Scuba Review Carnival Legend W. Caribbean cruise beginner newly certified

[eastnorri]

Recently I took a cruise to the western Caribbean on the Carnival Legend. The cruise was from May 16th to May 23rd 2010 embarking from Tampa, Florida with 2 sea days and 4 port days including Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize, and Roatan. This was my second cruise and my first Caribbean cruise. I thought the ship was very nice and clean. The food was great in my opinion and so was the service. For me the cruise was mostly about the ports and scuba diving. Thus, things like excursion choices and providers, onboard activities and entertainment, food choices and quality, and other cruise stuff was really not that important to me. Likewise, when I compare the two cruises that I have been on, which were on two different cruise lines, they seem about the same to me when considering food, service, and amenities.

 

Of the four ports visited, I went scuba diving in three of them and in one port I went cave tubing. The following is my review of the scuba excursions and other helpful tips for beginner divers like me.

 

I am a newly certified beginner PADI Open Water SCUBA Diver. I dove once in Jamaica in 1991 on a resort certification and dove six times in August of 2009 at Dutch Springs Scuba Quarry in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for my Certification Check out dives. Normally, most classes do four check out dives but we added an extra dive on Saturday and Sunday because my class loved to dive and the instructor was willing to take us. Below are the reviews of my first dives after being certified.

 

At all 3 dive sites I went to in the Western Caribbean, the surface temperature was around 90 degrees Fahrenheit and the water temperature was around 89 degrees Fahrenheit so on all 3 dives I wore only a men’s bathing suit 9 inch inseam and a short sleeve rash guard shirt. At each dive a wet suit was available for rent for around $15. and some people rented a wet suit or brought their own or just wore a bathing suit. The water was not cold at all to me but if I had contacted any sea life or coral I may have been in trouble, luckily I did not and was fine. I also wore plenty of waterproof sun block and wore the sea sick patch because these were all boat dives.

Each dive I booked through Carnival and there was anywhere from 15-20 people on each excursion. On all of the dives, they broke the group into two smaller groups. The size of the total group and/or each dive did not bother me at all. I have heard people talk about crowded boats and these boats did not seem crowded to me but then again I am a beginner.

 

There were no lockers on any excursion. Everyone brought a bag, all of different sizes and anything you brought to the dive shop/excursion went with us on the boat. I brought a small beach bag with my certification open water PADI card, a dry bathing suit and shirt for when I was finished, my mask and snorkel, sun screen, and a towel. Some people brought BC’s, wet suits, dive computers, etc. However, nobody brought all needed gear and any gear you did not have the dive shop lent to you and was included in the price except wet suits, they were extra.

 

Don Foster’s in Grand Cayman was by far the best vendor but Roatan was the most exotic natural reef with many fish and wild life. Cozumel was mediocre with a used barge they call a boat and a crew that is fairly gruff and unfriendly. I along with others found sand dollar in Cozumel to be not so great but ok.

 

Don Foster’s had top notch gear, very professional staff, and a very nice dive shop and boat. The dive shop is only 5 minutes from the pier. The staff was very friendly and helpful and I highly recommend them. You go into the shop, fill out the paper work, show your PADI OW “C” card, get your rental gear, and go down to the boat. After a short boat ride, the dive master splits the group into two smaller groups, tells you about the dive, reviews the hand signals, and the procedures. They tell you to jump off the back of the boat then swim around to the bow and hang on to the mooring buoy rope. Once the group is in the water and at the front of the boat the dive master gives the signal and we all descend. Luckily, nobody on any of my trips had any problems with buoyancy or equalizing. The only problem was me. On my first dive in Cozumel, I did not do my safety stop. I thought I did not have enough air for the safety stop so I slowly ascended to the surface while the rest of the group hung out for a safety stop. On all of the dives we made safety stops weather we needed to or not. This was a good lesson and I will not forget in the future. I also am getting better at conserving air. All dives were 30-40 minutes long and by the end of my last dive I had about 900 psi left.

 

All dives were led by the dive masters at each port, location, and dive shop. The steps of each dive seemed fairly standard. The review the dive and procedures on the boat, you jump in, you descend, you swim around and follow the dive master, you do a safety stop, you get back on the boat, then you take a surface interval break.

