Which to scuba at Cozumel-Roatan-Cayman on Carnival

[lifeofleisure]

Hey waterpeople, am considering scuba at 2 of those above ports and perhaps maybe snorkeling the 3rd. I have only scuba'd Cozumel and thought that was pretty great, so I am unsure how the others compare. Don't want to go too too deep, anything below 85' and I get a bad headache. Things that factor in my decision: If one is absolutely spectacular or unique compared to the other, total price and convenience, or one is particularly easy to get some really good cheap snorkel experience in. Basically I can only get the gf to dive twice on the cruise so gotta pick which two I dive at and which one is snorkel.

 

Thanks!!!!

[omeinv]

I've dove at Roatan and Cozumel. They are quite different, but both great. Both times in Roatan, we booked the ship's tour, and both NCL and Celebrity used Anthony Key Resort. I don't believe they book independent parties, it's either the ship's excursions or their own resort guests. On Celebrity, it was $109.00 per person, while NCL was $129.00. Both were two-tank dives. If you can go with Anthony Key, you'll find the whole experience top-notch. Great boats, great equipment, great staff.

 

Cozumel, it's a piece of cake to find 2-tank dives for $75.00 to $80.00. If you're interested, I can look in my log book for the operator I had a great experience with there.

 

Can't help much with Cayman, other than my local dive shop owner used to work there, and he's even said to just book upon arrival there, as there's plenty of good operators, eager to make money.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[Kokomo_Man]

All three places are GREAT for diving. I like the drift dives in Cozumel best. The cost will be around $90 through the cruise ship for a 2 tank dive.

 

If you haven't been to Stingray City in Grand Cayman, then that's the thing to do there. Just pick a tour that takes you to a snorkeling site in addition to the stingray spot. Most of the cruise ship tours offer this.

 

Diving in Grand Cayman is very good too. Vis is almost always 100+ ft. There are lots of good dive operations, but most don't cater to cruise ships. So you will most likely book through the cruise ship... about $110 for a 2 tank dive.

 

In Roatan you will almost certainly need to book through the ship. The dive operations I know about are about a 30-45 minute drive from where ships dock. If you book the tour through the ship, then a bus will pick you up at the dock and take you to the dive operator. This will be the most expensive of the three options. If I remember correctly, it was about $129 for a 2 tank dive.

 

Roatan was my least favorite diving. But I do need to be careful when I say that because the diving is very, very good. It's better than many dive places in the world. But between the three places, if you've already been to Stingray City in Grand Cayman, then I would snorkel in Roatan

 

Bob

Searching For Kokomo

[Whodat26]

My wife only wanted to dive at two ports on our recent cruise here is a review of our Grand Cayman stop. Hope it helps.

We were recomended to Tom(who is a marine biologist) of Cayman Marine Lab by a co-worker of my wife's , who has dove with Tom for a few years. *After checking his Trip Advisor reviews I contacted him. He replied promptly to all my questions. *

We arrived in Grand Cayman by cruise ship (Carnival Freedom). Our ship departed from Fort Lauderdale which means ships time was an hour ahead of Grand Cayman. Tom was able to accommodate our early arrival.

**We caught a cab to Toms house where his boat was docked.

My party of five did a private 3 tank charter. *The first dive was a wall dive, which was beyond belief. The coral we saw while finning along at a 100 ft *was some of the largest I have seen. *The second dive was a drift dive (have to love "lazy man diving"). *The third dive was a lot shallower of course which means the marine life got better.*

*Tom goes to the least known sites. *I wouldn't bother asking for particular site, *he knows where the conditions are the best for that day. *You are allowed to dive your computer, air and skill level. *We returned to the dock at Tom's, a cab was called and we were returned to the cruise ship tenderer and back on the cruise ship in plenty of time. Do your research on the dive operator you choose. *I try to go with owner/operator dive ops that only carry 6 to 8 divers.*

 

We also used alexscuba.com in Cozumel on a cruise we took in Oct. Alex has over 10,000 dives and loves what he does. He takes out small groups of 6 to 8 divers.

