Your Go-To Grand Cayman Diving OP and why.

[Ramon Corrêa]

Hey,

I'm stopping by GC on a cruise in January, and am looking to really take advantage of my time there with a dive. I've heard great things about the Dive OPs there, so I'm excited; however, I wanted to reach out to this community to see if I'm missing anything.

So, what is your go to diving op in Grand Cayman? Why?

Thanks everyone! Happy Holidays to you all!

 

[scubadada]

Of course, your schedule on Grand Cayman may dictate what you can do. You didn't say who the cruise ship affiliated operator is, they might be fine, especially if the time is tight

If you can get out to and return from Turtle Reef (Cracked Conch Restaurant/Macabuca Bar and Grill) Sun Divers is on site and you can do one or two excellent shore dives on the mini-wall.

You might want to contact the Lobster Pot Dive Center, conveniently located in Georgetown. They have their own boat and are partners with 2 good operations, Deep Blue Divers and Wall to Wall Diving.

There are many very good operators on Grand Cayman, I don't know how many could accommodate cruise ship visitors. DNS Diving, Indigo Divers, Living the Dream Divers immediately come to mind, there are many others, I'm sure everyone has their favorites

Best of luck, good diving, Craig

 

[diversteve]

For a cruise I'd look at 3, maybe 4 operators just due to the logistics.

First of all there's a possibility of 4-5 cruise ships in the harbor the same time as yours so it would be worth your while to line up early for a tender - although some of them are big (200+) it still takes a while to offload that many ships/pax.

Don Foster's is probably your cruise ship dive operation - they have most of the contracts. They also can't book you privately if yours is one of them. So if you want to book with the cruise operator - Don Foster's Dive Grand Cayman

I'd go with Lobster Pot - they're a short walk north of the tender dock. I personally like Wall to Wall but knew the owner slightly. Deep Blue has a good reputation also. Also Off the Wall either works out of there or nearby (probably the same dock) and has been recommended here as being cruise friendly if you're in at an odd time.

Lobster Pot Dive Center | Cruise Ship Dive Trips - Grand Cayman Diving
Off The Wall Divers

What I like about any of the LP shops is they're all 6-8 divers max per boat. Fosters can be a lot more than that.

Getting out to the Wall is the objective - it's arguably the best of Cayman diving.

 

[Altamira]

I have used Lobster Pot and Don Fosters at GC. If you get into port early @0700 you can make Lobster Pot's 0900 dive. If you have a short port call, the ship's dive op (probably Don Fosters) might be your better choice because you will not have an issue getting off the ship via tender. As you may know, the ships give priority tendering to their excursions, and you never will have to worry about getting back to the ship in time for departure. Lobster Pot, and the other two dive ops that are co-located with them have smaller boats, but that does not necessarily translate to a better dive or more dive time. When I was there a couple of weeks ago with Lobster Pot, we had a new diver couple in our group, and as a result, we wound up with a shorter dive than if we had all experienced divers aboard. But that can happen on any of the dive boats, and I have never had a bad dive with any of the GC ops.

 

[Doctorfish]

I'd opt for the Lobster Pot every time. They cater specifically to small numbers on their boats. No fun being on a cattle boat if you can avoid it.

As per Altamira and the short dive; a new diver coming up early would not usually shorten the dive for everyone else, unless you are on a drift, which is not the norm for Grand Cayman.

A new diver might alter the dynamic in another way, i.e. the DMs might pick spots with absolutely 0 current for first dive, or a shallow reef rather than top of the wall for second dive.

The odds of experienced divers on the boat, IMO, would be much higher for Lobster Pot than Foster's.

If a boat dive isn't workable, a trip up to Cracked Conch/Sundivers is worth considering.
Very good shore dive, good facilities and a bar and restaurant right on the water for post dive. Phone first to make sure conditions are diveable. There is a neat Auto Museum across the road and the Turtle Farm/Prison is close by if you are into that.

 

[Altamira]

In addition to dealing with two new divers, I don't think the DM was feeling great that day either, so a somewhat shortened dive was not a problem for me, and did not diminish our enjoyment of the dive or dive op. I will use them again next time in GC.

 

[Doctorfish]

I don't agree Altamira, an unwell DM should not be leading a dive and then cutting it short for everyone. I'm glad you would use the operator again, I personally would not. In fact, I would not have come up early but would have stayed at depth, with buddy, in site of the mooring until air/bottom time or planned dive duration met. Most DMs on GC brief that way and are happy for their divers to stay in after they come up early; as long as divers in pairs and have adequate air and bottom time remaining.

Plenty of fish. Diving on GC is competitive and most ops strive to maximize bottom time. Having an unwell DM lead a dive and then call it short would not have been acceptable to me failing an emergency.

 

[Altamira]

I should not have commented on the DM possibly not feeling well because it was based on an assumption on my part, possibly an erroneous one, so I withdraw the comment. However, a DM like any other diver can shorten/call the dive whenever, and for whatever reason. A DM certainly does not need to consult me when they give their dive group the thumbs up signal. The DM called the dive when one of the new divers reached the briefed minimum air supply, and had led a very good dive, especially having to deal with multiple new diver issues. I and my buddy surfaced as well because the option of us staying below was not briefed on the boat, and we would not remain below when given the surface signal by the DM. The new divers decided to sit out the second dive so the second dive was a very good normal length dive for my air consumption. I am a very conservative diver, and would not do repeat dives with, or recommend ops that I was not 100% confident in their operation. I would not hesitate to dive with Lobster Pot again, and have plans to do so.

 

[jonhall]

I don't agree Altamira, an unwell DM should not be leading a dive and then cutting it short for everyone. I'm glad you would use the operator again, I personally would not. In fact, I would not have come up early but would have stayed at depth, with buddy, in site of the mooring until air/bottom time or planned dive duration met.
Having an unwell DM lead a dive and then call it short would not have been acceptable to me failing an emergency.

Think you clarified yourself in the last sentence, but thinking about a DM thumbing a dive, unless some great signals were given by that DM indicating it was okay for others to stay down, how could you know the extent of how unwell they are. What if a problem occurred at the surface or on the boat?

Although, I too would be ticked off on what I, at the time, was perceiving to be a shortened dive due to something that is not my problem, I'm coming to grips with looking at the bigger picture.

 

[DavidFL]

Deep Blue Divers, who operate out of the Lobster Pot, is my Grand Cayman go to....fourth successful week long trip this October, and it was on very short notice. My dive buddy and I were scheduled for a liveaboard out of Turks & Caicos that rendezvoused with Hurricane Matthew; we changed to Grand Cayman; Nick and the crew at Deep Blue worked us in to the operation and dealt with the changing conditions without a hitch.