Cruise Ship Diving

[scubasamurai]

what cruise ship were you on???? after an hour and half in the water the boat operator would be in the water and i would take the boat back

[MSilvia]

Originally Posted by scubasamurai

what cruise ship were you on????

I was on the NCL cruise ship Norwegian Sea. Adding insult to injury, after their "preferred operator" left us stranded for almost two hours, they confiscated our dive knives when we got back to the ship. In retrospect, that might have been a good safety measure on the part of the excursion staff.

[MSilvia]

For what it's worth, NCL refunded the cost of the excursion, and stopped doing business with that operator after they got the formal complaints we all lodged.

[NoTime58]

That was a one of a kind experience.....hope that does'nt happen to you again. I've never been on a "cruise", and IMPO I'm still too young to go on a cruise (LOL). When I was younger I always thought cruises were for "OLD" people. I'm a bit older now, and they only cruise I still care about taking id the cruise from the dock to the dive site. After hearing about and reading about those couple of cruise ships where all those passengers got sick a few years back still keeps me outta the cruise ship lanes. I'm not saying I'll never go on a cruise.......just not yet !!

[John Yaskowich]

My wife and I are booked on our 3rd cruise for next Feb. Cruising in general is NOT just for old people - some cruise LINES are geared more for the older crowd but some definitely are looking at the younger demographic. Lines like Disney are very family centered. Carnival is known as a party line, especially on their 3-5 day cruises. If you look, you will find a line/ship/cruise to suit you.

As for booking through the excursion desk or on your own, we have done both. The ones we booked on our own were less expensive and less crowded. For the trips in feb we are looking at Welcome to ShoreTrips® - Your Guide to Shore Excursions . I want to do a bit more research about the dive operators they use in San Juan PR and St Maarten.

A great resouce for advice and answers is Cruise Critic - Cruises, Cruise Ship Reviews, Ratings, Cruise Deals, Cruise Forums and the associated boards at Cruise Forums - Cruise Message Boards - Cruise Critic

[scubasamurai]

Originally Posted by MSilvia

For what it's worth, NCL refunded the cost of the excursion, and stopped doing business with that operator after they got the formal complaints we all lodged.

thats nice, i did a trip with NCL and was not impressed. so it doesn't surprise me at all. i am happy that you got the money back, but being in the water for 2 hours, they should have refunded your entire trip. maybe you should invite the captian to a private screening of open water next time

[MSilvia]

Originally Posted by scubasamurai

thats nice, i did a trip with NCL and was not impressed. so it doesn't surprise me at all. i am happy that you got the money back, but being in the water for 2 hours, they should have refunded your entire trip.

It was, as the saying goes, the least they could do.

[EuphoriaII]

I've been cruise ship diving several times and based on stories like the one above, have NEVER use the ships shore excursion desk to plan dives. I always line up a local, reputable dive op well in advance. Let them know your ships schedule, they can give you an idea how long it will take you to get to them from the dock, or pick you up at the dock.
Sometimes your ships schedule doesn't always correspond well with the usual runs the dive boats make. In that case, you may need to go to cruisecritic.com and find others who will agree to charter a boat with you. About any dive op will let you charter if you have 4 or 5 divers.

It's always been substantially cheaper for me to book my own than to arrange it through the ship. And people who dive withthe ship often report very inexperienced divers bouncing off the reefs and poor air consumption. They will usually make the entire group surface when the first diver is low on air.
Most 6 pack boats I've been on let my buddy and I decide when we need to surface based on computer and remaining air, not limiting us to the weakest link diver.

[Skinsfan1311]

Originally Posted by EuphoriaII

I've been cruise ship diving several times and based on stories like the one above, have NEVER use the ships shore excursion desk to plan dives. I always line up a local, reputable dive op well in advance. Let them know your ships schedule, they can give you an idea how long it will take you to get to them from the dock, or pick you up at the dock.
It's always been substantially cheaper for me to book my own than to arrange it through the ship. .

I do the same thing and have had great dives in Cozumel, Cayman, Belize and Bermuda.

I've used Eagle Ray Divers, in Coz
SeaSports Belize in Belize
Dive Bermuda in Bermuda
Eden Rock in Grand Cayman

I booked all the dives on my own and all of the dives were fantastic. With the exception of Eden Rock, (which was a couple of shore dives), all of the dive trips had 6 or less divers.

[EuphoriaII]

[quote=Skinsfan1311;152434]

Originally Posted by EuphoriaII

I
I booked all the dives on my own and all of the dives were fantastic. With the exception of Eden Rock, (which was a couple of shore dives), all of the dive trips had 6 or less divers.

What was the problem with Eden Rock? I normally dive Neptune Divers in GC but was thinking that next time around I would shore dive at Eden Rock. Is that dive not worth doing?