Coz./G. Cayman with Jr. OW 14yr old diver

[biensur]

We are on the Star Princess in April with our 14 yr old who will have received his Jr. Open Water Certification the month before. We are both OW certified. I understand the 14yr old is restricted to 60 feet.

 

Has anyone gone diving, independently of the ship arranged excursions with a younger diver? Am I going to have troubles with the depth restriction in Cozumel? Does anyone have any suggestions for me? We will also be with our 15 yr old, but he does not have the same restrictions.

 

Any advice for me and some suggested operators who would be good with teens would be most appreciated!

[KaC-Cruiser]

For Grand Cayman, you might want to check out shore diving Turtle Reef at Dive Tech - next to the turtle farm. It's a nice dive, max depth is about 60'. The people there are super nice. Check out their website ..... we take the bus up & back, but you can grab an easy cab as well.

http://www.divetech.com/index.htm

 

As for Coz, check with Scuba with Alison - Alison is an excellent DM and I've seen her work with students - she's very attentive to her divers.

 

http://www.scubawithalison.com/

[gkrebs]

You can also try the Devils grotto Padi shop which is a 10 minute walk form the tender docs. Max depth there was about 40 feet

[bruce-r]

Two more for GCM. Sunset House is a few blocks from the tender dock in Georgetown and has an on-site dive shop and a decent shore dive.

 

http://www.neptunesdivers.com would be my choice for a boat dive trip.

 

In Cozumel, I can't at this time recommend doing a shore dive. My personal favorite dive operator is Christi's http://www.bluextseadiving.com She is friends with Alison and both are first rate. Another operator that might be a good choice for you considering the Jr. OW restrictions might be http://www.eaglyraydivers.com They seem to specialize in cruise divers and they do combo snorkel/dive trips, so they shouldn't have a problem with finding you two shallow dives to do.

[skypilotks]

Our daughter was 12 when we dove in Coz last year, and we had a great dives with Papa Hoggs! Most the diving in Coz is around 60'

BTW the restriction on Jr. O/W divers 12-14 is down to the same depth as regular O/W (60') except they have to be with a certified regular O/W diver.

10&11 they are restricted to 40' and have to be with either certified o/w parent, or DM

[biensur]

Thanks so much for all the input. I am contacting the DM listed to get some more feedback.

 

I have heard that the Santa Rosa Wall is the best dive in Cozumel, but I understand it is to 80ft. For those of you who have done this dive, what is it like to 60ft.

 

What I am thinking is that DH and I could take it in turns to stay above 60ft with the younger son and dive to 80ft with the older son.

 

Do you think this might work?

[sross6019]

My husband, sons, and friends went with Eagle Ray in Coz this Christmas. Our youngest was 14 and the friend's son was 12. We told them what kind of dive they were looking for and the Capt made some suggestions. It was a great day. Water very clear and they saw a lot of sea life.