Divers! What Sites Have You Dived?

[battleship sailor]

DW and I are on Grandeur of the Seas (4/5/08), visiting Grand Cayman, Roatan, Belize and Coz. I've looked over the board to see what dive sites we might be likely to visit and can't find much info. So I thought it might be cool to get a list going of specific dive sites that operators have visited in various ports.

 

For example, on Carnival we've been to Nassau twice and went to the same dive sites both cruises. In Grand Turk (also on Carnival) we went to Library and Blackforest dive sites. Maybe if we get a roster of dive sites going, we can get a pretty good idea of what we are likely to see. So get out your logs and check! Again, I'm looking specifically for dive sites visited on dives booked through the ship...

 

As for my dives, it's been (Port/Cruise Ship/Dive Sites):

 

Nassau - Carnival Fantasy & Celebration - Shipyard & Lighthouse Reef/Wreck

Grand Turk - Carnival Fantasy - Library & Black Forest

 

Thanks!

[bruce-r]

Again, I'm looking specifically for dive sites visited on dives booked through the ship...

 

Sorry, I can't help as I generally do not dive with the ship's excursion. Additionally, I think that most members of CC tend to avoid the ship's excursion.

[gmcrow]

Sorry, I can't help as I generally do not dive with the ship's excursion. Additionally, I think that most members of CC tend to avoid the ship's excursion.

I think there are more CC members that use a mix of ships excursions and book their own trips than you think. There are time when we are visiting a new port and simply don't have the time to research operators. We have been on many FANTASTIC dives through ship's excursions, so we hate to see them completely slammed.

 

We list specific dive sites in our trip reports whenever we can.

http://www.cruisedivers.blogspot.com

[tootsiescurly]

Belize is the only port we use the ships excursion due to the logistics. I would NOT recommend it under any circumstance. We have had less than desirable dives, which we felt were unsafe because of the individuals we were diving with, not the dive operators. We have decided not to dive in Belize if we cruise the Western Caribbean again because you have to tender into Belize City and many of the dive operators have a minimum number of divers to book an excursion. They will not take a reservation for 2 and are pretty much unwilling to try to pair you with other divers.

[bruce-r]

Sorry, I can't help as I generally do not dive with the ship's excursion. Additionally, I think that most members of CC tend to avoid the ship's excursion.

 

I think there are more CC members that use a mix of ships excursions and book their own trips than you think. There are time when we are visiting a new port and simply don't have the time to research operators. We have been on many FANTASTIC dives through ship's excursions, so we hate to see them completely slammed.

I didn't say that CC members never did the ship's excursions, just that I generally do not use the ship's dive excursion.

 

I also didn't "completely slam" the ship's excursions. In fact, I don't think I said anything about them at all, either for or against. There is a time and place to take the ship's excursion.

[scubadiver888]

Battleship Diver,

 

I would recommend googling for dive operators in the ports of interest. Most will have a list of dive sites they use. You might also find tourist information listing dive sites. Figure out what dive sites there are and which you might want to try. Keep in mind that cruise ship operators will probably stick to 60 feet or above (they plan according to the weakest divers).

 

On a few cruise dives I've noticed the more experienced divers 'suggesting' which sites they would like to see. So long as they were close and weather was permitting, the dive operator was accommodating.

 

You might want to pick a few in case your first choice is not possible.

[battleship sailor]

Indeed, I prefer booking independently but due to arrival times, I fear we would miss the morning boats in some ports and get only a single-tank afternoon dive in other ports. In Coz, I'm looking at Aldora as a viable alternative, and we will just do a shore dive in GC (Eden Rock). What prompted my initial question was a post I read elsewhere saying that Mary's Place, a popular Roatan site, isn't visited by cruise ships -- and I wondered what dive sites the cruise operators do visit.

 

Thanks, G&M, for the link to your blogspot, which I'll review more closely. We stayed a week on Curacao last July (Sunset Waters) and had a wonderful time. My best dive trip so far....

 

Cheers!

[jtonra]

Another suggestion for more detailed information would be to check scubaboard.com. There is a lot more information there including very detailed dive reports which describe the sites. In my opinion, with a few notable exceptions, this board is generally frequented by more casual divers and snorkelers. Scubaboard is generally frequented by more hard-core divers.

[Wspinelli]

Ask your Local Dive Shop about the ports you are going to, see if they have referals of dive operators they know. Lokk for the operators they know or have heard about, not just a list of the PADI, SSI or NAUI shops in a port. Ask other divers in your area if they know of anyone and if they liked them. Remember to start the research with people you trust.

[bruce-r]

Another suggestion for more detailed information would be to check scubaboard.com. There is a lot more information there including very detailed dive reports which describe the sites. In my opinion, with a few notable exceptions, this board is generally frequented by more casual divers and snorkelers. Scubaboard is generally frequented by more hard-core divers.

I agree, but unfortunately, many of them have a less than positive opinion about cruising, especially the people who post on the Cozumel section of scubaboard.