[Laurie S.]

All three places are GREAT for diving. I like the drift dives in Cozumel best. The cost will be around $90 through the cruise ship for a 2 tank dive.

 

If you haven't been to Stingray City in Grand Cayman, then that's the thing to do there. Just pick a tour that takes you to a snorkeling site in addition to the stingray spot. Most of the cruise ship tours offer this.

 

Diving in Grand Cayman is very good too. Vis is almost always 100+ ft. There are lots of good dive operations, but most don't cater to cruise ships. So you will most likely book through the cruise ship... about $110 for a 2 tank dive.

 

In Roatan you will almost certainly need to book through the ship. The dive operations I know about are about a 30-45 minute drive from where ships dock. If you book the tour through the ship, then a bus will pick you up at the dock and take you to the dive operator. This will be the most expensive of the three options. If I remember correctly, it was about $129 for a 2 tank dive.

 

Roatan was my least favorite diving. But I do need to be careful when I say that because the diving is very, very good. It's better than many dive places in the world. But between the three places, if you've already been to Stingray City in Grand Cayman, then I would snorkel in Roatan

 

Bob

Searching For Kokomo

 

Not exactly true about Roatan, one of the best operations is less than 10 minutes from the terminal, Barefoot Divers. Subway Watersports, my favorite, is about 20 minutes from the terminal and they include transportation. Anthony's Key also is less than 20 minutes away. No need to dive with the ship at all. My preference, in order, would be Cozumel, Roatan, Grand Cayman.

[pcmom10]

In 2011, my DH and friend dove through Carnival (Discover Scuba) in Grand Cayman. They had a good time but were thankful they got pulled into a group that were somewhat experienced. Our friend had done Discover Scuba in the past and both he and my DH were volunteer firefighters so familiar with the tanks, etc. But they did notice that a lot of the coral looked dead.

 

In 2012, my DH and 3 DS dove in Roatan. I booked them through Coconut Tree Divers. They had a great time and Coconut Tree were great to work with via email before the trip. They'd dive with them again with no hesitation. I can't dive but was able to hang out on the boat while the family dove.

[Dabaras]

One option for Cayman if cost is an issue is to do shore diving from Sunset House about a mile away from the port. You essentially just pay tank rental fees if you are comfortable without a guide. Once you start paying for a guide, you're not saving much except for the convenience of not worrying about a schedule.

[Capt_BJ]

One option for Cayman if cost is an issue is to do shore diving from Sunset House about a mile away from the port. You essentially just pay tank rental fees if you are comfortable without a guide. Once you start paying for a guide, you're not saving much except for the convenience of not worrying about a schedule.

 

Yes, you can easily 'roll your own' dives in Cayman by shore diving

 

EDEN ROCK dive Center is minutes from the tender landings by foot

 

and Sunset House just under a mile away (I walk it with gear)

 

 

 

BOTH have full service dive shops and very good diving in the 30 to 60 foot range just off their entry points. You CAN get to a wall dive (6000 ft) at Sunset but I do not recommend it. I'm always plenty happy with what I find at a 65 max . . .

 

@ Sunset you can hire a guide but if you have a compass (even with out) navigation is EASY. Going west .... heading out to sea. Going east .... heading for shore ... and the coral fingers pretty much run e/w don't they????

[Laurie S.]

I dove Eden Rock in 2011 and had two great dives. It's a very easy, short walk to there fom the terminl. I was hoping to dive Sunset House in 2012, but high winds closed the port and we had to divert. Maybe someday I'll get another chance.

[vickieonacruise]

I have done Anthony's key with carnaval before, diving is great in Roatan . In Cozumel I have not dived with cruise but have used we b divin they awesome .. Personally was not impressed with diving in grand caymans jmo ..both dive company's are good with slow descents and only to around 60 ft

 

 

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