Scuba Diving Excursions

[Kalousdi]

I am booked on Symphony and our ports have changed multiple times and with the new excursions they have yet to offer any scuba excursions in any of the ports. You can take the PADI class on board so I would think that there have to be dives available.  Has anyone gone diving with Royal since the restart or is diving paused?

 

[omeinv]

Generally I think diving excursions tend to be pretty variable, and with COVID restrictions, probably more so. 

 

I've seen Royal Caribbean offer both the Open Water Diver course, and the Scuba Diver Course on board.  The offering of either seems to have no correlation to offered diving excursions. 

 

I'm not usually very enamored of ship's diving excursions.  If you post a list of ports in this forum, it's quite likely people here will be able to give you better options than what the ship offers. 

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[bruzin_for_a_cruizin]

I've taken Harris' advice in the past and booked with third-party dive shops for great experiences. However, times are different now.

 

I've got a sailing on Celebrity coming up in November. While I have reached out to local shops in our scheduled ports of call, I have booked ship excursions for our stops in Belize and Cozumel. Belize is a tender port, so I'm concerned about getting off the ship in time and Cozumel is (I think) currently under a "ship-excursion-only" policy due to COVID. Our third stop is still scheduled for Grand Cayman, but the government there has already made it clear cruise ships aren't welcome until 2022.

I am monitoring the situation daily, and I'll cancel the ship excursions if I can, because the preference is always diving with a third-party. But, it doesn't cost anything to cover all the bases! Royal should have excursions available for your ports of call; just keep checking back.

 

 

[omeinv]

Indeed, in the current environment, the equation has changed.  Even in normal times, I've found Belize to be one of the few places where the ship excursion is a good way to go, due to the long tender in to Belize City, only to have to turn around and go back the way you came. 

 

For other ports, if ship's excursions are the only option, the choice becomes dive the ship's excursion, or don't dive.  That's a very different choice than during regular operations. 

 

On my upcoming cruises, I can tell you I'm being VERY careful with any pre-paid deposits for diving, as the situation - and consequently the requirements - are changing daily. 

 

Harris

Denver, CO