Grand Quest. - where/how should we scuba?

[Kambird]

I have been reading about the tendering problems on the Grand and it seems to me that if I want to go scuba diving with my sons, I should go through the ship's shore excursion.

 

Which port would offer us the best diving opportunity? My sons and I are all certified, but they haven't had a chance to get wet since their four Open Water dives. I have done more diving, but not much more. My sons are 15 and 12 and I am, well...older :)

 

Any suggestions? Comments? I can't wait to get back under water.

 

Thanks!

 

Kam

[Rachelle]

I have been reading about the tendering problems on the Grand and it seems to me that if I want to go scuba diving with my sons, I should go through the ship's shore excursion.

 

Which port would offer us the best diving opportunity? My sons and I are all certified, but they haven't had a chance to get wet since their four Open Water dives. I have done more diving, but not much more. My sons are 15 and 12 and I am, well...older :)

 

Any suggestions? Comments? I can't wait to get back under water.

 

Thanks!

 

Kam

I just returned from the Grand and have been diving in all the ports except for Costa Maya (or Playa Del Carmen... whichever it will be) and I would say that Belize, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel are all great dives. Hard to say which is better. Cozumel has the 2nd best reef next to the Great Barrier Reef... diving doesnt get much better than that. It is also drift diving so it makes for a really easy pleasant dive with very little work involved and not too deep. We go diving there alot. It does have a little damage from the hurricane but its not bad at all. It probably has the most fish and alot of variety. We know a really good dive shop in Cozumel that isnt far from the pier (or what was the pier) so we dove with them instead of the ship and still have plenty of time to eat and do some shopping in town. I have been diving with the dive shop that does the ships excursions and I didnt enjoy it as much. The group is usually pretty big. I dove with the ship in Grand Cayman and did the North Wall and Stingray City dive. North Wall was pretty good... its a rather deep dive though (80-110 ft) so if its you or your sons first ocean dive it may not be the best choice. Although Stingray City is incredible and its even better if you are scuba diving rather than snorkeling. Its only 15 ft deep and there are about 40 rays in the scuba area. Great experience. We had an issue with our Belize dive trip and didnt end up going this time around but I've dived there before. I heard from people on the ship that it wasnt that great of a dive because the weather wasnt great and thus poor visibility. Belize is good for large animal sightings though. When I dove we saw a manatee and a shark when we went. I think Cozumel is your best bet if you only want to do one dive during the cruise.

As far as time goes, the ship isnt going to leave you if you are on their excursion. With that said.. you can save alot of money going on your own. The shop we dove with in Cozumel charged us 56.00/ea for a private dive (2 people) where the ship excursion was 149.00/ea I think. And like I said there was no problem with making it back on time. If you tell the divemaster when you have to be back they are really good about making sure they get you there. Just make sure you get your tender tickets early and you should be good to go. We actually made it on time to the dive in Cozumel and the dive in Grand Cayman with the ship was really late leaving the ship as well as returning. We were the last tender back in Grand Cayman. Hope that helps! :)

Rachelle

[Kambird]

Thanks, Rachelle. That's what I was looking for. I know I can get a better deal if I book it on my own, but I am worried about all these tendering issues I keep hearing about.

 

In Cozumel was it a one tank dive or two tank dive? Was it PADI? And do you have their name?

 

Thanks...

 

Kam

[Rachelle]

Thanks, Rachelle. That's what I was looking for. I know I can get a better deal if I book it on my own, but I am worried about all these tendering issues I keep hearing about.

 

In Cozumel was it a one tank dive or two tank dive? Was it PADI? And do you have their name?

 

Thanks...

 

Kam

 

No Prob...

 

The dive shop in Cozumel is called Papa Hogs. They gave us a two tank dive for that price. They are PADI also. Where in Texas are you? Let me see if I can find their email address tonight when I get back home.

[budaman]

Afternoon All!

 

Excursion cost in GC & Cozumel on the Grand is $99. It's $149 in Majahual & Belize. One thing to remember when checking prices is that the excursion cost does include gear.

 

We are planning on diving Majahual, GC & Cozumel on our cruise. We are skipping Belize so we can do a Zipline excursion so didn't check what dive op they use there, but they do pick up & drop directly from the ship so there is no tendering.