[jac8724]

In Cozumel i did Santa Rosa Wall. It was a good dive with a bit of a current that was actually nice, you really didnt have to do much work, it just slowly swept you past the coral! Tons of huge stoplight parrot fish really made the dive fun. The reef was slowly recovering from some hurricane damage from Wilma that passed through in 05 i believe, and when I went in March of 07 I couldnt say it was all that bad!

 

In Roatan I did Half Moon Wall, which had the most colorful coral ever, soooo many fish, it was like downtown Manhattan for fish.

 

Have fun on the Grandeur, that was the ship i was on last year, so pretty!

[scubamargie]

Belize is the only port we use the ships excursion due to the logistics. I would NOT recommend it under any circumstance. We have had less than desirable dives, which we felt were unsafe because of the individuals we were diving with, not the dive operators. We have decided not to dive in Belize if we cruise the Western Caribbean again because you have to tender into Belize City and many of the dive operators have a minimum number of divers to book an excursion. They will not take a reservation for 2 and are pretty much unwilling to try to pair you with other divers.

 

Tootsiecurly I have to disagree with you regarding diving with the ship in Belize. We have used Hugh Parkey with several cruise lines and have always been treated very well. The sites were beautiful -- saw a manatee on the last one during our safety stop. The dive operator did take quite a few divers (apx 20) but the boat was large and able to accommodate the group. They divided divers based on experience and kept the group sizes to 6 per dive master. We wouldn't miss diving Belize -- reefs and fish life are excellent. If you don't want to dive with the ship catch one of the first tenders and dive with Sea Sport. They also have a nice operation. More adventurous types catch a flight to Ambregris Cay and dive one of the operators on the island. Also great diving there, but a little too risky for us when we're on a time schedule -- wouldn't want to miss the ship!!! ;)

[battleship sailor]

Thanks, jac! Here's the tally so far:

 

Nassau -- Trinity Caves, Lighthouse Reef/Wreck, Shipyard

Grand Turk -- Library, Black Forest

Roatan -- Half Moon Wall

Cozumel -- Santa Rosa Wall

Belize --

 

p.s. (I checked my log and added Trinity Caves to the list of sites I went to in Nassau.) tom

[tammymacb]

Unless there is more than one Trinity Caves- it's in Grand Cayman. I've dove it several times.

 

I'd also recommend ( In GC ) Big Sand Chute, Bonnie's Arch and the North Wall.

 

Eden Rock is a shore dive, but it's not to be missed IF you are docked at the right time of the year and the silversides are in.

[jtonra]

Just checked my log book from my two cruise stops at Cozumel. Here's what I've got:

 

2004

Los Palmas - multiple turtles, arrow crabs, coral banded shrimp, flaming tongue, lots of healthy coral

 

Paradise Reef - top ten dive! awesome coral formations, close encounter with large eagle ray, pretty good current - covered a lot of ground

 

2005

Santa Rosa Wall - multiple swim throughs, nice wall dive, big grouper, lobsters

 

Paradise Reef - nice reef but visibly damaged from the 2004 hurricane (not as amazing as previous year), lots of dive boats here this day so lots of divers in the water, multiple small eagle rays, nice coral

 

One of the really cool things about Paradise is that if the current is going the right way you may end the dive very close to your cruise ship which is kind of cool.

 

Hope this helps.

[jtonra]

I agree, but unfortunately, many of them have a less than positive opinion about cruising, especially the people who post on the Cozumel section of scubaboard.

 

What, you don't like being referred to as a "pod person"? :)

 

To the OP:

 

Here's what I dug out of my log book from my two stops at Cozumel:

 

2005

 

Las Palmas - lots of macro life as well as multiple turtles the day we were there; drift dive

 

Paradise Reef - top ten dive for me ever! awesome coral formations, close encounter with eagle ray; surfaced right next to cruise pier

 

2006

 

Santa Rosa Wall - nice wall dive with multiple swim-throughs; big grouper; lobster

 

Paradise Reef - showed some signs of damage from '05 hurricane; not as nice as previous year but still a nice dive; lots of dive boats here this day and lots of divers in the water

 

Hope this helps some.

[gmcrow]

I show our dive sites in Belize labeled as Chinaman's Wall and Calabash. Awesome dives. Loved the boat ride. Must have been a better day than tootsiescurly had.

 

In Roatan we've got Hole in the Wall, Black Rock, Green Outhouse Wall, and Peter's Place #20. All of these were great dives. No complaints.

 

In Nassau: Treasure, Toungue of the Ocean, Bahama Mama, Sea Viking, and Will Laurie. Never had a bad dive in Nassau with Stuart Cove's.

 

Bruce-r, did not mean to offend. I just hate to see generalizations that might put someone off of a wonderful dive that they feel more comfortable booking for whatever reason. Although YOU didn't slam ship's excursions, I have seen it over and over here on these boards. It's really no different than the way scubaboard slams those of us who do cruise ship diving. I feel that the ship's offerings need a great deal of improvement and that is really why we started our blog in the first place. There's better diving out there than many cruisers are getting. Wouldn't it be nice if taking a great dive vacation on a cruise ship didn't require quite so much work?

