New to diving AND new to cruising... questions about dive excursions

[tiger01]

I've never gone on a cruise before, but I'm here in Florida from Jan 1-Feb 15 for training, and I am thinking about finishing off my trip with a cruise vacation. I've always wanted to visit the Caribbean, but never have, so a cruise seems like a great option to sample a few islands, rather than sticking to just one.

 

I just finished my PADI Open Water certification last November at a local dive shop at home, but I have not dived since. So all I have are my 4 checkout dives in my log, all of which were shore dives to nothing deeper than 30 ft. I'm itching to get diving while the skills are fresh in my mind.

 

I've been researching online and on CC, and it appears the Carnival Valor departing Miami on Feb 15 is perfect for diving, with stops at Cayman, Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel. It's also a ship recommended by CC for first-timers.

 

I've read all the "cruise excursion vs. booking independent" threads on this forum, and I think I'm going with the cruise, mainly because:

- I'm a total newbie to cruising and don't want to get lost or miss the ship.

- I'm traveling solo, so I would enjoy meeting fellow passengers from my own ship.

- As a novice diver, I don't mind having to follow the herd underwater.

- I need all the rental equipment anyway. (Except mask and snorkel, which I own.)

 

However, my concern is: will I get enough guidance from the cruise line's dive operator? I'm still a bit nervous about diving, and have never done a boat dive before. Also, I don't even know how much weight I will need - does the dive operator do a weight/buoyancy check on everyone? (Yes, I know what weights I used during my checkout dives, but I have lost 15 lbs since then, which I'm guessing will affect my buoyancy.)

 

Also, I wouldn't feel comfortable being buddied up with someone who was also a novice diver like me. Is it possible at the dive op to hire a divemaster or instructor to be my buddy? I assume this would be a separate payment beyond what I pay the cruise line. And I wouldn't mind paying it, at least for my first real dive.

 

I know this board is filled with experienced cruisers and divers, so any advice would be appreciated!

[Dive Master]

The Valor itinerary seems like a very good choice for a cruise/dive vacation.I want to do the Valor or Legend for my next cruise because of these ports. I have never been to Belize or Roatan but I understand the diving is very good. Cayman and Cozumel are world classs dive destinations.My dives there are some of my all time favorites.

 

Most cruise ship excursions are geared towards new or inexpereinced divers.They are usually well supervised with multiple Dive Masters,Be sure to get with one of the DM's as soon as you board the dive boat and tell them you are a new diver.Ask if you can buddy up with one of the DM's.Alot of these types of dives are follow the leader.Make sure to TIP the DM very well.

 

As far as weight a good general rule is 10 percent of your body weight.I like being a little heavy as opposed to having to fight to stay down at the end of a dive.Again, let the DM know your situation.Maybe you can be one of the first in to check your bouyancy.

 

All of us were new divers once so dont be afraid to ask for help.Do not get in to a situation that you are not properly trained for.The Caribbean is usually warm and clear so watch your depth and your air supply! It is easy to get distracted while seeing the new and amazing sites but DON"T !!!!Dive Masters will often team newer divers together due to air supply management.Sometimes they will attempt to put a new diver with an older much more experieced diver.Some of us "Old farts" might put up a fuss about this.It is not that we do not like you, it is that we don't want to spend our vacation paying to babysit newbies.When I work I prefer to get paid rather than paying.You don't want to end a dive when your buddy has two thirds of their air left--they probably will not be very happy.Don't worry air management skills come with expereice.Of course I have helped train a few new divers who put my skills to shame.Remember that "Good divers are always learning" and 'If it don't feel right, don't do the dive".

 

Hope this helps.Welcome to the wonderful world of diving and enjoy your vacation.

[tiger01]

Thanks for the info!

 

Yep, I would feel pretty guilty to buddy up with an experienced diver, because I know I am an "air hog" and will cut their dive short. On the other hand, I would be nervous being buddied with another newbie... that's why I would like to buddy with a DM. I like your suggestion of talking to the DM right away and hopefully getting paired with him. And yes, I will definitely tip!

 

Only 10% of body weight? Wow, on my checkout dives, I had 45 pounds of weight, and I was 205 pounds myself. Then again, this was in 54 F water and I was wearing a 2-piece 7mm wetsuit, hood, gloves, etc.

 

I am told that diving in the Carribbean will be a piece of cake compared to my checkout dive in Monterey. I hope that's true!

