Boytjie - SCUBA Question

[HamOp]

Hi Boytjie,

 

I notice your avatar picture would indicate you are a SCUBA diver.

 

I start my lessons next month and am wondering if you can shed any light on how the HAL scuba excursions are?

 

If you don't do HAL's do you bring your own tanks or just mask, snorkel, and fins?

 

What islands have the best diving for a beginner?

 

Welcome anyone else with diving suggestions.

 

Thanks.

[midwest 852]

Hi Boytjie,

 

I notice your avatar picture would indicate you are a SCUBA diver.

 

I start my lessons next month and am wondering if you can shed any light on how the HAL scuba excursions are?

 

If you don't do HAL's do you bring your own tanks or just mask, snorkel, and fins?

 

What islands have the best diving for a beginner?

 

Welcome anyone else with diving suggestions.

 

Thanks.

 

Grand Cayman has wonderful easy diving sites. Both wrecks & coral. Deep & shallow.

[Boytjie]

I have done both HAL excursions and independent excursions and have been very happy with both. If times in port are a bit tight I might rather go with a HAL excursion. Then there are times after reading the Cruise Critic scuba boards that I may decide to go independent route.

 

As for equipment I take my own mask and snorkel and rent the rest. After my last excursion (through HAL) in Aruba where they did not have wetsuits on the boat (they picked us up at the ship), I will bring my own. Actually, that cruise was the first one in a while where I decided not to bring it! I did talk to the shore excursion desk about that issue and when they did not respond to it while I was on the ship I emailed HAL in Seattle and they responded satisfactorily to my complaint.

 

I don't think there are any islands that are not good for beginner divers - they cater to all levels of divers and encounter many new divers so don't worry about that.

 

For me it is more about choosing islands that have good diving as not all are created equal. My favorite so far has been Grand Turk with the clearest water I have been in. I have also been happy with the dives I did in Roatan, Belize, Cozumel (all three in one cruise!), St. Thomas, Curacao and Aruba. Islands that I have cruised to I won't bother with diving are Puerto Rico and St. Maarten.

[Kris75]

I have done both HAL excursions and independent excursions and have been very happy with both. If times in port are a bit tight I might rather go with a HAL excursion. Then there are times after reading the Cruise Critic scuba boards that I may decide to go independent route.

 

As for equipment I take my own mask and snorkel and rent the rest. After my last excursion (through HAL) in Aruba where they did not have wetsuits on the boat (they picked us up at the ship), I will bring my own. Actually, that cruise was the first one in a while where I decided not to bring it! I did talk to the shore excursion desk about that issue and when they did not respond to it while I was on the ship I emailed HAL in Seattle and they responded satisfactorily to my complaint.

 

I don't think there are any islands that are not good for beginner divers - they cater to all levels of divers and encounter many new divers so don't worry about that.

 

For me it is more about choosing islands that have good diving as not all are created equal. My favorite so far has been Grand Turk with the clearest water I have been in. I have also been happy with the dives I did in Roatan, Belize, Cozumel (all three in one cruise!), St. Thomas, Curacao and Aruba. Islands that I have cruised to I won't bother with diving are Puerto Rico and St. Maarten.

 

 

Would one of the Holland scuba dives be in St. Thomas? If so do you happen to remember what dive shop they used? My DH and I will be newly certified and we have signed up with Holland. We were a bit concerned using a private dive shop as we are in port with three or four other ships and one of them is RCL's Oasis. We are thinking of doing a second dive at one of the other islands but not sure yet. One of the possibilities is St. Lucia. Have you happened to dive there?

[KirkNC]

I doubt they would even let you bring your own scuba tank on the boat. I think you will find the most anyone brings is mask, snorkel and fins and most leave the fins off as well.

[Boytjie]

Would one of the Holland scuba dives be in St. Thomas? If so do you happen to remember what dive shop they used? My DH and I will be newly certified and we have signed up with Holland. We were a bit concerned using a private dive shop as we are in port with three or four other ships and one of them is RCL's Oasis. We are thinking of doing a second dive at one of the other islands but not sure yet. One of the possibilities is St. Lucia. Have you happened to dive there?

 

Yes, in St. Thomas it was a HAL excursion and I would have to look at my dive log to see which outfit it was with. They were very good and picked us up at the ship docked in Crown Bay.

 

I have not been to St. Lucia yet.