[battleship sailor]

Thanks to G&M and jtonra for your contributions, which I've added to the list below! I'm hoping we can get a pretty good tally here and maybe post it as a "sticky" for people researching possible dives -- or for lurkers.

G&M: Were all of your Roatan dives booked through the ship? Also, were your Belize dives (which I've added, below) booked through your ship? And your Nassau dives? Thanks. tom

 

Nassau -- Trinity Caves, Lighthouse Reef/Wreck, Shipyard

Grand Turk -- Library, Black Forest

Roatan -- Half Moon Wall, Green Outhouse Wall, Peter's Place

Cozumel -- Santa Rosa Wall, Las Palmas, Paradise Reef

Belize -- Chinaman's Wall, Calabash

[tammymacb]

Repeating myself. Trinity Caves is in Grand Cayman

 

http://www.destmic.com/html/caymandivesites.htm

[gmcrow]

Thanks to G&M and jtonra for your contributions, which I've added to the list below! I'm hoping we can get a pretty good tally here and maybe post it as a "sticky" for people researching possible dives -- or for lurkers.

G&M: Were all of your Roatan dives booked through the ship? Also, were your Belize dives (which I've added, below) booked through your ship? And your Nassau dives? Thanks. tom

 

Nassau -- Trinity Caves, Lighthouse Reef/Wreck, Shipyard

Grand Turk -- Library, Black Forest

Roatan -- Half Moon Wall, Green Outhouse Wall, Peter's Place

Cozumel -- Santa Rosa Wall, Las Palmas, Paradise Reef

Belize -- Chinaman's Wall, Calabash

Roatan: Green Outhouse Wall and Peter's Place were with Anthony's Key through RCCL. Hole in the Wall and Black Rock were with Las Rocas Resort, not through the cruise line.

 

Belize was through Celebrity, unfortunately did not note the operator in the log book, but they came to the ship (not the pier), had brought their boat over from a shop on Ambergris Cay and took us about an hour and a half to the atoll.

 

Nassau is odd. Stuart Cove's is the operator for RCCL and Celebrity, but you can save $$ by booking it yourself. Their website will tell you they don't take independant bookings from those particular passengers, so if you don't tell them you are on one of those ships.....

 

http://www.cruisedivers.blogspot.com

[s318830]

For our cruise I was debating between Grand Cayman and Cozumel. We chose Grand Cayman and loved it.

 

We just got off Liberty OTS Western Caribbean. DH had heard that the north wall of Grand Cayman had the best diving, but it was too choppy for us to dive it that day, so the dive master took us to Trinity Caves for our first dive. I don't know what the North Wall would have been like, but Trinity Caves was awesome! First, the coral creates these tunnels ("Caves") that you can swim through. The fish are beautiful too. On that one dive we saw an Eagle Ray and a sea turtle. We saw a Sea Turtle on both of our dives. On the second one DH and I followed a sea turtle for about 5 mins. It was great.

 

If you decide to dive Grand Cayman, I recommend the company Divers Down http://www.diversdown.net/. They have a 2-tank dive specifically for cruise ship passengers so the schedule is based on when the cruise ships are able to get passengers on shore. Their shop is a 5 min walk from the terminal. The price is similar to the cruise excursion price when you're renting a BCD but have your own snorkel and fins, but they won't go above 8 people per dive. We only had one other couple on ours. If your ship skips the port, you aren't charged.

[battleship sailor]

Repeating myself. Trinity Caves is in Grand Cayman

 

http://www.destmic.com/html/caymandivesites.htm

 

Thanks, Tammy. There's also a Trinity Caves in Nassau: http://www.paradisedivecharters.com/sites.html

 

There's a Lighthouse Reef in GC and in Nassau. There's a Black Forest in Grand Turk and Curacao. I don't believe they trademark the names of dive sites. ;)

 

Happy Diving!

[DiveCruiser]

DW and I are on Grandeur of the Seas (4/5/08), visiting Grand Cayman, Roatan, Belize and Coz. I've looked over the board to see what dive sites we might be likely to visit and can't find much info. So I thought it might be cool to get a list going of specific dive sites that operators have visited in various ports.

 

For example, on Carnival we've been to Nassau twice and went to the same dive sites both cruises. In Grand Turk (also on Carnival) we went to Library and Blackforest dive sites. Maybe if we get a roster of dive sites going, we can get a pretty good idea of what we are likely to see. So get out your logs and check! Again, I'm looking specifically for dive sites visited on dives booked through the ship...

 

As for my dives, it's been (Port/Cruise Ship/Dive Sites):

 

Nassau - Carnival Fantasy & Celebration - Shipyard & Lighthouse Reef/Wreck

Grand Turk - Carnival Fantasy - Library & Black Forest

 

Thanks!

 

If you are diving with the ship you have very little voice in the place you go. This is why I contract by myself.