cruise diving newbies

[canadian goose]

I am going on carnival Valour with my 2 kids and husband on the 5th march. It is our first cruise and my husband is reluctant (very) to book anything not with the cruise line. Hence, I booked the 2 tank dive in Roatan through carnival. My son is 14 and this will be dive # 6 (1 dive in the st. lawrence post certification) I did the "tune up", and same dive. Previous to that I have not dived in >10 years .Could someone please give me a heads up on what to expect on this dive? I am hoping that my husband will be more comfortable and we can book an off cruise dive in belize.

[sportsterjohn]

I think I would do the reverse. Most of the Belize diving is pretty far from where you tender in and there are only a few dive ops to choose from. In Roatan, it is very easy to book a dive yourself and get there and back in time.

[wystiria]

hi there! we just did this itenerary....below this thread is a post by Augie with his review, mine will be short to follow.

 

I would reccomend diving with privat operators! and can reccomend 2 for you - in grand cayman and costa maya -

 

I can't tell you what diving with the ship was like thoguh sorry!

[Hilary]

I have to agree that you're better off booking privately on Roatan and with the ship in Belize. However, since you're new divers and your DH is uncomfortable booking privately, going through the ship will give him the comfort he needs to enjoy the excursion/dive.

 

I can't think of any dive that would be good if my DH was stressed out and worried. I'd book with the ship in this case and have a wonderful time.

[cmdchiefthom]

Canadian goose

 

I agree with the other posters here, Roatan is better booked through a private dive operator, and because of the distance involved, the ship's dive excursion is the better bet in Belize.;) I have a dive operator in Roatan at the Yacht Club who specializes in small groups and can tailor a dive to the experience level of the divers. Let me know if you're interested and I'll send you her email address.:)

[w&k]

I've been diving in Belize from cruise ships three times - the first time was with the ship's excursion, and it was a good trip. I can't remember the name of the operator offhand, but it's been the same one for years.

 

The second time we dove in Belize (last spring), we went with SeaSports Belize http://www.seasportsbelize.com We had such a good time, we turned around and booked another cruise for the fall to go with them again (and BlueXTSea in Cozumel).

 

For the spring dive (RCCL) they took us right to the ship. CCL does not allow them to go to the ship, but dropped us off right at dock where the tenders come in. Ten steps, and we were in the tender line and back on-board.

 

Either way you book, you are going to have a great dive, but IMO, SeaSports gives more personal service.

 

Here's a link to my review of the spring trip. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=179208 Also, the boats now have custom covers so there is plenty of shade. Linda also made a yummy lunch for our surface interval.

 

Have a great time!

 

Wendy

[billeelou]

and west end divers roatan....:)

[canadian goose]

thanks for the advice-unfortunately we go to roatan first-therefore I've already booked with carnival- I'll probably book with them in Belize also. Maybe when we get more experience we'll book independently.