Sold Out Excursions

[tomcatguy74]

Hello Everyone!,

 

My family and I are booked on the Celebration and we were looking for a beginners scuba excursion. One only one during the whole cruise is sold out. 

If people cancel, will the website reflect that and can we set an alert in case it happens or do we wait and ask about availbility once aboard the ship? 

Also, other than the obvious "Don't miss the ship because it is not a Carnival sponsered excursion" criteria, how safe is it to take a local beginners scuba tour?

We are going to Curacao, Aruba, and Bonaire. 

 

Thanks

[mz-s]

I would strongly strongly not recommend a cruise excursion being your first experience with scuba. I just don't think there's enough time to learn it and be comfortable with it and feel safe.

 

Doubly no to booking a third party tour for beginners scuba, unless you can find out who Carnival uses and book independently with them I guess.

 

Depending on when your cruise is, it may be that the tour you're interested in is just not for sale yet. Carnival needs a "check back soon" button rather than just putting sold out for everything. I would say this is likely the case if your cruise is a year or more away.

 

You might think about doing some beginners scuba classes in your area before your cruise so you're not limited to a beginners scuba excursion, if there's time especially if you could see scuba being something you plan to do more of in the future.

 

However if people cancel, it will be available for booking online again. There is no waitlist or alert functionality however. You just have to keep checking regularly.

[1025cruise]

Just note that I believe the scuba excursions require you to already be certified. 

[mz-s]

14 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

Just note that I believe the scuba excursions require you to already be certified. 

 

I see an excursion available for San Juan for my upcoming cruise called "Discover Scuba at Escambron Marine Park" that does not require certification nor does it contribute to certification.

Edited March 9, 2023 by mz-s

[Nic6318]

54 minutes ago, tomcatguy74 said:

Hello Everyone!,

 

My family and I are booked on the Celebration and we were looking for a beginners scuba excursion. One only one during the whole cruise is sold out. 

If people cancel, will the website reflect that and can we set an alert in case it happens or do we wait and ask about availbility once aboard the ship? 

Also, other than the obvious "Don't miss the ship because it is not a Carnival sponsered excursion" criteria, how safe is it to take a local beginners scuba tour?

We are going to Curacao, Aruba, and Bonaire. 

 

Thanks

 

Hi Tomcatguy,

 

I wouldn't hesitate to book an excursion for "beginner" scuba on a cruise. I would say that you should feel that you are a calm strong swimmer.

 

They are typically called "Resort course". You spend about 30-45 min. with instruction (not in the water). Then your instructor will bring everyone into shallow water suited up, where you will be asked to demonstrate each point of your instruction. The main thing your instructor will be looking at is that you are understanding and able to carry out what is being asked while being calm. Once your instructor is satisfied, you will be brought into deeper water generally not deeper than about 30ft. You will be required to stay close to him/her or you might find your dive cut short.

Depending where you are diving from, it will be either walking in from shore, or off a boat. For these dives you will likely be out of the water in about 30 min., possibly a little longer, but not much more.

 

I have done this 4 separate times in different locations over the years. I just never had the time to get my certification. Every time was wonderful. If you feel comfortable in the water especially snorkeling, this will bring you into a new world.

 

The only issue could be if your group is too large or someone in the group was having problems, it could delay things, but I would expect that these instructors have dealt with many people.

 

As far as finding someone to do this with, check these boards for some recommendations  or look on the internet. Look for something like "best dive shop in ...." and read the reviews.

 

enjoy

 

 

[BlerkOne]

People seem to like this place

https://vipdiving.com/courses/discover-scuba-diving/

 

 

[lesters]

My husband who is certified (lol multiple meanings on that one lol) dove on our cruise to Bonaire. - he booked this independently. I mention it because Bonaire is known as a divers bucket list location and had many dive shops. 
 

he had two dives the morning of our day in Bonaire and I met him for a l’été lunch before returning to the ship.  
 

With some research you will likely find a shop who offers beginner dives.  

[mlshum]

2 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

Just note that I believe the scuba excursions require you to already be certified. 

Not all of them.  The “discover scuba” options are for total beginners.  The quality of the class varies with the instructors.  The first time I tried it was in St Thomas.  I didn’t make it down and it was a wonder none of us drowned.  The second time I tried it was in Cozumel and it was excellent.  In Cozumel the company was Sand Dollar Sports.  Each instructor had only 3 divers.  They did a session in a classroom, then a session in the water where you could stand up if needed and when we’d mastered that well enough to suit Raphael, we went down 20 feet.  He could tell I was really nervous from my really bad experience before and he stayed right beside me until he felt I was getting more comfortable.  Both were ship excursions.

[klfrodo]

Don’t even be concerned about whether the excursion is a private company or an excursion offered by the cruise line.

Especially one such as a beginner scuba dive.

Dive shops tend to go out of business very fast if they lose a customer due to drowning. Dive shops must follow extreme safety guidelines and word of mouth would kill them in the diving community.

I actually did one of these beginner dives in Aruba. Felt very safe and enjoyed the experience.

I did decide that diving was not compatible with my old out of shape fat self. I also decided that me and marine life get along much better if we both stay in our own environment.

[SailawayKC]

I did a discover scuba on a cruise 10 years ago. I enjoyed it so much I went home and got certified before my next cruise. 

[ABQrobin]

Bonaire is the PERFECT place to do scuba, especially a "Discover Scuba" as the water is very calm and clear, and full of fish.  I know this because hubby and I are 20+ year certified scuba divers (he's actually an instructor) and we have dived all over the world, including 2 weeklong vacations to Bonaire.  It is like diving in a aquarium at most dive sites.  Diving is the main industry for Bonaire, dozens of great dive ops and I wouldn't hesitate to use any of them.