 

In Majahual they use Dreamtime. Grand Cayman they use Resort Sports for the Sting Ray City/ North Wall dive and in Cozumel, Dive House. All these ops have websites so you can research them.

 

We will more than likely use the excursion in Majahual, haven't decided on GC.....might just hit Eden Rock and do the Jolly Roger snorkle tour and in Cozumel will try to set up a charter with Dive w/Martin if we can get one or two more divers. Used them last April and was very pleased.

 

I'm sure you will enjoy whatever options you choose.

 

Mike

 

www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

[budaman]

Afternoon All!

 

Excursion cost in GC & Cozumel on the Grand is $99. It's $149 in Majahual & Belize. One thing to remember when checking prices is that the excursion cost does include gear.

 

We are planning on diving Majahual, GC & Cozumel on our cruise. We are skipping Belize so we can do a Zipline excursion so didn't check what dive op they use there, but they do pick up & drop directly from the ship so there is no tendering.

 

In Majahual they use Dreamtime. Grand Cayman they use Resort Sports for the Sting Ray City/ North Wall dive and Don Fosters for the West Wall dives and in Cozumel, Dive House. All these ops have websites so you can research them.

 

We will more than likely use the excursion in Majahual, haven't decided on GC.....might just hit Eden Rock and do the Jolly Roger snorkle tour and in Cozumel will try to set up a charter with Dive w/Martin if we can get one or two more divers. Used them last April and was very pleased.

 

I'm sure you will enjoy whatever options you choose.

 

Mike

 

www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

[Kambird]

Rachelle and Mike,

 

I was just about to ask if Papa Hogs in Cozumel provided gear for that price, too. And would you think they have gear small enough for my smallish 12 year old?

 

Mike, you had some good suggestions, too. Which area would you suggest for us? Keep in mind, this will be my kids first post certification dive. And the 12 year old isn't supposed to go deeper than 40 feet.

 

And if I book though the ship, how many people usually end up going? I don't know if I would like so many at once. I've been spoiled in the past...

 

Thanks.

 

Kam

[Kambird]

No Prob...

 

The dive shop in Cozumel is called Papa Hogs. They gave us a two tank dive for that price. They are PADI also. Where in Texas are you? Let me see if I can find their email address tonight when I get back home.

 

I forgot to mention, we are in Allen, near Plano. North of Dallas. The home of Barney :rolleyes:

 

Kam

[Rachelle]

I am in Frisco... where did you get certified?

 

I am fairly sure that Papa Hogs would have a BC small enough for a 12 yr old. I used an XS with them before I got my own equipment. When I get that email you can check to make sure. The dives in Cozumel wont be that deep also. Especially if you let them know ahead of time. The dives that I have done through the ships have had groups ranging from 10-20 people.

[vespa134]

Blue Dolphin in Frisco anyone??

 

We dove all 4 ports all with princess booked excursions (12/24/05 - 12/31/05).

 

I highly recommend doing the Belize dive through Princess (Hugh Parkey dive shop). Excellent operation with new equipment and excellent staff. They pick you up in the dive boat at the ship & Belize has very beautiful, dense coral.

 

If you're going to skip a dive, I would personally skip costa maya.

 

Red Sail is a good non-princess dive shop in Grand Cayman and they will pick you up at the port (probably only a one-tank dive with them though).

...and everyone in the far far north Dallas area (you know, Allen, Lucas, Frisco, Plano, etc.) highly recommends Papa Hogs in Cozumel.

[vespa134]

Ok, I just pulled my dive log.

 

These were all princess booked excursions.

 

Costa Maya:

12/26/05 2-tank dive w/Dreamtime. New, but small boats. Had to return to dive shop for the 2nd tanks.

 

Did not get the dive locations...1st dive 74ft & 81 degrees...2nd dive 59ft & 77 degrees. Dove w/3mm suit and got cold on the 2nd dive.

 

Belize (I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this princess excursion):

12/27/05 2-tank dive w/Hugh Parkey's (www.belizediving.com).

Turneffe Atoll at Chasbo's corner (70ft +/- & 80 degrees) and Elking Bay (60ft +/- and 81 degrees).

Grand Cayman:

12/28/05 2-tank dive w/resort sports.

North wall - 99ft (others hit 110+/- and saw a hammer head shark) and 82 degrees, Stingray City- 11ft and 80 degrees.

