Actual Poll, is it safe to do your own excursion?

[bruce-r]

What do you think, is it safe to make your own arrangements or is the ship's excursion the only safe thing to do?

 

This poll is in response to This post.

 

Personally, I've just about always done my own planning. I don't like diving with large groups doing beginner dives.

[Host Star]

if I'm by myself i like going with an organized tour, sometimes from the ship.. if with friends there are certain places in the caribbean that I like shore snorkeling and that need not be with a tour.. one place is Coki in st. Thomas,, another is anse chastenet in St. Lucia

[cruzegirl]

I like to do both..... Prefer my own excursion but it depends on several factors.

1. How long in port.

2. Who I'm doing the excursion with and the previous input from other cruisers.

3. If I'm with a group doing the excursion or by myself. I'm with Bruce. I don't like diving with beginners in a large group. I prefer small dive groups and a divemaster/guide that will take all levels into consideration.

4. Price

[10X]

I book about 90% of our excursions myself and I've never even had a close call in getting back to the ship. The 10% that are booked through the ship are usually for my convenience or something that I couldn't do independently. I've only booked one scuba excursion through the ship and I still regret that one.

[Stevesan]

With the very rare exception, I book snorkel trips thru the ship only when port times are too tight for an independent booking.

 

Upon a trusted recommendation I booked a New Waves trip at Roatan. Princess contracted a two stop trip with Anthony's Key Resort, one of the premium dive resorts in the Caribbean. There were @twenty-five snorkelers on board, but the boat was more than adequate for the number of people, and the guides and snorkeling were world class.

[wnctarheel]

I have never booked a dive thru the ship and I have been very happy with

my dive ops. The dives are cheaper and most of the time you get to dive

your computer instead of the time that their op tells you to be back.

[w&k]

We prefer to do our own booking whenever possible - and we try to go with operators we hear about right here on Cruise Critic. The only thing better than a great dive op is a cruiser-friendly great dive op.

 

If we have a strange port time, and just have to dive, we will go with the shorex. I also used a shorex where it was just myself and a brand-new diver, as I could not find an outside operation for that port.

 

That being said, we have returned twice more to an awesome operation that we originally found as a shorex through Celebrity (Kenneth's Dive Center, St. Kitts).

 

We would also have no problem doing a Belize shorex (Hugh Parkey's) although we would prefer to go independently with Linda & John at SeaSports Belize.

 

Great diving to everyone!

 

Wendy

[nrh322]

This is only our second cruise and I have to say I'm leaning way over towards the book through the cruise ship side of things...at least for scuba excursions. Our first cruise was on Princess to Alaska and we only did ship sponsored shore excursions there too. It was a little more expensive, but we had a blast and didn't have to do a ton of research.

 

For this trip, we've got the kids with us and we're trying to get some diving in so other factors come into play. I feel relatively confident (maybe naively so) that I can talk my way out of the scuba herd by flashing a pro level c-card and a log book with a zillion or so hours if I must. I've just been on too many dang late running dive boats in my life to take the risk of missing the ship.

 

If my kids had passports, I'd be less worried about it but they don't. It would be a nightmare of red tape to try and get them home or to the next port if we missed the ship because our dive boat ran late. So many variables can come into play...need to get gas before we can get moving...engine trouble...someone's dive runs longer than planned...bad conditions at one site send the capt. off looking for better conditions at another more remote site...someone gets hurt...everyone sees something cool and wants to follow it (dolphins, whale sharks, mantas, etc.)...someone drifts past the boat (happens a lot in Coz) and has to get picked up...etc...etc...etc... Any one or combination of these factors can easily make what was supposed to be a 3 or 4 hour trip turn into a 6 or 7 hour trip and then low and behold - we've missed our dang ship! Talk about a big OOOPS!

[bruce-r]

I feel relatively confident (maybe naively so) that I can talk my way out of the scuba herd by flashing a pro level c-card and a log book with a zillion or so hours if I must.

Naively is right. You go with the ship's dive excursion, you'll do the same dive as the rest of the herd, including the predetermined bottom. For your sake, I'd be happy to be wrong, but do you want to take a chance?

 

 

If my kids had passports, I'd be less worried about it but they don't.

