Going to Bermuda

[Outlaw14]

Greetings.

Am headed to Bermuda next week for 7 days aboard a Celebrity cruise ship, Horizon. I saw in their list of excursions a 2 tank scuba dive for $144 (think that was the price), included all gear (I have the basics, mask, snorkel, fins and booties already). The description did not say which dive shop they used (don't think it is Blue Water Divers though). Anyone know?

$144 seemed high so we were thinking of just doing our own dive with BWDivers one day for about $115 (includes 2 tanks and rental equipment).

Pros and cons of doing the dive with our cruise ship arranged excursion versus setting out on our own. We will be docked in Hamilton so not sure where/how to get to BWDivers from there. Is the cost of transportation going to eat up the savings from planning our own excursion?

Thanks for any help. Appears as if water temp this time of year is high 60's - 70's. Is this 5mm wetsuit temp?

Lauren

 

[large_diver]

Lauren,

I did some diving with BWD about 3 years ago and was happy with the experience. I don't have any experience with any other operators. A few comments:

You can get to BWD via bus directly from Hamilton. Bermuda has a very well run public bus system that is easy to use and cheap. There is a central bus depot in the center of Hamilton that is a relatively short walk from the area where the cruise ships dock.

The charter boat that BWD runs is on the western end of the island (Somerset Bridge) near the old Naval Shipyard. One of the bus routes runs right by the shop/dive boat. It would be a pretty expensive taxi ride to get there -- likely upwards of $20 one way. Perhaps OK if you are sharing a cab (many of the cabs are small microvans that could handle 4-5 passengers). Bottom line -- it will likely take 40 minutes or so to get from Hamilton to BWD. Dive operators are not allowed to pick up clients in Bermuda for some reason (you also can't rent cars there). Renting mopeds is another option, but not for the faint of heart. Roads, while in good shape, are narrow....the buses I was on while there seemed to delight in following 5 feet behind mopeders. Also, every native I met seemed to have a "nasty moped wipe-out" story....

The good news about making the journey is that the BWD boat is only a short ride from many nice dive sites. They do have a small dive shop located adjacent to the dive boat (this one of their 2 locations on the island), so renting gear is easy.

Hope this is helpful.

-Chris

http://www.divebermuda.com

 

[miked]

Hi Lauren,
While I have no experience diving while on a cruise, I have dived with "Dive Bermuda" for many years, and find their service to be first rate.
They have a shop located at the Hamilton Princess Hotel, which is a short(?) walk from where the cruise ships berth.
The $144 sounds a bit high, but remember that Bermuda prices tend to be a bit high, and that the cruise ship people do take their cut. {I was on a dive trip last week (not in Bermuda), and a 2-tank dive which cost me $75,cost people from the cruise ship-arranged through the cruise ship-$100.}

Try to do it yourself-but be sure to let the operator know your "deadline return time" for the ship.
Good luck,
Mike