scuba suggestions for Grand Cayman & Cozumel

[mistabob22]

I'm going on the Carnival Freedom to Grand Cayman and Cozumel in December. Anyone have any suggestions for scuba diving for a group of new divers? Are we better off booking an excursion with the ship or hitting up a local place on our own? Thanks in advance for any help.

[Bellfree Bat]

IMHO, book independent dive trips! The cruise ship excursions are usually crowded and not enough dive masters to lead a group on new divers along with everyone else. We had a horrible experience in Cozumel with a ship dive experience last cruise.

 

I just booked Aldora in Cozumel and Divers Down in Cayman. Both have good reviews and recommendations although I have not used them personally.

[Capt_BJ]

in Cayman an option is to shore dive on your own. Eden Rock and Sunset House are both within walking distance, have full service dive shops with reasonable rental costs and great diving right off their property. You can search on either name here and get plenty of comments.

 

http://sunsethouse.com/

 

http://www.edenrockdive.com/

 

here's an aerial shot of Sunset

 

 

at either location you can easily do two dives, some people squeeze in 3, you can keep your depths to less than 60 feet - good idea if you are newer divers. Navigation is EASY, head west to go diving, come back east to return to shore!

 

This picture is looking north from Sunset House for some perspective. Eden Rock is just in front of the blue and white cruise ship, Sunset House is less than 1 mile away. Don't worry about the surf you see here - it was a very blustery March day. Not the conditions you'd see most days.

Edited November 18, 2013 by Capt_BJ

[Dabaras]

Was in Grand Cayman two weeks ago and did the shore diving at Eden Rock. If you are really new, and not used to navigation on your own, you may want to tray one guided shore dive first. While it is fairly easy, it may give you a warm fuzzy.

 

For Cozumel, we really like Aldora. We've used them the last couple of times (twice this year) and loved it. Since your time slot is limited based on how long you're in port, they may slot you with advanced or beginner divers depending on who else is looking to dive at a late time (most divers staying in Coz start diving between 7-8 am). Their boats are fast, though not very roomy. They've always gone to requested dive spots for us (Palancar Caves is one of my favorites). They have big oversized jackets on board if it starts raining. They use steel tanks, which means your weight will be different than normal. They cost a bit more than many shops, but with the steel tanks you are getting 60-75 minute dives instead of 35-45 minute dives.

[mistabob22]

Awesome, thanks guys! Also, someone mentioned Devils Grotto in Grand Cayman. From what I gather it's close to Eden Rock that Capt BJ mentioned. Anyone have any insight on that? I guess you can just shore dive from there too? Thanks again, I've begun my research!

[Capt_BJ]

yep, Devil's Grotto is just a name of a particular site you can access from an Eden Rock entry

 

http://www.edenrockdive.com/ShoreDiving/edenrock.html

 

http://www.sportdiver.com/destinations/cayman-islands/grand-caymans-10-great-shore-dives

 

Grand Cayman's 10 Great Shore Dives

 

1) COCONUT HARBOUR RESORT - One of the best known shore dives lies directly off a small divers hotel, south of George Town, on Grand Cayman's west side. The entry point is a concrete pier with dive ladder set into the ironshore. The site is called Waldo's Reef, named after the first friendly green moray discovered in the 1970s. Successive generations of green morays have take up residence and live side-by-side with black groupers, yellow coneys, barracudas and a variety of friendly reef fish. Diving depths range from 30 to 50 feet on this fringing coral reef. 2) SUNSET HOUSE - Grand Cayman's most diverse shore dive is located off the island's largest dedicated dive resort. Access is from a concrete pier with diveladder set into the ironshore. Known as Sunset Reef, this fringing coral reef begins at 30 feet and slopes down to 50 feet, where it flattens out onto a white sand bottom. A 9 foot tall bronze mermaid statue stands at the base of the reef, providing a unique photo opportunity. A short swim out from the reef brings you to the wreck of the LCM Nicholson landing craft, set on the sand in 60 feet of water. The reef is loaded with friendly fish and if you time your dive right, you may even see the Atlantis touring submarine cruising past the wreck. 3) SEAVIEW HOTEL - A site that is popular with both resident divers as well as visitors lies directly off a small dedicated dive resort just south of George Town. The parking lot and dive center are situated close to the shoreline and access is provided by a concrete pier with two dive ladders. There are actually two sites here - Seaview Reef for new divers and Seaview Wall for experienced divers. The shallow reef system is in close to the shore and ranges from 20 to 35 feet, consisting mostly of spur and grove formations. Further out is the drop-off which starts at 60 feet and slopes to 100 feet and is covered in an impressive array of giant basket and barrel sponges. Underwater visibility frequently exceeds 100 feet. 4) EDEN ROCK DIVE CENTRE - This popular dive site is located on the south side of George Town Harbour. A large scuba and snorkeling center lies in-between two very popular shore sites known as Devil's Grotto and Eden Rock. Access to the dive site is from a concrete pier and dive ladder set into the ironshore. Devil's Grotto is a high profile coral formation honeycombed with a system of caverns, caves and inter connecting tunnels. Diving depths range from 20 to 50 feet and schools of silverside minnows are often encountered in the caves. Adjacent to Devil's Grotto is Eden Rock, a similar coral and cave system that is perfect for snorkelers, scuba divers and underwater photographers.

[jimw]

We are on Freedom's Dec.9th cruise to Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Been to both numerous times and like Sunset House for a shore dive and will likely go there this trip. We are shore diving on Cozumel as well at Blue Angel Resort. Dove there once several years ago and returning..........We also like Scuba Club for a shore dive on Cozumel.

[airbusdrvr]

Just got off Celebrity Silhouette and dove in Cozumel and Grand Cayman . Dove with Dive with Martin in Cozumel and they were great ! Dive boat picked us up right at the Internatinal Cruise Pier. We will dive with Dive with Martin from now on .

 

Dove with ships scuba excursion in Grand Cayman which is operated by Resort Sports . Dive was ok but not great , both dives were 30 minutes long no exceptions , I will not dive with Resort Sports again .

[Bellfree Bat]

We used Aldora in Cozumel last week and our dives were great. They have small and fast boats and use steel tanks. Both of our dives were about an hour for the first one (60ish feet on Santa Rosa Wall) and over an our at a more shallow reef.

l

We dove with Divers Down in Cayman. Wonderful people and nice dives.

[ktnolan]

I can highly recommend both of these. I have used the Cayman one several times and have 50 plus dives in Cozumel.

Grand Cayman; Cayman Dive Shuttle ask for Esther Woods http://www.caymandiveshuttle.com/

Cozumel; Chucho Divers http://www.chuchodivers.com/

Chucho is like family.

Enjoy:cool: