Grand Cayman-West Wall Dive or Sting Ray City Dive?

[jdbmga]

Which dive should DH and I do? DH has been certified for years. I will be newly certified as of the end of April (cruising in July)

 

The West Wall dive says depths of 100ft, which I am nervous about. I will only be certified up to 60ft. The WW dive seems to be a better value at $90 for a two tank dive vs the $65 for a one tank dive at SRC. We will have to rent BCs and regulators.

 

I've heard that SRC is a "do not miss" in Grand Cayman. Will I regret not doing the SRC dive if we chose the WW dive?

 

Please help us decide.

[gmcrow]

Have never done the Sting Ray City "dive." It's pretty much a snorkel spot on a relatively shallow sand bar. We stood up through our whole SRC adventure. I had heard that there is a deeper areas where they take divers, and I think I would have liked that much better. Rays are so much more majestic when you can watch them "fly." Having said all of that, diving in GC is awesome and I would hate to see you miss the opportunity to dive the West Wall, or any reef at GC, for that matter. SRC is more about handling and feeding the rays, which is far less satisfying that encountering them in the wild and simply observing, we think. http://www.cruisedivers.blogspot.com

[islandwoman]

The West Wall is awesome, but might not be a good choice for your first dive after being certified. I've only done Stingray City as a snorkeler, but I definitely enjoyed it. I suggest Stingray City for this trip. Dive the Cayman Islands' walls after you have more experience and/or AOW certification.

[scubaran]

Which dive should DH and I do? DH has been certified for years. I will be newly certified as of the end of April (cruising in July)

 

The West Wall dive says depths of 100ft, which I am nervous about. I will only be certified up to 60ft. The WW dive seems to be a better value at $90 for a two tank dive vs the $65 for a one tank dive at SRC. We will have to rent BCs and regulators.

 

I've heard that SRC is a "do not miss" in Grand Cayman. Will I regret not doing the SRC dive if we chose the WW dive?

 

Please help us decide.

 

Hi,

 

I agree about the west wall. Snorkel SRC sometime when you don't have the dive bug (good luck getting rid of that once you get in the water :) ). Anyway, don't be afraid of the 100ft. dive. We were supposed to do it as well but when the people got on the boat and the captain said the dive profile would be 100ft. we all "voted" to stay shallower (I do amateur uw photography so I wanted more light) and the captain easily agreed to take us to an alternative site that was just as nice. There's so many places to dive on the west side that if one site is a bit too deep, there's always another that is just as suitable. Just make sure you verbalize your request soon after getting on board the dive boat. They get a bit testy if you say something right after they've tied off at the site.

 

Happy diving,

Randall

[jdbmga]

This is the SRC dive we were thinking about doing.

 

http://grandcaymancruiseexcursions.com/StingrayCityScubaDiving.htm

 

 

Does anyone know of a private dive operator I could contact that might take us somewhere where the depths are around 60ft?

[heydn62]

This is the SRC dive we were thinking about doing.

 

http://grandcaymancruiseexcursions.com/StingrayCityScubaDiving.htm

 

 

Does anyone know of a private dive operator I could contact that might take us somewhere where the depths are around 60ft?

 

Hey Debbie,

 

The more I look at this, the more I think this looks like a lot of fun. This might be a good 1st dive for us before we get to Cozumel. I think I might be able to get my daughters to join us and snorkel as well.

 

My son and I start our certification classes this weekend. We're not cruising until October, so let me know how everything goes and what you recommend. Are you thinking about buying your own equipment, or will you just rent?

 

Have fun!

[jdbmga]

Hey Doug,

 

Good luck with the certification class this weekend. Have fun! Let me know how it goes. We aren't taking the class until the middle of March. We are reading the book and watching the DVD over the next few weeks.

 

Yes, we will be renting equipment. It has been costly enough with the 3 of us needing masks, fins, snorkels and boots along with the cost of the class.

 

I guess I'll know more about how comfortable I'll feel once I take the course and complete the open water dives.

[FishTech]

My wife & I spent a week in GC in Nov '06. We did shore dives in West Bay on the West Bay Miniwall @ the Turtle Farm & several on the West Bay Miniwall @ Spanish Bay Reef. We also did the SRC dive through DiveTech (http://www.divetech.com/) and snorkeled the SRC sandbar through Red Sail Sports. The max depth of the miniwall is around 70ft with the deep wall starting at 100ft. Most of the good stuff can be seen from 20-60ft. The SRC dive is 10-20ft. We also snorkeled in Georgetown (Cemetery Reef) & East End. I would do/recommend the West Bay Miniwall if I had to choose (http://www.divetech.com/what1.htm), you could also visit the Turtle Farm (http://turtle.ky/) while you're there. The only reason I would recommend the SRC dive would be so you could say you have done it. When we were at the SRC dive site we saw several rays & a few green morays. Other locations to consider would be the Wreck of the Cali (http://www.diversdown.net/_ndivcali.htm), right off the cruise dock.

[martylouie]

Hey Doug,

 

 

Yes, we will be renting equipment. It has been costly enough with the 3 of us needing masks, fins, snorkels and boots along with the cost of the class.

 

 

I vote for the wall- SRC was my son's and my second choice this past Dec. and are we glad we did the reef .

As to cost- start getting used to it- having your own gear means you get to dive more! The drawback is the schlepping and with United experimenting with charging $25 for the second bag, I'll just have to wear a wetsuit to Formal Night! (It is black!)

 

As to Dive shops- Princess used Don Fosters and were we impressed, great divemaster, gear, boat etc. I want to go back to GC just to get my AOW!

Lester

[jdbmga]

I vote for the wall- SRC was my son's and my second choice this past Dec. and are we glad we did the reef .

As to cost- start getting used to it- having your own gear means you get to dive more! The drawback is the schlepping and with United experimenting with charging $25 for the second bag, I'll just have to wear a wetsuit to Formal Night! (It is black!)

 

As to Dive shops- Princess used Don Fosters and were we impressed, great divemaster, gear, boat etc. I want to go back to GC just to get my AOW!

Lester

 

Lester, were you and your son newly certified? Were you able to dive shallower than 100ft?

[Lady Anna Lee]

I kinda' have the same question too, Barry and I got certified this last summer. We have had 2 dives up here in B.C. Canada (can you say COLD)down 60 feet with about 10 feet visability. We are going on the Mariner of the Seas on April 20/08, and already have an diving excursion from the ship in Cozumel. We are wondering about taking the diving excursions from the ship in Grand Caymen & or Jamaica. We're going to go back out up here before we go on our cruise, for a little refreasher. Are these too much for beginners?? I have "the bug" and am longing to dive in warmer waters, are the tour operators good people or are they just going to push me off the boat and see if I sink or swim??:eek: Or should we book the SRC 10-12 foot dive, just to be on the safe side??

[scubaran]

I kinda' have the same question too, Barry and I got certified this last summer. We have had 2 dives up here in B.C. Canada (can you say COLD)down 60 feet with about 10 feet visability. We are going on the Mariner of the Seas on April 20/08, and already have an diving excursion from the ship in Cozumel. We are wondering about taking the diving excursions from the ship in Grand Caymen & or Jamaica. We're going to go back out up here before we go on our cruise, for a little refreasher. Are these too much for beginners?? I have "the bug" and am longing to dive in warmer waters, are the tour operators good people or are they just going to push me off the boat and see if I sink or swim??:eek: Or should we book the SRC 10-12 foot dive, just to be on the safe side??

 

Dive the reef. With 50-100 ft. vis and 75-80 degree water you'll be spoiled. SRC is nice but you'll get more interaction doing the sandbar. The reef in GC is sooo nice it's hard to think about SRC when the diving is so good. As far as pushing you off the boat, it depends. Some operators treat you as a good friend, some as a guest and other's as a credit card. That's why it's important to get a good operator (this board has dozens of recommendations on ops). I go under the assumption that I will take care of me and I'll be curtious to others. If you do this, anything better is just gravy. Good rules for getting on a dive boat are:

 

1) get a spot and keep your gear only in it (no spillage into the traffic area)

2) set up as much as you can while at the dock (reg and BCD on the tank, weights on the belt, mask and boots in the fin pockets, wet suit on the lower half of your body)

3) inquire what the dive conditions are where you'll be diving, who your dive buddy is and what is their experience

4) when the captain gives the safety instructions and the dive master talks about the dive profile, STOP whatever you're doing and give them your full attention. Afterwards you can continue what you were doing (I don't know how many times my dive buddy was fussing and didn't hear that important sentence, "keep away from .....")

5) take anything you want dry and ask the captain where you can store it for the trip

6) if 2 dives, when you surface, hook up for your second dive, THEN take a break (too many people are rushing around on the second dive because they've "thrown" their equipment on the boat when they returned from their second dive. Don't know how many times I've heard, "anybody seen my mask?").

7) after the last dive, break down your equipment as soon as you come aboard (the boat's a lot more steady than on the race back to the dock), get your gear back into it's carry bags in one place, sit and reminise about what you saw

8) tip the crew at the dock

9) shake everyone's hand, collect ALL your belongings and look forward to your next dive.

 

Do this and you'll be jumping in the water before they can throw you in. :)

 

Randall