Scuba in Grand Cayman or Cozumel?

[BuckI4life]

I am going on a cruise on the Conquest in October. I was wondering if it is better to dive in GC or in Cozumel and which dive operator is the best.thanks

[bruce-r]

We get this asked from time to time, so I thought I'd just give my opinion as to what I think are some reasons a person might want to use the ship's dive excursion or make their own arrangement, so here goes

 

The way shore excursions work is that the cruise line contracts with companies at each port of call to provide the shore excursions the sell on the ships. In most cases, you can make your own arrangements and cut out the cost the cruise line adds to the trip.

 

Pros of making your own arrangements, at least for diving:

• usually cost less
  
• not limited on bottom time, dive your own profile
  
• can choose a smaller boat which will be less crowded
  
• can have a voice in decided the dive site
  
• smaller operator, more personal service
  
• better choice for more advanced divers
  
• you can shore dive if you want, which is much less expensive and not dependent on someone else's schedule. Grand Cayman is especially good for this.
  

 

Cons:

• more work for you to make plans, get to the meeting place
  
• ship won't wait if you are late, but being late is highly unlikely
  

 

Going with the ship's excursion

Pros:

• easy planning
  
• gear is often included
  
• good choice for the once a year cruise diver
  
• you get to dive with other people from your ship
  
• ship will wait if you are late ( this does matter to some people)
  
• easier logistically at some ports, especially Belize, or if you arrive in port too late for the morning dive boats from private operators
  

 

Cons:

• Usually cost a bit more, sometimes a lot more
  
• usually larger boats which can usually mean more people, but not always
  
• usually predetermined dive sites
  
• usually bottom times are predetermined, or everyone has to surface when the first person is low on air.
  
• dives are often follow the leader type dives, which is especially annoying for advanced divers or photographers
  

 

I hope this will help others decide which to choose, as there is no one right answer for everyone, every time.

 

I can't choose between Cozumel and Grand Cayman so I'd dive both.

 

There is no "best" dive operator for everyone. Are you a beginner? You might be fine going with the ship's operator. Are you cheap? Shore diving might fit the bill. Are you an advanced diver? Then you probably already know what you want in a dive operator and should probably go with a small boat operator, ex

[cccole]

we have been to Grand Cayman 3 times and Cozumel 2 times. I know everyone loves Grand Cayman but it is not our favorite.

 

I think the Palancar Reef off Cozumel is spectacular. We have used Alison both times and have not been disappointed.

 

I think we would probably still do both but if I had to choose it would be Cozumel. This, of course, is just my opinion from our experiences.

 

Have fun, Cherie

[jdbmga]

DH and I dove in both GC and Cozumel on our July Mariner cruise. I much preferred diving in Cozumel. We dove with Alison as well.

[vplsh]

My husband dived in both places this summer and preferred Grand Cayman over Cozumel. However, I think the reason was that he had to dive with the ship in Coz, due to problems with Allison's dive boat.

 

On another note, does anyone have any suggestions for someone in Cozumel who would have a PM dive available in Dec. We arrive on Carnival Destiny on12/27 at 1PM and both Allison and Christi are unavailable. He doesn't want to go with the ship again!

 

Thanks!

[scubaran]

My husband dived in both places this summer and preferred Grand Cayman over Cozumel. However, I think the reason was that he had to dive with the ship in Coz, due to problems with Allison's dive boat.

 

On another note, does anyone have any suggestions for someone in Cozumel who would have a PM dive available in Dec. We arrive on Carnival Destiny on12/27 at 1PM and both Allison and Christi are unavailable. He doesn't want to go with the ship again!

 

Thanks!

 

Hi,

 

I dove with Papa Hogs in Cozumel (he and his wife are Canadian ex-pats) and they're pretty flexible on diving. Plus they offer shore diving at their shop so you might dive on your own at the time you wish. Might check them out:

 

www.papahogs.com

 

Funny name but good dive shop.

 

Randall

[Middleager]

I dove in both. G. Cayman has wall diving, whereas Coz has drift diving. Both have good viz and good marine life. I saw bigger fish in Coz.

 

In G Cayman, you can also do shore diving at Eden Rock. It's cheap, and pretty good shallow diving.

 

---

 

vplsh, there are over a hundred dive ops in Cozumel. Most are good. If you do some searches, should be able to find a good shop. We arranged with Blue Angels. We felt it was really good.

[BuckI4life]

Thanks to everyone for your input. Just to answer a few questions asked...I am a beginner, just got my certification last fall. I will be with my wife on the cruise so I will only be able to dive at one of the two stops. We plan to snorkel at the other.

[bruce-r]

On another note, does anyone have any suggestions for someone in Cozumel who would have a PM dive available in Dec. We arrive on Carnival Destiny on12/27 at 1PM and both Allison and Christi are unavailable. He doesn't want to go with the ship again!

http://www.divewithmartin.com http://www.living-underwater.com http://www.scubatony.com

 

Thanks to everyone for your input. Just to answer a few questions asked...I am a beginner, just got my certification last fall. I will be with my wife on the cruise so I will only be able to dive at one of the two stops. We plan to snorkel at the other.

You can shore dive Grand Cayman at Eden Rock and while she snorkels.

 

In Cozumel, you can dive could do a combo trip where you get to dive and she can either just hang out on the boat or she can snorkel. Blue Angel and Eagleray divers both offer the combo trip.

[mybagsarepacked]

I am going on a cruise on the Conquest in October. I was wondering if it is better to dive in GC or in Cozumel and which dive operator is the best.thanks

 

I have dived both, for diving trips - that is a week to ten days, 3 and 4 dives a day.