Cozumel:

12/29/05 2-tank dive w/The Dive House (note: equipment looked VERY OLD)

Santa Rosa Wall - 89ft. and 81 degrees; Las Palmas reef - 71ft and 77 degrees.

[budaman]

Kam....with the depth restriction for your son, I would be a little aprehensive on the ship excursions. In GC, a 2 tank will generally have a first dive @ 85 - 100 ft, same in Cozumel because it will usually be a wall dive. In GC, I would suggest maybe shore dives at Eden Rock or the Turtle Farm area and in Cozumel maybe Chankaanab Park. In Majahual, I've heard max depth is usually 70 - 80 ft on the first dive so they could probably accomodate a shallower dive.

 

Mike

 

www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

[Rachelle]

Blue Dolphin in Frisco anyone??

 

 

...and everyone in the far far north Dallas area (you know, Allen, Lucas, Frisco, Plano, etc.) highly recommends Papa Hogs in Cozumel.

 

Yup.... Blue Dolphin right here!!! :)

We are glad Mike is back in our neighborhood...

[Kambird]

Wow - you are all so full of great information. I knew I could get some answers.

 

First of all, we were confined water certified in Plano at what used to be called Ocean's Window. It was sold to Blue Dolphin. Our open water certification took place in Carriacou in Grenada with a great dive shop there.

 

Ok - let me see if I have this straight. The excursion dives may tend to be too deep for my guys. Cozumel has a nice well known dive shop that we could book independently called Papa Hogs. The Belize shore excurions comes highly recommended. But then again, it may be too deep. Do I have that right?

 

So, here is the million dollar question: While I would love to dive at each port, my other two sons, husband, mother in law, would be missing us, so we will only be able to dive once. Where do you all suggest we do it and how?

 

Thanks tons....you are really so generous with your help.

 

Kam

[budaman]

OK......Kam here's my answer to your question. Only being able to dive one site with your son that is restricted to around 40 ft and not wanting to abandon the rest of your family....if I read you right;) The winner is....

 

Chankaanob Park in Cozumel

 

Nice area the rest of the family can hang and have fun....

Proper depth for your son....

Several shops ypu can get equipment from.....

Lots of neat things in the water to check out....

Easy cab ride to & from......

Plenty of time in Cozumel even with tendering......

Last stop on the cruise and by that time you might want to get away from the rest of your family:p

 

Mike

 

www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

[Kambird]

Mike, you have hit the nail on the head!

 

We were on the Rhapsody of the Seas last year and spent the day at Chankanaab Park as well, although we didn't scuba there. I was hoping to go there anyway since I figured the rest of the family can hang out on the beach while we three adventurers go scuba diving. My only concern with that is that I understand that the park is still closed since Wilma and may not be reopened in time for the March 11th sailing.

 

Does anyone know?

 

And Mike, would I arrange that on my own beforehand or just take a cab over there and sign up that day?

 

Thanks,

 

Kam

[budaman]

Had forgotten about the damage from Wilma.....seems to be some disagreement on when they will be back up. Official stance seems to be mid Feb. One other option would be to try & set up a private dive in Cozumel....that location has probably the most, well qualified shops that won't cost an arm & a leg. We used Dive w/Martin and they will go out with 3 and you can specify what sites you want to dive. We did our dive interval at Nachi Cocum so if you wanted to meet up with family you could probably coordinate what beach etc you'd want to do your interval as long as it was convenient to the dive sites. One thing you might encounter when emailing different ops is a slight language barrier.

 

Mike

 

www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

[billeelou]

Majjahual, is Maya palms, Dive with Martin in Coz, and Eden Rock at GC I will do the Parkey's deal( ship sponsored) on Belize...Sailing on the 21st, will let you know how it goes....

[Kambird]

Thanks. I'll look forward to hearing about your trip when you return.

 

Have fun!

 

Kam

[Rachelle]

Here is the website and email for Papa Hogs. I would check with them and let them know you are coming in on a cruise ship and see if the times would work. Also mention you heard about them through Blue Dolphin-Frisco because they will give you a discounted rate because of that. I think that if they can do a dive with you, you should take it because they will cater to your needs, where the ship excursion cannot. With a smaller group they can keep an eye on everyone much easier. Also they can take you to shallower, easier dive spots. No matter which you choose you are going to have a blast. :D

www.papahogs.com

scubadiving@papahogs.com