Cruise Ship Dive Excursions

[TexCruise371]

We have always booked our own dives when we cruise but we are considering booking one in Grand Cayman with RCI when we sail on Liberty in October.

 

Are these "cattle boat" dives? Lots of people? Good bad experiences that you may have had?

 

Thanks!

[tootsiescurly]

We have always booked our own dives when we cruise but we are considering booking one in Grand Cayman with RCI when we sail on Liberty in October.

 

Are these "cattle boat" dives? Lots of people? Good bad experiences that you may have had?

 

Thanks!

"Cattle boat" is an understatement. There are many excellent options in Grand Cayman. Do yourself a favor and book your own dive.

 

Diving with the ship can be hazardous to your health. It can be fun if you enjoy flailing arms and legs, people who are unaware of their surroundings and being slammed into the bottom.

[TexCruise371]

"Cattle boat" is an understatement. There are many excellent options in Grand Cayman. Do yourself a favor and book your own dive.

 

Diving with the ship can be hazardous to your health. It can be fun if you enjoy flailing arms and legs, people who are unaware of their surroundings and being slammed into the bottom.

 

Thanks. The last time we were down there, we dove with Seasports and they were fantastic! I was just a little concerned with trying to get off the ship in time to meet up with a private op since we will be on a ship the size of Liberty.....then again, being on a ship with that many people ought to answer my own question :)

[cmdchiefthom]

Personally, I'd rather have a sharp stick in my eye than do a ship's excursion! If at all possible I always book my own dives. There is nothing worse than a "cattle boat" with a mixed group of divers of varying experience thrown together randomly where you typically dive to the level of the least experienced diver in the group.;)

[scubaran]

Hi,

 

While normally I'd agree, and I usually book my own scuba excursions, but the last time I did GC, they booked with Bob Soto and when we arrived at their shop, their normal morning boat was going out with 10 divers and 2 crew, but we were directed to our own boat but we had 4 divers and 4 crew. I think it really depends on how many divers there are on the dive boat based on how many divers there are on the cruise ship. With that said, the other ship excurisions I've been on have been 10 or more divers. :)

 

Randall

[RevDoc]

I've never done a ship's excursion, and in fact I am just newly certified. So, I guess I would probably BE the least experienced diver on the excursion! :) However, I did contact RCI because as I new diver I really felt I needed someone experienced near me. They would not disclose who the operator would be but the DID say that they would allow up to 25 people per dive master/guide. As a new diver, that's just WAY too many people for one person to keep an eye on. I also did not want my inexperience to limit the diving of more experienced divers like some of the above posters. So, we are doing a couple of guided shore dives with Eden Rock in Grand Cayman.

[scubaran]

I've never done a ship's excursion, and in fact I am just newly certified. So, I guess I would probably BE the least experienced diver on the excursion! :) However, I did contact RCI because as I new diver I really felt I needed someone experienced near me. They would not disclose who the operator would be but the DID say that they would allow up to 25 people per dive master/guide. As a new diver, that's just WAY too many people for one person to keep an eye on. I also did not want my inexperience to limit the diving of more experienced divers like some of the above posters. So, we are doing a couple of guided shore dives with Eden Rock in Grand Cayman.

 

I agree, you probably made the best choice. In a ot of the excursion dives they throw everyone in the water, put a dive master in the front and one at the back and then they book across the reef. Probably not the experience you'd want as a beginning diver.

 

Randall

[RevDoc]

Hi Randall,

 

Staying OT for just a moment ... definitely NOT the experience I want! Even in our last open water test dive we had about 12 new divers. They had one DM in front, one in back and two advanced divers swimming along side. They went very slow and paid close attention to us, but I still felt that I would have liked someone a little closer. Of course it was in a cold, murky lake in Wisconsin!

 

You know, just as an observation, it is pretty scary to me that I am actually certified after finishing the course! There is NO WAY my wife and I are anywhere NEAR ready to plan and dive alone. I guess I feel that at best we are now ready to begin experiencing different dive environments with the help and care of people who know much more than we do!

 

Philip

[scubaran]

Hi Randall,

 

Staying OT for just a moment ... definitely NOT the experience I want! Even in our last open water test dive we had about 12 new divers. They had one DM in front, one in back and two advanced divers swimming along side. They went very slow and paid close attention to us, but I still felt that I would have liked someone a little closer. Of course it was in a cold, murky lake in Wisconsin!

 

You know, just as an observation, it is pretty scary to me that I am actually certified after finishing the course! There is NO WAY my wife and I are anywhere NEAR ready to plan and dive alone. I guess I feel that at best we are now ready to begin experiencing different dive environments with the help and care of people who know much more than we do!

 

Philip

 

Hi,

 

It's like getting your driver's license. You are certified to "understand" how to use the equipment and what to do in limited emergency situations. But as the miles get under your belt you'll find that diving is like driving, you are aware of the actions of diving but your "situational awareness" bubble grows until you can really enjoy your surroundings on the reef. I'm sure you're competent to handle yourself (or you wouldn't have passed your cert.). As far as helping others, the good news you can leave that to the dive masters for now but I encourage divers to continue their certifications. As my instructor said, Open Water gets you in the water under good conditions in a fairly shallow environment, usually under the care of others if needed. Advanced introduces other conditions that a diver who dives on a regular basis will experience sooner or later. A diver should do rescue when they feel comfortable with their diving skills (one of the reasons there's a 50 dive minimium requirement) and they have enough "situational awareness" that they can be prepared to help others. I'm rescue exactly for that reason. I was Advanced when I saved my first diver. I knew it was time to get Rescue, and since have saved two more additional divers.

