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Scuba in Cozumel, Roatan, Belize, or Costa Maya??


sbmizzou

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I have just convinced one of my best friends and his wife to join us on the Princess Grand cruise in March. We will visit Cozumel, Isla Roatan, Belize, and Costa Maya. I do not scuba but my friend and his wife do.

 

Any and all information on these four locations would be appreciated. If you had to choose, which locations and which dives, which operators to go with?

 

Do they have shorter scuba trips that start in the morning but bring you back by noon?

 

Any information on all of these locations would be great.

 

Also, do they have any scuba trips in which my wife and I can go on? Maybe we just go snorkeling or sit out on the beach while they dive. We both have young babies, and I would be willing to watch their baby while the dive. It would make it a lot easier if we could be part of the excursion.

 

thanks.

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In cozumel we used

http://www.eagleraydivers.com/WhatsNew.htm

 

In Roatan we used

http://www.bananaramadive.com/

 

the nice thing about the roatan guy is that they picked us up and dropped us off at the pier. You get a good look at the island. They took us to the other side of the island to a beach that is absolutely beautiful like from a post card. No cruise crowds. There is a bar right on the beach amoungst the palm trees.

 

both places we had snorkelers in our group that went on the dive boat. In cozumel we had the boat to our selves

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In cozumel we used

http://www.eagleraydivers.com/WhatsNew.htm

 

In Roatan we used

http://www.bananaramadive.com/

 

the nice thing about the roatan guy is that they picked us up and dropped us off at the pier. You get a good look at the island. They took us to the other side of the island to a beach that is absolutely beautiful like from a post card. No cruise crowds. There is a bar right on the beach amoungst the palm trees.

 

both places we had snorkelers in our group that went on the dive boat. In cozumel we had the boat to our selves

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I just went on the Valor Scuba Cruise that went to Belize, Roatan, Grand Cayman and Costa Maya.... I did not dive in Roatan... I wanted one port to sit out and chose that one... But I did dive the rest. Most divers feel you "have" to dive Belize... It was beautiful.. And we used Sea Sports Belize through Shoretrips.com.... But divers also say if given the chance, you "must" dive Cozumel.... It's a divers dream... Beautiful and drift dives... I've never been diving there yet.... But I will in April and I'm using Diving with Allison based on recommendations here..... So you have some good info.. Hard decision though.... They are all good spots.... :D

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Just did the Grand Princess in December, and hit all the same ports. We had 7 divers and we dove in all ports but Costa Maya.

 

In Belize, we tendered in then took a cab to the Municipal airport. We flew out to Ambergris Caye and dove with Ambergris divers. After diving, we did lunch at the restaurant on the beach by their shop/pier. The day was great, and I think we spent about the same for all this as we would have just booking the shipboard dive.

 

In Roatan, we booked with Bananarama. They did pick us up at the pier, and bring us back. Only problem was we didn't get to go to the West End as supposedly there had been some sightings of Man of War - although we heard later from others that they saw dive boats out doing dives on the West End sites. So we didn't get to spend time on the beach, and hit the shopping area like we originally planned.

 

In Coz, we dove with Scuba with Alison. Had a great time. Most of the group scheduled a 2 tank dive, but we stayed on and did a 3rd. Had a great time, and even saw a pod of about 30 dolphins underwater on the final dive. Alison is a great DM and loads of fun.

 

Out of the 3 spots, Roatan seems the most likely to accomodate the divers & non-divers together with the West End beaches & diving. Flying out to Ambergris Caye could also work, but doubt you want to be flying around with the babies. Because of tendering, it can be hard to book anything too early, so diving and being back by noon could be very tough. Maybe you could split the 4 ports and do 2 for diving, and 2 for non diving. However you work it out, I hope you all have loads of fun!!!

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During the Thanksgiving cruise aboard the Star Princess they had a mixed dive/snorkel excursion that had three stops. For divers it was about $120 for snorklers it was around $60. Although we booked this excursion, it was cancelled due to rough seas.

 

In Roatan we went to Coco View and Fantasy Island. They are resorts that have beach access to some really terrific wrecks (a cargo ship and an airplane) and a good wall. For those that do not dive, they could snorkel or lay on the beach. We hired a taxi to take us there and told him what time to come back. Here is the website for Fantasy Island: http://www.fantasyislandresort.com/us/index.html

 

For your situation, Fantasy Island would be the better choice. They aslo have a restaurant with a buffet lucnh available.

