Scuba diving Dec 11. Southern Caribbean

[divetrav]

Is anyone a certified diver and planning to dive? I see only one port offers diving. Has anyone dived while on a cruise? I’ve dived Bonaire and Curaçao, Grand Turk. All worthwhile.  

[Essiesmom]

You need to join the roll call for your cruise to reach other CC members on your sailing.  EM

[ROUS]

Divetrav, good to see a fellow cruise diver.  We'll be on the January 21-day southern/eastern Caribe cruise and I plan to dive five islands:  Grand Turk, St. Thomas, and the ABCs.  Three of those are offered as HAL shore excursions, but the other two are pretty easily arranged with cruise-friendly LDSs.  Have a blast and give us a report when you return.

[sprockie]

2 hours ago, ROUS said:

Divetrav, good to see a fellow cruise diver.  We'll be on the January 21-day southern/eastern Caribe cruise and I plan to dive five islands:  Grand Turk, St. Thomas, and the ABCs.  Three of those are offered as HAL shore excursions, but the other two are pretty easily arranged with cruise-friendly LDSs.  Have a blast and give us a report when you return.

Question:  I am a newbie diver.  Are the diving ship excursions generally pretty beginner friendly - ie. not too deep, no currents etc?  Just wondering if this is the way to go to get our "feet wet" with diving.  

[Essiesmom]

14 hours ago, divetrav said:

Is anyone a certified diver and planning to dive? I see only one port offers diving. Has anyone dived while on a cruise? I’ve dived Bonaire and Curaçao, Grand Turk. All worthwhile.  

There is a very modest roll call for this cruise. In the Nieuw Amsterdam roll calls.  Are you aware that there is a board here for scuba and snorkel?  It’s under Cruise Discussion topics.  EM

[1025cruise]

Unfortunately, most cruise lines are no longer offering scuba excursions due to liability concerns.

[ROUS]

10 hours ago, sprockie said:

Are the diving ship excursions generally pretty beginner friendly 

Dive boats/groups made up of cruisers have a reputation of being full of new divers.  That may or may not always be true.  But I wouldn't be too concerned that you'll be the least confident divers on the boat.  More likely, there will be much less confident divers there that will demand all of the dive masters' attention.  But, you kind of have to be flexible and patient when diving with strangers.  It's still worth it.

[sprockie]

12 hours ago, ROUS said:

Dive boats/groups made up of cruisers have a reputation of being full of new divers.  That may or may not always be true.  But I wouldn't be too concerned that you'll be the least confident divers on the boat.  More likely, there will be much less confident divers there that will demand all of the dive masters' attention.  But, you kind of have to be flexible and patient when diving with strangers.  It's still worth it.

Okay, thanks just curious.  We missed our ship in St. Thomas many years ago, so I am very cautious about using non-cruise ship arranged excursions.  

[LocoLoco1]

47 minutes ago, sprockie said:

Okay, thanks just curious.  We missed our ship in St. Thomas many years ago, so I am very cautious about using non-cruise ship arranged excursions.  

On 9/24/2022 at 7:00 PM, divetrav said:

Is anyone a certified diver and planning to dive? I see only one port offers diving. Has anyone dived while on a cruise? I’ve dived Bonaire and Curaçao, Grand Turk. All worthwhile.  

ANSWER: Yes, I have SCUBA’d on a cruise. Dive boats worldwide typically assume you know what you are doing, ie as you DO have a valid C-card.  Cruiseship ports with A+ diving nearby have local dive shops doing the dives regardless of how you got to the island. You might be diving with island hotel guests. If you are a ‘newbie’ tell them so, then perhaps only dive shallow and remain close to others. A generous $tip$ beforehand may get you some needed ‘handholding’ so you enjoy your time.