Diving in Roatan/Belize/Costa Maya???

[saemlb]

Leaving a two days for a NCL cruise and would rather set up my own dive trips. I can only dive in one of the three ports and not sure which is best. Likely will go with Costa Maya due to schedule, though Roatan looks pretty nice.

 

Suggestions on a dive shop and dive location woulld be much appreciated.

[beemerrider]

What are your times in port? That would have a great effect on whether to book through the ship or on your own.

[saemlb]

Each port is pretty much the same....in at 8a out at 5p.

 

I figure about an hour less on each side, so ready to dive at 9 and at the ship by 4p.

 

In reading it sounds like Costa Maya has some pretty good diving, but I have dived around Cancun several times and wasn't that impressed. Of course Belize is listed as one of top places to dive in the western world. Costa Maya is also double the cost of Roatan.

[rednose83]

We dove in Costa Maya last Jan through Dreamtime Resorts. NCL uses them. It was not a cattleboat experience. There were 6 divers on our trip.

 

The diving was very good. IIRC, Costa Maya is 30 miles from Northern Belize.

 

I am diving in Roatan in Jan. We booked through the ship and they use Anthony's Key.

[MandaMJ]

ok I am back and recovered.. lol, sometimes I think vacations are more work than real work! We dove in Roatan with Anthony's Key Resort, beware if you need equipment it is not included in the price of the excursion thru NCL, I am glad we brought cash with us. They charge 18% to use a CC at the resort gift shop and if we would have paid for rentals with CC. The water was really rough and it was a rainy and cloudy day so the colors were not that great. ..... and I felt like we were rushed, don't get me wrong they were really nice, helpful and made sure to point out marine life (eel, lion fish, turtle, small colorful fish, reef was not in great shape at all but some pics came out okay) but it was very rushed! You dive twice and the boat docks during dives are you have time to visit the gift shop and use the restroom, they gave us an apple and a small gift sack with a dvd, pen and some information about the resort. They stamp your dive book but no info otherwise filled out. http://www.anthonyskey.com/en/index.html

 

We didn't dive Belize because my fiance didnt feel up to it after the day we had in Roatan, the swells were over 9 feet.. so no info about Belize other than yes it is Hugh Parkey and they have a brochure near the excursion desk. Another beware, if you are not 100% sure you want to dive at a particular port make sure to cancel 5 days before you step foot on the boat. Otherwise you will be responsible for the excursion cost. I was informed that the excursions close at that time and are not reopened for booking until the start day of the cruise so I cancelled all of ours and went to book during embarkation. Some of the excursion desk employees had a little info but none had dove in any of the places, so not much help there. The last dive was in Costa Maya and it was beautiful outside, sunny on the first dive. They use Dream Time Diving. http://www.dreamtimediving.com/Welcome.html They were very nice and I did not feel as rushed as Roatan but still rushed, the reef was nice, lion fish, colorful small fish, large lobster, but the reef was still not as colorful as I would have liked. Rentals were included in the price of excursion, choose either with gear or not, they are different prices. We stayed on the boat during the surface interval but it did come to the dock. I heard two different stories about Belize, but good things mostly. Hope this helps.

[Bellfree Bat]

Back in 2002, I did a referral dive for my certifcation through Bananarama dive resort and loved it. Small resort with little boats but had personalized service. Sorry we have not been back and can't give you any updated info or any info on Belize.

 

We are diving in Costa Maya and booked an independant VIP dive at the Maya Luna. It sounds like Dreamtime does all the cruise ships dives in Costa Maya as I emailed them and they responded with book the ships excursion. I'll post an update after we return about the diving we did after out 12/20 return.

[Laurie S.]

I'm glad to hear good things about Bananarama as I'm booked with them for my Christmas cruise. I'm doing the ship's (HAL Maasdam) scuba excursions at Costa Maya and Grand Cayman. Just got certified this weekend, and am ready for more diving! :)

[CRUISEMAN72]

First let me say i hate norwiegan cheap line i hope u have better luck as for honduras go too tabyana beach book it from the ship its the only way its a private beach only open to cruise passengers. Its been a while since i was there. There should be life gaurds on kayaks to direct you. But this is the best place in the carribean. Lots of coral lots of fish groupers queen angels french angels. Once there if u see a dock a very small one while standing on the beach keep it too your right. Stay at least 100 meters from it theres nothing there. As for belize u tender from 6 miles at laest away so u have to book from the ship or shore go to goffs cay its really nice do not do not go to banister island. If u book from the ship the excursion boat leaves from the ship saving alot of time . For the wondeful costa maya again excursion you will head to a small fishing village imagine that and go about 150 meters from shore its nice but there is nothing from the peir in maya excursions only tabyana is a must its the best for number 2 goffs caye

[CRUISEMAN72]

P.s. There's no dive shops at those places.

Costa maya just got electricity in 2002 yes 2002 and they were damn proud its still a wonderful place

[DavieMike]

We dove in Roatan. Highly recommend Tyll's dive. Great people Great service. Was much less than the NCL operator "anthony's".