 

PS. I do encourage reading up on all scuba topics at the Cruise Critic scuba boards, there is a wealth of information there.

[Boytjie]

I doubt they would even let you bring your own scuba tank on the boat. I think you will find the most anyone brings is mask, snorkel and fins and most leave the fins off as well.

 

I have never seen anyone take scuba tanks onboard a cruise ship. :D) Some divers bring their own BCDs and fins; I do not own a BCD and my fins would take up too much luggage space.

[HamOp]

Thanks for all the information.

 

I didn't know CC had a scuba board, I'll be checking it out.

 

With any luck I'll have my cert. in time for our cruise in November.

 

Thanks again,

 

Tom

[Boytjie]

Good luck and Enjoy!

[stlouistravelers]

I carry all of my gear except for weights and tanks. Some of the rental gear can be a bit haggard. I would not do a deep dive until I have gotten my advanced rating. This unless they assign an instructor to you or a guide with a divemaster rating. Safety first

[Boytjie]

Most excursions (ship's or independent) won't take you that deep, unless you have advanced certification. You usually don't go much deeper than 60'. I am not bg on deeper is better. :)

 

The equipment I have experienced has all been in pretty goid shape. Wer suits are usually the worst for wear.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[trains]

I'm rather particular about my equipment (I'm a PADI Instructor). So I take all of my own equipment with the exception of tanks and weights. I have been lucky enough to dive a majority of the ports HAL visits in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean. Because of the wide range of skill levels that come off of the ships, excursions very rarely go below 60ft.

 

The only ship excursion that I found lacking was the Dominican Republic, which it appears they don't offer any more. The reefs were over fished and lacked life.

 

If you're interested in St Lucia, I highly recommend SCUBA Steve's. They are an independent operator that you can book through the internet. They run a very nice operation that I have used several times. The dive boat comes right to the pier and picks you up.

 

In Barbados, I recommend Rogers SCUBA Shack, another independent. I have used them 7 times. They will send a car to the port and take you to the Dive Shop.

 

My favorite island is Bonaire - Buddy Dive runs a great operation. I have used them from the ship and also stayed there several times for a week long dive vacation. I have even been lucky enough to dive Half Moon Cay (not offered by HAL). I was on a live-aboard dive boat that spent a day there.

 

Hope this helps.

[Boytjie]

OP: if you do get to Curacao, check out the Dive Bus - a great bunch of people.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[CaveDiving]

...I start my lessons next month and am wondering if you can shed any light on how the HAL scuba excursions are?

 

If you don't do HAL's do you bring your own tanks or just mask, snorkel, and fins?

 

What islands have the best diving for a beginner?

 

Welcome anyone else with diving suggestions...

 

I am a technical diving instructor and have been diving from HAL cruises all over the world. I generally use HAL excursions when they are available and private dive shops when they aren't. Apia in American Samoa, Palau, Pattaya in Thailand and the Red Sea are typical of the places where private excursions were necessary.

 

The Seychelles off the eastern coast of Africa, had water 86 degrees warm. Hawaii had water down in the upper sixties. Aruba (normally warm) had 71 degree water and the HAL excursion dive shop expected divers to use only 2 mil shorty wetsuits. They froze. What I'm trying to say is I strongly recommend bringing whatever neoprene with which you feel comfortable. Take a thin hooded vest at a minimum to possibly wear under whatever else is offered. Diving when cold is not enjoyable.

 

Any certified dive shop will never take you on a dive for which you are not qualified except in a teaching situation. But remember, the final decision is yours. Never go on any dive with which you do not feel comfortable. All HAL excursions are accustomed to guiding newly certified divers.

 

Since I dive in many unusual places, I choose to bring my own mask (with proscription lenses), regulator, computer and fin. A BCD is too large to pack and I have not found any problems with the ones offered. Also, if a rental BCD were to fail, simply ditching weights would send me to the surface. Tanks and weights are always provided by the dive shop.

 

I never take a snorkel as I believe they are close to useless for diving. For snorkeling they are great but for diving, close to worthless.

 

I have found that during cruise check-in and for the first day or two of the cruise, by wearing a shirt displaying a large red and white dive flag, it is very likely that any other divers on the cruise will make themselves known to you.

 

I wish you well in your diving experiences.

