Quote:
Originally Posted by John Yaskowich
Quote:
Originally Posted by teog
We cruise once a year and preplan all dive arrangements with non-cruise dive shops. I dont find hauling dive gear on a cruise ship any worse than walking it around an airport. We havent found it to be a headache as others have mentioned. We find cruises and diving works great since you can dive all the islands you stop at. All the dive operators we have used have always worked around our schedule and often have other cruisers with similiar iteneraries.
You'll find most dive operators that have agreements with cruise companies tend to cater to cattle boat operations and overpriced. Using this forum and others you can find reputable diver operators and plan your own dive excursions. The benefits are you will dive in smaller numbers and more often than not, you'll save money by going directly to the dive shop.
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I agree that in general you will save money by booking any excursion on your own. The one big "BUT..." is that if the ship-booked excursion is running late, the ship will wait for you or the cruiseline will get you to the next port-of-call. If you booked it on your own, you either run like heck to make it or wave bye-bye to the departing ship from the dock and make your own arrangements to meet the ship. Could be a pain if your passport is tucked safely away in your stateroom safe.
That being said, my wife and I have only done 1 ship-booked excursion during 2 cruises. We are cruising again in Feb 09 and will probably book on our own again. |
I can tell you in the 10 different dive operators I have booked with while cruising, never have I been left behind. Could it happen? Maybe but the dive operators work frequently with cruise passengers and make ample time to get you back on your ship. Just make sure you book your dives with reputable dive operators.
But if your the type of person to worry about being left behind, you may want to book with the cruiseline instead.