Tweldon:
We are coming to Grand Cayman on a cruise ship late February and I'd like my 14 year old son to do a Discover Scuba course (two tank) as I'm sure he'd like it. He's done a pool dive with and instructor before.
I'm certified and would like to dive as well, near him, but not in the way. Maybe I could do a tank while they are "getting instructed" in the shallows...... Shore diving is a consideration to be able to watch him and his group. I'll have my own equipment (minus weights/tanks). You get the picture...
Anyone have any recommendations on dive operations that could do this?
Cheers, Tweldon
First of all, all of these recommendations are pre-Ivan so things may be different while you're there as a lot of places are still re-building.
What ship are you on? For Royal Caribbean, Celebrity or Disney, Red Sail Watersports is the on-island operator. But I've read that they only take certified cruise divers out on two-tank trips. I don't know their status Post-Ivan
The previous suggestion of DiveTech is a good one except that they are all the way up past Seven Mile Beach to the North. From Georgetown that's got to be a 20-30 min. drive in traffic. And since the main road is the one up SMB, it was crowded sometimes. So it might be too far, especially if you're only in Cayman one day - I noticed all the cruise ships seemed to leave between 5-6pm. It's the only place I can think of where with planning, you can go deep - the North Wall is oh, 3000' deep off their site - while he stays shallow.
The closest shore dive site from where the cruise tender drops you off is Eden Rock. You could walk there, but if you're bringing heavy gear, bring a roller bag. They have a shallow reef structure right in front of where your ship will drop anchor, some of it isn't any more than 10-15' or so down to about 50' max. It's kind of self-serve diving there though unless you've made prior arrangements. I don't know if they offer discovery classes but they're very helpful. Easy access to the water and they have lockers for your stuff. Personally, although others have said how much they liked it, I thought Eden Rock and the Grotto were kind of tired looking, lots of coral heads missing and all kinds of junk in the water. Probably a lot of it falls off the ships in port nearby. And it's all pretty shallow to about 50' where the reef ends into a sand flat that goes forever. Also sometimes there's jetskis overhead in the area. Some good swimthroughs though.
Another option would be Sunset House. They're about a 3 min cab ride south of the cruise pier and have good shorediving right off their facility. They just recently re-opened but I don't know if all their facilities are functional yet. They have easy access via their dive dock/steps to their reef, the famous Mermaid is in 53' of water so you'd have something to do while your son stayed in the shallows. They were full service pre-Ivan so I'm guessing you could set something up with them. And if My Bar has re-opened by then it's a great place for lunch.
One last option would be a dive/snorkel trip to Stingray City. Contact one of the dive operations - Casey at Neptune Divers mentioned they're diving regularly now, so they might be a good choice - to see about a trip there. It wouldn't be diving for your son, but he could snorkel above and swim down to feed and get his picture taken, with the Rays. You'll be sitting on the bottom in less than 15' of water for 45 minutes and getting mobbed by 20-30 big Stingrays whose sole purpose is to do anything in their power to get you to drop the squid in your hand. There's also some tame Moray Eels in the area. It's advertised as the best 15' dive in the world and I agree, it's a blast.
Don't sign up for the cruiseship SRC trip though, they go to SandBar, which is nearby but shallower, there you stand in water up to your waist and feed the rays, but there's no scuba there - and a lot more people to stir up the sand and kill the viz.
If you do get on a diveboat, ask for Big Tunnels or Trinity Caves - not likely you'll get to go there if you're with a bunch of resort course divers though, they're pretty deep. Big Tunnels comes out of the wall at 110'.
My .02, ymmv since my Cayman experiences were Pre-Ivan.
Steve
helpful links:
http://www.redsailcayman.com/gc_cruise.html
www.divetech.com
http://www.edenrockdive.com/index.html
http://www.sunsethouse.com/
http://www.neptunesdivers.com/index.html or pm Caymancase on this board.
