Diving on the Carnival Miracle's Itinerary...

[cody_dingo]

Hi All,

 

This board has been so informative. It really is a great resource!

 

My wife and I are recently certified open water divers. We're crusing on the Miracle in Winter 2007 and are curious how the four ports rank in diving. Here's the list:

 

Grand Cayman

Cozumel

Belize

Costa Maya

 

 

We're also wanting to go horseback riding at some point as well. We'd obviously like to dive where the diving is nice, and ride where we aren't missing a lot by skipping the diving. I dove Cozumel as a kid and remember it being nice, however we've booked the cooking class in Coz so diving is out. And that leads me to the next question. If there is time left over at the end of the class, you have the option to relax on the beach. Do most of the beaches on our itinerary allow you to snorkel there if you have your own gear?

 

I've also gathered (and posted on the Belize section) that it is best to book the Belize diving through the ship because they can pick up/drop off right at the ship and you don't even have to set foot in Belize.

 

Sorry for the long post. You experts have a rep for great info, so consider this a test! ;)

 

Thanks.

[river_sand_bar2]

Cody,

 

We are sailing on the Miracle in 38 days.... hitting the exact same spots... We are both divers and plan to dive in Cozumel and Belize. I will give you all the accounts I can when I get back.

 

A few notes I have found in looking into this....

 

In Belize, Like you have found as well..... its hard to hind a private tour operator, mainly because of the time and distance from the ship anchored to the city, so we have booked with the ship for this port.

 

In Grand Caymen we are doing the Sting Ray sand Bar with Captian Marvins just for a fun day of relaxation.

 

In Cozumel, we booked with the ship again, as the price difference between the ship and private was only about $20, so for the insurance of making it back to the ship on time, its wotrth the $20.

 

And then of course... the Myan ruins in Costa Maya... Have to check them out.

 

But I will definitly let you know how the ship operators worked out.

[augie]

I would venture that a lot depends on how long you are in port. If you have enough time to use a non-ship's excursion I would recommend that - with some caveats. You mention that you are newly certified OW divers. Many of the complaints about using the ship's scuba excursions stem from the fact that since there are typically new, inexperienced, or rusty divers in the group, the more active and/or experienced divers are limited in depth, bottom time, or freedom to dive their own profiles. Other than that, you may find yourself on a more crowded boat as well.

 

If you want to research using an independent operator, when you contact them be sure to let them know your experience level - you won't want to discover on the way out that you're with a group of tech divers doing a wreck in 200 fsw!

 

Also be sure that there is a good time cushion to allow you to return to the ship in plenty of time. Even if you make a close call the stress of worrying about it isn't something you need on your vacation.

 

Your ports:

 

Cozumel - It sounds like you are booked with non-diving activities. Depending on where you are on the beach, there may or may not be worthwhile snorkeling opportunity. If you're south of town in the Chankanaab/Dzul Ha area, I'd bring my stuff - if it's no big deal you may want to bring it just in case.

 

In Belize we went with an independent operator, Sea Sports Belize. I can't imagine that the large group from the ship using Hugh Parkey (who by all accounts is a reputable operator in their own right) could have had anywhere near the great experience the four divers in our group (with a divemaster and a local student completing one of her specialty dives that for all intents and purposes was a second divemaster) had. Nice shop a short walk from the tender pier, well appointed boat, sack lunch on a private island fish camp - we just had a great day with them. But they do require a minimum of four divers to do a trip so you may need to ask around (or they may have others already booked on the day you'll be there).

 

Grand Cayman has tons of operators. A good many of them do dives off of the west side of the island, where 7 mile beach is, which is fairly convenient to the cruise tender terminals (short cab/bus ride). This last cruise we used Neptune Divers. I highly recommend them!

 

In Costa Maya we booked independently with Dreamtime. Since then they have become the vendor for Carnival's excursions, so you will not be able to use them unless you book through the ship. There is another private operator a lot of folks on this board like, but I believe their shop is a fair bit farther away from the port, so it may cost you more in transportation to get there. As much as I enjoyed my dives here, this may be the place where you want to look into the horseback riding.

 

Whatever you decide - have fun!

 

We sailed the Valor this past January to Grand Cayman, Honduras, Belize, and Costa Maya.

