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SCUBA on NCL Jade 11/27/17 Any divers looking for SCUBA excursions too?


underseahunter
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NCL JADE 11/27/17

 

I understand that they changed the itinerary for this cruise. We booked 10/31/17 so the Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and the ABC's were part of my original booking. What is freaking me out is that the shore excursions for this trip are being hastily put together and offer NO SCUBA diving. SCUBA diving in EVERY port of call is my reason for booking any cruise. Any fellow SCUBA divers on this trip suffering with a similar problem?

 

I have called the NCL Shore excursions department, and told them I don't want to pet stingrays, or zip line anywhere, or drive around on an ATV. I only want to go SCUBA diving in every port... crickets.

 

Since I get a "double stacked" $50 + $50 benefit for shore excursion in every port this is the main reason I booked this cruise.

 

HELP

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there is no scuba diving in Jamaica at all.... some dive boats go out but there is no coral reef system, and about 2 fish.

 

since you are diving solo, I would try to stick with the dive op used by your ship. Grand Cayman it will be Don Foster's. Not sure about Aruba and Curacao, but there are tons of dive ops. Bonaire is another one with great diving, and dozens of dive ops available. Shore diving is king there, so you might want to book a guide and shore dive since the reefs are just a few feet off shore and easy diving.

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there is no scuba diving in Jamaica at all.... some dive boats go out but there is no coral reef system, and about 2 fish.

 

since you are diving solo, I would try to stick with the dive op used by your ship. Grand Cayman it will be Don Foster's. Not sure about Aruba and Curacao, but there are tons of dive ops. Bonaire is another one with great diving, and dozens of dive ops available. Shore diving is king there, so you might want to book a guide and shore dive since the reefs are just a few feet off shore and easy diving.

 

 

Thanks for your quick reply. I already called Don Foster's dive operator in Grand Cayman before I read your reply, they seem to ready to help. http://www.donfosters.com/pages/cruise_ships.php They seem to be the official vendors for:

 

 

 

 

 

Also "Dive Friends" in Bonaire and they offer 2 tank shore dives. http://www.divefriendsbonaire.com/

However when I last visited Bonaire on HAL they offered a 2 tank boat dive to Klien (island) Bonaire, it was great. So I have to look back inn my records, and see whom I dove with there.

 

My first time diving in Aruba I got stuck diving in 40 feet of water on some played out wreck (I think the Antilla?) or some crumbled German submarine. Anyway, the next 2 times in Aruba I just went down the road from the cruise dock right to the marina and got much better diving with some other company. I have to go back into my records to see if they are still in existence.

 

Lastly regarding Jamaica I have made many trips there and have dove all around the island. My favorite area was off Port Antonio on the north east corner of the island. Negril is a close second. Jamaica is the poster child for banning fish traps. Still, I have to get in the water in Ocho Rios so I will keep digging.

 

Any further info would be great.

Thanks,

Cea

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I've had good experiences with http://www.uniquesportsaruba.com/ in Aruba. I've used them both for cruise dives as well as stays on the island. They not the sort of "six-pack" operation that many seem to prefer but there also not a cattle boat by any means. Always had a good time with them and I've probably got at least a dozen dives logged with them. In Curacao, I've used http://www.thedivebus.com/ based on many recommendations here and have been happy with them both times I've used them.

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Thank you for your reply. I will check into that ASAP since I sail in 10 days...

 

As I recall the "dive bus" on Curacao was a shipping container on the beach. LOL I made some shore dives with them about 5 years ago. The Viz that day was poor (for Curacao), but a solid 60fsw visibility. There seemed to be a larger dive shop in a hotel nearby, but we missed their boat.

 

I am trying to post here in the hopes to help other divers get good dives in too. So if there is anyone out there sailing 11/27/17 on the NCL Jade jump onto this thread. I have found diving accommodations so far in Grand Cayman with "Don Foster's Diving." They offer a 2 tank boat dive, and seem to eager to help me get wet. Here is how to get a hold of them:

http://www.donfosters.com/

 

Any other information would be greatly appreciated.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just coming back from cruise that included the ABC islands, I can tell you a little about it.

