Should I use the cruise line's dive excursions?

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Brian Bertsch - 20 Sep 2003 23:01 GMT

Hi

I'm going on a cruise with Royal Caribbean in February to Belize,
Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Should I use the excursions provided by the
cruise line or try to find local dive operators while on the cruise?
If the latter, do you have any suggestions for which operators to dive
with?

Thanks

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Amber - 21 Sep 2003 03:29 GMT

Brian queried:

>I'm going on a cruise with Royal Caribbean in February to Belize,
>Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Should I use the excursions provided by the
>cruise line or try to find local dive operators while on the cruise?
>If the latter, do you have any suggestions for which operators to dive
>with?

Brian, I definitely recommend going with independents whenever possible. While
the logistics in GC and Belize can be a bit challenging (both being tender
ports), it's well worth it if it can be arranged.

In GC, cruise-friendly companies include Neptunes Divers
(www.neptunesdivers.com), Wall to Wall (www.walltowalldiving.com) and Off the
Wall (www.otwdivers.com).

In Cozumel it would be a shame to use the ship's vendors - there are so many
good options and outfits which will customize to your skill level and
preferences. Eagle Ray Divers (www.eagleraydivers.com) has built their
business on cruise ship passengers and do a terrific job. Papa Hogs
(www.papahogs.com) and Dive Paradise (www.diveparadise) also do a good job with
cruisers. But there are dozens of options here, that's just a starting point.

In Belize, the options are limited. I know there's a reputable company who has
begun to specialize in catering to the ship traffic and will bring you back to
the ship at the end of the day (which is important in Belize) but I can't
recall the name offhand. Try Cruise Critics (www.cruisecritic.com) and do a
search on the scuba board for Belize. I'm pretty sure it's there. I recall a
thread in the past 2 weeks.

Hope that helps!

Amber

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Joe English - 21 Sep 2003 15:06 GMT

> Hi
>
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> Thanks

Brian

I did a cruise with Royal Caribbean this past summer. I booked one dive
thru the ship (GC) and did my own in Cozumel. It is a toss up.

Couple of things to keep in mind, if you dive with the ship, it won't
leave port with out you. This could happen. There can be a lot of
divers on the ship. Diving thru the ship, the operators tend to rush
you thru your dives. There is a difference in the islands between ship
time and local time this can affect diving and whether you can book your
own or go thru the ship. When we got to Cozumel I had to run to the
dive boat ( I booked) and it had already left, I had to meet the south
of town. Because of the time you leave port - and your dinner sitting
may not allow you to do an afternoon dive.

The price difference between ship and doing your own was nominal - at
least for me - $80 in GC, $50 in Cozumel (I had some prepaid dives left)
I think the going rate there is about $65.

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