[khblair]

We just got back from diving on the Miracle last week. it was excellent! We did not dive in Grand Cayman (had to do the pirate ship excursion with our DS-4) but we dove in all of the others.

we booked all excursions with the ship.

in cozumel, we went to chakanaab - let me just say that we had an awesome dive! it was the 2 of us with the dive master. it was a shore dive - very easy, relaxing. saw lots of fish, tons of huge starfish, rays, the 2 statues, tarpon (i think it was-it was big whatever it was). we went thru a cenote and swam thru the fresh water/salt water mix - that was wayyyy cool! it was about a 50 minute dive. we were going back for a second dive but an afternoon storm came thru.

we dove in belize - wonderful as usual. there were 6 in our group with 2 divemasters. (4 in the group for the 2nd dive). they pointed out lots of stuff and went very slowly so that we could take our time to take pictures or stick our noses in holes they didnt belong.

in costa maya - another 2 great dives. Dreamtime was our dive company again. we dove with them in april. we told them that what sites they took us to in april and were able to pick from others for the dives that day. it was nice. there were 3 or 4 in our group for both dives with 2 divemasters.

another couple that we dove with all week decided to go it on their own in costa maya. they went with maya(n) palms and said they had a great time and had great dives. BUT they were the last couple of people back on the ship at sailtime. thats a BIT too close for my comfort. costa maya is pretty but not a place u want to get stuck!

whatever u choose - have a great time - the ship is great! dinner service was excellent! room service was subpar (guy didnt speak english except for "no problem" which meant that i dont know what u are saying and therefor i wont do it). shows were OK, shops were nice.

Happy Cruising and Diving!

[cccole]

Last year we were on the Miracle and my husband and sons did the dive trip through the ship in Belize, they really enjoyed it. This year we were on RCCL and in Cozumel did a dive/snorkel trip with Alison, and my husband and sons did a dive trip with Eden Rock in Grand Cayman. We have really enjoyed Alison's trips on the Palancar Reef on both cruises. She has one guide for the divers and one guide for the snorkelers. Both times we were a group of 9+ and wanted both snorkelers and divers accommodated on the trips. I think if there are just divers it could be a different itinerary.

[cody_dingo]

Thanks for all of the great information. I've contacted both sea sports belize and shoretrips.com for information on diving in belize. Also I've contacted Neptune Diving in Grand Cayman for a nice dive there. We'll see what they all have to say. Diving in Belize and Grand Cayman not only seems to be the best to locations, it will break the diving up so we're not doing it back to back. I think it will work out well. We'll then end the ports with horseback riding at Costa Maya and then a day a sea! I'll let you know if it works out.

 

I'm still curious though. Can you just freely snorkle at the beaches at these ports if you have your own stuff?

 

Thanks!

[bruce-r]

I'm still curious though. Can you just freely snorkle at the beaches at these ports if you have your own stuff?

You can, but generally snorkeling from a sandy beach isn't all that special.

[cody_dingo]

You can, but generally snorkeling from a sandy beach isn't all that special.

 

That makes sense. We just wanted to spend time on a beach relaxing after the horseback riding or cooking and wondered if we could snorkle if we wanted. Thanks for the info!

[Middleager]

We were on the Miracle Aug. 27 sailing. I booked with independent operators and dove in all the ports, while my wife and friends snorkeled.

 

Before the cruise, we also flew to Tampa two days early and drove north 1.5hr to Crystal River. I had just posted reviews of the manatee snorkeling, King's Spring diving, and Rainbow river drift diving/snorkeling. They were great.

 

I need to find time to write up my belated reviews of the diving in all the 4 ports. All the diving were great, but I enjoyed Cozumel the most, due to the drift diving (like flying) and seeing very big fish (nurse shark and huge grouper). Well, also saw nurse shark at Eden Rock in Grand Cayman too. You'll enjoy the diving.

[CVL105]

oK, I know you said you were doing the cooking class in Cozumel...but that would be my vote for scuba diving.

 

Honestly, I haven't been diving in the other 3 locations (but I did go snorkeling) and Cozumel is awesome. My parents went in Belize, and they did say it was amazing (all diving is I think, kinda like cruising;) ), but they said Cozumel is better. Being that said, check Costa Maya and see how the diving is there. Other than a large shopping center, there is not much to do unless you want to travel away from the port. I don't know what the diving is like there though. I would then opt for Belize if Costa Maya doesn't have good diving.

 

I recommend Captain Marvin's snorkeling tour for Grand Caymen. They take you out snorkeling and then to Sting Ray city. Much less crowded than the excursions booked through the trip and much more personal IMHO. It's an experience to remember being out there with all the sting rays.

[river_sand_bar2]

Middleager... Please do write up your reports.... I ma heading down there in 28 days and diving in both Cozumel and Belize...

 

Speaking of diving ... any one have any issues with diving two days in a row on the ships?? I mean as far as staying up too late.. to of course hit the midnight buffet and then diving in the morning??

[Middleager]

I did dive in all of 4 Miracle ports. The last day (in changed itininary) was in Cayman and I did 3 tank dive there. After diving, went to hot tub. That night was really really tired.

 

The midnight buffet is on Fri. night. We did go and see the buffet after the show when they allowed people to go and take pictures, but did not return to eat. I was so tired, don't know if it was from the 4 days of diving, or the hot tub, or just feeling so "accomplished". If you stay late for the midnight buffet, that'll be after going to the 4 ports, so no worry about getting up early next day, which is a sea day.

