Megraz

On 2/5/2022 at 4:24 AM, bigrednole said:

I hope you got your deposit back. We wound up booking with them based on all the reviews out there on TripAdviser and others. I expect our cruise to go, so no issue there. 

It’s been over a month now and no refund. I sent a reminder email last week and no response at all. Slightly annoyed. 

They have been really good about communication so far, until now. My cruise was canceled by Norweigan and I reached out to let them know and get a refund of my deposit. Usually they would respond back within a day or two - its been a week now. Grated its only $19, but still.

Just now, LadyMac72 said:

I was excited to read this thread and I booked a snorkel trip with them for our trip, which happens to be on my son's birthday.  The said that they could provide a cake (for a fee) for him on the excursion.  They also provide drinks, fruit and guacamole included.  

On 11/28/2021 at 9:53 PM, musiccity said:

I've used this company for many of my excursions and have always had a great experience. 

 

This is fantastic to hear. I've been having some anxiety over booking outside of my cruise line but then on the other hand I want to be able to the things I want on my cruise and have fun too

Does anyone know anything about the dive shops in Chankanaab park? Do they only offer shore dives or can you sign up day of when you get there for a boat dive? Wondering how much if needed to dive with them? The excursions to the park is only 4 1/2 hours long.

I'm having the same issue on NCL....when are you going?

Has anyone dove with one of the dive shops at Chankanaab?

NCL doesn't have scuba excursions in Cozumel any more 😞 but they do have an excurions for Chankanaab and I saw there are a few dive shops there. What I am wondering is....1) The cruise excursion time frame is 4 1/2 hours, if that enough time to dive there? 2) do the dive shops only offer shore dives or do you sign up there for a boat dive too?

I currently am booked with Cozumelcruiseexcursions.net but this is my first ever cruise and I have a little anxiety about not getting back to port on time!

On 11/16/2021 at 9:24 AM, PiperHolliday said:

They have thousands of 5-star reviews on TripAdvisor and maintain a rating of 4.4 out of 5, overall. I wouldn't hesitate to book with them and I actually did, for my cruise in 20 days. 

Let me know how that goes for you!

7 hours ago, missalexandra said:

I didn't see this until now. Unfortunately the very best dive operations won't work on a cruise as you can't get there early enough. I can recommend Scuba with Allison or Deep Blue. They leave at 9. What ship will you be on? I'll be diving in Cozumel on Dec. 17.

Norwegian Escape Jan 24. 

On 6/26/2021 at 9:38 PM, omeinv said:

For Costa Maya, it's easy: Gypsea Divers.  You can be assured of a great time, at a very reasonable price, and with people that love what they're doing.  Catherine and Abel will make your day in Mahahual memorable.  Contact in advance by emailing info@gypseadivers.com.  One thing, they don't take credit cards.  I find it easy to just PayPal the money a few days before my visit, but you can take cash of course.  When you get off the ship, just walk all the way through the port shopping mall, then take a taxi.  Tell the cab driver either Gypsea Divers, or the Nacional Beach Club. Tell Catherine that Harris and Rito sent you.  She'll probably charge you extra 🙂. Also, Mahahual is still a pretty nice little village.  Your wife could sleep in while you dive, then catch up at mid-day. ( http://gypseadivers.com/ )

 

Belize is an interesting case.  If the ship offers an excursion, you may want to do it, because then the dive boat comes to the ship, where you're tendered.  It's an unusually long tender ride into Belize City, and then you go back the same way to get to the dive sites.  As for Belize City, I had exactly the same thoughts you did, having heard good things about Belize, so I thought Belize City would be nice.  It's not.  If you don't dive there, please book some excursion. 

 

In Cozumel the people I dive with (Aldora) no longer take cruise customers, unless you're a regular customer.  There are countless options there, some I like, some I don't.  But you should not have any trouble finding something that fits.  You definitely wouldn't want to do the ship's excursion there.  Use the link in my signature and we can figure out who there would be your best option.  

 

In Grand Cayman, I use Off the Wall Divers.  Tom there is a great guy.  He'll pick-up and return you to the pier (it's a tender port), and typically there are very few on the boat.  I hope by November the Cayman Islands are back open, but they've been super-slow to open at all, and even more so to discuss allowing cruise ships to return.  (  https://offthewalldiverscayman.com/ )

 

Harris

Denver, CO

 

 

Harris,

Came across your reply - Im on NCL in Jan 2022 and stopping in Cozumel and want to dive. Any places you recommend? Im a seasoned diver but first time cruiser and solo cruiser too and want to make sure I have a good experience finding an non cruise line excursion as I just keep hearing to not book outside of the cruise line because I will get left behind. However NCL isn't offering scuba anyways and I really want to dive Coz.

Any suggestions would be great!

Thanks!a

On 11/1/2021 at 1:08 PM, jetucker85 said:

I was just there and used a tour company, Oneil Jamaica Excursions. You should be able to find his website through google. Great tour guide and fun experience.

So - I found Oneil! Yay - but my question is...I keep hearing how dangerous Jamaica is. I'm going alone and Ive tried to see if anyone wants to join my excursion but no one has answered yet. Would you yay or nay that idea?

My first cruise is booked for Jan 2022 to the Western Caribbean and Im very much looking forward to it.
I had originally had one booked with my boyfriend to Alaska in May 2022 but I dumped him and decided I was going to take the credit I already had towards the other trip and go on one by myself.

6 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

I have never used them but “dot net” has had mixed reviews over the years, I would try and use the search engine for this forum to read past experiences although it is difficult to predict how they are now after the break. I must admit some of their tours look interesting.

 

Island Marketing is “dot com” and we have used them occasionally in different ports over the years without problems 

So far they have had excellent communication answering my questions before I book. Doing a little more research before I go for it. Thanks!

Has anyone booked with CozumelCruiseExcursions.net before to book any off shore excursions outside of their cruise line? Experiences...good/bad????

On 10/22/2021 at 11:42 PM, missalexandra said:

I am a scuba diver and have been to Cozumel many times, know the island well. The excursions are all ripoffs, don't bother. The "ruins" on this island are a total joke. If you want to go to the beach, get in a taxi and go to the beach of your choice. Some of them do charge but not nearly as much as the ship will take from you. The best option is to rent a scooter and drive it around the island at your own pace. Walk to a rental place and it will cost half as much as doing it through the cruise, if that. There are beautiful beaches on the undeveloped side of the island. It's perfectly safe and you can't get lost unless you are brain dead. No, you can't do that with a toddler.

The ruins near Costa Maya are better than on Cozumel but don't remotely compare to something like Chichen Itza or Uxmal. If you want to go there negotiate with a taxi driver and they will take you for much less than being herded onto a bus. To get to the beach, either walk (not with a toddler for sure) or wend your way through the tourist trap maze and find the local taxis, which will only charge you a couple of dollars. Plenty of places to hang out for just the price of buying a few drinks. 

Do you have any recommendations on who to book dives with in Coz? Im there from 8am to 4 and would like to get a half day dive in but my ship isn't offering it as an excursion 

Has anyone gone before or recently? Is there an outfit you can book with outside of the cruise lines shore excursions? My sailing isn't offering it and it was one of the few things we wanted to do.

Can anyone recommend a place to go diving with while in port in Coz?