Belize City diving

[Scary1]

Not sure what happened to my previous thread but i'll repost here..

 

I am looking for a dive company out of Belize City, I do not like going on the cruise ship dive excursions (too many people, takes forever etc). Can anyone recommend to me a dive shop IN Belize City. The other issue is time, being ion a ship that tenders i gotta be back intime to board the tender.

[Hilary]

I haven't been to Belize via cruiseship, but everything I've read suggests that because of the logistics of tendering, etc., that booking your dive through the ship is the way to go. Apparently the dive boat goes directly to the ship so you avoid the tender altogether.

[Jerry_G]

I'm diving from on the ship excursion because they do pick you up and return you to the ship

[Gaston]

I went to Belize about 4 years ago. We didn't dive that trip because we had some non-certified people with us so we snorkeled. Anyway, the previous posters are correct. The dive boats and snorkel boats took passengers directly off the ship and headed to the reefs. Not only did that save time but they dropped you off back at the ship on time which is critical especially in Belize. In fact, our boat ride back was delayed due to weather and swells but the RCCL ship waited. I'm sure if we were on a non-RCCL excursion, they would have sailed without us. Even with radio contact to the ship, I was nervous that we'd miss the ship.

[scubalisa]

I dove with Sea Sports Belize last year. you need a minimum number of divers, but it was a pretty good operation.

[w&k]

We had fabulous dives with SeaSports Belize twice this past year - they are excellent folks with a top-notch operation. Linda and John will take excellent care of you. http://www.seasportsbelize.com Cruisers are considered honored guests, not extra hassle, but there is a minimum of 4 divers for a trip.

 

Here is a link to my review of our first trip http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=179208 and you can see pix of both of trips here. http://community.webshots.com/user/wendyandkeith

 

Their boats now have custom covers, and there is plenty of shade. Linda made an absolutely awesome homemade lunch for our trip - on the first one, she was a bit under the weather, and didn't want to spread germs.

 

The second trip we made was from the Carnival Glory, and our tender dropped us off at the close end of the cruise dock, so the shop was just around the corner. The road has also been repaved, so dragging my large wheelie bag was easy this time.

 

Carnival does not permit drop off directly at the ship, but we were dropped off right in front of the tender line with LOTS of time to spare, even though the time difference between the ship and Belize local was 2 hours.

 

Have a great trip wherever you dive!

 

Wendy

[CaesarsNcruisin4me]

We just returned from back to back cruises. We did the Eastern Caribbean on the Radiance and then loved it so much we decided to cruise for a second week. Radiance was booked so we got off the ship, called the travel agent from the port and got on the Carnival Valor and did the Western Caribbean.

 

I wanted to dive in Belize but did not want to go through the ships tour. The ships tour takes you on a two hour boat ride just to get to the dive site! On the advice from a fellow cruiser we booked with a company that has a small office by the port. You can also book with Shoretrips.com

 

We arrived in Belize and once off the ship went to the small office to book our dive. The dive site was in San Pedro so they sent us by cab to the airport (less than 10 min away) and we boarded a Cessna plane for a 15 min scenic flight to San Pedro. Upon arriving in San Pedro the dive shop is less than a 5 min walk away. The name of the dive shop is Auqa Dive. The cost for a one tank dive is $115 or $145 for a two tank dive and includes transportation to and from the airport, plane tickets, and all dive equipment! It was a FANTASTIC dive!!! :D :D You must get the first tender though if you want to do the two tank dive!

 

The diving was AMAZING and I have lots of pictures if you'd like. My dive buddy and I stopped for a few beers after our dive and missed the 2pm flight back so we went back for a few more till our 3pm flight and easily made the last tender at 3:30pm back to the ship!:p

 

Have a great trip!

 

Sandie

Home only 2 days and already missing the hot weather and great diving!!!!!

[CaesarsNcruisin4me]

Just found the business card of the company we used. Its called Ecological Tours & Services not shoretrips.com. Sorry for the confusion. We booked directly with this company on the pier and saved quite a bit compared to the ships tour. I did the scuba trip and my kids did the cave tubing! We all had a wonderful time and highly recommend this company! Their website is http://www.ecotoursbelize.com Small typo on previous post- one tank dive is $115 and the two tank dive is $140.

Sandie

[80/80 Girl]

I went thru the ship excursion which used Hugh Parkey's dive center. I highly recommend. It was an awesome boat which did pick us up and drop us off at the ship. The crew and its boat were great. No complaints. www.belizediving.com is their website. we had a fullboat of 24 people and I am not a crowd person but loved it. It was $140 (two tank dive) thru NCL excursions and we paid an extra $10 for add'l rental gear including a shorty wetsuit. Thought is was a good deal - the $10 that is. :)

 

Enjoy the atoll it is beautiful.

[billeelou]

linda searle in Belize city, you need 4 to go, contact early and let them know you are coming, they will try and fill out the spots, also post on the sticky for the cruise and see if anyone else is looking for the dive....much cheaper and better than diveops Cruises....:cool:

[Hilary]

The diving was AMAZING and I have lots of pictures if you'd like. My dive buddy and I stopped for a few beers after our dive and missed the 2pm flight back so we went back for a few more till our 3pm flight and easily made the last tender at 3:30pm back to the ship!:p

 

So are you saying that you flew AFTER diving?

[NM_Eman]

So are you saying that you flew AFTER diving?

My wife and I used to be the instructors at a resort down the coast in Belize.

Two things about flying to San Pedro for a dive.... 1) low altitude, maybe 2000' total. The pressurazation on a big jet flying at 30000 ft is about 8000 feet, sometimes 6000. So, no real risk after no more than two relatively shallow dives. I'd have a lot more concern if you were doing the Blue Hole at 130':eek: AND 2) the two airlines in Belize are not known for being always on time. They often are but often are not. So allow for a late flight in your schedule.

Kent

[kmsolo]

Just found the business card of the company we used. Its called Ecological Tours & Services not shoretrips.com. Sorry for the confusion. We booked directly with this company on the pier and saved quite a bit compared to the ships tour.

Sandie

Fiery Sand:

My parents are looking into this for their excursion in Belize. However they were wondering how they get to the airport. I know you went to the shop and they sent you in a cab. Did you hear from anyone else in your group that booked online how they got to the airport? They can't decide between Caye Caulker island with Coral Breeze Tours (40 min drive in a boat) or the reef with the plane ride... Any suggestions?

[excalwop]

Just found the business card of the company we used. Its called Ecological Tours & Services not shoretrips.com. Sorry for the confusion. We booked directly with this company on the pier and saved quite a bit compared to the ships tour. I did the scuba trip and my kids did the cave tubing! We all had a wonderful time and highly recommend this company! Their website is www.ecotoursbelize.com Small typo on previous post- one tank dive is $115 and the two tank dive is $140.

Sandie

 

Sandie,

 

thanks for the info on this group I just send them a request for more info We plan to be there in Nov. How was getting off the ship? You have said that the last tender leaves at 3:30 pm ??

Paul