Scuba on Grand Cayman

[sgetto]

I'm a newly certified diver and will be cruising on the Navigator of Seas (7/23/05) to Grand Cayman. Does anyone have a recommendation(s) for as to where I should dive and which companies I should use? We arrive at 8:00am and depart at 4:00pm so I think I'm going to need a morning dive. Any ideas/help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

Steven

[sea-jay]

I belong to a dive club here in Florida and have been advised that the reefs and reef life in Grand Caymen has not yet fully recovered from the Hurricane last year. Since you will also be in Cozumel, I suggest diving there instead. The diving is just as good as Grand Caymen used to be (and will be again in a few years).

 

 

I will be diving in Cozumel on May 12 when we dock on the Explorer. I chose Diving with Alison http://www.scubawithalison.com/ as my dive operator as she has smaller boats, 6-8 divers at a time and the recommendation of the board have been high.

 

If you still want to dive in Grand Caymen, check out any of these dive operations. They have all been highly recommended at one time or another on these boards.

 

http://www.redbarondivers.com/cgi-bin/connect/index.cgi

 

http://www.otwdivers.com/main.htm

 

http://www.fisheye.com/ , especially if you are a photographer

 

http://www.divetech.com/ which also offers shore diving which is less expensive than a boat dive.

 

In any event, happy bubbles.

[bruce-r]

As a new diver, I wouldn't really recommend doing a shore dive unless you go with a guide. Boat diving is easier anyway and you will have access to better dive sites. You can also do a dive at Stingray City.

 

I went with http://www.neptunesdivers.com and recommend them. They do guided dives, but will allow you to do your own dive if you can and want. Contact Casey thru their website. They do dive Stingray City, weather permitting, if most of the people on the boat want to go there.

 

There are some other dive operators I would also recommend, though I haven't gone out with them personally. They were recommended to me by people I trust.

 

http://www.redbarondivers.com

http://www.divetech.com - They offer a guided shore dive for $50 as well as boat dives.

 

Finally, here are a few that I've read good reviews for:

http://www.diversdown.net

http://www.walltowalldiving.com/

http://www.absolutedivers.com/

 

I'd start contacting some of these operators soon as possible so you can start your planning. I do know that neptune's will easily refund your deposit if your ship doesn't stop in GCM. I think the others would as well, but be sure to ask just in case.

[bruce-r]

I belong to a dive club here in Florida and have been advised that the reefs and reef life in Grand Caymen has not yet fully recovered from the Hurricane last year. Since you will also be in Cozumel, I suggest diving there instead. The diving is just as good as Grand Caymen used to be (and will be again in a few years).

I wouldn't skip diving in Grand Cayman. Like sea-jay said, there has been some damage from Ivan, but I think it is less than he might. A friend who lives there part time has told me that it isn't bad at all. There is still lots of fish and turtles. What was damaged was some of the shallow soft stuff, like sponges and sea fans. The hurricane did do some good in removing sand from some dive sites, making the swim thru's more accessible. Also, since you haven't yet been diving in Grand Cayman, it probably won't matter that there might be some hurricane damage. You won't have a reference to what the diving was like pre-Ivan.

 

I do agree, you definitely should dive in Cozumel. I've gone out with http://www.bluextseadiving.com and really recommend Christi's operation. You should contact her right away because she had an excellent reputation and does sell out. Another OP I've used was Caribbean Divers and I know that they will accommodate a cruising diver's schedule.

[sea-jay]

Bruce - I agree that one should not miss Grand Caymen. However, at this time I think Cozumel is the better choice, especially for a new diver. Hate to have someone be disappointed because of the damage at Grand Caymen. Cozumel will have a much better opportunity to see what full reef and reef life is like.

 

 

The poster appears to be fairly new to cruising, one cruise listed, but if he gets hooked like the rest of us, there will be plenty of chances to hit Grand Caymen in the next year or so.:D

[sgetto]

Wow! Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Yes, I am new to cruising (one cruise in the Med last summer with the entire family). I was thinking about diving in Cozumel, but I would really like to see the Mayan ruins, so that day will be devoted to history. Grand Cayman looks more like a "beach and shopping" day so I figure I can slip away and spend some quality time with the fish. I'm also new to diving and live up north, so any warm tropical reefs (even if they are a bit battered) will be a thrill. Thanks for all your suggestions.