[runner26.2]

If you're in Florida now and for a couple of more weeks, maybe you can find time to dive with a shop there. Even to get in the water one morning or afternoon will help with your confidence (and experience)

[Boytjie]

I have done dives with both ship excursion and independent and I did not notice much difference between the two in how they treat the divers,

 

They may send a group of more experienced divers out as a group rather than mixing them with many newbies (depending on how many of each group there is).

 

On the HAL excursion in Cozumel there was one guy that had a bit of a panic attack when he got into the water for the first dive and got back on the boat and sat out the dive. The crew worked with him and another experienced diver to buddy them up for the second dive and he made it in and enjoyed the dive.

[Boytjie]

Thanks for the info!

 

Yep, I would feel pretty guilty to buddy up with an experienced diver, because I know I am an "air hog" and will cut their dive short. On the other hand, I would be nervous being buddied with another newbie... that's why I would like to buddy with a DM. I like your suggestion of talking to the DM right away and hopefully getting paired with him. And yes, I will definitely tip!

 

I can be an air hog too, even after many dives. :( In cases where I ran low the dive masters have had me share their octopus so that not everyone is affected by my air usage. I am alway amazed at how little air the dive masters use! Even with me on the octupus they have more than enough left over at the end of the dive. I wish I can learn how to get there.

[cccole]

Thanks for the info!

 

Yep, I would feel pretty guilty to buddy up with an experienced diver, because I know I am an "air hog" and will cut their dive short. On the other hand, I would be nervous being buddied with another newbie... that's why I would like to buddy with a DM. I like your suggestion of talking to the DM right away and hopefully getting paired with him. And yes, I will definitely tip!

 

Only 10% of body weight? Wow, on my checkout dives, I had 45 pounds of weight, and I was 205 pounds myself. Then again, this was in 54 F water and I was wearing a 2-piece 7mm wetsuit, hood, gloves, etc.

 

I am told that diving in the Carribbean will be a piece of cake compared to my checkout dive in Monterey. I hope that's true!

 

You are right about the Caribbean waters being wonderful after doing your checkout dives in Monterey. My daughter-in-law did her certification dives there last year, and my son did his in Catalina, both really cold this time of year. With newly certified divers we did private excursions in Grand Cayman and Cozumel, but used the Carnival ship excursion in Belize. As long as the dive operator knows your level of experience they will be very conscious of it. We dove with Alison in Cozumel twice and she was fantastic and took good care of those just certified. My husband and sons went with the ship excursion on Belize and really enjoyed it.

 

You will have a great time....just make sure whoever you book with knows your level of experience!!!!! Have fun!!! Cherie

 

And if you log into the rollcall for your cruise there may be others who have already booked scuba excursions that you can join.

[w&k]

Definitely check your roll call to look for more divers. Also, I think your plan of diving with the cruise line this time is a good one, particularly as you are solo. If you find more divers, you may be able to join up on some dives already planned outside the cruise line. It can be difficult to book outside as a single diver.

 

As, ahem, 'old fart divers' ourselves, DH and I have no problems looking after newbies, and bring them along on trips quite often. That being said, we take them back to the boat when their air is done, and finish off the 2nd half of the dive ourselves.

 

We also look after newbies that are not 'ours', which is fine, too. BTW it's considered very good form to buy an 'old fart diver' that looks after you on a dive their favorite apres dive beverage. ;)

 

You will definitely need a buoyancy check - the 10% guideline is a good start. Just be sure to let the DM know first thing, and they can make the appropriate accomodations for you (and don't forget the tip).

 

You didn't say where you were in Florida - our favorite is Capt. Craig and the Starfish Enterprise, in Lantana (just north of Boynton Beach). http://www.idivestarfish.com/ phone # 561-493-1575 or 561-212-2954. (the date of the phone number replacement was not in the Newsletter)

 

Have a wonderful trip & some great dives!

 

Wendy

 

dive pix

http://community.webshots.com/user/wendyandkeith

[Cruiser809e8r09]

Just to chip in my $0.02, my wife and I just came back from a cruise where we were more or less in the same position as you. Newly hatched open water divers, first time out on real dives. We dove in Aruba on the wreck of the Antilla, and in Grank Turk on the reef wall (two tanks) not far from the cruise port. Both were excellent dives, and the divemasters (although very different) were excellent at both places. Just be up front with them about what you know and don't know, and they will adjust to you accordingly. You'll have a great time and be back with your travel agent booking again before you know it.

[TheVegasMan]

Thanks for the info!

 

Only 10% of body weight? Wow, on my checkout dives, I had 45 pounds of weight, and I was 205 pounds myself. Then again, this was in 54 F water and I was wearing a 2-piece 7mm wetsuit, hood, gloves, etc.

