cruise diving

[allknighter237]

ok so here's the story: my family is working on planning a cruise towards the end of december through royal caribbean. i don't care where our stateroom is or what time we eat dinner, my only concern is where can i go diving lol. one of the stops is in grand cayman and i was wondering if any of you know anything about the actual scuba excursions offered by the cruise line like where they go and the quality of the trip. i would prefer doing it with the ship because i am the only one in my family who dives and would be more comfortable with that instead of finding my own operator once im there by myself. Thanks for your help!

[John Yaskowich]

I would suggest booking in advance with an outside agency rather than going through the cruise line. I was on Mariner Of The Seas in '07 and they had an on ship dive shop, lessons in the pool and (I assume) ship organized trips (this was before me getting into diving so I didn't pay a lot of attention to it). The problem is that ship based dive groups are large and accommodating to the lowest common denominator. Lots of resort divers and Discover Diving people.
For our cruise in Feb'09, I booked dives in San Juan and St Maarten through Welcome to ShoreTrips® - Your Guide to Shore Excursions .They were highly recommended by the people on the Cruise Forums - Cruise Message Boards - Cruise Critic forum. A quick check shows a 2 tank dive in Grand Cayman for $95. Ask on the Cruise Critics board if anyone has been on that trip and who the GC operator is.

[navyhmc]

John makes a good point about the number of divers from the ship. I was on Radiance of the Seas in '07 and did a 2 tank dive at Roatan and while the boats was full, it was only 10 divers so not much of a cattle boat.

I am assuming that you're already certified. My advice is to book through Royal Caribbean. For two reasons; 1. If you're totally dissatisfied with the dives, you have an opportunity for recourse and possible refund. and more impotantly: 2. If you book through the ship, you won't get left behind if your boat is late getting back to the ship. They will either wait for you or ensure you have passage to the next port of call, on their dime-not your's.

On my cruise, we left a few folks in Cozumel (they took off on their own and couldn't get back to the boat in time.) We also waited a while in Costa Maya when a ruins tour bus had engine problems and was a hour late getting back. So, I think it's worth booking through Royal Caribbean.

And if you have choice, you should care where your cabin is: amidships gives the best ride in heavy seas. Also the little veranda of a patio is very nice too. Dinner times are up in the air: We had a son who didn't like the main dining so we ate at the buffet most of the time. Had we been thinking, we could have taken second seating for dinner and let him have a buffet and then go to the evening kids program while we ate in the main dining.

Most of all: Have fun I thouroughly enjoyed our cruise-RC is the way to go.

[NoTime58]

my only concern is where can i go diving lol. one of the stops is in grand cayman .

You can check out Sunset House in Grand Cayman. Their dive shop is virtually right next to where the cruise ships dock in Grand Cayman. There are great dive sites not more than 10 to 15 minutes from their dive shop by boat. I used RedSail Sports when I was there last November. They are further up the strip. You can check them out on the web...... Scuba Gear and Scuba Diving Equipment - Discount dive gear (Cheap online!).com

[NoTime58]

Sunset House Grand Cayman Scuba Diving Resort - Caribbean Scuba Vacation

[allknighter237]

thanks for the information guys! i was just kidding about the ship...actually we are going to be on their new ship the Independence of the Seas which has the flow rider and everything...ill make sure to take pics of me making a fool of myself on that! ill keep you posted on what we decide!

[gilboadiver]

Don Fosters is right in that area as well, They do have some set up with one the cruise lines but I'm not sure with who. My wife and I will be there Dec. 6th thru the 13th. We will dive with Don Fosters again they are a first class operation.

[Disneymom]

So along the same lines, (as we're planning, too) would we be better off going in the morning with Sunset House, or even doing shore diving there? (as opposed to booking a shore excursion)
I know that an afternoon boat dive might be a little risky with an outside operator - making sure we're back on the boat before sailing time - but what about morning boat dives w/ Sunset House and afternoon shore diving there?

[obrules15]

I have done the dives off a cruise ship many times. I cannot say they are my favorites but it gave me a chance to see places I wouldn't want to afford (grand cayman) a full vacation. One time I did Cayman and it was great, another time I did it and it sucked. It really varies. I always chose to stay with the cruise ship booking because island time doesn't always jibe with your schedule and if you miss the boat because of their excursion the cruise line is responsible for getting you back on the boat. Under no circumstance would I want to try to get from one tiny carribean island to another at the last minute on my own. Have fun.

[allknighter237]

(Under no circumstance would I want to try to get from one tiny carribean island to another at the last minute on my own)

I would tend to agree...especially since my family would still be on the ship and i would not...wait where did lisa go? lol