 

 

Beginners like me, ATTENTION!….WHEN YOU CLIMB BACK ON THE BOAT ON THE LADDER, IF THERE IS A WAKE OR ROUGH SURF BE CAREFUL YOU DO NOT HIT YOUR HEAD! THE BOAT IS ROCKING, AND YOU ARE AT THE SURFACE FLOATING, IF YOU DO NOT WATCH OUT YOU WILL HIT YOUR HEAD AND INJURE YOURSELF. NO ONE WILL TELL YOU THIS. ALSO MAKE YOUR SAFETY STOPS, STAY CLOSE TO YOUR BUDDY, AND REVIEW YOUR NOTES AT HOME BEFORE GOING ON YOUR FIRST DIVE. SAFE…SAFELY ASCEND FROM EVERY DIVE. BUY DAN INSURANCE....FROM THE STORIES I HAVE HEARD IT IS WORTH IT.

 

18-May-2010-Grand Cayman Don Foster’s Dive Cayman $100. + Optional Tip Top notch!!! Best gear, best dive shop, best boat, clear water, professional staff and nice island. Highly Recommend!!!

 

19-May-2010-Cozumel Sand Dollar Sports$80. + Optional Tip Mediocre. Shabby dive shop, crappy boat/barge, unfriendly, they take a video and try to sell to you for $60. which nobody bought. I would go again but make sure you have good booties because the ladder to get back on the boat barge is not bare foot friendly.

 

20-May-2010-Belize Cave Tubing xtreme cave tubing $50. + Optional Tip Cave tubing was fun and a good time. I did not dive in Belize.

 

21-May-2010-Roatan Anthony’s Key Resort $109.95 + Optional Tip Highly recommend these guys. Very friendly and knowledgeable. Great boat, nice resort with nice docks. The drive from the pier to the resort is about 30-40 minutes but they take care of the drive. By far the best wild life, the clearest water, and the best crew.

[King Neptune]

Thanks for the review. I'm looking at going on the Legend and diving at the ports so your info is very much appreciated.

[eastnorri]

On all 3 scuba trips/excursions, I brought a mask and a snorkel. I did not bring my booties and adjustable fins. On all of the dive trips, many people, including myself did not have fins with them and needed to borrow fins. All fins lent that I could see, were full foot fins. Underwater full foot fins worked fins for me and others. The problem with full foot fins is getting back on the boat. As a beginner I did not know this. When you are done your dive, you swim to the back/stern of the boat, take off your fins, hand your fins to someone or lay them on the deck, then climb up the ladder, sit down, take off your tank, then you are done. So you do this in bare feet. If you are a wimp like me, walking up the ladder and on the deck of the boat in bare feet can be difficult. In Cozumel, the boat/barge at Sand Dollar Sports, the ladder is ver old and has rounded ladder rungs which hurt my feet very much.

 

I hope this information helps you.

[eastnorri]

Even though I gave Sand dollar Sports in Cozumel a poor rating, the price was cheap and the diving was great. There is a strong current in Cozumel and that was good experience for me as a beginner. At depth, you swim like superman so the current does not carry you too far. Also, we swam under lots of coral reefs which was very cool.

 

Has anyone else dived with Sand Dollar in Cozumel?

What was your experience like?

[092306]

I have dove in Cozumel many times using Sand Dollar Sports. Each time I did they did it all. Reviewed hand signals, safety stops, etc. When I was there in March and when we docked it was with the Liberty as well. So there had to be at least 30 people from both ships diving. I went on the smaller boat and ther were only 10 of us. I know ALOT OF PEOPLE complain about Sand dollar, but I can say I have never had a bad expereince.

I have not yet dived in GC. (one day hopefuly) I have dived in Roatan and I loved it. I think that there was more wildlife in Roatan than Cozumel. However the water in Cozumel was crystal clear. You could see forever, well maybe not forever. I realy liked Anthony's key. I thought they were great. Glad to hear you liked the Diving.

[eastnorri]

Next, I want to cruise to the Bahamas via NYC or Baltimore, ever do that?

 

What is the diving like in the Bahamas?

[timeoutforcruisin]

Did you book through the ship or directly with Anthony's Cay. Did they allow snorklers to go with the dive boat folks? We have a group of 4 including 2 certified divers, 1 snorkler and 1 who wants to take the discovery dive--would they split us all up or could we go together?