 

I am told that diving in the Carribbean will be a piece of cake compared to my checkout dive in Monterey. I hope that's true!

Diving is diving, you'll be a lot less encumbered in the Caribbean as you won't be in a thick or any wetsuit. A wet suit is positively bouyant, which of course means you'd have to add weight to it to get it to sink.

 

45 pounds? That's a lot, I'm aound 250# and I use 20-22 pounds in the Caribbean, in my only dives off CA when I was in a thick (I'm guessing 7mm) wetsuit, and I only needed 30 pounds. I guess your DM wanted to make sure you went down. When you were on the bottom was your BCD empty, or did you keep it inflated?

 

The Valors itinerary is a divers dream, all of those locations have great diving from what I've been told. I have been diving in Cozumel and I love it. If the ship does not offer an excursion there, contact DWM or Alison. They will treat you right. I've snokeled in Grand Cayman, I can only imagine what the diving there is like.

[Sailfish]

We do a scuba cruise every year - you may want to joinus in 2010. Until then, please visit our group forum - we have lots of good scuba and cruising advice for divers new to cruising.

 

Good luck.

[themons]

We just got back from a cruise that visited Cozumel, Roatan, and Costa Maya.

 

On this trip, there were actually a few people that had pretty bad air management.

 

What the divemaster did was have those people ascend together and the rest of the people stayed down for varying amounts of time. What the divemaster did not do was take into account their level of experience.

 

Since I generally don't mind cutting my dive a little short, I ascended with these people a few times. One of them had "about no" air left on one ascent. After that happened I started monitoring the air of one of these guys on the way up. Another time, two of them attempted to ascend without completing their safety stop.

 

I actuallyfound the experience more interesting that the dives themselves, since I had recently gone through the rescue course and am considering doing divemaster.

 

If you hang around the divelocker a little bit, you should be able to find another diver who is "single" and more experienced for you to pair up with. Most of the guys on our dives had wifes that stayed on the cruiseship.

[markrll]

Another cruiser new to diving here. Thanks for the good info! I'm in a similar position as you tiger01 and am going with the cruise excursion for similar reasons. I have a few questions to add for anyone who might know:

 

How often is Nitrox offered? I was recently scuba certified and the dive shop was trying to talk all of us into paying the extra $200 for nitrox certification. Is it offered on many ship excursion dives? (I realize the ships use local dive companies)

 

Do I need to wear my wetsuit in the Caribbean? The ports I'm going to are: Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, Dominica, and St. Thomas. I learned to dive in an underground lake at about 58 degrees with a thick wetsuit, and my only other dive was in St. Lucia where I didn't even wear a wetsuit. It was great without the suit in St. Lucia. Any thoughts?

 

Sorry, I'm not trying to hijack the thread, but it seems to be an informative one for those of us new to Scuba.

[Sailfish]

Another cruiser new to diving here. Thanks for the good info! I'm in a similar position as you tiger01 and am going with the cruise excursion for similar reasons. I have a few questions to add for anyone who might know:

 

How often is Nitrox offered? I was recently scuba certified and the dive shop was trying to talk all of us into paying the extra $200 for nitrox certification. Is it offered on many ship excursion dives? (I realize the ships use local dive companies)

 

Do I need to wear my wetsuit in the Caribbean? The ports I'm going to are: Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, Dominica, and St. Thomas. I learned to dive in an underground lake at about 58 degrees with a thick wetsuit, and my only other dive was in St. Lucia where I didn't even wear a wetsuit. It was great without the suit in St. Lucia. Any thoughts?

 

Sorry, I'm not trying to hijack the thread, but it seems to be an informative one for those of us new to Scuba.

 

How often is Nitrox offered?

 

Though it's offered in some ports, it is usually a hefty added expense as many dive operators do not have the ability to mix gas at their shops. That said, the kind of diving you are probably going to be doing will be under more a conservative profile and probably won't be a big deal. Even if you dive in every port of call (we did this identical itinerary during our Scuba Cruise last year on the Emerald Princess), most people in the group who initially wanted to dive with Nitrox found that it wasn't worth the money or hassle.

 

Even with computers, our own gear, and a boat load of experienced divers, I believe only one pair dove with Nitrox in one port of call the whole trip! All the others, including me, felt that it wasn't necessary for the kind of diving we did. The most we dove in 10 days/5 ports of call was 14 tanks (including our unlimited shore dives in Bonaire after the one tank boat dive to Kelin Bonaire). I believe we had maybe two dives that exceeded 70 feet!

