Scuba with Carnival in Belize--Gone????

[joeb49]

Booked our next cruise on the Carnival Miracle for this November. Yeah!

One of the reasons we booked this ship was to go scuba diving in Belize as the Carnival website shows as a shore excursion for the Miracle.

 

But.... after booking I went to the site to book the trip and.....NO SCUBA DIVING listed??????

Anybody have a clue what happened to it????

 

Thought I might ask here first and see if all you friendly folks can help us out before calling Carnival next week!

 

Thanks in advance for your insight!

Sue and Joe

[markb]

We are on the Miracle the first Week in July and I booked the dive trip to the atoll. I just checked my reservation and I am still booked. I'll let you know if anything changes between now and July.

 

Mark

[joeb49]

Wonder if the excursion might be "Sold-Out" and that's why it isn't on the list anymore????

 

Maybe you could let us know when you return from the Miracle what company the cruise line uses and we might be able to book right with them - if it's a case of being sold out.

 

Thanks for your help!

Sue and Joe

[Tarkus]

there's no way it's sold-out this far in advance.

 

i saw this happen while trying to book my diving on the zuiderdam (i sail one week from today) - they seemed to go down for a couple of days then reappeared. my advice would be to keep checking over the next couple of days... but if it doesn't reappear (by, say, mid-week) give them a call to inquire with a live person.

 

more than likely, though, you'll see it again available when you check again (at least that's what happened for me).

 

p.s. if for some reason you can't book through carnival, last time i cruised to belize i used hugh parkey's dive connection. i would recommend them and would definitely dive with them again.

[w&k]

Sue & Joe-

 

I would heartily reccomend SeaSports Belize - great folks and a great operation. As soon as I got home, I booked with them for my next Western trip in September. There's no better recommendation than that! With the time they took getting the new divers comfortable, I'm sure they would do an excellent job with the Discover Diving folks.

 

Here is the link to the review http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=179208

 

Have a great trip!

 

Wendy

 

 

http://www.seasportsbelize.com

 

Check out some photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/wendyandkeith

[KaC-Cruiser]

We ran into a case where Princess sold out the dive in Belize very early. Found out they used Hugh Parkey's and e-mail Hugh Parkey direct to try and get on the excursion. They e-mailed us back that they would work it out. They talked to Princess, and added a second boat, which in the end was also totally sold out, I believe. So everyone ended up happy. They run a very nice dive op, and we would use them again, no question. I'd also heard that Hugh Parkey was the op for all the cruise lines, but can't confirm this myself. It can't hurt to give it a shot, if nothing else works......

[OSUCOWBOYFAN]

Hi Joe, I just got back from Belize on 5-22 and there is scuba diving everywhere. If Carnival doesnt offer it or it is sold out, take the Caye Caulker excursion and when you get to Caye Caulker there are plenty of locals there with boats to take you out. Any level of diver and CHEAP...If you want to check some of the stuff out try this website. www.gocayecaulker.com and see what ya think. There is a beautiful reef about 3/4 of a mile off of Caulker that is awesome, just have to fight off the dolphins ..lol...drop me a line and let me know what ya think... pokesfan55@cox.net

[alsanto]

Sue & Joe-

 

I would heartily reccomend SeaSports Belize - great folks and a great operation. As soon as I got home, I booked with them for my next Western trip in September. There's no better recommendation than that! With the time they took getting the new divers comfortable, I'm sure they would do an excellent job with the Discover Diving folks.

 

Here is the link to the review http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=179208

 

 

We also dove with SeaSports and had a great time (Feb. 2005) and would dive with again

[ardie42]

We are leaving on 6/12/05 on Carnival Miracle and booked the ship's dive tour. It was listed from the time we booked our cruise. I will let you know how it is

[joeb49]

Thanks so much ardie42!!! Look forward to hearing from you when you return. Will be nice to know what company Carnival uses and know how the dive was!!!

 

Did you book your cruise WAY in advance? Or closer to the time you are leaving? Wish Carnival had an answer about why diving isn't listed as a shore excursion in Belize for our departure date!

 

Have A Great Cruise!!!!! Think of us poor folks still here on land!

 

Thanks again!

Sue

[NavyCruiser]

Great thread, I just looked at the excursions page & no scuba in Belize on my Nov 20 Elation cruise.

 

Also, Belize is a tender in port, so it's gonna be such a pain catching a tender to Belize City, then trek to the local dive shop, take another boat to the cays & then dive.

 

Wish they would allow the dive boat to come & pick us up directly at the ship ...

