Western Caribbean - Best Diving??

[ONURMRK]

I'm wondering which port offers the best diving.

Cozumel

Belize

Mahogany Bay

Grand Cayman

 

My husband would be booking this excursion alone through Carnival and he is certified up to 70 feet. He has mostly done lake diving but did do a week long scuba trip off of the Catalina Islands in the Pacific Coast.

 

Thanks!

[Laurie S.]

My order of preference would be Cozumel, Mahogany Bay, Belize, Grand Cayman. I have dived at all four multiple times.

[chadbeck]

I would also pick Cozumel as a first choice. All of the stops are good for diving but for Belize and Grand Cayman the best sites you just can't get to when going from a cruise ship.

 

If Cozumel is your first stop on the trip I would have a back up plan at one of the other stops. It can get pretty wild and the diving/water activities can get shutdown but the local authorities. If its your last stop and he wants to make sure he'll be diving go with Belize or Mahogany. It doesn't happen as much any more but I've seen Grand Cayman get skipped because of rough waters and tendering isn't possible.

[CT Sean]

The one thing about Coz is that it's all drift diving. Some people love it, but my wife and I do not.

[G.C]

I'm wondering which port offers the best diving.

Cozumel

Belize

Mahogany Bay

Grand Cayman

 

My husband would be booking this excursion alone through Carnival and he is certified up to 70 feet. He has mostly done lake diving but did do a week long scuba trip off of the Catalina Islands in the Pacific Coast.

 

Thanks!

 

Sounds like he has not done drift diving. Is he comfortable with jumping in and the boat leaving for a later pick up? If not Cozumel might not be the right place. It`s also very possible he would be on a wall dive. Is he comfortable knowing the bottom could be a long way down? The ocean is very a different place than lakes.

 

I love all four options there is not a bad one on the list having been to each many times. Next month I`ll be returning to Cozumel, Mahogany Bay and Belize. My first choice is Belize followed closely by Cozumel then GC and MB.

[Armedaneian]

Both Roatan and Grand Cayman have good diving from shore. They're my favorites. :cool:

[ABQrobin]

Cozumel is great diving, but not necessarily from a cruise. The reefs do tend to be deep, and walls, and it is all drift diving. The boat drops you off on the reef, then follows your bubbles and picks you up after you surface. It takes a little getting used to, but I have done 100+ dives in Cozumel, all from staying on island for a week vacation... I love it.

 

Roatan, Mahogany Bay... great reefs, easy diving, not drift, vis not as great as Cozumel and not as much fishlife as Cozumel, but still really good.

 

Grand Cayman... easy diving, good vis.

 

Belize.... reefs are far from the ships anchor area, so it is hours out to reefs and hours back. Keep that in mind.

[Armedaneian]

Grand Cayman... easy diving, good vis.

 

Unless you're there on a day without good vis? :rolleyes:

 

I've seen both fantastic and terrible conditions at each of these ports. I'm not sure visibility is the sort of thing you can count on.

[G.C]

I don`t know what cruise line you on. For this route we use Princess the cruise dive operator they use picks up at the ship and we are at their island quicker than the ships tenders gets to the mainland. Excellent diving very easy to get to.

[lagerfran]

My husband and I are both divemasters. We cruise this trip often.

 

We book all our dives through Carnival. You may pay a little more but have been on too many dive boats to mention that have broken down and feel the extra few dollars are great insurance we will not get left behind.

 

As far as where to dive - Roatan is my favorite, you go to Anthonys Key and they are beautiful dive sites. Cozumel is also a great stop - the dives are easy, they only go deep IF the boat decides to do it, anyone can say no. All the sites we have been on were superb.

 

We no longer dive Belize, one the price and two just not that nice.

 

Grand Cayman, we do on our own because we shore dive. You can walk over to Eden Roc and do a couple of easy, very nice shore dives. Or for a $10.00 taxi ride you can so to Sunset House which is superb.

[st3ph888]

#1 Cozumel - my favorite place in the world to dive (fave dive shop is Aldora, but I heard they aren't taking Cruise ship divers as much anymore.)

#2 Grand Cayman - dove with Sunset House, it was decent.

[Claymore2]

Cozumel hands down. Then Grand Cayman for me. I have never dove Belize or Montego Bay but Jamaica is not noted for it's diving and In Belize it is a long ass boat ride from the ship to the best diving in the Kay's.

 

In Cozumel I love the big coral and easy drift diving. The visibility is some of the best in the Caribbean. If you are using the cruise line dive operator in Cozumel the sites they take you to are considered easy dives because they have to many new/vacation divers and have so many divers on the boat. They are not bad dives but there are others that are better but are farther away and/or are more difficult so the operator, for time and fuel constraints does not go to these.

 

 

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