 

I highly recommend Red Sail Sports, in Grand Cayman. http://www.redsailcayman.com/gc_index.html

 

They were top notch. I took most of my own equipment, but not tanks or weight belts.

I am checking my dive log for the Cozumel Info. Again, I chose a weekly dive package that included 4 dives a day. I did my original open water dives in Cozumel, many years ago, and can't say enough good things about the dives there. Serious currents .... but oh, they are worth it!

 

The night dives are awesome in Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Also the wreck diving is great...and I did one wreck dive at night.

 

Bon Voyage!

[jdbmga]

We went with Red Sail Sports by booking through Royal Caribbean. Our experience was NOT good. Maybe it depends on the crew.

[reddi]

In Cozumel, you can dive could do a combo trip where you get to dive and she can either just hang out on the boat or she can snorkel. Blue Angel and Eagleray divers both offer the combo trip.Yesterday 08:20 PM

 

Bruce,

 

Have you done this before? Just wondering if the experience is good for both the divers and the snorkelers? We are cruising with non-diving friends who are interested in snorkeling or discover scuba and it would be nice if we could stay together. thx

[reddi]

sorry bruce, haven't figured out how to highlight your msg in order to question or comment on it.

[scubadiver888]

We went with Red Sail Sports by booking through Royal Caribbean. Our experience was NOT good. Maybe it depends on the crew.

Red Sail Sports is a huge organization. They have water sports centres all around the Caribbean. I went diving in Aruba with them in December 2007 and had an okay experience. I was back in Aruba in April 2008 and booked a dive with them again. There was only one dive guide I recognized and the crew that took us out were totally different. When I asked about the guide who took us out in December I was told he was no longer with the company and most guides stay for less than a year. The April dive was actually better.

 

In other words, every time you dive with them you could end up with a totally different crew. The best experiences I have had are with the small mom-and-pop shops where mom or pop takes you out. I haven't been to GC or Coz so I don't know who to recommend.

[bruce-r]

Bruce,

Have you done this before? Just wondering if the experience is good for both the divers and the snorkelers? We are cruising with non-diving friends who are interested in snorkeling or discover scuba and it would be nice if we could stay together. thx

I haven't gone with either, but I have read positive comments for both operations. I think it is the best way for divers and non-divers to stay together. I think the snorkeling for the non-divers would be better quality than most of the cruise line excursions.

[heydn62]

We're planning a shore dive at Sunset House in GC next week. They are a resort and they have told me that anyone in our party is welcome to snorkle or use their pool with no charge while we dive. We chose them because of this, plus Eden Rock is right next to the tender pier, so we thought this might be a bit less crowded.

 

I can report back on this in a couple of weeks if you're interested. When do you leave for your cruise?

 

We're also going with Alison in Cozumel.

[reddi]

Good point Bruce - thanks!

[scubaran]

I haven't gone with either, but I have read positive comments for both operations. I think it is the best way for divers and non-divers to stay together. I think the snorkeling for the non-divers would be better quality than most of the cruise line excursions.

 

I did this with my wife and friends in Cozumel, the guys were all diving and the women snorkeled above us (it was a drift snorkel/dive). They had fun drifting along watching us dive, chatting (flirting with the snorkelmaster :p) but they admitted because the dives took place in waters deeper than they normally snorkeled, they couldn't see as much as they would on a normal snorkel trip (though they did see a shark we missed by being deeper, darn!). Anyway, they had a lot of fun but I think it was more around friends drifting in the ocean having fun than seeing cool things snorkeling.

 

Randall

[vplsh]

Hi,

 

I dove with Papa Hogs in Cozumel (he and his wife are Canadian ex-pats) and they're pretty flexible on diving. Plus they offer shore diving at their shop so you might dive on your own at the time you wish. Might check them out:

 

www.papahogs.com

 

Funny name but good dive shop.

 

Randall

 

Thanks! I emailed them. We'll see what they say!

 

 

 

 

http://www.divewithmartin.com http://www.living-underwater.com http://www.scubatony.com were all booked too! Thanks Bruce.

[cccole]

Both times we were with Alison in Cozumel we had divers and snorkelers in our group. The Palancar Reef was spectacular for both and she had a guide with the divers and a guide for the snorkelers.

[vplsh]

Papa Hogs can take him on 12/27! Thank goodness! He really was starting to worry he wouldn't be able to dive!

 

We tried Allison first and she wasn't doing a pm dive that day. Everyone else was booked or required more than one day since it's a holiday week.

 

Thanks for the recommendation, Randall!

[BuckI4life]

Thanks to everyone for the info. We decided to do the 1/2 day snorkel trip in GC with Captain Marvin. In Cozumel we are doing the combo scuba / snorkel trip with Alison. We are two weeks and two days from our cruise and can't wait...

[scubaran]

Papa Hogs can take him on 12/27! Thank goodness! He really was starting to worry he wouldn't be able to dive!

 

We tried Allison first and she wasn't doing a pm dive that day. Everyone else was booked or required more than one day since it's a holiday week.

 

Thanks for the recommendation, Randall!

 

Good news! You'll enjoy diving with them. They're a small dive shop but concentrate on making their clients happy. :)

 

Randall

[gmcrow]

Don't worry about Eden Rock being crowded. We have done this many times after boat trips and loved it every time. It's a cheap and easy way to some qualitytime under water while everyone else in your group does something else. The beauty is that you are right there so you can catch that last tender back to the ship with ease. http://www.cruisedivers.blogspot.com

[Socref124]

Both times we were with Alison in Cozumel we had divers and snorkelers in our group. The Palancar Reef was spectacular for both and she had a guide with the divers and a guide for the snorkelers.

 

Who is Alison and how do we contact her about diving in Cozumel? We will be in Cozumel on the 18th of Oct. Thanks...