Snorkeling or Discover Scuba?

[archdelux]

Hi,

 

I have a dilemma that I was hoping you guys could help me with. I did a Discover Scuba course in Hawaii about a year ago and did two dives. However, I never got certified and so if I want to dive again, I will have to to the course all over again.

 

My ship will be in port from 7am - 1pm, and so we dont have a lot of time in Bonaire. I was wondering if you think it will be worth it to do the discover scuba (which will leave me maybe an hour max to snorkel elsewhere) or should I just snorkel independently (or take a snorkeling tour)? I don't want to miss out on the 'best snorkeling/scuba in the caribbean'... will I miss out if I don't scuba, or will I miss out more if I spend a bulk of my time training for scuba while missing snorkeling?

 

Thanks!

[njscuba]

Hi,

 

I have a dilemma that I was hoping you guys could help me with. I did a Discover Scuba course in Hawaii about a year ago and did two dives. However, I never got certified and so if I want to dive again, I will have to to the course all over again.

 

My ship will be in port from 7am - 1pm, and so we dont have a lot of time in Bonaire. I was wondering if you think it will be worth it to do the discover scuba (which will leave me maybe an hour max to snorkel elsewhere) or should I just snorkel independently (or take a snorkeling tour)? I don't want to miss out on the 'best snorkeling/scuba in the caribbean'... will I miss out if I don't scuba, or will I miss out more if I spend a bulk of my time training for scuba while missing snorkeling?

 

Thanks!

 

 

I would suggest spend the time snorkeling ... I don't think you'll miss out by not partaking in a "Discover Scuba" experience, just my opinion.

[archdelux]

Thanks for your advice! Any other (confirming or dissenting) opinions?

 

Do you think it will be worthwhile to scuba at either Aruba or St Thomas or San Juan then?

[DiveCruiser]

It would be great to dive in Bonaire, but with little time get in and snorkel.You can see just as much in the shallows.

 

Bob

[John Galt]

I third the opinion. Drift snorkel Klien or snorkel the cliff... you'll have a lot more fun.

[MandyGirl]

We contemplated the same decision, as we were only in port 1:00-7:00. Six hours goes by quickly! Here is our experience...

 

We went diving with Blue Divers (Baas from Holland) on Wednesday, March 18, 2009 while in port with Celebrity Summit. Below is the excerpt from our posted review here on Cruise Critic regarding this day in port. I tried posting this on Sunday as a new thread before learning you cannot do that, even if it is an excerpt from a posted/approved review here on Cruise Critic. Hopefully our experience will help others. Before booking this cruise in late December, I had honestly really never heard of Bonaire, and with thanks to CruiseCritic, we had a great day with a new location on our "land vacation" list to visit in the future!! (The full review can also be found linked in my signature)

 

Bonaire – We did Discover Scuba with Blue Divers (our divemaster was Bas from Holland) who is PADI certified. He picked up at 1:30, had us back by 5:45, shopped at market, all onboard by 6:45.

http://www.bluedivers-bonaire.com/eng/diving.html

($80 plus $10 marine park fee ---- ship tour was $129 plus marine park fee)

 

We had done Discover Scuba in Cozumel with someone who was not listed on the PADI website and had a blast, but it was not nearly as thorough as this course. In Cozumel, it was literally reminding us how to breathe with a regulator (since we had done Snuba before), a few hand signals, and off the boat we went. With Blue Divers in Bonaire, we watched a 20-minute PADI video, spent at least 20 minutes going over things person-to-person, got fitted for booties, fins, wetsuit, and all that other stuff, then drove to a dive location (shore dive). After getting in the water, we went out a little ways to a sandy area, descended to the floor (about 6-8 feet), and practiced a few skills (regulator retrieval, using the divemaster’s octopus, and something else). If he felt we were ready, we proceeded on our dive from there, which we did. I concentrated on my breathing, long slow breaths, and after an hour still had over 1000 on my gauge for oxygen! I could have kept diving!! Bas kept our camera that we had purchased, and took over 50 pictures of us diving. After he felt comfortable with us and our diving, we used the camera. (Underwater SeaLife digital camera good for up to 75 feet deep – we stayed under 40 feet in depth.) If returning to Bonaire, we will definitely dive with Blue Divers again. Our safety, and following all of the PADI guidelines, were of their upmost concern. While we had fun diving in Cozumel, we now know much more about diving and can definitely tell a difference in diving through a PADI instructor or someone else. It was a completely different learning experience. We saw lots of sea life, but were not as impressed with the coral in that area. (This was the dive spot known as "Invisibles" out past the salt flats.)