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Where was the mixed snorkel dive that was cancelled? Was that in Belize.

 

I think we are going to do the fantasy island tour. It really sounds good. Did you do one tank dive on a boat and then one beach dive? Is the ship and the plane a beach dive?

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Woops, sorry about that. The mixed dive/snorkel excursion was in Cozumel.

 

We did not do a shore excursion tour, we just had a taxi bring us to the island so we could spend the whole day their.

 

We only did shore diving. The shipwreck, the plane and the wall are all accesible from the shore. In fact we did three dives that day!

 

Have a great trip,

Roger

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In Coz, if you book with Eagle Ray or a few of the other operators, they can do a combined dive- snorkle trip. Another option would be for the non divers to go to the beach and then have Eagle Ray drop the divers off at the beach at the end of the dive. They do go to one of the beach clubs for the surface interval.

In Costa Maya (I have not dove there) I believe once you get into town, the dive shops are near the beach. In Roatan, I dove with subway water sports, they also have excursions other than diving, they are not howerver near the resorts or the beaches but they may be able to help you coordinate things. As mentioned, in Belize, diving is an all day thing. Alot of the ruins, cave tubbing etc would also be very difficult with infants.

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Has anyone done the Cenote diving in Coz?

Its something new Princess is offering and was curious if it is worth the price...which is pretty steep

Part of the cost is the travel to/from the mainland where the dives take place.

 

This Thread has more information on this subject.

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We were on the Grand Princess last week. There were 6 of us from 15yrs to 56 yrs. All new divers. For a variety of reasons I chose to do ship's excursions....In Roatan we had Anthony Key Resort ...they were good although they had all of us pretty heavy on the weights ( as I said we are NEW divers and havent figured that stuff ourselves yet)

 

In Belize we dove with Hugh Parkey's ( it is a 45 minute boat ride each way) These people REALLY know what they are doing and are very very safe. They picked us up right at the ship so we did not have to tender.The rental equipment in both Roatan and Belize was very good! Both dives were awesome....

 

In Cozumel the ship used Dive House 1...the equipment was not as good...the DM were nice but not not as safety conscious....on the second dive they told the entire boat 21 people to go in and go down....we did not dive in small groups. this made all of us nervous but everything was fine. Next time we will take a chance and go with a smaller operator such as they many that have been recommended on this board. Especially since the day in Cozumel is quite long so that chances of mssing the ship are small.

 

Our dive in Costa Maya was cancellled because of weather.

 

the DM/instructor on the Grand Princess, John, was also very helpful!!

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How was the diving trip to Ambergris Caye? Was it worth the extra $$ and travel time? Overall how would you rate your diving experience in Belize vs. Cozumel

 

For us, flying out to Ambergris Caye was well worth it. Cost-wise it was about the same or less than booking the shipboard dive excursion, and we got alot more bang for the buck. We took a cab to the Municipal airport - I think 6 or 7 bucks, the airfare on Tropic Air roundtrip was $57, the diving with Ambergris Divers (a short walk from the airstrip) was $70, we had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the beach & dive shop for maybe $15 pp, and then once back in Belize, a cab back to the pier. The dives were good - maybe not as thrilling as drift diving in Coz - but on one dive we had nurse sharks swimming everywhere all around us, so it was a really different experience. We have booked the shipboard dive before, and Hugh Parkey is a great Op, but if you've got the time, I would take off and go to Ambergris Caye.

 

As for Belize versus Cozumel - both are good, but very different. I think Coz will always be my favorite place - I love the dives, the food, the people ... but I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to spend a week diving in Belize if it came up!!

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The Palancar reef is truly incredible! Lots of beautiful coral and fish! We even saw a nurse shark, rays and barracuda!

 

I highly recommend Eagle Ray Divers! A man who works for them, Fish is his nickname, was outstanding!

 

I have never been to the Ambergris Caye, but Fish said that is incredible too!

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We just got back from our trip on the Valor. The ports were Belize, Roatan, Grand Cayman, and Cozomel. I was traveling with my Wife (non-certified) and 2 yr old son.

