BIG disappointment!

[Hilary]

We're cruising with Celebrity later this year and were very excited about diving the RMS Rhone while in Tortola. Well, apparently because of the short time in port, Celebrity isn't offering a dive excursion. In addition, when I e-mailed private dive-ops, every single one of them said they "should" be back by 2pm. With our ship scheduled to depart at 3pm, that's just a little too close for comfort, especially when we're dealing with island time.

Oh well, I consoled myself by planning to dive in St. Maarten and Key West instead, even though they aren't as good of a dive as the Rhone. I figure that at least I'll be underwater and WET, so all isn't completely lost.

[bruce-r]

That is a bummer. You are right though, at least you will get to dive.

[starsjohn]

There are also long delays for the tenders to reach dock in Tortola if there are several ships in as there is only one overused tender dock. To get to the Rhone, there is some open channel which will slow down the smaller dive boats if the seas are brisk as they were when I was there. It is a great dive though. We took the Dawn Princess which stayed all day.

John

[Hilary]

John, thank you so much for that extra information! I hadn't realized that the ships had to tender into port...that sure makes me feel a lot better that we decided not to cut it close!! Guess the bottom line for me is that my next cruise may just be a liveaboard instead of a luxury liner!

[simonv]

Why don't you have the cruise line arrange the private diving boat for you? I imagine you can have it booked ahead or through the shore excursion desk on board. Granted you'll be paying through the nose, but then the ship will be responsible getting you back on time, or wait for you if you are delayed. If you are going to arrange it on board, take the contact information for the dive operators you want, just in case they don't have anyone. We did exactly that on Phuket with Silversea. The excursion desk decided somehow not to take the commission, so we paid directly to the operator. Before giving up, check the possibility.

[sddiver]

And how many divers in your group??

I know an operator in Tortola who runs a personalized service rather than an op who runs on a schedule. He can pick you up right in the cruise dock area(given you have all your own gear?) and bring you back. The boat trip to the Rhone is no more than 30-40 minutes. With an early start you could be back as early as 12:00 to 1:30. When we were there we tied up to the pier, you may have to tender if there are multiple ships?? Not sure on that.


Rich

[Hilary]

There are only 2 of us in our group. Unfortunately that usually isn't enough to make it economically feasible to book our own charter. We will be bringing our own gear (except tanks and weights) since we plan to dive multiple times on our trip, and for safety and comfort. We're in Tortola from 7-3. Thanks for any help you can give me, and if you can't, thanks for trying, I really appreciate it.

[sddiver]

Hilary,

His name is Tony Brunn. He and his wife own Underwater Boat Service(UBS) in Tortola. I dove with him in '98 when he was first opening his op. He saved us as it was "Boxing Day" in Tortola when we were there for a day and all the other ops were closed. A local we meet on the dock turned us on to him. He has two boats one being a rigid inflatable that he normally uses to meet bareboat charter people to take them diving around the islands. It is perfectly set up for small group diving. If this port is later in your cruise, you may want to recruit any other capable divers you meet in prior ports to join you. I think the max on the inflatable is 4, maybe more on his other boat. It will get more economical than just yourselves. Either way with 7-3 should give you plenty of time to get to the Rhone and back with time to spare if you start early enough. It is a great dive and should not be missed if you are there.

Here is his weblink, drop him an email, he may be able to accomidate you.

[url="http://www.scubabvi.com/"]http://www.scubabvi.com/[/url]

Good Luck and diving

Rich

[Hilary]

Thank you very much!! I'll give it a try. :-)

[Hilary]

Rich,

THANK YOU again for the tip about UBS! I contacted them and they can take us out to the Rhone and get back in plenty of time. <VBG> All I need to do is finalize the arrangements, but I can confidently say I'm no longer disappointed and will be diving the Rhone in December.

[bruce-r]

Then you better report back after your trip and tell us if it was as good as it's reputation.

[Hilary]

Bruce-r, I promise I'll post a full review of all the places we dive, and the dive ops we used, when we return. I'm really excited about UBS because it's just going to be my husband and I on the charter with a DM/guide, so not only is it going to be very personalized, but the price is the same as the cruise ship would have been....can't beat that, huh?

[sddiver]

Hilary,


Glad Tony was able to help you. With the thousands of people he has dived?dove? with I doubt he remembers me. But in case he does tell him Rich from San Diego says hi. You'll love the Rhone dive(s). It is a big enough wreck site for two dives. It also is at sloping site that allows for a deeper first dive and shallower 2nd dive. If you are a photographer it is a great site for pictures.

Have a great time and rub the porthole for me(Tony will explain)

Rich

[DiveCruiser]

Hilary,
Did you dive in St Maarten and if you did who did you use???
Thanks
Bob

[Hilary]

Bob, we aren't going until Christmas, and since I could book the private dive in Tortola, we decided not to dive in St. Maarten. We'll be diving in the Bahamas, St. Thomas, Tortola (the Rhone!), and Key West. Puerto Rico we're going to the Bacardi Rum Factory and in St. Maarten we're going to Orient Beach for the day.

I'll post a complete trip report when we return!

[gkrebs]

Hilary,


I was in Tortola last year on the Dawn Princess and we did not tender at the port. We were tied up at the pier with one of the Carnival ships. Check the itenarary of the ship your on. It will tell you if you tender or not.

[Hilary]

Thanks gkrebs, unfortunately Celebrity doesn't give you that information on their website. I did find out that there is one other ship in port in Tortola, so we should be docking. Either way, our time in port is too short to do a regular dive charter, so the private one was our only option. I'm actually glad because we'll get out to the Rhone before the charters and will avoid most of the crowds.

[Perrys100]

Hil...

St Martin is no big deal. Have 100's of logged dives in Cozumel and St Martin was so so...

[Hilary]

Thanks Perry, that's what I've heard about St. Martin. The biggest complaints seem to be that you're out in the open ocean without protection from current and waves. Since we can dive in St. Thomas, Nassau, Tortola, and Key West, we'll just relax on Orient Beach in St. Martin! <G>