 

In Bonaire, I dove with Divi Flamingo, which is walking distance from the cruise pier. The daily dive orientation took a while, so it was impossible for me to take the morning boat dive, but I did put my name on for the afternoon boat dive, which went to Klien Bonaire, and did a noon and night shore dive on our own. The great thing with that was the shore dives are included when you purchase any boat dive trip. Shore dive on Bonaire is super easy. You can barely get lost, and if you do, just surface and you can see where you came from.

 

Maybe you can walk a little farther to the next resort Plaza. I stayed there before and I don't remember any orientation that took up my time. They have similar 2 tank morning and 1 tank afternoon dives as Divi Flamingo.

 

Dive Friends is even closer, but I don't even know if there is anything to see on their house reef, given that their shore entrance is literally right off the concrete sea wall. They also don't leave tanks out after 5PM, so no chance of night dives.

 

As for Curacao, I didn't dive with Dive Bus specifically because I dove carpile and that area many times when I stayed multiple times in the resort that was formerly Breezes, and they offered free guided shore dives and unlimited independent dives. I didn't think that area was out of this world, like the way Dive Bus makes it sound like.

 

I did book with http://www.thediveshop-curacao.com, which is truck based shore diving. They just took the 2 of us, one dive of their choice (I guess because it is on the beach, where we hang out by the restaurant area for a refreshment during our SI), and the other was what I requested.

 

All the dives were in the 60-65min range, the Curacao dives were until when I decided to go up.

 

Our Aruba dive was cancelled due to what the shop said was rain up the north. The cruise dive trip was still going, but I decided against going due to it being a one tank dive and likelyhood of it being a cattleboat. From the way you make Antilla sound like, maybe it was a good thing my dive was cancelled.

 

The best fish I have seen in Jamaica have all been inside the fish traps.

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Thanks,

 

NCL came through with a 2 tank boat dive in Bonaire, so that one got sorted out. I found and made arrangements with the following companies...

 

Ocho Rios Jamaica: http://garfielddiving.com/

 

Grand Cayman: http://www.donfosters.com/

 

Auba: (Mermaid Divers) http://scubadivers-aruba.com/

 

Curacao: https://www.epsiloncuracao.com/

 

I will report back on the operations, etcetera. I have made dives on Aruba with Mermaid Divers before, I just couldn't remember their name when I started this thread.

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I did inquire with Mermaid and was interested in diving with them, but they were in DEMA that week and closed shop.

 

I just assumed there is no diving in Ocho Rio, but during our walkoff off the pier, I noticed a diveboat docked right off the side waiting for passengers. I realized they do have scuba and thought maybe I should do a walk-in signup with them, but that boat was for passengers that wanted to go to Dunns River Fall by boat.

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I did inquire with Mermaid and was interested in diving with them, but they were in DEMA that week and closed shop.

 

I just assumed there is no diving in Ocho Rio, but during our walkoff off the pier, I noticed a diveboat docked right off the side waiting for passengers. I realized they do have scuba and thought maybe I should do a walk-in signup with them, but that boat was for passengers that wanted to go to Dunns River Fall by boat.

 

When was this? Their website is up and the owner "Carlos" tooking my booking. I understand that some of the "Dive Masters" that used to be on the boat are no longer there, but they are ostensibly open.

 

 

Are you going on the Jade 11/27?

 

Did you try to contact Mermaid Divers? http://scubadivers-aruba.com/contact-us

 

 

You've got me a little nervous, I sail tomorrow, and want all this locked in place...

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When was this? Their website is up and the owner "Carlos" tooking my booking. I understand that some of the "Dive Masters" that used to be on the boat are no longer there, but they are ostensibly open.

 

 

Are you going on the Jade 11/27?

 

Did you try to contact Mermaid Divers? http://scubadivers-aruba.com/contact-us

 

 

You've got me a little nervous, I sail tomorrow, and want all this locked in place...

 

You should have nothing to worry about. I inquired with Mermaid on my trip around Halloween. That's when DEMA was.

 

I inquired abt the ABC islands last month on this thread

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=54499461#post54499461

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Just got back from Aruba, did two dives from shore with rob adventure sports, first was 112’ deep second 92’ , just me and the dive master picked up and dropped off, included lunch snacks and water, $145.00 . The equipment was great and this was hands down the best dive experience from any vendor anywhere from a service point of view. The reef was colorful as well with some sea life but what made this awesome was the people from Robs.

 

 

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