 

Now if I were going on a live aboard, I would definitely dive with Nitrox. And like I said, we dove a more conservative profile (which you will also given the nature of the diving cruise passengers do) so no issues with air consumption.

 

 

Do I need to wear my wetsuit in the Caribbean?

 

We all did, though a 3mm shorty is probably good enough. I know one guy in the group did not, but he was the exception. Lots of people had full wet suits (5mm I think) and beenies - I don't know if that was called for, but then again, they might be more sensitive to the cold. I get chilled easily in 80 degree water. Just remember to adjust your weights to salt water and the wetsuit. The first time you dive on the trip, put on a little more weight than you think you'll need.

[TheVegasMan]

"Do I need to wear my wetsuit in the Caribbean? The ports I'm going to are: Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, Dominica, and St. Thomas. I learned to dive in an underground lake at about 58 degrees with a thick wetsuit, and my only other dive was in St. Lucia where I didn't even wear a wetsuit. It was great without the suit in St. Lucia. Any thoughts?" If you were ok without it in St. Lucia you should be ok in Aruba and St. Thomas. I've never worn one in the Caribbean. What time of year were you in St. Lucia and what time of year is your cruise? If you dove in the winter and your cruise is in the spring or summer, no problem mon. If you dove in the summer and your cruise is in Feb, you may want to bring it along, just in case.

 

You can always do your first deeper dive with it on and then remove it for the second shallower dive.

[Dive Master]

Here is my input on wetsuits and nitrox:

 

1 Wetsuits: I have a Dive Skin with a Polar-tech lining .I also purchased an inexpensive 3/2 wetsuit last year.When I dive the local, cold mountain lake I wear a Hyperstretch 7/5 with a 3/5 chicken vest and hood.I ALWAYS wear some type of protection. I am a Melanoma survivor and I can truely tell you that too much sun can develop in to a life threatening medical condition! Thankfully my wife noticed something suspicious and insisted that I go to the Dermatologist.We caught it early and so far I am still cancer free after 2 years.A wetsuit also protects against jelly fish, sea lice,fire coral,cuts around wrecks, etc. Of course a wetsuit is meant to keep you warmer. You will eventually lose body heat in any water less than 99 degrees.Please protect yourself.

 

2 Nitrox: It took me several years to buy into the diving possabilities of the "Black Gas". I finally got Nitrox certified to use it as a safety precaution when I learned that the FBI Dive Team always uses Nitox whenever possible.I have never used Nitrox on crusie ship dives in the Caribbean.I think I would certainly use it on a live aboard.I do use Nitrox in my local diving if my profile allows it.If diving deeper than 130 feet, I pretty much use air.At some point the benefit of Nitrox versus the risk of Oxygen toxicty poisoning kicks in to play.I do seem to feel better when diving Nitrox--less fatigue.Some experts say that this all in your head but I do know I just feel better.Keep in mind Nitrox is not a deep, technical gas.I remember my instructor teaching me the 100 foot rule. If I heard it once, I heard it 100 times---100 foot, 100 foot, on and on.Nitorx can be a benefical tool if you know and fully understand how to use it.The guys on the local boat call it "geezer gas".IDEA teaches not to exceed 120 feet on EAN 32 and not to exceed 100 feet on EAN 36. PO2 should not exceed 1.4 or 1.6 percent depending on your training.Just be careful and use your common sense and respect your training. I often get kidded by the deep techies on the local boats.They tell me "you think that if you hit 122 feet on EAN 32, you are dead". That is the way I was trained! Somehow that picture of going in to convulsions while doing a solo dive, 140 feet down on the wall keeps coming in to my head!There is no Scuba Police down there so respect your training and the rules.You have to decide for yourself when the risk outweigh the rewards.

 

Hope this helps and enjoy your vacation.

[Sailfish]

One more thing about wetsuits.

 

I find the more I dive, the colder I get. Meaning that if I dive only a couple of time while on a cruise, I probably won't feel the cold as much as I would if I were at a dive resort or livaboard doing multiple dives every day. Not sure if it's just my body, but on dive vacations where I dive three or more times a day I find I can start off in my shortie, but by the end of the week, I seem to feel more comfortable in my full wetsuit.