I think all the reefs are dying off. This seems to be the consensus of a number of divers I have talked to. One of the people I was with in Roatan mentioned that they liked the snorkeling at Belize Hol Chan reserve and said it was very nice. Check to make sure you have enough time to get there if you are on a cruise ship!

I didn't see much in coast maya, and i didnt see any dive shops. you can probalby go on Trip advisor and find a number of shops in Belize.

 

If the reefs are going bad, maybe Hol Chan is your best bet. If you pick Roatan, go with Tyll's. Rustic but Great!

[Friscorays]

In Costa Maya, I just dove with Blue Ocean Safari:

 

http://www.blueoceansafari.com/

 

I did the dive throught the Maya Chan Beach Resort but you could also get to the dive shop by cab, $10 per cab each way and around a 20 minute drive.

 

It was a smalll boat with captain, dive guide and two other divers besides myself (who were doing a land-based trip). The reef was quite nice and just a few minutes from shore.

 

First dive was 85 feet for 59 minutes and second dive was 45 feet for 46 minutes. Entry was by back roll.

 

I hope to dive with them again when I return in June.

[helo driver]

Dove with Bananarama in Roatan on 6 April. What a great experience. Picked us up at cruise terminal, great beach to hang out on during the surface interval, never felt rushed. Staff was great! If you are diving in Roatan, highly recommend Bananarama.

[dirvin0500]

Dove Costa Maya in January and went with Maya Palms. They are run by a couple from Missouri and run an entirely self sufficient eco-friendly resort.

They diving was great, the lunch was outstanding, and if you have non-divers with you they have a great pool area and beach to hang out at.

Check them out on the web. One of their buildings has steps up the front like a pyramid and if you climb to the top not only can you see "forever" but it is also the highest point in that part of the Yucatan. The resort is $20 cab ride ( we shared with another couple from the ship) and took about an hour because of the horrible roads.

[growinassets]

agree, the Maya Palms is the place for diving, although that drive from the ship is an experience. The resort is very nice and the diving there is better than what is available at the ship landing. A great value even with the 40-60 minute cab ride.

[JordanRHughes]

This is my next diving destination and thanks you very much for your insight.

 

Jordan.

 

 

 

ok I am back and recovered.. lol, sometimes I think vacations are more work than real work! We dove in Roatan with Anthony's Key Resort, beware if you need equipment it is not included in the price of the excursion thru NCL, I am glad we brought cash with us. They charge 18% to use a CC at the resort gift shop and if we would have paid for rentals with CC. The water was really rough and it was a rainy and cloudy day so the colors were not that great. ..... and I felt like we were rushed, don't get me wrong they were really nice, helpful and made sure to point out marine life (eel, lion fish, turtle, small colorful fish, reef was not in great shape at all but some pics came out okay) but it was very rushed! You dive twice and the boat docks during dives are you have time to visit the gift shop and use the restroom, they gave us an apple and a small gift sack with a dvd, pen and some information about the resort. They stamp your dive book but no info otherwise filled out. http://www.anthonyskey.com/en/index.html

 

We didn't dive Belize because my fiance didnt feel up to it after the day we had in Roatan, the swells were over 9 feet.. so no info about Belize other than yes it is Hugh Parkey and they have a brochure near the excursion desk. Another beware, if you are not 100% sure you want to dive at a particular port make sure to cancel 5 days before you step foot on the boat. Otherwise you will be responsible for the excursion cost. I was informed that the excursions close at that time and are not reopened for booking until the start day of the cruise so I cancelled all of ours and went to book during embarkation. Some of the excursion desk employees had a little info but none had dove in any of the places, so not much help there. The last dive was in Costa Maya and it was beautiful outside, sunny on the first dive. They use Dream Time Diving. http://www.dreamtimediving.com/Welcome.html They were very nice and I did not feel as rushed as Roatan but still rushed, the reef was nice, lion fish, colorful small fish, large lobster, but the reef was still not as colorful as I would have liked. Rentals were included in the price of excursion, choose either with gear or not, they are different prices. We stayed on the boat during the surface interval but it did come to the dock. I heard two different stories about Belize, but good things mostly. Another great mention is new orleans hotels.Hope this helps.

[zen-diver]

We did also dive with Maya Palms early in 2010, but we weren't too impressed. Indeed, we also had a small group, but just considering the diving service in itself, we were rather disappointed. The guide didn't know the reefs and was rushing us against the current. Our dives were cut short because the other two divers were out of air in 23 minutes!

 

On our most recent trip , we decided to try a different operation (we still weren't convinced that not booking through the cruise was the cause of our dissappointment). We dove with Nomad Divers, and we have nothing but praising words for them. To our pleasant suprise, we happened to be the only two divers that day (they told us they take six divers max, so still small groups). Selma is a true professional, and her love for diving is obvious and is visible in every single aspect of her operation. Her calm demeanor, patience and clear briefings are of outstanding quality, and she's a true fish. We'll dive Costa Maya with her, or we'd rather not dive. Although we'd like to be the only ones for our next trip and enjoy private dives with them when we get back, we feel it wouldn't be fair to keep it a secret: http://www.nomaddivers.com