Any one dive out their?

[bruce68usa]

I llike to dive every chance I get, does anyone dive when they reach each port? Is there a way to schedule the dive before we get their? I am a newbie any help is greatly appreciated!

 

Bruce:) :)

[Adam185]

You can either book dives through the cruise lines or you can book them independently. Cruise dive tours tend to be rather crowded, but there are pros and cons to each. You may want to check the boards Scuba/Snorkel for some more ideas and thoughts. Which itinerary are you going on?

[jess43]

I llike to dive every chance I get, does anyone dive when they reach each port? Is there a way to schedule the dive before we get their? I am a newbie any help is greatly appreciated!

 

Bruce:) :)

 

 

This is my first time booking my dives with Carnival, I am diving in Key West & Belize. The reason I went with Carnival is because I'm the only one who dives in my group. And everyone feels more comfortable with me going diving with the ship. They pick you up, drop you off & if the dive boat is running late the ship will wait for you. What is your itinerary?

[crisp1]

Bruce, I'd check out the snorkel and scuba board first. Here's a link

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=40

 

After that, check the Ports Of Call board for each port you'll be visiting and do a search for scuba.

Happy diving

[rickcop44]

Bruce, I've dived in Belize. I took a trip out to Johnston Island near Ambergris Cay. The water is crystal clear and about 100 feet deep. Lots to see and, if you're into any cave diving, it's a good place. Scares the hell out of me because I'm claustropobic, but that's just me. I booked an independent dive. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. I'll check my paperwork and send you the name of the company I booked through.

[bulldogmom]

There are usually one tank and two tank dives listed as choices for shore excursions on the ship (at least there have been on all the cruises we have been on) They're usually not too expensive either. Just check under the "excursions" heading on carnival.com and pick which ports you are going to and you should be able to find everything right there. I'd feel safer by booking it thru the boat, a diving trip isn't something you want to go into with someone who doesn't know what they are doing. Usually they have choices for those of us who take our equipment and those of us who don't.

[Perrys100]

I have 100 logged dives in Cozumel alone. I have been diving since 1985. I have been around the Caribbean alot. I made the mistake of booking a Carnival dive in St THomas. It was Expensive, there was a MILLION people, It was a shallow shore dive and they used PONY TANKS.

 

The small pony tank has about 15 minutes of air. It was truely a the worst dive experience in my life.

 

book your own diving. and when in Cozumel use Aldora. www.aldoradivers.com

 

The can make your diving super!

[psycoma]

Any one dive out their?

 

Bruce:) :)

 

Dive out their what? ;) :p Sorry, couldn't resist :)

[Timmys_mom]

Dive out their what? ;) :p Sorry, couldn't resist :)

Dang it! You beat me to it. :D

[AppleValleyCruisers]

Dang it! You beat me to it. :D

 

Ditto!

[psycoma]

It must be a Minnesota thing...I too am from there (here?) :D

[Wennfred]

I have 100 logged dives in Cozumel alone. I have been diving since 1985. I have been around the Caribbean alot. I made the mistake of booking a Carnival dive in St THomas. It was Expensive, there was a MILLION people, It was a shallow shore dive and they used PONY TANKS.

 

The small pony tank has about 15 minutes of air. It was truely a the worst dive experience in my life.

 

book your own diving. and when in Cozumel use Aldora. www.aldoradivers.com

 

The can make your diving super!

 

We booked this same excursion with Carnival, only 7 of us, no one else around us, Full Aluminum 80 Tanks 2 dives, Price was comparble and the dives took us to around 45 feet, lots to see at 45 feet, we were happy with that. Not sure who you are certified with but as I recall, deep dives are a no no if youre flying out the next day.

 

Go to the Scuba/Snorkle forum on here and get a hold of a guy named Sailfish, I think thats his handle, he is scheduling a Dec 2006 Dive cruise on one of the Carnival ships and this guy is pretty good with Cruising and Diving. Good Luck.

