Any divers been to Coco Cay?

[Ga Diver]

I'm going on a short cruise in February with some family on Royal Caribbean. We are spending a day at their privite island, coco cay. They offer a 1.5 hour dive for about $55 or snorkel rental all day for a few bucks. Has anyone ever bee here and if so, what is the diving like?

 

[m7scuba]

I was there in May of 2003. I had not yet gotten the bug for SCUBA, but I did snorkel. I have not been snorkeling elsewhere, so I don't have anything to really compare it to. They have a plane in some pretty shallow water that you can get to pretty easily (don't recall exactly what it was). I had fun but got burnt like a lobster.

 

[get_tanked]

I'm going on a short cruise in February with some family on Royal Caribbean. We are spending a day at their privite island, coco cay. They offer a 1.5 hour dive for about $55 or snorkel rental all day for a few bucks. Has anyone ever bee here and if so, what is the diving like?

I'm going to Coco Cay in May of this year. I found some information on http://www.cruisecritic.com - look in the message boards, and look for the scuba diving forum. Someone in there had posted some pictures and reviews . It looked like a nice enough dive site to me.

 

[Foo]

I, too, would welcome any more testimonials here at SB about diving at CocoCay. We'll be there in a couple of weeks.

Foo

 

[mike_s]

We just booked a cruise that will go there in June... so instead of starting a new thread asking the same question, I'd like to ask the same here also...

(yeah, I know it's bumping it, but better than a new thread).

Will most likely take my and the wifes snorkle gear but since I think it's a shore dive, will pay the extra $10 bucks and just use their dive equipment if I dive. I just don't figure it's worth hauling it to/from the cruiseboat, etc.

Any information would be appreciated.

-mike

 

[Foo]

We just booked a cruise that will go there in June... so instead of starting a new thread asking the same question, I'd like to ask the same here also...

(yeah, I know it's bumping it, but better than a new thread).

Will most likely take my and the wifes snorkle gear but since I think it's a shore dive, will pay the extra $10 bucks and just use their dive equipment if I dive. I just don't figure it's worth hauling it to/from the cruiseboat, etc.

Any information would be appreciated.

-mike

Well, I wish that I could help you with answers here, Mike. We got home from our cruise last week, but we didn't get to go to CocoCay. We ended up just spending a rather windy and cool day at sea, as the waves were just too much to be able to tender safely to the island. The captain determined that it wasn't worth the risk. We had a nice day, though. Hung out by the pool as long as we could, until we got too close to that Florida norther. Played bingo, didn't win the $3160 championship pot. We consoled ourselves by consuming many CocoLoco's in memory of what might have been...

Be sure and dive at every port that you can- you may not make it to the next due to unforeseen circumstances (has happened to us twice this year.) You should have much better weather in June, however. We did have some great dives in Nassau. Which ports will you be going to?

Also, regarding the gear- if you are only diving at Cococay, you might consider just taking your reg and mask. I'm kinda particular about using my own gear, so for me, it would be worth carrying it. If you're diving at more than one port, it would definately be worth it. But, I'm a creature of habit, and I really like knowing how my BC, reg, etc., works, and that it DOES work.

One thing about a cruiseship stateroom- they have lots of hooks, rods, etc. for hanging your gear. They're built for efficiency, so that's helpful to a diver when it comes to rinsing and stashing gear between dives. We've never had a problem with our room steward, we try to be considerate about where we hang things when we know they will be in our room, cleaning, etc. We have never spent the extra $$ for a balcony room, but hear that it's the way to go. I guess we're too cheap.

Or too poor!

Foo

 

[mike_s]

I might carry my regulator also like you suggested.

We are on a cruise that visits Nassau, CoCo Cay and Key West. I've been to the Bahamas before the but wife hasn't and she doesn't dive. We will most likely do the tourist tour stuff while in Nassau and most likely visit the Atlantis resort just because we've both always wanted to see it. CoCo Cay we are just planning on relaxing on the beach and since it's easy, I'll most likely do a shore dive there. Will take the snorkeling gear for that also for me and the wife. In Key West, we've both been there, so will either hit the beach or I'm thinking about one of the mangrove kayak tours. Something different. MIght dive, but I doubt it. After we get off the cruise we are meeting others in Key Largo for 4 days of diving. They'll have my gear and I'll be able to get in "my" diving there.

I hope we don't have the wave/wind problems with the tender and not letting us on shore. You are the 2nd person I've heard that about, but both were in winter months.

The ship we are on doesn't have the balcony rooms but the suites are about twice as much as the "oceanview" rooms So I think we'll survive in one of those. The extra $$$ for the other rooms I just don't see worth the expense. We haven't spent that much time in the room on past cruises anyway.

thanks -mike

 

[Foo]

Whoa, you're taking a great vacation! We're going to the Keys in June, will be our first time to dive there. I'm hoping that you'll have fabulous weather, and a great time on CocoCay,all the other ports, and of course- on the ship. Sounds like you've got nice plans to spend time with your wife, and that you're being very considerate of her. Keep it up, you evidently have a good relationship!

The whole vacation sounds perfect, you should have a blast. Let us know how it all goes, please.

Foo

 

[miketsp]

See
http://www.cuba.tc/ScubaCubaSites.html

 

[scubadad]

I was at Coca Cay last March. I did not scuba on this trip as my dive buddy (my son) was not with me. Wife and I snorkled. We snorkled at the same place they did scuba. In fact, we were over them pretty much the whole time. They brought the divers back on a jet ski.

It was an easy set up so a simple dive, not very deep, reef looked okay, small tropicals, etc. They have a scuba shop right there for the gear. You tender to the island.

Over all, it did not look bad. Probably not the most exciting dive, but should be worth the money as it is easy, doesn't eat up your whole day. Since it is shallow I would probably just use their gear, even though I always take my own gear. This time it just looked pretty safe to use rental gear and a whole lot easier because you won't have to worry about it all day long as you do other things.