 

I dove Belize and Roatan, leaving GC and Coz for family time. In Belize I booked through the ship, not being sure about time. In Roatan I went through Banarama.

 

The Belize diving was very good. The dive shop was Hugh Parkey's and they picked us up directly from the boat. Then about 45 minutes to thier dive shop and then another hour or so out to Turneffe Atoll for two wall dives. They were very professional and safe, and we were the only dive boat within site. The only negative in my mind was the large group diving from the same boat. There were 24 of us that they split between the three DMs. But since we were diving from the same boat, we were all pretty close together.

 

Banarama picked all of us up near the dock. We went to the west end. while I got ready to dive, my wife and son went to the Monkey/bird reserve. I went out with their morning divers. Everyone was very friendly and I had two really nice dives. Didn't see anything real remarkable except for a school of about a dozen baracuda. Because of the wind/rain that day we were somewhat limited on what we could do. Because of the rain my wife decided to head back to the boat early. Otherwise they would have hung out at the beach until I was done.

 

On a side note, The Monkey/bird park charges $17, unless you are in on a cruise boat...then it's $47. My wife ended up having to pay the $47 because of the wrist band on our son indicating we were on a cruise.

 

I have dove Coz in the past, which is why I picked the two dive spots that I did. Between the three, based on pretty limited experience, I would rate them...

 

1. Roatan

2. Belize

3. Coz

 

All very good.

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I have dove in Roatan, Cozumel and Belize.

 

In Belize, I spent a week on Ambergris Caye. The diving there is not very good for experienced divers. The exception to that is the diving at Hol Chan Park (which is very good). If they are taking you anywhere else, expect lots of dead and bleached coral and relatively few fish. You might, however, get lucky and see nurse sharks as I saw them on about half my dives. In Belize, I used:

 

http://aquadives.com/

 

I also dove in Belize on a cruise ship day. They went to Turneffe Atoll. The cruise line used Hugh Parkey Dive Connection. They were fine, and the diving was ok (still not great), but it was a very expensive trip. There are so many great things to see in Belize that I would probably recommend doing something else there.

 

You hear a lot about great diving in Belize, but the great diving is way off-shore in places like Lighthouse Reef which is 3 hours by boat from Belize City. You won't be going there on a cruise ship day.

 

In Roatan, I dove with Sueno del Mar:

 

http://www.suenodelmar.com/

 

I thought the diving was good. The operation was good, although they put me in a boat with a very large group which made the dive boat very crowded. If you go with an operation in West End or West Bay Beach, it might be a good place for the divers and non-divers to get to spend some time together as the diving operations come back to shore for surface intervals.

 

I have dove in Cozumel several times and have used Dive Paradise and also Sand Dollar Sports. Both operations were fine. If you dive with the cruiseline they will probably put you with Sand Dollar. You will almost certainly be diving at Santa Rosa Wall and Paradise Reef. I haven't been back to Cozumel since the hurricane, but I have always enjoyed the diving there.

 

I have never been to Costa Maya so I can't help you with that one.

 

Robert

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We just got back from our trip on the Valor. The ports were Belize, Roatan, Grand Cayman, and Cozomel. I was traveling with my Wife (non-certified) and 2 yr old son.

 

I dove Belize and Roatan, leaving GC and Coz for family time. In Belize I booked through the ship, not being sure about time. In Roatan I went through Banarama.

 

The Belize diving was very good. The dive shop was Hugh Parkey's and they picked us up directly from the boat. Then about 45 minutes to thier dive shop and then another hour or so out to Turneffe Atoll for two wall dives. They were very professional and safe, and we were the only dive boat within site. The only negative in my mind was the large group diving from the same boat. There were 24 of us that they split between the three DMs. But since we were diving from the same boat, we were all pretty close together.

 

Banarama picked all of us up near the dock. We went to the west end. while I got ready to dive, my wife and son went to the Monkey/bird reserve. I went out with their morning divers. Everyone was very friendly and I had two really nice dives. Didn't see anything real remarkable except for a school of about a dozen baracuda. Because of the wind/rain that day we were somewhat limited on what we could do. Because of the rain my wife decided to head back to the boat early. Otherwise they would have hung out at the beach until I was done.

 

On a side note, The Monkey/bird park charges $17, unless you are in on a cruise boat...then it's $47. My wife ended up having to pay the $47 because of the wrist band on our son indicating we were on a cruise.

