Cruises and scuba question

[The_Ghost]

I haven't fully looked into taking a cruise so I don't know what they really entail. So I'm just going to throw this question out there to see what you guys say.


Do you guys pay for scuba through the cruise boat your riding or do you plan something with a local dive shop where the boat ports for a day or two?

 

[Bappelt]

I've used both the cruise ship and independantly set up scuba dives. It depends alot on the port. For instance, in Belize most agree that going with the cruise line is best.

It's a trade off of service vs convenience. At one port, I used the cruise line and it was to my favor since they had some propulsion issues and we arrived late to port and only had 4hrs in port vs 7hr. Fortunately, I had booked thru the cruise line and only got charged for one dive instead of having to cancel all together.

Depending on your time in port, most prefer to book independantly but you have to make that call.

 

[Video rookie]

I typically book through the cruise line. My main reason is that if your dive boat has trouble and gets back late the ship will wait for your group, or arrange for you to meet back up with the ship. If you are on your own, and miss the ship, it is up to you to get to the next port, or find a way home.

 

[timetraveler]

I don't much care for cruise ship dive excursions. They often cost more, are more crowded, and attract unsafe divers. That being said, there are reasons to book with the cruise line, most having to do with logistics. I agree that in Belize it's the best option. It might also be a good idea in ports where you've never been unless you can get strong recommendations for independent operators and reliable information about transportation. This is a good place to ask. Tell us which ports your ship will be visiting and we will be happy to share our experiences with you.

 

[The_Ghost]

Don't really have a cruise in mind. Not sure when I will get to go on one. Was just curious if I wanted to look into one for a vacation or something. Still testing the waters to see if the wife gets sea sick. :/ So might just have to avoid them all together.

 

[Hemlon]

We book with the cruise line at every port in which we will dive except for Cozumel. We have been to Cozumel so many times, and dived with so many dive ops there, that we are confident in our ability to make it back to the ship in a timely manner.

 

[SCUBANON]

I've done both and I really don't like the cruise ship dive excursionsfor 2 reasons.
1) They tend to be cattle boats packing as many divers on a boat as possible
2) The price can be more than double the going local rate for the same trip.
But having said that I tend to go on a dive excursion early in the cruise. This allows me to make friends with fellow divers on the ship and then have extra divers to plan later excursions with on our own.

 

[timetraveler]

Still testing the waters to see if the wife gets sea sick. :/ So might just have to avoid them all together.

Sea Sickness on cruises is not much of a problem these days with large, stable ships and various remedies available. I'm prone to seasickness, but have 30 cruises to my credit and planning more. On the other hand, a liveaboard would probably be a problem for a person who gets seasick.

 

[idocsteve]

Cruise Ship Dive Op Pros: Convenience and relatively no risk. They set it all up, they get you to the dive op with a minimum of fuss and no planning is necessary on your part, if the dive op runs late the ship will wait.

Cruise Ship Cons: They tend to be cattleboats, large numbers of divers, many of them infrequent and poorly skilled divers, the sites tend to be close by to avoid problems with cruise ship departure times, and they're over dived so they're not as attractive.

Private Ops will usually take you to the more private sites, often on smaller boats, with more seasoned divers. It may take some planning and you'll have to find your way to the dive ops location. Usually they're considerably less expensive than the cruise ships because they don't have to pay a kickback or whatever you want to call it.

I always go with a local op myself.