What's holding you back? My kids are on their second passports.

[nrh322]

I imagine that the odds are that you're right on the first part. I have managed to talk my way out of the herd on group dives before. It helps a lot that I'm willing to take some of the responsibility off the shoulder's of the DMs on the boat. I don't mind babysitting that much (although in this case I'll be babysitting my own family). I don't mind dealing with their dive site/plan/BT/etc...I just don't want to have to play follow the leader. They usually set a pace that causes people to suck down air like Hummers and shortens the dives way beyond any reasonable safety standard.

 

As far as the kiddos not having passports... there is another thread going in the Royal Caribbean section about this topic. I didn't start it, but I'm in the same boat as the lady that did. The ex-husband has to sign off for the kids to get them and the nicest thing that I can say about him is that he's not a very pleasant guy and doesn't go out of his way to make our lives easier.

 

Ciao.

[scubaran]

I imagine that the odds are that you're right on the first part. I have managed to talk my way out of the herd on group dives before. It helps a lot that I'm willing to take some of the responsibility off the shoulder's of the DMs on the boat. I don't mind babysitting that much (although in this case I'll be babysitting my own family). I don't mind dealing with their dive site/plan/BT/etc...I just don't want to have to play follow the leader. They usually set a pace that causes people to suck down air like Hummers and shortens the dives way beyond any reasonable safety standard.

 

As far as c-cards, the only one I've found that most dive operators in the Caribbean generally care about is your "c"redit-card. I have a lot of experience and like to do macro photography but if the boat's captain and DM say we're going to do a "tour of the reef in a group", then they're the bosses and that's what we'll do regardless of c-card levels (why I always ask the local operators what their typical dive profiles are before booking with them).

 

I generally try to book my own dive operators first, then the ship's second. Again like most the determining factors are:

 

1) been there, liked who I dived with

2) strange port, no good recommendations

3) timing (sometimes the ship gets in too late to make the operator's times)

4) how much equipment I bring and the cost of renting (sometimes the "ships scuba with equipment" is more economical)

5) how lazy I am in doing research

 

Hope this helped,

Randall

[nrh322]

Randall...I've found that "c"ash works too! :)

[scubaran]

Randall...I've found that "c"ash works too! :)

 

Hi,

 

And you know that I in no way meant any disparaging words towards your pro-level c card. :O)

 

I've found that a lot of the caribbean dive shops get such a varied experience level in their divers that they "herd" them together on the dives to minimize their risks (on one island we had 20 divers from the ship and I was shocked when the dive shop asked for experience levels (a first for asking that question that I'd seen in the Caribbean) and more than half had 10 dives or less). 'Course while I too take on responsibilities when I dive (I've saved two divers so far since I started diving (Rescue Diver Certified because it seemed I needed it)), my instructor drilled into me that the captain on the dive boat is the untimate decision maker on who will do what and I respect that. Anyway, good luck on your diving and hope you get to do your profile. :O)

 

Randall

[benjidog]

I picked through the ship because I've only cruised twice. One of these days I'll be more adventurous.

[bruce-r]

I imagine that the odds are that you're right on the first part. I have managed to talk my way out of the herd on group dives before. It helps a lot that I'm willing to take some of the responsibility off the shoulder's of the DMs on the boat. I don't mind babysitting that much (although in this case I'll be babysitting my own family). I don't mind dealing with their dive site/plan/BT/etc...I just don't want to have to play follow the leader. They usually set a pace that causes people to suck down air like Hummers and shortens the dives way beyond any reasonable safety standard.

I definitely wish you the best of luck. My experience in Cozumel is that every dive is pretty much a group dive because of the current. The better shops will still let you dive your air and computer.

 

As far as the kiddos not having passports... .. The ex-husband has to sign off for the kids to get them and the nicest thing that I can say about him is that he's not a very pleasant guy and doesn't go out of his way to make our lives easier.

I'm sorry about that. I did think you must have had a reason for not getting them their passports, but I didn't think about the SFB ex who wouldn't cooperate. That just sends a message to the kids that they are less important than his desire to create problems for you.