 

I have dove Coz in the past, which is why I picked the two dive spots that I did. Between the three, based on pretty limited experience, I would rate them...

 

1. Roatan

2. Belize

3. Coz

 

All very good.

Can you or anyone ;} tell me how long the Carnival Excursions take, IE when it says 4 hours does that mean from the time you leave the ship until you return or does it mean actual excursion time? My DH is a diver and I am not, so just wondering if we will have any port time together --- to shop etc?

 

We are on the Valor two weeks from today (go Bears!) and getting really excited! Thanks in advance for any and all help.

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In Belize, we tendered in then took a cab to the Municipal airport. We flew out to Ambergris Caye and dove with Ambergris divers. After diving, we did lunch at the restaurant on the beach by their shop/pier. The day was great, and I think we spent about the same for all this as we would have just booking the shipboard dive.

In Coz, we dove with Scuba with Alison. Had a great time. Most of the group scheduled a 2 tank dive, but we stayed on and did a 3rd. Had a great time, and even saw a pod of about 30 dolphins underwater on the final dive. Alison is a great DM and loads of fun.

 

In Belize we also flew to Ambergris Caye. San Pedro is a wonderful little town there. We used shoretrips to book our excursion and when we had boat problems (as it does sometimes happen) on the second dive they refunded part of our cost. We just emailed them at the end of the trip telling them what happened. Even though we had problems it was well worth just the one dive.

 

In Cozumel we went on our own to Chankannab park. It was pretty much wiped out in 05 I believe from Wilma. Anyway last year they were rebuilding and should have most of the structures back. Not as much to see in the water but there are a few statues placed. They make you dive with a guide and all the guides just charged for tanks including the guide's tank and you tip them what you feel is right. We had brought our own equipment. They provided tanks and weights but they do have full equipment if you want to rent there. The food was great at the park and very reasonable. There are tiki huts, lounge chairs, hammocks and a great area to snorkel. There was other things to do at the park but it started a downpour so we went back to the ship for a nap. If I remember right the charge is $30/pp admission and they didn't take credit cards at the gate. But the restaurant did.

Hope you have fun.

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In Cozumel we went on our own to Chankannab park. .... If I remember right the charge is $30/pp admission and they didn't take credit cards at the gate.

You are correct about Cankannab not accepting plastic for admission, but you are a little off on the price. I believe that it is $16 per person.
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Can you or anyone ;} tell me how long the Carnival Excursions take, IE when it says 4 hours does that mean from the time you leave the ship until you return or does it mean actual excursion time? My DH is a diver and I am not, so just wondering if we will have any port time together --- to shop etc?

 

We are on the Valor two weeks from today (go Bears!) and getting really excited! Thanks in advance for any and all help.

 

This reply may be a bit too late...sorry about that.

 

The excursion time varies greatly by location. When in Belize, the dive boat picked us up directly from the cruiseship, so we never even set foot on shore. The boat time was pretty significant. On ports where the boat docks there should be more time for you guys to spend together.

 

I would suggest you look at booking through an independent dive shop and tell them what you are looking for (half day diving, time on the beach, etc.) For example, I used Bananrama in Roatan and they picked my family up (myself, my wife, and our 2yr old). While I dove they went to the monkey park. If the weather would have cooperated, I would have been able to hang out with them between dives on the beach, and would have had a good hour or two after the second dive to shop/sightsee/whatever.

 

I would think that any dive excursion booked through Carnival would eat up all or most of your port time.

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  • 1 month later...
During the Thanksgiving cruise aboard the Star Princess they had a mixed dive/snorkel excursion that had three stops. For divers it was about $120 for snorklers it was around $60. Although we booked this excursion, it was cancelled due to rough seas.

 

In Roatan we went to Coco View and Fantasy Island. They are resorts that have beach access to some really terrific wrecks (a cargo ship and an airplane) and a good wall. For those that do not dive, they could snorkel or lay on the beach. We hired a taxi to take us there and told him what time to come back. Here is the website for Fantasy Island: http://www.fantasyislandresort.com/us/index.html

 

For your situation, Fantasy Island would be the better choice. They aslo have a restaurant with a buffet lucnh available.

What as the approximate taxi cost to/from CoCo View? Thanks :)

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