read. Seas were rough so each diver was assisted to the rear of the boat. If the boat would have been crowded this would have been a nightmare. Giant stride in and too the bottom. First thing I noted was no sign of any fish of any size. Small fish were ever where. Coral mostly a brown color, but there was color. A few fans, brain coral, sponges and the usually for this area of the Caribbean. I believe I went the deepest at 90 feet. Most everyone stayed about 75 to 80. Visibility was I would guess about 70 feet, maybe more. I am not a good judge of visibility. At about 80 ft I saw my first lion fish in the wild. He was only about 10 inches long but very pretty. He/She was under a ledge so I shined my light on him. When I did this the fish fanned out and started changing colors. Just different shades of red and white. Very nice. I believe the dive lasted about 40 mins. I still had 1700 psi so I was a little disappointed. Apparently someone was down to 500 psi so we started our safety stop at 15 ft. During the safety stop I saw two large fish below me. Looked like Amber Jacks. Not real sure about that. Others reported seeing a green moray eel on this dive.
A 10 min ride to the next dive site. We had a total of 25 mins of surface time according to my computer. It started in 10 ft of water and went to 35 ft. The dive master had told us he would show us a tunnel that was a tight fit but he would lead us through it, if we wanted to go. He instructed the open water diver to go over the coral and meet us on the other side because he did not feel his experience was adequate for such a dive. This was a pretty neat dive. Lots of little fish again. The coral formations had lots of deep valleys. Lots of ledges. On this dive I found sea urchins and another small lion fish. The dive master had mentioned early that the lion fish are taking over the reef and we should see lots of them. He said they usually kill them because they are eating everything. I believe the locals are eating everything also. I think I was the only person to see the lion fish.
When we got to the tunnel. I sat back and watched each diver disappear into the coral. Not everyone went in and I would find out why quickly. I swam over to the ledge in the coral. It was a black hole. Luckily I have a small light on my BC. I turned it on and went in. Tank banging and cramped I soon seen daylight. A short swim down and then up again. Not very far, but a very tight fit for me. This is something that will get your heart going if you have never done anything like this. The dive lasted about 40 mins. I again could have used more time. I still had 1550 psi. :depressed:
Overall I would say these dives were good. I have been to a lot of places in the Caribbean and this is clearly not in the top ten, but I did enjoy going in and out of the valleys. Looking under the ledges and the small fish are colorful and plentiful. If you go on this cruise I would say do these dive but I would not travel to Ocho Rios just to dive.
I am not sure about the dive boat but I can say at least one thing good and bad about them. The dive master was full of energy and nice, very helpful also. On the second dive everyone was told to jump in, go under and meet at the anchor line. Once I swam over to the anchor, right behind the dive master, I noticed the anchor had been dropped on the reef. Not good in my opinion.
Side note: I did see 2 fish cages. One had collapsed and the other had about 50 small fish in it. It did cross my mind to break a nice big hole in the cage. I did not see a line attached to it so it appeared to be lost. I didn't bother it because I didn't know what the reaction would be of the dive master leading us. If I was on my own, I must admit, that cage would have been dismantled.
There were only 6 divers so that was nice. One open water, 3 dive masters, 1 master diver, and one rescue diver. Pretty nice group. We walked a short distance down the pier to the dive boat. We had to cross over one boat to get to the dive boat. Not easy with all your gear but several people were there to help us across. The dive boat was good size. We had plenty of room to get our equipment on. The dive master who would lead the dive was full of energy and wanted to get things going in a hurry. The first dive site was close. A short briefing, and C-card gathering and we were instructed to get our gear on. We hadn't even left the dock yet. It didn't take 15 mins to get to the first site.
Keep in mind I was ready for disappointment on these dives, because of the reviews I had read. Seas were rough so each diver was assisted to the rear of the boat. If the boat would have been crowded this would have been a nightmare. Giant stride in and too the bottom. First thing I noted was no sign of any fish of any size. Small fish were ever where. Coral mostly a brown color, but there was color. A few fans, brain coral, sponges and the usually for this area of the Caribbean. I believe I went the deepest at 90 feet. Most everyone stayed about 75 to 80. Visibility was I would guess about 70 feet, maybe more. I am not a good judge of visibility. At about 80 ft I saw my first lion fish in the wild. He was only about 10 inches long but very pretty. He/She was under a ledge so I shined my light on him. When I did this the fish fanned out and started changing colors. Just different shades of red and white. Very nice. I believe the dive lasted about 40 mins. I still had 1700 psi so I was a little disappointed. Apparently someone was down to 500 psi so we started our safety stop at 15 ft. During the safety stop I saw two large fish below me. Looked like Amber Jacks. Not real sure about that. Others reported seeing a green moray eel on this dive.
A 10 min ride to the next dive site. We had a total of 25 mins of surface time according to my computer. It started in 10 ft of water and went to 35 ft. The dive master had told us he would show us a tunnel that was a tight fit but he would lead us through it, if we wanted to go. He instructed the open water diver to go over the coral and meet us on the other side because he did not feel his experience was adequate for such a dive. This was a pretty neat dive. Lots of little fish again. The coral formations had lots of deep valleys. Lots of ledges. On this dive I found sea urchins and another small lion fish. The dive master had mentioned early that the lion fish are taking over the reef and we should see lots of them. He said they usually kill them because they are eating everything. I believe the locals are eating everything also. I think I was the only person to see the lion fish.
When we got to the tunnel. I sat back and watched each diver disappear into the coral. Not everyone went in and I would find out why quickly. I swam over to the ledge in the coral. It was a black hole. Luckily I have a small light on my BC. I turned it on and went in. Tank banging and cramped I soon seen daylight. A short swim down and then up again. Not very far, but a very tight fit for me. This is something that will get your heart going if you have never done anything like this. The dive lasted about 40 mins. I again could have used more time. I still had 1550 psi. :depressed:
Overall I would say these dives were good. I have been to a lot of places in the Caribbean and this is clearly not in the top ten, but I did enjoy going in and out of the valleys. Looking under the ledges and the small fish are colorful and plentiful. If you go on this cruise I would say do these dive but I would not travel to Ocho Rios just to dive.
I am not sure about the dive boat but I can say at least one thing good and bad about them. The dive master was full of energy and nice, very helpful also. On the second dive everyone was told to jump in, go under and meet at the anchor line. Once I swam over to the anchor, right behind the dive master, I noticed the anchor had been dropped on the reef. Not good in my opinion.
Side note: I did see 2 fish cages. One had collapsed and the other had about 50 small fish in it. It did cross my mind to break a nice big hole in the cage. I did not see a line attached to it so it appeared to be lost. I didn't bother it because I didn't know what the reaction would be of the dive master leading us. If I was on my own, I must admit, that cage would have been dismantled.
