beginners scuba

[Leslike]

My husband really would like to do the beginners scuba excursion in Grand Cayman. Has anyone done this? If so was it worth it? Did you use Carnival's excursion or did you book on your own. Thank you for your help.

[L2J]

My husband really would like to do the beginners scuba excursion in Grand Cayman. Has anyone done this? If so was it worth it? Did you use Carnival's excursion or did you book on your own. Thank you for your help.

I have done the "Discover Scuba" in Cozumel, not GC. I booked it through the ship (NCL) and highly recommend this type of excursion. The cost was $80.

[oldmedic]

we also did our intro to scuba at Chakanaab, but you might check with http://www.fisheye.com to see if it is available during the time you are in port.

[sportsterjohn]

You may want to look for a private operator. You will probably get more personalized attention and more bottom time.

[staceyvols]

We did beginner scuba in St. Thomas. I felt it was awful. You got 5 minutes to get used to the breathing and if you didn't, you sat on the beach-which I did. Now they do say there is no refund for this, but I didn't feel 5 minutes for a BEGINNER was enough. Plus the instructor wasn't very patient.

[LW1]

We did the "Resort Course" with Nephtune Divers in Grand Cayman last December. What a great experience! They only take a max of 8 divers at a time so you get lots of personal attention. They offer a 2 dive resort course-both are in the ocean. I was a little shakey after the first dive. Casey and Keith let me know what I was doing wrong between dives. The second dive was great.

I will be using them again on my next visit to Grand cayman.

The web site is http:\\http://www.neptunesdivers.com

 

Email neptunes@neptunesdivers.com

[L2J]

We did beginner scuba in St. Thomas. I felt it was awful. You got 5 minutes to get used to the breathing and if you didn't, you sat on the beach-which I did. Now they do say there is no refund for this, but I didn't feel 5 minutes for a BEGINNER was enough. Plus the instructor wasn't very patient.

I don't think all tour operators are the same. Sorry you had a bad experience.

[willybegolfer]

Sorry to be a bit off topic, but I am on the Conquest on 7/11. My daughters are doing the Dolphin swim at Chankanaab. I was hoping to get in a begginer's scuba there. I've done 4 tanks in Hawaii, what a rush!

 

Anybody suggest anything for scuba at Chankanaab?

[steveaaaa]

you have 4 dive operators right there to take you in! I mean right there,50 ft from the water.

Steve

[Travelitis]

We've done this excursion in GC, CZM, and Roatan. Each operator is different. We didn't book through Carnival since we weren't on Carnival, but GC and CZM were booked through the cruise line. We had a great time in GC and would recommend it over CZM. I would do a search for discover scuba then e-mail the operators and find out if they will work with you should you need more than 5 min. of breathing. In GC I hyperventilated and cried - totally lost it. The dive instructor was very patient, and he got me calmed down and under water. The other people weren't robbed of any dive time because of it, and I didn't end up paying out the nose to end up snorkeling. In CZM the cruise line used Red Sail, and a lady ended up snorkeling because she couldn't go as fast as they required. Had I not already done this in GC on that cruise, I would've snorkeled, too. Also, the class was not as detailed and as good in CZM as in GC. I wish I could remember the operator in GC for you. E-mail me at gmcgraw@gt.rr.com, and I'll try to get it for you.

[oldmedic]

just a note to those planning on doing a resort dive in Chakanaab in the near future. I read yesterday from the Rodales dive site that all the dive operators at Chakanaab have been closed down by the Mexican IRS for fail to pay taxes and federal fees. not sure how long they will be down, but for the time being, there are not any dive shops operating there. my understanding is that outside vendors can still dive the area.

[mathgal]

I just did a Discover Scuba dive in Grand Cayman a couple of weeks ago while on our Paradise cruise. We booked the dive with Abanks Dive Center, but made the booking through Island Marketing (http://grandcaymancruiseexcursions.com/). They have a "live help" feature that lets you chat with someone if you have questions about your booking or the dive itself. The Discover Dive was $75 and included all of the equipment. A 20% down payment was required when you booked the dive.

