Scuba in Roatan

[eagle06]

Has anyone done the beginner scuba in Roatan. Carnival uses Anthonys Key Resort. 2 of us Have done it in Aruba and Bahamas. 2 others first time.

[Kryssa]

I'm also looking for reviews of anyone diving with Anthony's Key as a Carnival Excursion. We're considering booking with the ship during our March cruise. Thanks!

[gliner]

I'm also looking for reviews of anyone diving with Anthony's Key as a Carnival Excursion. We're considering booking with the ship during our March cruise. Thanks!

 

I have gone diving with them 6 times as an excursion, awesome operation! Could not recommend it any higher.

[Sally Fletcher]

My family and I organised our diving in Roatan with West End Divers. (westenddivers@gmail.com) They did discovery dives with our 2 children while we did a couple of fun dives. Friendly and professional staff. They also arranged our round trip transportation. I highly recommend them.:)

[SailawayKC]

NCL also uses Anthony Key's and I did the DSD with them in April. They were the best. I always felt safe and I had so much fun I went ahead and got certified for my up coming trip in November.

[cardbucfan]

Well, I'll give a thumbs down to Anthony's Key. It was a true cattle boat experience with the DM's not being very personable to us compared to what we had in Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Belize. We were new divers so booked all ship excursions but they were the worst. I had rental gear that didn't work properly (depth gauge) and they were a little too "no worries" about the whole thing. The diving was spectacular though!

[gliner]

We were new divers

 

This is usually the problem.

 

Depth gauge not working properly? Then you keep close to your dive buddy or the rest of the group.

 

Personable? Unless you were there to make friends, who cares?

 

The diving was spectacular though as you say, and that is what you were there for.

[FlightMedic555]

Gliner, I beg to differ. I don't care about the crew being personable but it has to be safe. If equipment is not functioning properly you DO NOT dive. You DO NOT share computers, you DO NOT share depth gauges, etc. These are basic tenents of diving which are reinforced in every dive class.

 

I am not a very experienced diver but I have had the opportunity to dive all over the world. If you have any doubts about the safety of the operation STOP and don't do the dive. Every certified diver is told that they are personally responsible for their dive profile and their safety. The DM is not there to care for the certified diver.

 

That being said, it has been a number of years since I did a couple of dives with AKR off the cruise and they were very good. I would not characterize them as cattle boats (I would characterize Red Sail in Aruba as a cattle boat) but AKR clearly caters to the divers who are staying at their resort vs. the cruise ship passengers. AKR is pretty universally respected as a great dive operator.

 

You can check out www.scubaboard.com as they have a lot of info on dive operators at various destinations.

[gliner]

FlightMedic555 - You are correct. However, there is safety and then there is "safety." The safety of common sense and the "safety" of the liturgist.

 

The guided tours that these operators provide are just that, guided. They are a walk in the park if you will. Easy, low stress affairs to give us tourists the right to say that we "dove" this place or that. I too have had the good fortune to dive many spots of the world as a client and as a paid divemaster. No, the divemaster is not responsible for the certified diver per say, however, as a divemaster, you don't want to be losing divers either. That is bad for business. It is a double edged sword. You don't want to crowd the divers, nor do you want to boss them either.

 

Almost every dive excursion I have been on or lead has taken place in 60 feet of water or less. Why is that? Because while there are divers that have continued their training and are more than capable of diving to 130 feet, most are "open water" divers, limited to 60 feet of depth. Since most excursion dives take place in less than 60 feet of water, a functioning depth gauge is all but useless anyway unless you plan on bringing a shovel down with you. Pay attention to the divemaster as he briefs you before every dive. He gives you the depth limits, the amount of time you expect to be down and where the boat will be when you surface. He should assign divers in pairs and check everyone's equipment.

 

I have been on a number of excursions where no one's equipment was pre-checked. Does that make that divemaster a bad divemaster? Maybe, but as we have agreed, the divemaster is not "responsible" for the certified diver.

 

Now you may decide to end your dive due to a malfunctioning depth gauge, but I would not. What I would do is pay closer attention to where I am in relation to the other divers and my dive buddy and enjoy myself. IF I was leading the dive, I would not be so cavalier, as I would be "responsible" for the groups depth.

 

I am not one of those divers that straps on computers, a knife on opposing arm and leg, 2 cameras in case one fails and a freaking scooter to boot. Nor do I consult the dive tables after each dive "just in case" either. I have seen too many divers who cannot even make their way to the back of the boat by themselves because they are weighted down by so much "safety" equipment. In a real emergency, all that superfluous equipment tends to make things more complicated and dangerous than they need be.

 

So enjoy your dives and then check yourself to see how many times you actually check your depth when diving in 60 feet of water or less. You might be surprised at the answer.

[wildcat68]

Interesting comments about shared equipment. 60 feet of water is one thing, Roatan has a reef, and outside the reef, 2500 ft. A depth gauge is easily changed out if the operation has any concern for safety. I would abort a dive in a heartbeat if I was with unfamiliar "dive buddy" or cavalier DM and faulty depth gauge. (You wouldn't know it didn't work until you submerged) Having said that, if the dive driefing described the max depth (due to the bottom being 60 ft as opposed to the max we are going to go) I think a reasonable option would be to finish that dive, then strongly suggest trading the depth gauge with the DMs if they didn't have a replacemrnt for subsequent dives. I would not do that with a SPG that didn't function nor would I care to dive with anyone who thought I should. I know you should bring your own computer, but with a group of divers, not pushing the limits and doing a dive, or two, you are pretty safe using your buddies computer information. Approaching any kind of limit, Nitrox vs air, decompressin dives, etc. makes shared computer a real safety issue so use your own computer. BTW, I've never considered a dive computer to be an excess piece of equipment. Just my take. Yes, Roaton is pretty nice diving.