[nrh322]

Hey Bruce... Does "SFB" mean what I think it means? ;) Because if it does, you must have already met him. LOL! At any rate, we're going to book through the cruise ship and take our chances. I'll play any and all cards I have up my sleeve to make the trip more enjoyable for all of us.

 

I want my family to get a taste of the diving down there because none of them have ever been (my instructor/trip running days were over before I met my DH) and my kids are just now old enough to get started.

 

It's only 22 more months before my youngest son is old enough to get a passport without his bio-dad's permission and then we can fly or cruise ANYWHERE whenever we want! WOOHOO! I can't wait to see his face when I tell him we're taking them to the Red Sea in '09. :D

[madisonswims]

I usually book my own excursions. The last trip we were on we did not do any through the ship.

 

This trip I am thinking about booking Captian Nautica in St. Thomas/St. John through Carnival. We'll see how it goes...

[bruce-r]

Hey Bruce... Does "SFB" mean what I think it means? ;)

Yes, it probably does.

[AarrowOM]

It depends on the itinerary really. If there is only a limited time in port, I'll use the ship's excursions for the extra measure of safety with regards to getting back to the ship. If time is not [as much of] a factor, I'll go independent, especially if a specific type of excursion is only available as independent.

[KaC-Cruiser]

Primarily book our own excursions - unless time in port is short enough to cause a worry. That's only happened twice - in Belize - where they use Hugh Parkey, which is a pretty good op anyway.

[mielyse]

We always do our own excursions (99.9999% dives) and have never had a problem getting back to the ship on time. I feel that I get more bang for my buck and am able to research the op we choose. It gives us the flexibilty to get away from the cattle boats, go to dive sites that we want to as opposed to the most convenient ones for the shop and can do our own profiles.

[gvre]

We have done close to 100 dives while on cruise ships.

We prefer to book our own dives off ship. I would say maybe 10% were booked through the cruise ship and these are usually when the ship arrives in afternoon in port and not many options available.

Ship operators tend to overcrowd a dive boat and may not take you to a good dive site, but one which they feel is safer for them. Bottom time is usually less. This is not always the case and we wouldn't miss a good place to dive, if we had to dive with the with the ship.

 

We have found this board and Scubaboard.com very helpful in finding good reliable operators and thank those have have contributed to such a good experience.

[Skinsdiver]

I never booked any type of excursion through the ship. I've always booked great dives through local operators.

 

I never worry about getting back to the ship on time.

 

The locals will take good care of their cruise clientele.

 

Given the information age, and word of mouth, they have no choice, if they want to remain in business.

 

I've never had a problem.

[servalgirl]

Ive booked through the cruise line 3 times and done it on my own 4 times. Stuarts Cove shark dive in the bahamas-had to go through cruise ship

Xunantunich, Belize-it was far and was afraid of missing the boat

Tabayana Roatan-I hadnt planned anything prior to leaving for the trip

 

I also do alot of land traveling and always book everything myself. Ive never had any major problems (i.e. sad looking horse I refused to ride, sand fleas, etc) and never felt unsafe

 

There are a few ports that sound a bit shady-where I woudnt hesitate to book my own excursion but probably wouldnt want to just wing it when I got there.

[DavieMike]

We just got back from a western Caribbean NCL Trip. We did diving in Roatan, and cave tubing /Atv in Belize. Two of us researched it to death. Most all posts said "dont worry".

I picked Tyll's dive in Roatan and they were highly rated on Trip advisor. I did the e mail thing , made all the arrangements, didn't have to post a deposit. Everything went well. the driver showed up , he had a sign, the people at Tyll's were great....really great, patient, and professional. they were $80 for a 2 tank dive plus $15 for transportation (Per person) The Cruise line was $129 plus additional charges for BC,REG, Wet suit etc. Overall Tyll's was probably $60 less than the cruise line.

In Belize we wanted to do the ATV / tubing pair. Only one company had it. "cave-tubing.com". so we booked it after researching it. Again they were there on time, were great in all ways, and we all had a terrific time. (there were 8 of us and we all agreed) They were very conscientious in getting us back on the ship on time.

I was so impressed with these two companies I rated them highly on Tripadvisor.

So...my opinion is to go for it and save Your money for a bar crawl in Costa Maya!!!