 

My husband is a certified scuba diver and I wanted to be able to dive with him. We had done this at Cozumel two years ago with EagleRay Divers also. Abanks Dive Center is located just a few minutes walk away from where the cruise ship tenders dock in Grand Cayman so it is very easy to get to.

 

Three years ago I actually took all of the classroom sessions and did the confined (pool) water dives to begin the scuba certification process. When it came to the open water portion I freaked out and didn't follow through. Since I had a basic knowledge of what to do in scuba, the instruction I received from Abanks was very minimal. The divemaster did a quick run through and made sure I remembered everything but that was it. I'm sure the instruction would be much more thorough for someone who was brand new.

 

DH has all of his own scuba equipment so he just rented a tank and weights from Abanks for the dive. We did a shore dive right there at the dive center so did not have to deal with the hassle and time of taking a boat somewhere. You enter the water down a set of rocky stairs and and immediately you start seeing LOTS of fish...and big ones too!!

 

The divemaster brought along some bait on the dive and was able to attract all kinds of fish. We had one fish about 2 feet long just follow us like a little puppy for the whole dive! The divemaster stayed right with me (holding my hand) until he was confident I could manage on my own but even then he stayed right at my side. There were large coral formations with tunnels that we swam through. At one point he directed us to go down to the very bottom (maximum depth was only about 35 feet) and he lured a nurse shark out from under some coral. This shark was probably about 5 feet long and would only come out just long enough to grab a piece of bait...then he would duck back under the coral overhang. A green moray eel was also lurking around the same place and came out to get the free meal! Our dive lasted about 45 minutes.

 

All in all, I would say Grand Cayman would be a good place to try scuba diving just because it is so close to the cruise ship and can be done right from shore.

 

I do want to mention that when we arrived for the dive they didn't have any record of our reservation or that we had already made the downpayment. It was eventually resolved but it would be smart to bring along your email confirmation just in case (I forgot it on the ship.) The only other issue I had was that I kept getting a very small amount of water in the regulator (the part in your mouth) as I was diving. I suspect this was an equipment problem since I hadn't had any trouble on my dives before, but who knows...it may just be due to my inexperience too. As a result, my throat was burning by the end of the dive from the salt water. :(

[mathgal]

One additional note...my husband and friend also did a shore dive at Chankanaab Park while on our cruise and were very disappointed. The coral there is dead and there really wasn't much to see. I too have read that the dive operations at the park have been shut down since we were there so diving in Chankanaab may not be an option anyway. DH was also glad he had his own equipment because the stuff he saw for rent wasn't the greatest.

 

Chankanaab is a beautiful park and a great place to spend the afternoon in Cozumel, just be aware that better snorkeling and diving can be found if you take a boat further out.

[shookdm]

An option for those interested in SCUBA. Consider doing a PADI open water dive course in a local pool BEFORE you go. You can do your open water certication dives on the cruise, and they'll be more interesting than a intro to scuba class, and more involved. (and, you'll have a mask that really works for you = guys, trim you moustache under you lip a little before u dive to prevent leakage)

 

Some of the courses can be completed in a weekend or 2, others are done at night. Once you complete the course and test, you get a certificate to take with you. I've been certified for 15 yrs, and my S.O. just did this so we could dive together.

 

Additionally, the PADI web site has lists of recommended PADI operators. I strongly recommend making sure the operator you use is associated with an international dive org like PADI, for safety reasons. The course will tell you how to make sure they have safe equipment.

[Seafrost]

Just got back from Grand Caymen. My husband and I signed up for the beginner scuba. We got off the ship after filling out the PADI medical info. Got to the place and was denied participating due to a "YES" answer that my husband listed on the form. YOU CAN NOT PARTICIPATE AT ALL IF YOU ANSWER YES TO ANY OF THE MEDICAL QUESTIONS UNLESS YOU HAVE A CLEARANCE FROM YOUR DR. I JUST WISH WE KNEW THAT PRIOR!!!!!!!!!