Cruising question?

[mohave_steve]

My Wife & I were talking about vacation ideas and she would much like to take a cruise. Fantastic!! I'm thinking: Agressor, Nekton,Solomar.....

Reality check.... She's thinking: Royal Caribbean, Carnival.....

Is there an option that will provide both the "Big Boat" cruising experience and frequent quality dive opportunities?



Any suggestions?

Thanks

Steve

 

[TN Traveler]

If you leave from FL - take a Western Caribbean cruise that stops at 3 or 4 sites - Roatan, Belize, Cozumel and Grand Cayman - or even Costa Maya. That will give you some great diving. Don't do an Eastern Caribbean cruise - you will be lucky to get in 1 descent dive - too many of them hit PR, Jamaica, Haiti and Dominican Republic. I'd rather do a 4 day Bahama cruise than an Eastern - at least you get 2 good places to dive.

If you leave from San Juan, PR - take a Southern Caribbean cruise. Any of these itineraries will give you lots of dive opportunities. Princess does one that hits St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Grenada, Aruba and Bonaire - all great diving.

And believe it or not - the food is good and there is time to relax and have fun also aboard ship. We have used our cruises to explore various islands and then we pick the best and return for a land vacation. We usually book the dives ourselves with a local operator - the one exception is Belize (Turneffe Atoll) - ship's excursion is expensive, but the diving is awesome.

 

[mohave_steve]

We did a land based vacation in Belize and LOVED it!! Best diving I have done so far.
We also did a cruise on Royal Caribbean and enjoyed it. I found the shore excursions to be a bit rushed and would love to find a cruise that is a bit more dive oriented.

 

[mohave_steve]

Is there an option that will provide both the "Big Boat" cruising experience and frequent quality dive opportunities?

 

[TN Traveler]

I have found that Princess and NCL cruises tend to spend full days in ports, so you are not rushed. They normally arrive before 8 am and don't leave until 5 pm - which means you have plenty of time for you to dive with local operators and then do a little sightseeing/shopping in the port area.

My RCCL and Carnival cruises have arrived late or left early, making it hard to arrange for trips with local dive shops - you get forced into using the cruise ship excursions, which are usually simple dives to less interesting reefs.

You can search this board and Cruise Critic for "scuba cruises". These are normally organized so that there are enough divers to charter a dive boat that will accomodate the ship's schedule. I know there have been a couple on the Carnival Valor - making 4-5 stops.

 

[Blue Quaker]

We've done three cruises with Princess...It was possible to set up a 2 tank dive excursion at every port of call, and still have some time to explore.
Cheers,
Norman H.

 

[kuma1720]

Just got back from the Carmival Valor (7 day cruise) and had 2 seperate dive tours scheduled. We completed one at Roatan and due to the Swine Flu epidemic had to cancel the Cozumel stop. In any case you can basically dive the entire cruise if need be since you stop at Grand Cayman, Roatan, Belize and soon back to Cozumel.

Cruising is great if you can deal with the crowds and limited time at each port. The food is good and you get to spend quality time with your family. Just choose the ship wisely and plan your excursions before departing.

 

[ewaiea]

Why don't you give Aqua Cat Cruises a try? Scuba Diving Bahamas Liveaboard Aqua Cat Cruises - I'm not sure how much your wife wants to be able to do while on board but if she's laid back enough she might like it. I've not done AquaCat, so take this with a grain of salt. BUT.....from hearing from many people and also seeing a few cruise videos of their's, I've gotten the impression it could be good for divers and non-divers alike...

Now, AquaCat is a liveaboard dive boat - so there will primarily be scuba divers on board. But they cruise in and out of Nassau so your first day and last day of the trip you'll get to do the resturant and casino thing and during the week you'll cruise the Exumas. The diving appears to be the best in the Bahamas. You can get up to five dives a day in but when not diving you can relax on the boat or take a shore excursion. They have a skiff called "Sea Dog" that takes people ashore to beach comb, relax, picnic, kayak, and snorkel. Unlike other liveaboards that pretty much don't do that many shore excursions this might be to your liking and your wife's. One of their shore excursions gives you the opportunity to interact with a colony of Rock Iguanas - I think there's only a few colonies in the world - so that's something to look forward to.

If you really have the funds and want to think out of the box there is a dive destination with frequent and interesting shore excursions, what about the Galapagos Aggressor or Peter Hughes Sky Dancer? It is pretty much the priceiest that liveaboard trips get (short of Antarctica) but maybe it would be a trip neither of you would EVER forget!

I hope these ideas are of some help to the both of you. I think I know what you're getting at with cruises - I am very much turned off at the idea of a cruise ship. Give me ample diving and no crowds and I'm a happy camper. I know cruises are fun, everything is right there for you, and also I've never done one - BUT...I'm confident I'd find it too boring - too much like life at home (all the creature comforts) and not enough diving.

For non-divers I've heard that if they're laid back and not itinerary driven and like the idea of having basically their own private yacht for the week with good food and small groups they end up liking it even more. AND, the AquaCat does discover scuba and cert courses, perhaps without coercing her, your wife might get curious and want to try scuba diving out. But if not, the shallow dives would probably be great for snorkeling as well as the shore excursions. Check it out and let me know, I'd be curious to know what you decide.

 

[diversteve]

There's a "smaller" cruise boat in the South Pacific - Paul Gauguin. Scuba is a featured activity and they do a program with JM Cousteau.
Paul Gauguin Luxury Cruise - Onboard - Activities

Or Windstar Windstar Cruises Scuba Diving

Don't know much about either but I had a non-diving cruise-loving g/f a few years ago.... so was always looking.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

My wife is also a non diver. We were looking at the Cuan law liveaboard in BVI. There are only 3 dives a day but they have sailing, kayaks, watersking, snorkelling, beach BBQ's, island excursions,etc. for non divers.

Welcome Aboard Cuan Law - Liveaboard Diving in the British Virgin Islands