Scuba in Belize on Canrival??

[beckyjohns]

Has Carnival stopped offering the dive excursion in Belize? I can't find it anywhere. Normally, we book private charters, but not having to tender to shore in Belize is worth the cattle boat experience!!

[Laurie S.]

Ugh, nothing is worth being on a cattle boat!

 

I was at the Long Beach Scuba Show today and talked with a woman from Belize. She said that the excursions are no more and also said that Sea Sports Belize, who we're using, are very good.

[divemedic]

About a month ago Carnival was still offering scuba in Belize but checking now I don't see it advertised. I'd book through a private company for Belize but after reading about some of the operators being late getting divers back to the ship... I worry about the ship sailing without us. Anybody have any thoughts?

 

Divemedic :confused:

[Sailfish]

About a month ago Carnival was still offering scuba in Belize but checking now I don't see it advertised. I'd book through a private company for Belize but after reading about some of the operators being late getting divers back to the ship... I worry about the ship sailing without us. Anybody have any thoughts?

 

Divemedic :confused:

 

Just an FYI: Dive operators who leave from Belize City have a long boat ride out to any decent reefs - that's why the cost to dive is so high. I have no idea why diving was taken off the schedule of shore excursions. However, the best places to dive are past Cay Caulker, near Ambergris Cay - this is what you read about when diving is duscussed in Belize. The dive sites, even on a good day, that you will be taken to will not compare to those you could dive if you went north. Unfortunately, the only other option is to hop on a puddle jumper to Ambergris Cay (it's only a 20 min flight) but it's such a hassle to get off the tender, head over to the airport and fly over. You'll find dive operators along the beach walking distance of the airport, so once you are on the island, you're okay. If you do go thise route, remember, the dive boats generly leave between 8-9am and geting there in time is hard to do, even if you disembark the ship and go to shore on the first tender.

 

The dive sites closer to Belize City on good day will have 60-70 feet visibility. And since fishing is NOT banned, the fish population isn't great. Personally, I would dive elsewhere - Cozumel, Grand Cayman or Roatan are great. I lead dive groups on cruises for Cruise Critic and we cruise the Western Itinerary often - you are welcome to watch our

cruise to the Western Caribbean. Next year, we will be diving in the Southern Caribbean; our dive videos from this year's dive cruise are posted at our group blog.

 

Good luck.

[divemedic]

Just an FYI: Dive operators who leave from Belize City have a long boat ride out to any decent reefs - that's why the cost to dive is so high. I have no idea why diving was taken off the schedule of shore excursions. However, the best places to dive are past Cay Caulker, near Ambergris Cay - this is what you read about when diving is duscussed in Belize. The dive sites, even on a good day, that you will be taken to will not compare to those you could dive if you went north. Unfortunately, the only other option is to hop on a puddle jumper to Ambergris Cay (it's only a 20 min flight) but it's such a hassle to get off the tender, head over to the airport and fly over. You'll find dive operators along the beach walking distance of the airport, so once you are on the island, you're okay. If you do go thise route, remember, the dive boats generly leave between 8-9am and geting there in time is hard to do, even if you disembark the ship and go to shore on the first tender.

 

The dive sites closer to Belize City on good day will have 60-70 feet visibility. And since fishing is NOT banned, the fish population isn't great. Personally, I would dive elsewhere - Cozumel, Grand Cayman or Roatan are great. I lead dive groups on cruises for Cruise Critic and we cruise the Western Itinerary often - you are welcome to watch our

cruise to the Western Caribbean. Next year, we will be diving in the Southern Caribbean; our dive videos from this year's dive cruise are posted at our group blog.

 

Good luck.

 

Thanks...have to give this some more thought.. probably pass on this. Will do scuba with dolphins in Roatan and for sure dive in Cozumel.. maybe a snorkel in GC.

[Islandbear]

Off Thread question but related. I keep hearing bad comments about Carnival and Belize Tenders.

 

Is this "Old News" and no longer a problem?

 

How dificult is it to get on and early tender in Belize to take a private tour?

[tennesseelady]

ON our cruise last week all Carnival would tell us is that it was canceled do to safety issues. Does anyone know why they canceled Belize diving

[Sailfish]

ON our cruise last week all Carnival would tell us is that it was canceled do to safety issues. Does anyone know why they canceled Belize diving

 

You didn't believe them when Carnival told you it was on account of "safety issues"? Liability will always trump any other issues that come up when diving is concerned - my guess is they are probably right - someone got hurt diving. It happens all the time, and when a cruise line is in the mix, they too are part of the lawsuit.

 

Cruise ship passengers are more prone to problems - hate to lump everyone together on this, but the "average diver" off of a cruise ship probably has less than 30 logged dives and more often then not, dives only when on vacation, so their skills tend to be rusty. I lead cruise dive groups and screen all my divers very carefully before they can dive with us. I also communicate this info to all my dive operators, so "surprises" don't come up as often. Cruise lines will book any diver with a C-Card; for that reason cruise line sponsored dive operators always will cater to the lowest common denominator - a very good practice, given the skill level of most divers off of a cruise ship.

 

My groups tend to be in the minority; I know there are many other very experienced divers out there on cruise ships. But like us, they don't book their dives from the ship. Belize is one of those ports where it's a hassle to get to any decent dive sites. I suppose the cost to go (given fuel costs are through the roof) may be more than the cruise line thinks their passengers will pay. But everyone knows diving anywhere in Belize today is pricey, so my guess is the ship staff was right in saying diving was canceled due to safety issues.

 

Good luck!