RCCL in October

[chickenpizza]

We are cruising with Royal Carribean in October (3 weeks!!) we are looking at the Discover Scuba diving excursion. We are not certified and my hubby has always wanted to try scuba diving. Has anyone been on this excursions? Should we Take advantage of something else while in St Marteen?

[Jborosara]

We are cruising with Royal Carribean in October (3 weeks!!) we are looking at the Discover Scuba diving excursion. We are not certified and my hubby has always wanted to try scuba diving. Has anyone been on this excursions? Should we Take advantage of something else while in St Marteen?

 

Contact Octopus Diving SXM directly - they do discover scuba and you won't have to pay the middle man - be aware that discover dives are not for everyone and that if one or both of you cannot fairly quickly learn the skills required to dive safely, they will NOT take you diving... you have to demonstrate the ability to clear your mask underwater (blow water out of it with your nose) - replace your regulator if it falls out (the thing your breath through) - and the ability to find your regulator if for whatever reason you drop it... I am a certified diver - this is the minimal stuff to be safe - it seems stupid, but I've had my mask kicked off my face at 100 ft under the water - dropped my regulator out of my mouth while not paying attention and not had the valve in my regulator turned on fully... it's important to learn how to be calm and safe underwater - it's also why you will only go to 40 ft - pretty easy to surface from there with or without air... diving is awesome - I'm hooked and plan to dive several times the next time I go to SXM

 

another thought - if your cruise also goes to St. Croix, Barbados, Curacao, Cozumel, Grand cayman or St Lucia there is much better diving to be had in the Caribbean...

[chickenpizza]

We are cruising with Royal Carribean in October (3 weeks!!) we are looking at the Discover Scuba diving excursion. We are not certified and my hubby has always wanted to try scuba diving. Has anyone been on this excursions? Should we Take advantage of something else while in St Marteen?

 

 

Thanks for the info! We are porting in Nassau, St Thomas and St Marteen. I've done it before but my hubby has not and would like to try it. Out of the two choices, which would be better? He's also never been snorkeling.

[gtaylor]

Thanks for the info! We are porting in Nassau, St Thomas and St Marteen. I've done it before but my hubby has not and would like to try it. Out of the two choices, which would be better? He's also never been snorkeling.

 

First off, note that if you have ANY problems with your ears, such as clearing them at altitude, SCUBA is probably not for you, even to a relatively shallow depth.

 

I would back into the choice of sites.

 

What other excursions might you be interested in for your ports?

 

St. Maarten has a lot going for it.

 

St. Thomas is nice and offers a trip to St. John's.

 

For us, Nassau offers the least appealing excursions.

 

gary

 

PADI certified

[Jborosara]

First off, note that if you have ANY problems with your ears, such as clearing them at altitude, SCUBA is probably not for you, even to a relatively shallow depth.

 

I would back into the choice of sites.

 

What other excursions might you be interested in for your ports?

 

St. Maarten has a lot going for it.

 

St. Thomas is nice and offers a trip to St. John's.

 

For us, Nassau offers the least appealing excursions.

 

gary

 

PADI certified

 

I second what Gary said... never been to Nassau but understand there is nice diving in the Bahamas... Have been diving in St. Croix which is lovely but not in St. Thomas or St. John - Have been snorkeling at Trunk Bay in St. JOhn - it is also lovely... But there is just so much to do in SXM and diving isn't that great, I'd opt for Nassau...

 

But if I were gonna dive on SXM, I'd do a private arrangement through Octopus Diving... I already have the advanced certification - my hubby is open water certified but he is gonna do the advanced course online and the do check out dives with Octopus... Very nice - knowledgable- professional... All of the important stuff for diving

 

Re clearing ears - I worried about that too - but if you can clear at 15 feet and you clear often and early, you will be fine...