Grand Cayman Shore Dives?

[scotte]

So I tried to book Roatan through RCCL, and even though the dive shows up on the list of excursions offered, it refers you to customer service. They said they were not offering any diving in Roatan. :confused:

 

I emailed Anthony's Key, and they said "Royal Caribbean will not be offering the 2-tank dive excursion with us this season and I understand they will be using another provider on the island who offered them a lower price for the tour. Because we are not under contract, we could in this case book you directly; unfortunately, however, there are four other ships in port on that day and the space we had for RCCL has already been released to the other cruise lines."

 

I did some research and found that all five of Liberty's port days are the busiest days of the month for those ports - sometimes by a factor of 3! Should make things interesting...

 

Now that there will be an onslaught of RCCL people whose dives were cancelled with AKR, I guess I can no longer be picky. I sent requests to Subway Watersports (Turquoise Bay), Coconut Tree, and Sueno del Mar. Sueno wants full payment at time of reservation with no refunds. :mad: I don't want to lose the money if we don't make the port or there are weather issues, so hopefully one of the others has a better offer!

Edited October 21, 2015 by scotte
More fun than work...

[scubamargie]

So I tried to book Roatan through RCCL, and even though the dive shows up on the list of excursions offered, it refers you to customer service. They said they were not offering any diving in Roatan. :confused:

 

I emailed Anthony's Key, and they said "Royal Caribbean will not be offering the 2-tank dive excursion with us this season and I understand they will be using another provider on the island who offered them a lower price for the tour. Because we are not under contract, we could in this case book you directly; unfortunately, however, there are four other ships in port on that day and the space we had for RCCL has already been released to the other cruise lines."

 

I did some research and found that all five of Liberty's port days are the busiest days of the month for those ports - sometimes by a factor of 3! Should make things interesting...

 

Now that there will be an onslaught of RCCL people whose dives were cancelled with AKR, I guess I can no longer be picky. I sent requests to Subway Watersports (Turquoise Bay), Coconut Tree, and Sueno del Mar. Sueno wants full payment at time of reservation with no refunds. :mad: I don't want to lose the money if we don't make the port or there are weather issues, so hopefully one of the others has a better offer!

 

Wow Scotte, that's a bummer! We've used Subway and they are close. It's a good alternative.

[Capt_BJ]

We're a little hesitant to book a liveaboard trip just because of the extra motion of the smaller boats.

 

A bit off topic but .... a few comments about liveaboard diving. we've looked at liveaboard diving a good bit and I even checked out a few we considered going on (my occupation opened certain doors which are normally closed)

 

Yes those boats are 'small' and motion is not your only concern. First, most of the folks I saw on these boats were 'clubs or groups' ... a group of folks that traveled together. If you booked as a couple, you filled the left over beds. There is a POTENTIAL to be the odd couple. This can be big if you remember that when not diving, you are on that 100 foot boat ... that is not a lot of space. There are not multiple lounges, or a casino or a pool.... board games, and DVD movies can be about it. If the group isn't open to outsiders it can be AWKWARD

 

And of concern to us .... since there is little to do besides diving the temptation is to dive A LOT; maybe too much. Years ago on one of our week long land based trips dw had an 'incident' due to too much diving. This was b4 the day of computer based diving, we used Navy tables, were VERY conservative but still got into a dangerous situation from too much repetitive diving over several days. Fortunately there was no permanent issues but we did throttle WAY back on the diving per day. We do NOT push today's computer models to their limits either.

 

.... having the ability to walk to town is a nice diversion.

Edited October 21, 2015 by Capt_BJ

[bubbulz]

We're a little hesitant to book a liveaboard trip just because of the extra motion of the smaller boats.

 

A bit off topic but .... a few comments about liveaboard diving. we've looked at liveaboard diving a good bit and I even checked out a few we considered going on (my occupation opened certain doors which are normally closed)

 

Yes those boats are 'small' and motion is not your only concern. First, most of the folks I saw on these boats were 'clubs or groups' ... a group of folks that traveled together. If you booked as a couple, you filled the left over beds. There is a POTENTIAL to be the odd couple. This can be big if you remember that when not diving, you are on that 100 foot boat ... that is not a lot of space. There are not multiple lounges, or a casino or a pool.... board games, and DVD movies can be about it. If the group isn't open to outsiders it can be AWKWARD

 

And of concern to us .... since there is little to do besides diving the temptation is to dive A LOT; maybe too much. Years ago on one of our week long land based trips dw had an 'incident' due to too much diving. This was b4 the day of computer based diving, we used Navy tables, were VERY conservative but still got into a dangerous situation from too much repetitive diving over several days. Fortunately there was no permanent issues but we did throttle WAY back on the diving per day. We do NOT push today's computer models to their limits either.

