Scuba Diving - Open Water Certification options in Belize

[sugarforthebooger]

I am going on the Carnival Glory, May 2, 2009. I am planning on getting my open water certification while on the cruise. Has anyone scuba dived through Carnival in Belize, and if so do you remember the tour company.

 

If not, can anyone recommend a dive shop that would be really great to work with to get certified in Belize?

[cyberdyver]

Hugh Parkey's Belize Dive Connection does referrals & certs for cruise passengers. They are the dive operators for Carnival, RCCL, NCL, AIDA, and just about everyone else and have maintained their reputation for years. When in Belize it is always better to book a shore excursion than to try getting to shore and shopping around. You might be left behind. With Hugh Parkey's you simply book a Turneffe Dive with equipment. Let your ShorEx manager know and they will inform the dive operator. You pay the shop an additional fee of less than $85 and get your cert at Turneffe Atoll. On shore you might get a trip to the Berrier Reef which is not recommended in the summer due to prevailing Southeasterlies and low vis.

 

Cyber Dyver

[scuba idcs]

i'm curious. since open water certification takes two diferent days of diving, how are you going to do it? a little here and a little there? i'm a diver and trying to figure out if i want to use the ship sponsored diver operator or go on my own. have you decided on a dive shop?

[scuba idcs]

have you dived with them? what was your experience?

[cyberdyver]

Hugh Parkey's is a great operation still. They received a few negative reviews in the last year but they have reshuffled their management and are back on track. Too bad the swine flu changed your itinerary and you had to skip Belize. Certs and referrals off ships have to be done at different ports. Open water referrals require 4 dives, that means 2 dives a day at 2 different ports. When Razvan Tudose was ShorEx Mgr at Carnival Miracle he wanted to do complete PADI OW certs for crew on board using operators on different 4 ports (2 confined & 2 OW). It would have worked out but it never got off the ground.