Allure of the Seas Excursion - Certified 2-Tank Boat Dive with Equipment - CZ92

[The4OfUs]

Hi - has anyone ever done this? My daughter is interested, and is certified, but after reading the description where it says "first stop may be the Santa Rosa Wall, a classic Cozumel wall dive, which plunges 80 feet below the surface". She's certified for 60 foot dives so far, and has only done dives here in New England (and in the Disney tank at Epcot). She doesn't want to reserve it and pack her wetsuit and dive stuff if she won't be able to take part.

 

Thanks for any thoughts on the matter! :)

[tahqa]

Okay, In general divers are allowed to exceed their training if with a qualified dive master. Now, with that being said I would not recommend the Cozumel excursion for your daughter. Santa Rosa wall is classified as an intermediate dive with tunnels and swim thrus at around the 80' depth. However, this dive is in a ripping current and Santa Rosa is known for its strong down currents which can pull divers down the wall well past their limits if they are not prepared.

 

Also, the provider (Sand Dollar) that Royal uses in Cozumel is not a good one, in my opinion. I can not in good faith recommend this company to anyone. And it's unfortunate because the diving in Cozumel is quite nice.

[The4OfUs]

Thank you for the information, I'll pass it along to her. She's definitely NOT "intermediate" - but this is one of the few ship sponsored trips that is SCUBA so she was interested (she's the ONLY one of our group of 13 that is certified, so she doesn't want to find an independent vendor for this trip).

 

She's also very interested in the snorkling with the Whale Sharks - while that one scares me a bit too (because of the HUGE travel time, not the whale sharks) I think I'd feel better with that one, if she can afford it. :)

[tahqa]

The nice thing about the whale shark excursion, as it was explained to me, is that you are guaranteed to see them or your money is refunded. But, yeah, it is still rather expensive and a long excursion.

 

Cozumel is certainly worth diving once your daughter has more experience. But for less skilled divers I would recommend Grand Cayman or Nassau.