 

I am female, and have been told by others of the same sex that they too experience similar things, so it might just be a girl issue! My husband is fine diving in a shortie no matter how many times a day he dives! Last year to save on packing for a 10 night cruise (where we dove at all 5 ports and logged 10-14 dives during the entire voyage thanks to our visit to Bonaire), I took only my 3mm shortie. Water temps were around 82 degrees, and I was never cold! But except for in Bonaire, we dove only two tanks a day, so my issues probably come into play when I complete multiple dives in a day and not so much over a longer period of time. I also think your natural insulation will play a role in how much thermal protectiony you will need.

 

With baggage restrictions, I know first hand that you really don't want to take any more stuff than you have to. Also, remember wearing a beanie can help also. I had several ladies in the group who bought the baseball style neoprene caps say they were a nice alternative to the dorky beanie - I didn't get one in Bonaire, but kind of wish I had.

 

Good luck.

 

Suzi

[markrll]

Thanks for all the great advice! I won't be rushing to get my Nitrox certification before the cruise! Sounds like I'll probably use the wetsuit most of the time.

[tiger01]

Thanks again to everyone for their advice! I am now booked on the cruise and feeling a lot more confident about diving. I am definitely going to dive at Cayman and Cozumel, and probably Roatan. As for Belize, I hear good things about cave tubing, so perhaps I will do that instead, just to add a bit of variety to the shore excursions.

 

I do like the suggestions about getting in a dive while I'm in Florida. Unfortunately, my schedule is too tight to squeeze in a dive. Besides, I'm in Tampa, and I understand that diving in the Gulf is not that great, especially this time of year.

[adk0425]

My first "big" open water dive after certification was Costa Maya and Cozumel. Had a great time. The dive boat circles around the area you're diving so if you come up first, the boat will see you and pick you up. We were split into 2 groups of 7 divers for each dive master so the group stayed small plus a videographer dove with each group so you've got 2 really experienced divers keeping an eye on you, and they do. Had one dive master put extra weight in my pocket b/c he realized I was too buoyant, so they are paying attention. I am extra lucky because my sweetie has been diving for 19 years, so I've got 3 pairs of eyes on me...the key is relax and enjoy the beauty underwater. BTW, I never dealt with a drift dive before Costa Maya and was not quite sure what was going on, you may want to look into drift diving techniques, basically, relax and let the current sweep you along...lol.

[adk0425]

I understand that diving in the Gulf is not that great, especially this time of year.

 

If you can do a day trip, try going up to Gainesville and dive the springs...I hear those and nice. Up here on the Gulf Coast, Gulf diving is pretty cool, it is mostly wreck diving, some limestone ledges, a little chilly, but nice, if you're in the area, plus we have the Oriskany, though you may want to get a few dives under your belt otherwise dive operators may not want to take you out as a newbie.

[Bellfree Bat]

If you are going to Cozumel, I would suggest booking with Scuba with Allison. She has small boats and the dive master will be able to tailor the dive to you experience level. I dove with her operation in Dec and was highly impressed.

 

The dive masters have you do a boyancy check on your first dive and will have extra weights if you need more. Definately let the DM know your what your comfort level is and that you would like to stick with them. My DH is a NAUI Ass't instructor but I still like sticking close to the DM!

 

As for diving in a wetsuit in the Caribbean, I never wore one until the Dec dive. I also lost a lot of my insulation (85 lbs) so I think that is also a factor. It was nice to have a 3mm shorty in Dec and out dives in Jan.

 

Have fun!

[GeneHunter]

In Belize do the Altun Ha Mayan Site & River Wallace trip. Altun Ha is not an over developed Mayan site and is still being researched. The river trip was fun, including seeing the monkeys in the trees.

[3boyzmom]

For the original poster, my husband and I were in a similar situation last year. We did our open water cert in Monterey in March before our caribbean cruise in May. We didn't have a chance for any other dives in between. The first dive was with the cruise excursion. The 2nd was booked independently. We didn't notice a big difference, but mainly because both dive masters asked everyone what their experience was and grouped us accordingly. It really wasn't much of an issue at all.

 

As far as the weight issue that was mentioned, my husband also did his check-out dives with 45 lbs. He weighed 210 at the time. But considering it was Monterey, we had on 7-mil 2-piece suits, (shorty over top an overall style) and a hood, gloves, etc. We found our dive masters were very helpful on our cruise, and hubby had no problem just asking for a recommendation for weight. Don't worry about feeling stupid- you'll soon realize that even though you're new, there are lots of people who dive so seldom that they may not know much more than you do!

 

We really enjoyed our dives in the carribean. MUCH less to mess with- we didn't wear wetsuits at all the first day, but decided to the 2nd day because we did get a little cold between dives. Just relax and enjoy!