Grand Princess diving

[lbhafen]

I will be on the Grand Princess Jan 29-Feb 5, and will be scuba diving. I would be interested in hearing from anyone that has been on the Grand Princess on it's Western Caribbean route, to hear how they arranged their diving. I am concerned about the amount of time we have in the ports at Belize (1:00 PM-6:30 PM) and Grand Cayman (Noon-6:30). Is there enough time to arrange a dive outside of the cruise excursion? Since Belize is a tender port, I am really considering the Princess dive excursion, even though I think it is expensive ($150), because it goes to Turneffe, which seems to be the best dive spot from what I have read.

 

Are there better options than the cruise ship excursions in Grand Cayman and Cozumel?

 

Anyone on this cruise interested in diving? I have already arranged a dive with Blue Ha diving in Mahahual, as the ship doesn't have a dive excursion.

 

I feel like I will be getting a taste of the best diving the Caribbean has to offer, Belize, Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Costa Maya. I can hardly wait!

 

Thanks,

Keith

[bruce-r]

As you suspect, port times on this itinerary are not conducive to making your own diving arrangements in Belize or GCM. In Belize I would probably go with the ship's excursion despite the high cost because of timing and logistics.

 

In Grand Cayman, because you are arriving so late in the day you will have difficulty arranging your own dives. If you could find an operator that has an afternoon trip, you would probably have time to do a couple of dives if you started pretty soon after arrival. If you can't find an operator from this list, which is the the official cayman islands web site for divers, you can always do a shore dive at either Eden Rock or the Turtle farm.

 

Hope this helps

[KaC-Cruiser]

I will be on the Grand Princess Jan 29-Feb 5, and will be scuba diving. I would be interested in hearing from anyone that has been on the Grand Princess on it's Western Caribbean route, to hear how they arranged their diving. I am concerned about the amount of time we have in the ports at Belize (1:00 PM-6:30 PM) and Grand Cayman (Noon-6:30). Is there enough time to arrange a dive outside of the cruise excursion? Since Belize is a tender port, I am really considering the Princess dive excursion, even though I think it is expensive ($150), because it goes to Turneffe, which seems to be the best dive spot from what I have read.

 

Are there better options than the cruise ship excursions in Grand Cayman and Cozumel?

 

Anyone on this cruise interested in diving? I have already arranged a dive with Blue Ha diving in Mahahual, as the ship doesn't have a dive excursion.

 

I feel like I will be getting a taste of the best diving the Caribbean has to offer, Belize, Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Costa Maya. I can hardly wait!

 

Thanks,

Keith

Keith - got off the Grand last Saturday .... ship excursion is the only way to go in Belize ... we arrived late (2:00) but they quickly got us (47 divers) boarded on the 2 large dive boats - no stop at the shop - but straight out to Turneffe Atoll .... boats were great, dives were good, divided us in groups of 6 with a DM, second dive was almost a night dive - if you're bringing your gear, throw in a small dive lite!! The one time I forget, I could have used it! Boat ride back in the moonlight was nice .....

 

Ended up with BlueHa in Costa Maya - Tanya was very nice, dives were okay, but no comparison to Cozumel....

 

In Grand Cayman, again due to the odd schedule (although we arrived a bit early if I remember correctly), we jumped a cab ($20 for 4) to Dive Tech next to the Turtle Farm (north of 7 mile beach.) Did shore diving which was great. Ton of fish life, and the reef looked in pretty good shape. As it was hard to catch a cab back to town, we actually hopped the local bus (gear & all, no problem!) and for $2.50 each we got a ride thru Hell and around the back neighborhoods of the island. Had a great time talking to the locals, although the devastation was heartbreaking. Drive took a while, but still got back to town to do a bit of shopping (Tortuga Rum Cakes!!! - okay some Rum too!!) then hopped the tender back to the ship with lots of time to spare.

 

In Cozumel, again due to the odd arrival time, we booked with 'Scuba with Alison' - as Alison was willing to arrange her schedule to do an 11:00 boat ... she was a blast!! We just grabbed a cab from the ship and met her at the Marina. You can check out her website at scubawithalison.com .....

 

Good luck with your trip .... I'm jealous ... no more blue water for me till the Keys in May!

[lbhafen]

Kathy,

 

Thanks for the info, I can hardly wait! I will make sure to take my light, and maybe my spare for someone else on board.

 

Keith

[bruce-r]

I will make sure to take my light, and maybe my spare for someone else on board.

 

That is both a smart idea and a generous thought.

 

I always take a light when I dive. It doesn't matter if it is a local cold water dive or a warm water destination. You can see into hole and under ledges better, and the light will bring out the colors that you normally don't see at depth.