 

So get in the water, do those dives and it won't take long before you and your wife will be not only planning your own dives, you'll be dragging along others. :)

 

P.S. Don't forget those other "optional certifications". I have deep diver (advanced introduces you to deep diving and allows you to go deeper but I felt the deep diver covered the details you really need). Night diver is also a great course, there are no restrictions to diving at night but just the "how to communicate in the dark" instructions were well worth it. Finally I liked enriched air. As you dive more, and more often, having the ability to use nitrox to extend your diving in a day and to speed off-gasing can be really helpful (I did a live-aboard a few years ago and dived 5 times a day for 7 days and never came close to maxing out on decompression).

[Privateer]

Has anyone ever had an issue with return times with operations like Eagle Ray?

 

In Belize the boat tour picks you up out on the hook but was looking to book with a different Co. in Cozumel. Thanks for your input.

[Pamela W]

We learned after our first cruise never to use the ship's excusions for SCUBA diving. First they take you to the dive spot that is closest to the ship so they can get you back in time. Second, you waste a lot of time waiting for people who don't have equipment to "suit up." Third, you get people who haven't gone diving in years who really need a refresher course--they can be dangerous.

What I do is go on line, check out the PADI shops at each port and book the dives myself. Someimes on the CC Roll calls you can find other divers on your ship. We have never been on a cattle call and usually the shop s only have 5-10 people on the dives. Once my husband, our daughter and I had the dive master and boat all to ourselves in Barbados. Also, many dive shops will pick you up at the pier, etc. Good Luck!:)

[patti627]

We learned after our first cruise never to use the ship's excusions for SCUBA diving. First they take you to the dive spot that is closest to the ship so they can get you back in time. Second, you waste a lot of time waiting for people who don't have equipment to "suit up." Third, you get people who haven't gone diving in years who really need a refresher course--they can be dangerous.

What I do is go on line, check out the PADI shops at each port and book the dives myself. Someimes on the CC Roll calls you can find other divers on your ship. We have never been on a cattle call and usually the shop s only have 5-10 people on the dives. Once my husband, our daughter and I had the dive master and boat all to ourselves in Barbados. Also, many dive shops will pick you up at the pier, etc. Good Luck!:)

Any suggestions for div shops in the southern carib? we'll be going in march with princess. I've read so many pros and cons about booking with the cruise ship. Still unsure how to go about this.

Patti

[c_dudeman]

i will put in my vote for nature island dive in dominica.

I just got back - had a great time, very personable, awesome reef.

[patti627]

i will put in my vote for nature island dive in dominica.

I just got back - had a great time, very personable, awesome reef.

How did you book the place, c_dudeman , the pickup/dropoff, etc. My only fear about booking myself is ending up stranded on the island (not such a bad thing really, just untimely) if the ship leaves and something happened to make us late.I stayed in Dominica at the Castle Comfort (Dive Dominica) a couple of years ago, for 10 days. Wonderful place and diving. Can't wait for this cruise on the 15th of March with Princess.

[c_dudeman]

I booked it myself via email. quick responses. The dive master is the son of Karen, the woman I booked it with. She was (at the time) on a different island visiting relatives, but still in contact with her laptop computer.

 

Pickup was a breeze. We walked off the ship, and someone was standing there with my name on a sign. I am terrible with names and forgot the dear woman's name that greeted us. She was very nice and gave us some info about the city and the island as we drove. We drove about 15 minutes (maybe 5 miles or so) to the shop.

After the dive, the driver was waiting for us, dropped us back off at the dock in plenty of time to get on the ship. We had time to shop if we wanted, but were exhausted from our day (and week) of fun so we just crashed on the bed.

 

I think it has been said before - most of these tour operators get a lot of their business from cruise passengers, so they do not want to risk losing business by letting anyone miss their departure. I felt totally comfortable with the time.

 

hope that helps...

C

[lateblumer]

The last time I booked dive while on a cruise. They picked us up at the cruise ship pier (2 of us) and when we got to the boat with 8 divers waiting. The first question was when does your cruise ship leave so we make sure we're back in time. The operators are vary aware that you need to make it back to the port in time.

[scubaran]

The last time I booked dive while on a cruise. They picked us up at the cruise ship pier (2 of us) and when we got to the boat with 8 divers waiting. The first question was when does your cruise ship leave so we make sure we're back in time. The operators are vary aware that you need to make it back to the port in time.

 

Hi,

 

I agree, the dive shops know when the ships go in/out. A lot of islands post schedules on the internet for local shops and businesses so they know for sure. However, be aware of a couple things, some ships stay on "ship's time" while in port and this can be different than the local time. Also if/when you make a reservation tell the dive shop when your ship sails and ask about transportation, average length of dive excursion, how they recommend you get back and if taxi is recommended, do they call cabs, are they out front or do you have to walk a bit to flag one down (been in all three conditions).

 

Randall