 

 

In all the 4 Miracle ports, I enjoyed Cozumel the most. The drift diving, swim thru the cavern/canyons, and seeing BIG fish (nurse shark, grouper, spotted eagle ray). But mostly due to the drift, and a good DM from Blue Angel. I wrote up about Crystal River, Rainbow, and Belize. Will write up about Coz, then Costa Maya, then Cayman.

[WorkingMomNeedsaVacation]

I'm so glad I found this thread. We are going on the Miracle in February and all of our ports have "Book Now" available for excursions. But only Costa Maya is offering SCUBA through the ship. I can't understand why? Do they add more excursions as we get closer? For example, the ONLY excursion for Belize is golf. Nothing else.

 

I was torn between booking independently (smaller groups, etc.) and through the ship (peace of mind of returning to ship since we tender almost everywhere) but now it looks like I'll have to go the independent route.

 

I'm actually doing research for my husband who is a certified diver. He got certified in February 2006 and through a set of very fortunate (and rare) circumstances, he was able to dive in Turks & Caicos, Hawaii and Saba this year!!!! He actually won this cruise from work, so I want him to get in some speactacular dives and then meet up with us afterwards.

 

So here is a twist on the question - if you were to dive in 3 of the 4 ports Miracle stops in (Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize and Costa Maya) which would be your non-diving day? I've seen lots of good recommendations for dive operators on this site, but would love to hear more experiences - particularly how they were in regards to safety and personal attention.

[cody_dingo]

I just reserved space with Sea Sports Belize in Belize (obviously) and Neptune's Divers in Grand Cayman. We're horseback riding in Costa Maya and cooking in Cozumel. This will break up the diving so it isn't back to back and from everything I've heard and read, these might be the best places to dive.

 

Thanks for all of your help and input. I'll post a review and photos upon our return!

[bruce-r]

.....if you were to dive in 3 of the 4 ports Miracle stops in (Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize and Costa Maya) which would be your non-diving day?

I'd not dive Costa Maya. Instead I'd either spend the day at the beach in Mahahual or do a trip to one of the Mayan ruins.

 

I would definitely make my own diving plans in Cozumel and Grand Cayman. In Cozumel I'd go with http://www.bluextseadiving.com and if Christi wasn't available, I'd check with http://www.divewithalison.com or http://www.scubatony.com I also really like http://www.liquidbluedivers.com but they usually leave too early in the morning for a cruiser to make the trip. If you want to go with DW and snorkel, Blue Angel does a combo trip that leaves at a good time for cruise passengers.

 

In Grand Cayman, I've gone with http://www.neptunesdivers.com and can easily give them my recommendation. You can probably go with him with Neptune's if you want to snorkel. I've also read very positive comments about http://www.redbarondivers.com and would go with them if schedule permitted. GCM also has good shore diving which would be less expensive that boat diving. http://www.divetech.com has the better shore dive, but Eden Rock is just an easy walk from where the tenders dock in Georgetown. There are 2 dive ships at Eden Rock, http://abanksdivers.com.ky/ and http://www.edenrockdive.com Unless your DH can find a buddy on the ship or hook up with someone at one of the shops, it is quite likely that he'll have to do a guided dive because dive shops don't rent gear to solo divers.

 

In Belize there seem to be only a couple of dive operators in Belize city and one of them does the ship's excursions so you wouldn't be able to book directly with them. One operator is http://www.belizediving.com/ and another one is Coral Breeze (although I'm not making a recommendation for either one, just passing on information that you might find helpful) Do some more research here on CC for Belize recommendations. I'm surprised that there isn't a ship's excursion listed for Belize.

 

Hope this helps,

Bruce

[WorkingMomNeedsaVacation]

Thanks! It is reassuring to see the same dive ops recommended over and over again. I can't wait to tell my husband what I've found.

[planopearl]

Just my 2 cents worth. My family (4) just got back from the 10/1 sailing of the Conquest. We all dove Grand Cayman and Cozumel. We walked to Eden Rock and dove the Devil's Grado (sp) there. It is a little bit of a swim but a very nice dive. Saw sea turtles, and plenty of marine life. Was a fairly cheap dive. We took mask fins and snorkel. About $160 to rent everything else. Only $8 for re-fills after that. In Cozumel we dove with Papa Hogs. A very good little outfit. Does not look like much, but we had a GREAT experience with them. Booked ahead of time. So they had a boat waiting for us when ever we got there. I told them we were not real experienced so they "taylored" it a little shallower for us. I saw many of the 15 - 20+ person boats going out. Having a "personal" boat was so nice. I don't think I'll want to ever go out on a bigger boat now. We had no problem or worries about time ever.

 

Enjoy where ever you dive it will be great!