Stupid question ? Rccl dives

[BrooklinNorth]

When we book a diving tour through RCCL Sea Trek department/staff , are the RCCL Sea Trek personel not with you on the actual dive trip? Do they have a tour operator from the island in question actually take you out? Hence you're in a general cattle call.

 

My DD is a diver, (she's a new diver, but 24) we're looking at doing a girls only cruise so she can dive some good reefs , can't decide between Carnival Valor ( Cayman/Roatan/Belize/Cozumel) or a western on a RCCL ship with Sea Trek (Labadee/Jamaica/Cayman/Cozumel) .

 

The reason we're considering the RCCL cruise is so DH can refresh with Sea Trek, and since she won't have a dive partner.. she won't be with unfamiliar people (all my suggestions). Am I wrong in my thoughts on the Sea Trek tours? Please advise.. :o

 

Thanks Lori

[themons]

On our RCCL trip, the on board dive shop personnel did not accompany us on any of the dives. Their responsibility was limited to making sure that we got off the boat in a timely manner.

 

We observed a couple of refresher classes while at sea. The classes seemed to be comprehensive.

 

You can meet people during the refresher or by just hanging around the dive locker a bit. We met a woman who is an award winning author in this manner. She accompanied us as third person in our buddy group on a couple of our dives. In any event, you keep bumping into the same people every dive, so you get to know each other.

 

I've always though that the dive locker should have a meet and greet during the first day at sea for just this purpose.

[Dive Master]

When we book a diving tour through RCCL Sea Trek department/staff , are the RCCL Sea Trek personel not with you on the actual dive trip? Do they have a tour operator from the island in question actually take you out? Hence you're in a general cattle call.

 

My DD is a diver, (she's a new diver, but 24) we're looking at doing a girls only cruise so she can dive some good reefs , can't decide between Carnival Valor ( Cayman/Roatan/Belize/Cozumel) or a western on a RCCL ship with Sea Trek (Labadee/Jamaica/Cayman/Cozumel) .

 

The reason we're considering the RCCL cruise is so DH can refresh with Sea Trek, and since she won't have a dive partner.. she won't be with unfamiliar people (all my suggestions). Am I wrong in my thoughts on the Sea Trek tours? Please advise.. :o

 

Thanks Lori

 

It has been a few years since I cruised RCCL (not honoring contracts creates a problem for me) but the only place I remember the Sea Trek guys leading a dive was Coco Cay--RCCL's private isalnd.

 

I really believe the Carinval Valor is the far better cruise itinerary for divers--4 world class destinations. RCCL would offer Cayman and Cozumel (two of my favorites) but I don't believe they offer diving at Labadee and Jamaica is not worth getting off the boat for diving--or any other reason in my opinion.

 

Yes, many dive operators run cattle boats and cruise divers have a bad reputation as "once a year divers" that need alot of hand holding--not necessarily a bad thing for new divers.Tell your daughter to go meet with the Dive Masters as soon as she boards the boat,tell them she is a new diver without a buddy,and asked if they will watch out for her.Many of these dives are follow the leader (Dive Master) anyway and maybe she could team up with them.Make sure to give a nice tip to the DM-they work hard for the money and keep you safe.I have met many great buddies (and a few not so great) diving on cruises.She may meet someone on board with similar experience she can team up with.

 

Hope this helps and have a great cruise.

[w&k]

Hence you're in a general cattle call.

 

My DD is a diver, (she's a new diver, but 24) we're looking at doing a girls only cruise so she can dive some good reefs , can't decide between Carnival Valor ( Cayman/Roatan/Belize/Cozumel) or a western on a RCCL ship with Sea Trek (Labadee/Jamaica/Cayman/Cozumel) .

 

The reason we're considering the RCCL cruise is so DH can refresh with Sea Trek, and since she won't have a dive partner.. she won't be with unfamiliar people (all my suggestions). Am I wrong in my thoughts on the Sea Trek tours? Please advise.. :o

 

Thanks Lori

 

Lori-

 

Yes, the shorex dives are typically a cattle call. If you are looking at the trip from a reef standpoint, Cayman/Roatan/Belize/Cozumel wins hands down. Belize is totally awesome, and diving in Jamaica pretty much stinks.

 

Don't worry - DD will have plenty of dive buddies. Many, many years ago, I was on a cattle boat in Key Largo as a single. The captain yelled out over the crowd - "Single needs a buddy!" No response. The captain yelled out again - "Lady diver needs a buddy!" and I ended up diving in a group of 5 with 4 guys.

 

About the SeaTrek option - why waste precious vacation time refreshing on-board? If your DD wants a refresher, IMHO it would be a far better thing to get a refresher locally before you leave on your trip, or to book privately with a personal dive master or instructor at the first dive stop. Remember that the SeaTrek folks are there for one purpose only - to sell trips & stuff for the cruise line.

 

When you book your trip - check out your Roll Call thread for folks planning to dive, and wearing dive T-shirts around the ship is also a great way to find folks. This spring, I ended up organizing 5 dive trips for old and new friends in Aruba, Curacao, St. Kitts, St. Vincent and Grand Turk.

 

Have a great time, wherever you decide to go!

 

Wendy

[satxdiver]

The cruise ship diving staff will not accompany you off the ship. The ship contracts with dive shops on the island to provide the experience and they have their own dive masters. Coz is definitely a follow the dive master type of dive no matter who you dive with. I have found though that the dive master is well acquainted with the area and will show you interesting sea life, coral, etc. Just tell them ahead of time what you are interested in seeing.

 

As for doing a refresher course on the ship, I would advise you to do it at home. For one the ship's pools are only about 6 or so feet deep. Your dive shop at home will have access to a 12 foot pool or do it in a local lake/river. This is a lot more realistic. You are on vacation and you may not want to spend time doing a refresher course when you could be doing some of the many other activities on the ship.

 

The Carnival cruise will go to a lot more interesting dive spots. I second the idea of skipping Jamaica for diving as well as visiting. I have dived in all four of the Carnival ports and GC. I am leaving on Friday for a week dive in Belize which will be my second week dive I have spent in Belize.

 

Have a great dive.

[cyberdyver]

I would recommend the Carnival cruise over the RCCL because of the diving available at the ports. If you book a shore excursion especially in a port like Belize City you can have real time info relayed with the operator through the ShorEx manager regarding weather, dive sites, equipment, c-card verifications, and other topics. Don't be afraid to ask questions if you are not sure about something, if they don't reply you don't want to give them your hard earned money. Cattle call is an unfair description since most cruise operators have stepped up standards in the last few years. Up to 5 years ago the amount of cruise lines in the Caribbean were few but now operators are more eperienced and aware of guests needs. If there are any cattle boats operating we would like to know as I like to help out users with info through this and other boards.

[BrooklinNorth]

I've passed on your advice to DD, and Carnival Valor is sounding good at this point, And I know it's not RCCL , but her diving is going to win over my luxuries this trip . :p

 

thanks again Lori