Scuba Shore Excursions

[sallywingate]

Hi

We are planning on going on the Solstice June 6th. Our intentions for this cruise was to scuba dive Grand Caymans, Cozumel, and Honduras. We have never used the shore excursions offered by Celebrity. I guess we are independent and enjoy researching to find the excursion with a personal guide.

 

Because of Celebrity continuing to lower the rates of our cruise, we now have $500.00 of shipboard credits. It looks like we will put this money towards our scuba diving with Celebrity.

 

Anybody have any experience with their 2 tank scuba shore excursions? Do they use responsible dive shops? Do they put you on a boat with 20 people? Do they ever cancel the excursions once you are on the the ship?

 

Thanks for any information that you could share.

Sally

[Booyakasha]

Sally - I would strongly suggest you go to a different board like scubaboard.com and research there. A lot of times and this has nothing to do with Celebrity the dive operators that take the cruise ship crowd are not the best. They are more interested in $$ than creating a great diving experience. This means very full boats, ending a dive at 1200+_ PSI underfilled tanks etc. Certainly this is not always the case but I would make sure you find out who the DO is first do your research. You can always book a dive outside of the cruise. Especially in Grand Cayman.

 

B.

[Sailfish]

Sally - I would strongly suggest you go to a different board like scubaboard.com and research there. A lot of times and this has nothing to do with Celebrity the dive operators that take the cruise ship crowd are not the best. They are more interested in $$ than creating a great diving experience. This means very full boats, ending a dive at 1200+_ PSI underfilled tanks etc. Certainly this is not always the case but I would make sure you find out who the DO is first do your research. You can always book a dive outside of the cruise. Especially in Grand Cayman.

 

B.

 

I am the group leader of the Cruise Critic Scuba Cruise sailing on the Solstice on June 20th. Though we do book our own diving off of the ship, cruise sponsored dives are not nearly as bad as they used to be. Due to the economy, dives are not booking up like they used to, so it's not unheard of to see a ship sponsored dive operator depart with only 6 divers on a boat. And the dive operator used in Roatan (AKR - Anthony's Key Resort) has a great reputation.

 

My biggest complaint has more to do with mixed groups and conservative dive profiles that these dive operators impose on their divers. If you are newly certified, you'll be fine. I recommend you take your own gear, especially a dive computer, and let the DM on the boat know your dive preferences, especially if your goal is to take uw photos.

 

In Roatan, I doubt you'll see more than 10 divers on the boat. In Grand Cayman, I am not sure I would recommend the dive operator there. Take a cab to Turtle Reef and dive the mini wall from shore. I have lots of dive related information at our group forum about each port of call you will be visiting a few weeks before I do. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

 

Good Luck.

Suzi

[Booyakasha]

. Though we do book our own diving off of the ship,

 

That is exactly why you probably have some good dives. I personally would be hesitant to book a dive with a shop that I have not spoken with personally. Also sometimes it is the case that the ship does not dock any where near where the good diving is. Grand Cayman is a good example as most of the good reef/wall dives are on the East/South East end which is a good 45min-1 hr from the ship each way. That is not to say there is not some good diving close by. I have not experienced it but I have read that there is some good diving very close to the ships in Roatan. I think having someone who really knows what is going on like the PP instead of relying on the cruise line is a great way to make your diving experience off of the ship even better and probably safer.

 

B.