[Riles34]

First off, YOU MUST DIVE BONAIRE! You will fall in love with it! As far as sold out excursions, once on board they will have more openings and even add more excursions that they don't list online before hand. 

 

Find a good dive shop in Bonaire with great reviews. Call them up and let them know your situation and how to get transportation to them. This is what I have done on almost all my cruises as it is cheaper than booking through carnival. I am certified but my wife isn't. The beginner dives will have a classroom session to go over equipment and safety and then you will go in 3-4 feet of water and practice skills like removing your regulator, clearing water out of your mask under water etc. Then you will go off for 30-45mins diving. You won't go deeper than 30-40 feet which is awesome.

 

Start your research and have a ball! Don't listen to any negativity you may get here as they clearly have not tried beginner scuba.

[marci4tony]

Bonaire - Do some research there.  That is one of the best diving locations.  Do not be afraid to book a not-cruise ship "excursion" - just do your research, and ask lots of questions with the company(s) to talk to.  They are used to cruise ship passengers hanging out with them.

 

If yo go to Youtube - Type in Bonaire Live - you will find an underwater webcam in Harbour Village.  If you watch that for a few, you will be chomping at the bit to go!

 

Good luck!

[LibertyBella]

My husband is scuba certified (he did it in the Dominican Republic at a resort), but before that he booked a few of those discover scuba trips (he is an excellent swimmer.) Some of them were simplistic, but others took you down a bit deep for a beginner!  You do not need to have any previous experience to sign up for them.

 

Now when we cruise he signs up for the certified scuba diver two tank dive.  If they do not have it offered on the ship, he will research a local company and make the arrangements, if possible.  The challenge is most dives leave early morning, so if the ship docks late at port it might not be possible to arrange it.

 

He loves scuba diving, and has gone many interesting places underwater!

[TrqoisWtrs]

On 3/8/2023 at 5:41 PM, tomcatguy74 said:

My family and I are booked on the Celebration and we were looking for a beginners scuba excursion.

Are you flying to the port?  I'm certified but haven't dove in years, but I know you shouldn't fly the next day, so if the scuba is the last day...or maybe someone can chime in, if a shallow discover scuba dive even brings this issue into play?

[mz-s]

2 hours ago, cruisin*tigger said:

Are you flying to the port?  I'm certified but haven't dove in years, but I know you shouldn't fly the next day, so if the scuba is the last day...or maybe someone can chime in, if a shallow discover scuba dive even brings this issue into play?

 

It takes at least 2 sea days to get from Miami to the ABC islands so that's not an issue. But yes, I wouldn't scuba in Nassau if I were back in Miami the next day flying home.

[Guest BasicSailor]

On 3/8/2023 at 6:41 PM, tomcatguy74 said:

Hello Everyone!,

 

My family and I are booked on the Celebration and we were looking for a beginners scuba excursion. One only one during the whole cruise is sold out. 

If people cancel, will the website reflect that and can we set an alert in case it happens or do we wait and ask about availbility once aboard the ship? 

Also, other than the obvious "Don't miss the ship because it is not a Carnival sponsered excursion" criteria, how safe is it to take a local beginners scuba tour?

We are going to Curacao, Aruba, and Bonaire. 

 

Thanks

I've done exactly two Paid Carnival excursions over the years. I found them overpriced. (Pirate ship sailing in Nassau and a Moonlite thing in Aruba). All the rest were simply self-picked while doing research on the port of call with local vendors.

[tomcatguy74]

Hi everyone! 

 

Thank you all so much for your replies.

So I have reached out to VIP Diving in Bonaire to see if they have anything availible for our stop on the island. 

I will also check with the ship once on board to see if any openings are availible for the Discovery Scuba excursion they have. 

I have started watching the youtube channel of the live underwater camera in the Harbour Village on Bonaire. Yes, I am definately biting at the bit to get into that water. Thank you for that!!🤩

I have done a similar discover scuba a few years ago in Roatan Island and that was AMAZING!!

This time I will be taking my youngest son with me in Bonaire. He is 20. 

The feeling I got once I was sitting on the bottom in the sand under 40ft of ocean and didn't have to rush up for air was incredible!🐟🐠🐡

I would love to get certified but it's pretty expensive so I need to eliminate some of my other hobbies to afford this one. 😄

I am 48 years old and need to get this diving crave going!!

Thank you all again for the great replies!!

[Riles34]

12 hours ago, tomcatguy74 said:

Hi everyone! 

 

Thank you all so much for your replies.

So I have reached out to VIP Diving in Bonaire to see if they have anything availible for our stop on the island. 

I will also check with the ship once on board to see if any openings are availible for the Discovery Scuba excursion they have. 

I have started watching the youtube channel of the live underwater camera in the Harbour Village on Bonaire. Yes, I am definately biting at the bit to get into that water. Thank you for that!!🤩

I have done a similar discover scuba a few years ago in Roatan Island and that was AMAZING!!

This time I will be taking my youngest son with me in Bonaire. He is 20. 

The feeling I got once I was sitting on the bottom in the sand under 40ft of ocean and didn't have to rush up for air was incredible!🐟🐠🐡

I would love to get certified but it's pretty expensive so I need to eliminate some of my other hobbies to afford this one. 😄

I am 48 years old and need to get this diving crave going!!

Thank you all again for the great replies!!

Do the eLearning course on Padi.com, its $217 which is pretty reasonable for the open water course. Then you could work with the dive shops on your cruise to get your open water dives in! You are going to pay to rent the gear and all that jazz so you might as well have your dives count toward your certification!! Diving is the best stress relief and the amazing things you get to see. Also, a WICKED workout!!! Do yourself a favor and get it done!!