tmassey
Contributor
Hello!
I had the opportunity to do the shore excursion dive at Coco Cay (Royal Caribbean's private island for their cruise ships) January 30, 2011 and thought I would share my experience. While there have been several threads about this dive in the past, the newest I could find was several years ago.
The dive is still handled the same way it was the last time someone wrote about it, and I won't go into detail. This thread (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bahamas/117356-coco-cay-bahamas-anyone-dove-there.html) does a great job of outlining how the dive is handled. If you're unfamiliar with how the dive is done, you may want to check out the linked thread first for the details.
The gear is still good-quality gear in good shape: Aqua Lung BCD's and regulators. Good-looking 3mm full and 2mm shorty exposure suits (not threadbare like rental exposure suits tend to be). I was surprised: of the 6 people diving when I went, I was the only person renting! (I wouldn't want to deal with gear in a cruise ship cabin, but I also wasn't diving in Nassau, either.)
The divemaster has a short briefing on shore, then you head off to the beach. We did go out at low tide, but I guess not low enough that we couldn't be sledded out. That was handy, but we ended up swimming back in, and it wasn't much of a big deal. Besides, you're on vacation, so take your time, and it's not bad at all.
The dive itself is a fairly nice reef dive. We saw very few large fish, but a fair number of stingrays: at least a half-dozen of them. We also saw a couple of eels. The reef looked to be in decent shape. I did not bring a camera, so I can't give you an updated photo. Here's a link to a photo taken five years ago (ScubaBoard Gallery - IMAG0083), and the reef looks better than this, though there is still a fair bit of sand scattered around. Maybe half as much sand as you see in that picture. I've seen nicer reefs, but I've seen *way* *worse* reefs, too. And after all, it wasn't a quarry or inland like in Michigan.
Most of the dive is in the 25' deep range. I think the maximum depth I hit was 34', but I am not a gauge-dragger. The sand might have been 4-5' deeper: I stayed on top of the reef, not the sand! The water temp was 74 degrees. I hate cold, so I wore a 2.5mm shorty and 3mm full and was *perfectly* fine. There was very minimal current: just enough that I had to fin a little in one direction and not at all in the other.
I rented gear, so I could have just dropped the gear off at the shack and walked away. I ended up doing marginally more: I broke it down and put it into the buckets (they have one for wetsuits and one for the rest of the gear). Those who bring their own gear use the same buckets to wash their gear and hang it up to dry. It was very easy. Like I said, I was on vacation--the last thing I wanted to do was deal with gear.
It was not a lot of fun having to get up "early" to get to the dive, but the very nice part was that the dive was done by 10:30 A.M. I was able to do the dive and be completely done before my non-diving wife made it to the island, so it didn't impact her vacation one bit. That might have been the best part of this dive!
As others have said, Coco Cay is very nice. I won't go into detail (check out Cruise Critic for all you would ever want to know), but it's a great place to relax.
A word about the divers on this trip: it's a random collection of cruisers in the Caribbean. That means most are inexperienced divers who dive once a year, and their skills show it. Talking to the divemaster confirmed this. That means that if you *are* one of these types of divers, you will fit *right* in! The divemaster sets a gentle pace, and this dive will not put you out of your comfort zone! In addition to the divemaster in the water, there is a jet ski with a rescue sled on the surface nearby. You would have to work very hard for something to go seriously wrong.
For those divers with more experience, make sure you set your expectations properly. It is a guided dive. You're not going to be able to go off on your own. You are not going to cover a maximum of area. It is not the most exciting reef. Prepare yourself before you go.
Also, don't expect much from your dive buddy. On my dive, we swam across the reef until we hit the edge, then we made a right turn and swam along the reef. When we made the turn, nearly *every* diver stayed a good 6+ feet to the left of the reef in the sand (and another 5 feet above)! The divers can also be a little... focused. They tend to jostle each other when they want to go see what the divemaster is trying to show them... It was easier to just stay away from the mad rush.
However, my main reason for wanting to write this report is to say this: with the proper expectations, this is a very nice dive. After having read reports of this dive, I was prepared for the worst: no scenery, difficult swim, nit-picky babysitting, etc. There was none of that. It really was a nice, calm, relaxing dive. Definitely not a destination, but as a "why not?" dive, it was a very nice experience.
There's a *lot* going for this dive. You're not missing out on something else to be able to do this dive. With the time of the dive early in the morning, you can do the dive and be done right as your non-diving buddies are making it over to the island. The dive staff is very helpful, yet they are not babysitting you. The dive itself is reasonably attractive. And at $50 for the dive (and just a few dollars more to rent the gear), it's the cheapest thing you'll be doing all cruise. And seeing as you'll have to be up a little earlier that morning, you will probably save $50 from having to stop a little earlier the night before!
Reply with any questions. I'll do my best to answer.