 

-Steven

[bruce-r]

Sea-jay. I agree with you, I also think Cozumel is better. I think it was even a bit better before Ivan. I'd still want to dive there if I was on a cruise. GCM is still an excellent place for beginning divers to start; good vis, little if any current, and good dive operators.

[Capt_BJ]

very easy in and out

 

very accessable

 

reef is aout 15 yards off shore

 

check their web site

 

I have a ton of dives there, first almost 20 years ago...a great place for a first nite dive once you're ready.

 

Plannin to take my daughter as soon as she gets the classes done. My choice for her first open water dives

[sgetto]

Here goes. We are arriving at 8am and departing at 4pm by tender. Most of the dive places seem to do an early dive which starts at 8ish. The afternoon dive seem to end at about 3:30pm. I'm concerned that these times don't leave me enough time to get to and from the boat. Thoughts?

Also, does anyone know who does the RCCL dives? Are they any good?

 

Thanks for your help.

Steven

[bruce-r]

Here goes. We are arriving at 8am and departing at 4pm by tender. Most of the dive places seem to do an early dive which starts at 8ish. The afternoon dive seem to end at about 3:30pm. I'm concerned that these times don't leave me enough time to get to and from the boat. Thoughts?

You have 3 choices, the easiest would be to go with the ship's excursion though I think you can do better.

 

Second choice is to do some shore diving. You will have plenty of time for at least 2 dives this way. Shore diving is a bit more work than diving from a boat, but it is way less expensive. The closest shore dive site to Georgetown and where the tenders dock is Eden Rock. There are 2 dive shops that are right there to rent tanks/weights, they are http://www.edenrockdive.com/ and http://abanksdivers.com.ky/. I would pick a different site for a shore dive just because Eden Rock is the closest, meaning it would be the more crowded of the shore dives. Just a bit farther away is Sunset House. They have an onside dive shop where you can rent tanks and their shore dive would be less populated with divers. Finally http://www.divetech.com has a good shore dive right by their shop. I'd do this one.

 

Third choice is a boat dive with http://www.neptunesdivers.com They often schedule their dives a bit later in the morning to accommodate the cruise diver's schedule. I recommend them.

 

Also, does anyone know who does the RCCL dives? Are they any good?

Redsail (http://www.redsailcayman.com/gc_cruise.html) is the ships contract dive operator. Personally, I haven't used them, but from what I have read, they are not a good match for me as far as my wants and needs from a dive operator go. They do lowest common denominator diving. I want to dive my own computer, not someone else's predetermined dive time. Redsail has some large boats which can mean big groups of divers. They conduct follow the leader style of dives of predetermined bottom time because they have a schedule to adhere to. For the typical once-a-year cruise diver, this style of diving is fine. I dive a little more often than that, so I look for a dive operator that allows me to do my own dive. I'm not saying that Redsail is bad as I have not used them, I just think that they are not a good match for me.

 

Hope this helps

[sgetto]

Bruce-R

 

Thanks for the info. I try and stay away from the RCCL tours in general as I don't like the crowds and the schedules. I'll check into the three places that you sent.

 

Thanks

Steven

[Glory.Bound]

Based on what I've read here, I contacted Neptune's Divers to find out about my trip there in October. They have a 2 tank dive trip that departs at 10am EST (9 Island time). If you're arriving at 8am, you've got a couple of hours to tender in and get on board. I'd drop them an email to find out more.

[w&k]

Just got back yesterday, and we dove with Neptune's in GC, and BlueXTC in Cozumel (reviews will be coming soon).

 

Our 1st dive in Cozumel ranked in our top 5 all time (Palancar bricks?). The reefs we did in GC did look a bit damaged (Lone Star, Hammerhead), but the dives were still wonderful.

 

Wendy

[bruce-r]

Just got back yesterday, and we dove with Neptune's in GC, and BlueXTC in Cozumel (reviews will be coming soon).

I'm really looking forward to your review. I went the same operators on my cruise too. I hope you had the same positive experience I did.

[Tos]

I agree that you should do both. I recently dove in the Caymans followed by Cozumel. While there is no comparison right now (Cozumel is 100% better), it is still worth taking a look at what a hurricane can do to the soft coral.

 

We too were on the Navigator of the Seas. You will be tendered in to the dock in Grand Cayman. There is a dive shop about 2 blocks from the pier. You can see it as you get off the tender. While it is a shore dive, its a great refresher for newly certified divers. We hired a dive guide....I think it cost $50, but he took us on a beautiful dive at Eden's Rock and Devils Grotto.

 

In Cozumel, we dove Palacar. Absolutely like diving in an aquarium.

