Scuba on Coco Cay

[mac66]

 

We arrived on Coco Cay on Tuesday, Dec 3 and walked off the ship in the morning.  We assembled at the dive shack, geared up, walked to the shore and then were towed one by one out by jetski to the off shore reef. Once everyone was out we buddied up and submerged. The problem was that a storm had blown through the day before and had churned up the water. Visibility was about 5 feet. We spent most of the time under water trying to stay in a group, there were 8 of us.  At some point I lost my buddy (I later learned that he had a bad O ring in his regulator and was losing air and so was sent up).  A bit disconcerting as I swam around blind for a time trying to find everyone. Eventually the DM found me and directed me to the group.   Thankfully the dive was called after about 30 minutes and we were towed one by one back to shore.  Didn't really see anything and the dive was a total bust. You pay your money and take your chances.

 

Would I do it again?  I've read that others on other days have had pretty good diving on Coco Cay, saw lots of sharks and rays. For the cost, I think it is worth the gamble. I am likely to be be back to Coco Cay on future cruises but knowing what I know now about the storm/weather I will ask in advance and check the weather before I decide to go or cancel.

[mac66]

Just to add....

 

The dive at Coco Cay was supposed to be on Monday instead of Tues. When they canceled Roatan they added Nassau on Monday which switched Coco Cay to Tuesday. Not sure I could have dived on Coco Cay on Monday anyway due to the storm or maybe it just stormed over night on Monday to Tuesday.  On the other hand I did dive in Nassau on Monday, the seas were very, very rough but there was no storm on Monday at least in Nassau. That report is in my "Diving in Nassau" post.

 

Being that the dive in Coco Cay was supposed to be first It was intended as a warm up for Roatan. I hadn't dived since last April and being a relatively new diver I booked the one tank dive on Coco Cay to get my feet wet again.

Edited December 20, 2019 by mac66

[Dane Mom 01]

On 12/20/2019 at 2:07 PM, mac66 said:

Just to add....

 

The dive at Coco Cay was supposed to be on Monday instead of Tues. When they canceled Roatan they added Nassau on Monday which switched Coco Cay to Tuesday. Not sure I could have dived on Coco Cay on Monday anyway due to the storm or maybe it just stormed over night on Monday to Tuesday.  On the other hand I did dive in Nassau on Monday, the seas were very, very rough but there was no storm on Monday at least in Nassau. That report is in my "Diving in Nassau" post.

 

Being that the dive in Coco Cay was supposed to be first It was intended as a warm up for Roatan. I hadn't dived since last April and being a relatively new diver I booked the one tank dive on Coco Cay to get my feet wet again.

 

[Dane Mom 01]

Is there a dive shop on Coco Cay where we can schedule a dive?  Oasis isn't offering a dive excursion. My husband and I are both SSI certified.  Thanks in advance for advice.

[mac66]

On 12/21/2022 at 2:35 PM, Dane Mom 01 said:

Is there a dive shop on Coco Cay where we can schedule a dive?  Oasis isn't offering a dive excursion. My husband and I are both SSI certified.  Thanks in advance for advice.

 

Royal owns Coco Cay, they have their own dive shop on the island and you should be able to book your dive (1 tank only) through the ship's excursion planner.

[bruzin_for_a_cruizin]

Be advised, the Coco Cay dive is 1 tank. It's very shallow, and you cannot "dive the tank." The best part of the dive is the jetski-pull out to the descent buoy.

 

It's a follow-the-leader dive, out and back over a pre-determined path. I surfaced with nearly 1500 PSI, and I have *never* surfaced with that much air left, before or since. There is some sealife, and some reef formations, and I booked the dive on sale so it only cost me USD$25, but I wouldn't be sad if I never got the opportunity to dive Coco Cay ever again. I'd rather spend the time going down the water slide a couple more times.

[mac66]

20 minutes ago, bruzin_for_a_cruizin said:

Be advised, the Coco Cay dive is 1 tank. It's very shallow, and you cannot "dive the tank." The best part of the dive is the jetski-pull out to the descent buoy.

 

It's a follow-the-leader dive, out and back over a pre-determined path. I surfaced with nearly 1500 PSI, and I have *never* surfaced with that much air left, before or since. There is some sealife, and some reef formations, and I booked the dive on sale so it only cost me USD$25, but I wouldn't be sad if I never got the opportunity to dive Coco Cay ever again. I'd rather spend the time going down the water slide a couple more times.

 

I think I paid $40 on sale for my Coco Cay dive. It was pretty murky and rough the day I dived. Not a very good dive.

 

I went back to Coco Cay about 9 months later. there was no sale and based on the previous dive I didn't go. I did talk to some guys that did and they said visibility was good and they saw rays, sharks, squid, eels, etc. They thought it was a good dive.  If/when I ever go back and can get it on sale again I would probably try it again.

 

I didn't like the jet ski ride. It took forever to get everyone out and back.

 

 

Edited December 22, 2022 by mac66