I had the opportunity to do the shore excursion dive at Coco Cay (Royal Caribbean's private island for their cruise ships) January 30, 2011 and thought I would share my experience. While there have been several threads about this dive in the past, the newest I could find was several years ago.
The dive is still handled the same way it was the last time someone wrote about it, and I won't go into detail. This thread (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bahamas/117356-coco-cay-bahamas-anyone-dove-there.html) does a great job of outlining how the dive is handled. If you're unfamiliar with how the dive is done, you may want to check out the linked thread first for the details.
The gear is still good-quality gear in good shape: Aqua Lung BCD's and regulators. Good-looking 3mm full and 2mm shorty exposure suits (not threadbare like rental exposure suits tend to be). I was surprised: of the 6 people diving when I went, I was the only person renting! (I wouldn't want to deal with gear in a cruise ship cabin, but I also wasn't diving in Nassau, either.)
The divemaster has a short briefing on shore, then you head off to the beach. We did go out at low tide, but I guess not low enough that we couldn't be sledded out. That was handy, but we ended up swimming back in, and it wasn't much of a big deal. Besides, you're on vacation, so take your time, and it's not bad at all.
The dive itself is a fairly nice reef dive. We saw very few large fish, but a fair number of stingrays: at least a half-dozen of them. We also saw a couple of eels. The reef looked to be in decent shape. I did not bring a camera, so I can't give you an updated photo. Here's a link to a photo taken five years ago (ScubaBoard Gallery - IMAG0083), and the reef looks better than this, though there is still a fair bit of sand scattered around. Maybe half as much sand as you see in that picture. I've seen nicer reefs, but I've seen *way* *worse* reefs, too. And after all, it wasn't a quarry or inland like in Michigan.
Most of the dive is in the 25' deep range. I think the maximum depth I hit was 34', but I am not a gauge-dragger. The sand might have been 4-5' deeper: I stayed on top of the reef, not the sand! The water temp was 74 degrees. I hate cold, so I wore a 2.5mm shorty and 3mm full and was *perfectly* fine. There was very minimal current: just enough that I had to fin a little in one direction and not at all in the other.
I rented gear, so I could have just dropped the gear off at the shack and walked away. I ended up doing marginally more: I broke it down and put it into the buckets (they have one for wetsuits and one for the rest of the gear). Those who bring their own gear use the same buckets to wash their gear and hang it up to dry. It was very easy. Like I said, I was on vacation--the last thing I wanted to do was deal with gear.
It was not a lot of fun having to get up "early" to get to the dive, but the very nice part was that the dive was done by 10:30 A.M. I was able to do the dive and be completely done before my non-diving wife made it to the island, so it didn't impact her vacation one bit. That might have been the best part of this dive!
As others have said, Coco Cay is very nice. I won't go into detail (check out Cruise Critic for all you would ever want to know), but it's a great place to relax.
A word about the divers on this trip: it's a random collection of cruisers in the Caribbean. That means most are inexperienced divers who dive once a year, and their skills show it. Talking to the divemaster confirmed this. That means that if you *are* one of these types of divers, you will fit *right* in!
The divemaster sets a gentle pace, and this dive will not put you out of your comfort zone! In addition to the divemaster in the water, there is a jet ski with a rescue sled on the surface nearby. You would have to work very hard for something to go seriously wrong.For those divers with more experience, make sure you set your expectations properly. It is a guided dive. You're not going to be able to go off on your own. You are not going to cover a maximum of area. It is not the most exciting reef. Prepare yourself before you go.
Also, don't expect much from your dive buddy. On my dive, we swam across the reef until we hit the edge, then we made a right turn and swam along the reef. When we made the turn, nearly *every* diver stayed a good 6+ feet to the left of the reef in the sand (and another 5 feet above)! The divers can also be a little... focused. They tend to jostle each other when they want to go see what the divemaster is trying to show them... It was easier to just stay away from the mad rush.
However, my main reason for wanting to write this report is to say this: with the proper expectations, this is a very nice dive. After having read reports of this dive, I was prepared for the worst: no scenery, difficult swim, nit-picky babysitting, etc. There was none of that. It really was a nice, calm, relaxing dive. Definitely not a destination, but as a "why not?" dive, it was a very nice experience.
There's a *lot* going for this dive. You're not missing out on something else to be able to do this dive. With the time of the dive early in the morning, you can do the dive and be done right as your non-diving buddies are making it over to the island. The dive staff is very helpful, yet they are not babysitting you. The dive itself is reasonably attractive. And at $50 for the dive (and just a few dollars more to rent the gear), it's the cheapest thing you'll be doing all cruise. And seeing as you'll have to be up a little earlier that morning, you will probably save $50 from having to stop a little earlier the night before!
Reply with any questions. I'll do my best to answer.