 

Just as a suggestion, in Cozumel we used cozumelsports. I don't like the big "cattle car" dive boats with 15 to 30 people. There is always a few that end up spoiling the trip because they just don't have any business diving. I like small boats (4 to 6 divers) and end up having a much better dive experience. You may want to drop Eduardo an email. Check out his web site. I was a little concerned when I went to the "marina" where he has his boat, but believe me, you will not regret using him. My wife and daughter went on the dive and both of them were relatively new divers. I never felt safer while in the water with Eduardo. He looked after both of them the entire 2 dives. Tell him that the Haas family recommend him. Here is his email address.... eduardo@cozumelsports.com

 

I just got home from St. Thomas and St. Maarten. 4 great dives. Again, we found smaller local operators and had much better dives than those sponsored by the cruise line or some of the bigger names who typically have the bigger dive boats. We took a cab from the dock in Charlotte Amalie over to Red Hook were we were met by our dive guide Colette. We went to some "private dive sites" not commonly used by the big operators because they are too complex with larger groups. Colette helped me with some suggestions on better breating techniques after observing my air consumption on the first dive. That would never happen on a cattle car group dive.

 

Hope you have fun on the Navigator. She's a beautiful ship.

 

Tom

[sgetto]

I really want to go Tulum (if anyone knows a good guide in Cozumel...let me know) to see the ruins, so I won't have time to dive in Cozumel. But thanks for the recommendation. I'm sure I'll get to dive there another time.

 

Steven

[bruce-r]

You do know that Tulum is on the mainland, right? It is pretty much an all day affair going there. This is one of the few times I'd consider going with the ship's excursion.

[sgetto]

Bruce,

 

Yes, I know it is an all day thing, and I'm thinking about the ship's excursion although I hate doing that. I've read a bunch of postings on the boards about both the RCCL excursion and also doing it on our own. If anyone knows of a good private tourguide, please let me know.

[Jerry_G]

I've been to Tulum, and Coz also Chichenitza and I would definitely give up Tulum to dive the reefs of Coz. You'll probably spend 2 hours getting to Tulum, 1 hour touring, and two hours on the return, and believe me there is no scenery on the road to tulum. You'll also spend 45 minutes each way on the Ferry between Coz and Playa Del Carmen. But if you are really into Mayan ruins you will enjoy tulum. When my wife and I toured it we hired a guide just outside the entrance. He did a great job for about $5. You get little local flavor to the tour.

 

Jerry

[sgetto]

Jerry G.

 

How did you get to Tulum? Did you take the cruise line tour or do it on your own?

 

Steven

[divadiverfl]

we just came back from Cozumel, we rented a jeep right there. It is about thirty minutes from Playa Del Carmen if you are taking the ferry over rent a car--you don't have to wait with a tour you can explore yourself and it cost 3.00 dollars each. Bring sunscreen, film and money to buy water. Make sure you have good walking shoes.

 

I have dove Cozumel alot and GC but we did not dive this time in Mexico because of wanting to visit the ruins. Which I am glad we didn't because the seas were rough. I live in Fl and I am use to rough seas but for Cozumel they were rough and vis was cloudy compared to the great view we always get.

[bruce-r]

I think that she means that you first take the ferry across to the mainland, then you rent a car to drive to Tulum.

 

ferry schedule

[divadiverfl]

Unless she can rent Herbie the Lovebug--thanks that is what I meant.:)

[E. Lee DeGolyer 3rd]

I appreciate this topic being here. I've booked for the Carnival Victory in July this year and have checked Carnival's own shore excursions for Grand Cayman. There's nuthin' as far as scuba goes.

 

 

The ship supposedly docks around 7:30 (Ship's time or island time. Carnival doesn't say.) I know that there are tenders and that the tenders are often late.

 

Yes, yes, I know about Cozumel. A fine place to dive. But I'm likely to be taking a friend to see the ruins over on the mainland that day.

[nparmelee]

We used Eagle Ray Divers in Cozumel and Neptune's Divers in Grand Cayman this April. I thought Grand Cayman was worth every nickel and I'm still a newbie to diving with only 8 dives under my belt, 5 of which were in Lake Tahoe (bbrrrrrrr). We only did one dive in Cozumel since there were lots of jelly fish at the second site. Given the option, I'd do Grand Cayman over Cozumel, but that's just my opinion. Have fun!!!

 

 

We're doing the Med next year and wonder if anybody has done any diving there.