Please help decide where to dive in Cayman!

[doubletfan]

I am cruising on RCCL in September and am trying to decide what to do. I am planning on getting dive certified next month so I will be a new diver and am not sure what my confidence level will be. So my question is should I take a ship excursion or just walk to one of the suggested dive centers like Eden Rock or Dive Tech?

We will be in GC from 8:00 to 4:00 so I believe I won't have time for the private boat trips.

I usually enjoy booking my own excursions privately, but am concerned that because I will not be very experienced at diving I should stick with the ship excursions.

So I guess I'm looking for some feedback on what people have done and their helpful hints.

Thanks in advance

[bruce-r]

......We will be in GC from 8:00 to 4:00 so I believe I won't have time for the private boat trips.

On the other hand, I do believe that you will arrive in time to dive with http://www.neptunesdivers.com They typically depart a bit later which makes them an ideal choice for cruise divers. I think Casey would be an especially good choice for a newbie as the max number of divers on her boat is 8.

[Middleager]

I dove with Casey of Neptune Divers. She was good. But she starts at 9am, and with the ship's arrival time of 8am it'll be tight. You'll be tendering and that can take some time, then need to get a taxi to head north for about 10min to meet her at a beach.

 

After I did the 2-tank morning dive with her, I went to Eden Rock. Over there I did a 1-tank afternoon shore dive, after waiting, and then another fellow cruiser showed up wanting to dive. It was a very good shallow shore dive, lasting almost an hour. You can also arrange ahead of time, for a guided shore dive.

 

Dive Tech is at the far north end, >20min taxi ride. So Eden Rock will be a better bet as it's only 5min walk south from the cruise terminal. You can see the ship and tenders from there.