[billeelou]

Almost all the time the Cruise liner's dive is twice the price of independant dive ops....and when its not, the "choice you have" is what the Canned dive is,...I like groups of 3,4,5 divers going where we request, not 20-30 divers going to a prearranged dive location....

 

 

If you do your homework, you can have a better time and save Big$$$$$

[Hilary]

On Celebrity, we found that booking through the ship was very comparably priced with booking privately. However, we realized at 2 ports that the scuba excursion was often paired with a snorkeling excursion, and the boats would be packed with 50 snorkelers and 5 divers. We were very glad we booked privately where we had only 10 divers on our "12-pack" boat.

 

The only time I would book through the ship is if my port time were extremely limited and I couldn't dive any other way. However, after diving on our last Celebrity cruise, we realized that for us diving and cruising don't go well together. Instead of booking a conventional cruise the next time, we booked a liveaboard cruise and spent 6 days doing 4 dives a day in Belize. :) Can't wait to do another liveaboard now!!

[scubaran]

I have to say I've had mixed experiences booking through the ship. When I booked on the ship in Grand Cayman, they used Bob Soto's dive shop. We had 5 divers and the cost included transportation from the ship. At the same time there was the standard morning dive boat going out and they had 20 divers and everyone had to find their way to the dock and the price was the same (Ship was better).

 

In St. Thomas, the dive shop was at the end of the cruise dock and we only had about 10 divers so it was really convienent to dive and the cost was again about the same as the posted "land based" divers.

 

In Barbados, I again dove with the ship (in areas I haven't dived or don't have a preference sometimes it's easier for me to dive through the ship). We went with West Side Dive Shop and while there were 20 people from the ship, the dive shop divided us up by experience and since 5 of us had over 100 dives they put us on our own boat with a dive master and crew.

 

I think it really depends on the cruise line, what dive shop they use and how many people on the ship are divers and have signed up through the shore excursion desk. One way I did it before was not to pre-sign up before the cruise but leave my options open then a day or two before the port go down to the shore excursion desk and ask how many people have signed up for diving. If it's a small number book through them, else have the names of the dive shops at the port and make some quick calls when you get in. That way you hedge your bets. Plus it always helps to know what the going price of diving at the port is (most dive shops in the ports post their pricing on line).

 

So sometimes it pays to book through the ship (not to mention I can pay for the dive months in advance and save some of that liquid money for other things on the cruise, like drinks!).

 

Randall

[Hilary]

Be aware as well that if you book privately and something delays or prevents you from getting into port, many dive ops will charge you anyway. If you book through the ship, that won't happen.

[billeelou]

Be aware as well that if you book privately and something delays or prevents you from getting into port, many dive ops will charge you anyway. If you book through the ship, that won't happen.

 

 

Don't prepay...and verify what the cancellation policies are...:p

[SantaAna,CA]

Hi, yes I'm a diver, although I haven't been diving in years! I'm leaving on a two-week Caribbean cruise on Seabourn's Legend April 9 of this year. Before I leave, I'm taking a refresher course at my local dive shop, and also spending a couple of days pre-cruise on the island of St. Thomas, to further refresh my scuba skills.

 

What I did was go online, for every port, and check out all the dive shops that popped up. I contacted them all, made arrangements with the ones that answered me (and seemed most friendly and willing to work with me, knowing I'm coming off a cruise ship), so I have my reservations in for every port I wished to dive. How it turns out, I'll let you know!

 

Jane :)

[DiveCruiser]

I always shedule my dives (not with the ship) months before going. I will dive every port worth diving. If you are diving thru the ship you can sign up for shore excursion ahead of time on there site.

 

Bob

[Texas_Diver]

Obviously, we are divers. While I could probably dive at every port, my partner doesn't share my passion. One port of diving is plenty for her.

 

That's one of the things we love about cruising...lots of things to do for each of us.

 

D.