Western Caribbean Destinations (have you been there)?

[cowjazz]

No, that is the Blue Hole.

Here is a link to some information on diving Turneffe:

http://ambergriscaye.com/pages/town/diveturneffe.html

You should have a great time.

 

[av8er23]

Whats the differenced between that location and the blue hole? What sites did you dive there?

 

[cowjazz]

The Blue Hole is a "different" dive. It is a sinkhole with large stalactite formations along the walls. Depending on the operator you use, they may or may not chum up the sharks to come visit you. Nothing spectacular, just a deep dive some do to say they have done it. However, Lighthouse Reef around the Blue Hole and nearby Half Moon Caye offer spectacular diving. Your lunch/surface interval is done on a bird sanctuary. A short walk through some trees brings you to a platform where you can observe thousands of boobies. Here I dived Blue Hole, Eagle Ray Wall and Half Moon Caye Wall. This trip is too far out for a cruise ship schedule. You are looking at around two and a half to three hours each way to get there. A much better description of Lighthouse Reef and Blue Hole can be found here: http://ambergriscaye.com/pages/town/greatbluehole.html .

Turneffe also offers great diving. It is most well known for The Elbow where you have an opportunity to encounter large pelagics brought in by the ocean currents that converge there. I dived The Elbow, The Aquarium (drop off/wall, not the shallow area) and Billy Bob's Shallows. All were great dives.

 

[lyonsce]

I did this itinerary in Nov. The best dive I did was the Cenote dives at the Cozumel stop. Belize was also very good. The dives on Grand Cayman were okay, the wind was very strong and we had to dive the south side of the island. At Costa Maya we dove with Dreamtime and it was excellent, unfortunately my wife got sick and fed the fish so it was a little disappointing because of that. All in all the diving was very good, the only issue I could think of was that most of the stops, we had to take a tender boat because the port facilities couldn't handle the ship and that makes lugging gear a pain....:shakehead

 

[av8er23]

Lyonsce,

So were you on the Carnival Legend out of Tampa? If so was the boat really nice? Please share any experiences on the boat.

We plan to definetly dive in cozumel and belize. We will probably snorkel at stingray sand bar and hang out on the beach in grand cayman. I have no idea what we will do in Coysta Maya....do you have any suggestions?

Also exactly what do you mean by tender boat? Does that mean the ship did not dock at the pier and you have to ride smaller boats onto land?

 

[Barracuda2]

I have no idea what we will do in Coysta Maya....do you have any suggestions?

Read my comments on Costa Maya in this thread. p. 2 Costa Maya is now what Playa De Carman probably was like 25 yrs. ago. It's a step back into time.

 

[av8er23]

I went to Playa De Carmen two years ago. So it is nothing like that? Did you happen to dive or snorkel there?

 

[booth22]

In Costa Maya you should check out Blue Ocean Safari if you want to dive, and if not, email them and just get directions to the bar they have on the beach. a few hammocks, chairs and a nice little patch of beach to swim in if you decide to.

 

[shwell]

I agree that Cozumel & Belize would be my 2 choices. I have not dove Costa Maya but have dove Grand Cayman. When we did these dives we booked through the Cruise Ship for the same reasons that were stated above. For the extra cost, the convenience and knowledge that the ship will wait for you is well worth the price.

 

[dashark]

Grand Cayman and cozumel get my vote. Try to do an inland tour in Belize it it is offered. Or even a trip to the Belize zoo.There are several dive ops in grand cayman and coz that cater to cruise ships....
enjoy!