 

Scott & Karen

[HamOp]

I am a technical diving instructor and have been diving from HAL cruises all over the world. I generally use HAL excursions when they are available and private dive shops when they aren't. Apia in American Samoa, Palau, Pattaya in Thailand and the Red Sea are typical of the places where private excursions were necessary.

 

The Seychelles off the eastern coast of Africa, had water 86 degrees warm. Hawaii had water down in the upper sixties. Aruba (normally warm) had 71 degree water and the HAL excursion dive shop expected divers to use only 2 mil shorty wetsuits. They froze. What I'm trying to say is I strongly recommend bringing whatever neoprene with which you feel comfortable. Take a thin hooded vest at a minimum to possibly wear under whatever else is offered. Diving when cold is not enjoyable.

 

Any certified dive shop will never take you on a dive for which you are not qualified except in a teaching situation. But remember, the final decision is yours. Never go on any dive with which you do not feel comfortable. All HAL excursions are accustomed to guiding newly certified divers.

 

Since I dive in many unusual places, I choose to bring my own mask (with proscription lenses), regulator, computer and fin. A BCD is too large to pack and I have not found any problems with the ones offered. Also, if a rental BCD were to fail, simply ditching weights would send me to the surface. Tanks and weights are always provided by the dive shop.

 

I never take a snorkel as I believe they are close to useless for diving. For snorkeling they are great but for diving, close to worthless.

 

I have found that during cruise check-in and for the first day or two of the cruise, by wearing a shirt displaying a large red and white dive flag, it is very likely that any other divers on the cruise will make themselves known to you.

 

I wish you well in your diving experiences.

 

Scott & Karen

 

Thank you for the detailed and informative reply!

I can see that you have a lot of dive experience and I like your plan to wear the dive flag shirt while on board. Maybe I can meet up with a dive buddy.

 

Also, thanks to everyone else for their suggestions. I will take them all to heart.

 

Now one more question: My brother in law, who is a very experienced diver is willing to loan me the necessary equipment to try a "sample" dive in our back yard pool. He would, of course be in the pool with me at all times with his gear on.

 

Is this a good idea? or should I just wait for the course next month?

 

Thanks again to all.

[CaveDiving]

...My brother in law, who is a very experienced diver is willing to loan me the necessary equipment to try a "sample" dive in our back yard pool. He would, of course be in the pool with me at all times with his gear on.

 

Is this a good idea? or should I just wait for the course next month?...

 

While I can’t give an absolutely “definitely don’t do it”, I would surely not recommend it.

 

I don’t imagine you’d get in too much life threatening trouble with a buddy nearby in a swimming pool, but you may have a bad experience that would take some time to forget. I’m thinking here of a flooded mask that makes it impossible to breath through your nose and difficult to see, confusing the inflation and deflation controls on the BCD, not being weighted properly thus making it difficult to swim, a free flowing regulator or possibly some other equipment malfunction for which you are not prepared.

 

Certified instructors are careful to explain a great deal of information before they ever let a student don equipment and enter the water. I do not think it is a good idea to circumvent this part of the scuba diving instruction process.

 

But this is only my opinion. By the way, a year or so ago during a cruise on the Amsterdam in the Caribbean, I made my 5,000th dive.

 

Scott & Karen

[HamOp]

While I can’t give an absolutely “definitely don’t do it”, I would surely not recommend it.

 

I don’t imagine you’d get in too much life threatening trouble with a buddy nearby in a swimming pool, but you may have a bad experience that would take some time to forget. I’m thinking here of a flooded mask that makes it impossible to breath through your nose and difficult to see, confusing the inflation and deflation controls on the BCD, not being weighted properly thus making it difficult to swim, a free flowing regulator or possibly some other equipment malfunction for which you are not prepared.

 

Certified instructors are careful to explain a great deal of information before they ever let a student don equipment and enter the water. I do not think it is a good idea to circumvent this part of the scuba diving instruction process.

 

But this is only my opinion. By the way, a year or so ago during a cruise on the Amsterdam in the Caribbean, I made my 5,000th dive.

 

Scott & Karen

 

Thank you. That is the kind of information I was looking for. I'll heed your advice and wait for the course.

 

5000 dives?:eek: Oh my God have you grown gills?:D

[trains]

I agree a little problem to a trained diver could be an issue to an untrained person. It might not cause an injury in a pool, but it could sour your drive to dive in the future.

 

Hey Cavediving, I was on the Amsterdam with you, I think we even did a dive together.... Just got back from a week in Truk. :D:D:D