 

.... having the ability to walk to town is a nice diversion.

 

Speaking as a diver who routinely gets seasick, and as one who has been on at least 30 liveaboard trips, I find that meclizine taken over the first few days of a trip definitely helps. But yes, the ride can get a bit feisty, depending on location and conditions. Most of the boats are 100-120 feet long and carry anywhere from about 14-18 divers. The cabins are very small (although some companies are starting to add larger ones) and as you say, there really isn't much to do other than, "Eat, Sleep, Dive" (and repeat!). In all my trips (some solo, some as a couple, and some as part of a larger group) I've only had two cases where I felt like a bit of an outsider when the bulk of the boat was reserved by a dive club. (In one case, I was the only diver not in a group of NJ tech/wreck divers in Truk Lagoon. I spent my time diving with one of the DMs the entire trip. ;) )

 

The allure of a liveaboard is that it can bring you closer to the best diving, so you can limit the time spent on small boats traveling out to dive sites. But on the flipside, that usually means you'll be spending most of your time out at sea away from populated areas. We always add pre- and post-trip stays or stopovers so we can spend some time on land as well. I've also had some trips where the food was excellent, and others where it was definitely lacking (putting it very lightly). It pays to read all the reviews of any particular boat you're considering since they do vary a lot.

[divinmule]

 

Now that there will be an onslaught of RCCL people whose dives were cancelled with AKR, I guess I can no longer be picky. I sent requests to Subway Watersports (Turquoise Bay), Coconut Tree, and Sueno del Mar. Sueno wants full payment at time of reservation with no refunds. :mad: I don't want to lose the money if we don't make the port or there are weather issues, so hopefully one of the others has a better offer!

 

Our first dives in Roatan were with Turquoise Bay. It ended up being just the two of us and the DM. The drive there was beautiful and gave us a chance to see the island and the two dives were outstanding!!! The folks were exceptional to deal with and made for a very enjoyable day.

[scotte]

Those are good points about liveaboard diving. One of the popular trips from Houston is the Flower Gardens trip, which is liveaboard but only 3 days. That might be a good place to "get our feet wet" as it were. Now I know the kinds of questions I should be asking when we look for a dive charter.

 

Fortunately my wife and I aren't too picky. This year we spent 10 days in the mountains of New Mexico as chaperones for a backpacking trip, and after dehydrated food and no running water for that long we should be okay with liveaboard conditions - just have to lower our expectations. :)

[scotte]

Our first dives in Roatan were with Turquoise Bay. It ended up being just the two of us and the DM. The drive there was beautiful and gave us a chance to see the island and the two dives were outstanding!!! The folks were exceptional to deal with and made for a very enjoyable day.

 

Thanks Divinmule! That makes me feel much better about them. (Hopefully it was Subway Watersports who provided the diving services when you were there too.) I submitted an online deposit for them but haven't gotten a confirmation yet. My fingers are crossed that they'll be able to take us!

[bubbulz]

Those are good points about liveaboard diving. One of the popular trips from Houston is the Flower Gardens trip, which is liveaboard but only 3 days. That might be a good place to "get our feet wet" as it were. Now I know the kinds of questions I should be asking when we look for a dive charter.

 

Fortunately my wife and I aren't too picky. This year we spent 10 days in the mountains of New Mexico as chaperones for a backpacking trip, and after dehydrated food and no running water for that long we should be okay with liveaboard conditions - just have to lower our expectations. :)

 

Starting slow is always a good idea. Back when we started doing liveaboards in the early 90s, the standard was for all cabins to be below the waterline (no daylight), no individual climate control, no ensuite facilities except for a sink, etc. Nowadays the bar has been raised significantly, with some offering cabins with king beds, large windows, granite bathrooms, internet, etc. But there are still some where conditions are more akin to camping at sea. ;) The main thing is to do your research and know what you're signing up for.