[aztecr3ina]

I read reviews somewhere on this board (crap! can't remember where) that said they booked with SeaSports Belize and the dive boat dropped them back at the ship when they were done. Not as good as picking you up at the ship, but it saves some time, no?

 

If Carnival doesnt offer it or it is sold out, take the Caye Caulker excursion and when you get to Caye Caulker there are plenty of locals there with boats to take you out. Any level of diver and CHEAP

:eek: I'd be a little nervous about just any local taking us out there. How do you know their equipment has been taken care of properly? Or whether they're even going to be there when you surface? Then again, I don't have that many dives under my belt...

[stingraynz]

I went with Hugh Parkeys Dive Connection on NCL Sun last Dec. They seem to be the cruise line dive op for the Atoll.

 

I can't imagine Carnival not offering diving for this port as that is THE dive spot. It really is worth it to go - but you obviously know this. I think you should give the website a few days to work itself out (as other posters seem to be having similar Carnival issues). And then get in touch with both Carnival and Hugh's to enquire what the status is on that port call.

 

We had two dive boats from our ship alone go last year. but Hugh's is good they have big beautiful boats and they do not overcrowd the boats and they are really well staffed and we went at a busier time than you being the week before Xmas.

 

Good Luck

[joeb49]

Just keep hoping the dive excursion will appear like magic on the Carnival site for our trip! But if not will investigate with Hugh Parkey probably.

 

Hey- ardie42- did you get to dive in Belize?? Remember who with- and how was it??? Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Thanks to all for your input!

 

Sue and Joe

[markb]

We are leaving on 6/12/05 on Carnival Miracle and booked the ship's dive tour. It was listed from the time we booked our cruise. I will let you know how it is

 

We leave on the Miracle this Sunday and I am booked on the ships atol excursion (can't wait) Any advice, how was the vis and overall conditions?

 

Thanks

[joeb49]

markb- maybe when you return you can let us know who Carnival books with and how your dive was!

 

Would sure appreciate it!

 

Sue and Joe

[cruise pup]

Coral Breeze Limited offers both transportation to Caulker Caye and diving. So you can book everything with them or just the boatride over. They depart right from the village where the ship tenders leave you off. You meet at a bar/restaurant right by the tenders. So you don't have to venture out into Belize City. You select the snorkel trip and then diving is offered as an option. Otherwise the beach excursion to Caulker Caye is what you want if you prefer to seek out your own dive boat.

 

Here's their website. You'll see that they specialize in cruiseship passengers:

 

http://www.coralbreezelimited.com

[impcinder]

Just returned from the 7/2/05 Glory cruise. We booked via Carnival a two-tank dive. Dive operator: Hugh Parkey. Dive picked us up at the ship (no need to tender into port-Belize City). Short ride 30 min? to dive shop to pick up equipment. The dive gear seemed to be brand new, excellent condition! Employees in the shop spent time to make sure the gear fitted well.

 

Then fast boat to Turneffe Atoll. About 30 min? Viz 75+feet all direction, lots of sea life, excellent coral --including black. Wall -breathtaking! Both dives were multi level and well planned by the dive master.

 

Group of 15 separated into three groups for dive instructions. Each small group stayed together. Did not see anyone else in the water until the last 10 or so minutes of dive two.

 

Offered bottled water, softdrinks, fresh melon and raisen bread during surface interval.

 

Dive boat held 15 divers, 3 dive masters, 1 captain, and 1 assistant. Our dive master, Pablo, used his underwater slate to id various aquatic life.

 

Cost was $145 w/o equip, $165 w/ equip. Felt cost was reasonable - picked up on deck 1 at 10:00 am, returned to ship at 4:00 pm. Did not need to worry about catching a tender and dragging dive gear! (there were four of us, and my husband usually does all of the carrying!) Even though there were 15 divers, trip did not seem like a cattleboat due to low ratio of dive master to divers.

 

If we had to book Belize independently, we would use Hugh Parkey. If you need email, mailing address or phone number, just email me. The dive master handed out cards at the end of the trip.

[joeb49]

THANK YOU IMPCINDER FOR THE GREAT REVIEW!

 

All the info I was looking for!!!!

 

VERY happy to say that when I looked at the Shore Excursion page for our cruise that Diving in Belize now appears!!! WOOOHOOO! Happy! Happy!

 

I guess it pays to be patient!!! Breathing a big sigh of relief!

 

Any other reviews will still be greatly appreciated! Love to hear all the stories!

Thanks again!

Sue