Book with Carnival vs. local?????

[cruzinnluvinit]

Do you find the equipment on a cruise booked dive to be maintained better than the locals? Also, which island has the best scuba and which has the best snorkel in this itinerary.

 

St. Thomas

San Juan

Antigua

Nassau

Tortola

[KazinSD]

St Thomas (and nearby St Johns, with an underwater marine preserve) and Nassau are both very good. Keep in mind Carnival uses the local operators for the excursions, but they will rent you snorkel gear if you wish not to use the locals. I would not have an issue using either. If you are comfortable booking with a local operator yourself, you can save a few bucks.

 

On the flip side, if you have any issues on the excursion booked through the ship (mechanical, etc.) you will have more recousre if booked through Carnival. They also will generally wait for you if you are on a ship sponsored trip and they don't make it back at the scheduled time (rare, but it can happen). It would all boil down to your comfort level on booking with local operators, and both of those ports generally are safe to use them.

[cruzinnluvinit]

St Thomas (and nearby St Johns, with an underwater marine preserve) and Nassau are both very good. Keep in mind Carnival uses the local operators for the excursions, but they will rent you snorkel gear if you wish not to use the locals. I would not have an issue using either. If you are comfortable booking with a local operator yourself, you can save a few bucks.

 

On the flip side, if you have any issues on the excursion booked through the ship (mechanical, etc.) you will have more recousre if booked through Carnival. They also will generally wait for you if you are on a ship sponsored trip and they don't make it back at the scheduled time (rare, but it can happen). It would all boil down to your comfort level on booking with local operators, and both of those ports generally are safe to use them.

Thank you for answering. I will let my DH know what you said

[bruce-r]

The Pros and Cons of diving with the ships excursion