What are my options (Scuba)

I am a new diver with open water cert. I will be cruising to grand turk, st marteen, and st kitts in may on the Carnvial Sunshine. My problem is that I would have to be a solo diver since my usual dive partner will not be going on this cruise with me. What are my options?

Being buddy less on a cruise is not unusual many people need buddies on the dive trips on cruises. My wife does not dive so I get insta-buddies all the time when we cruise.

I would suggest using the cruise line dive operator for any dives you do until you have sone experience. They tend to do easy dives because there clientele tends to be new/vacation divers. They may not be the best dives in the area but they will not be difficult dives.

Tell the dive operator that you are a NEW diver. You can try and find a buddy on the dive boat or the DM may buddy up solo divers. When you have a buddy discus what your expectations of them are, stick close, check in with you regularly ect. If your buddy blows you off on the first dive tell the DM or Captain you want another buddy and why, you have the right to expect a buddy who is responsible. Remember your TRAINING. Try not to get buddied up with a photographer or videographer, they tend to get lost in the shot and forget their buddy. Sometimes an experienced diver will take noobie under their wing. Stick close to the DM if possible. Just remember the DM in not your your buddy, unless that is the arrangement, his/her job is to lead the dive and watch over all the divers.

Listen to the dive briefing and do not be afraid to ask questions.

If you are uncomfortable doing something on the dive you should not have to do it, dive whin your training and comfort zone. If you are not comfortable doing a swim-though go over it, stay shallower if the depth is uncomfortable etc.

I've not been to Grand Turk, so no help from me there. St. Maarten is a bit of a chore to book dives. The times and congestion there make it a hassle. If you need a recommendation there, I'd say Octopus Diving.

St. Kitts I can strongly recommend Dive St. Kitts. The diving there is interesting without being overly challenging. I was very impressed with the way they worked with a diver in our group that just was having issues. He ended his two dives there with a totally outlook on his future as a diver. http://www.divestkitts.com

Harris

Denver, CO

I second the recommendation for Dive St. Kitts. We just dove with them and they are top quality full service and fun.

Besides mentioning to dive op that you are NEW, also ask about paying extra for a DM to be your buddy. It is definitely worth it.

Another vote for Octopus Diving in St. Martin. We dove with them a few years ago and are already booked with them for next fall.

I just got back and dove with Oasis divers in GT. It was through the boat (carnival Liberty 120ish for 2 tank) that is the only way they will book you.

I also am a new diver and this was only my 2nd dive (first one off a boat) since i was certified in July.

I also did not have a buddy. There were only 6 of us on the tour plenty for the DM to handle. We weren't assigned buddies but really just watched out for each other.

The dive was great and the staff was good too. We went down 75 ft on the first dive and I was not at all worried. stayed down for @ 45-50 min. If you tend to get cold rent a shortie (10$) i didnt and even though the water was 78degrees i was freezing when i got back onboard. they do 2 tanks and the wall was amazing.

I would recommend them and would def use them again if ever back in GT. HAVE FUN!

I am going to agree with checking out Dive St. Kitts. Carnival did not have an operator in St. Kitts. We choose to dive with Dive St. Kitts this past December. It was horrible weather - rain and storms - and we had 2 great dives. Not very challenging, but tons to see. They are extremely safety conscious, but not overbearing.

In Grand Turk, we have gone with private ops and with the ship op. Personally I have enjoyed the ships op (Oasis) more. None were top notch, but none left me scared at the end of the day. And with the ship op, I only had to shlep my gear to the end of the dock onto the beach.

Agreed that you don't need a buddy for cruise diving, but I would have no hesitance on booking apart from the cruise line, on your own. Just make sure to tell them you are a lone diver. They will probably buddy you up with the dive master.

Agreed with Dive St Kitts. They are great. In fact, we took a lone diver with us on that dive, and as I just stated, the dive master was by her side the enitre time.

In St Maarten, we use Scuba Fun, and they do a great job. They are very close to the cruise terminal. If you don't have dive gear, you can walk it. Otherwise, a $5 pp taxi ride,

Please research if you go Oasis in Grant Turk. There have been newbie incidents in the last few years. I highly recommend Mitch Rolling and his company, Blue Water Divers. Mitch has been in Grand Turk running his company longer than any other op in GT. Top notch guy. WEbsite is ez for cruisers. Tell him what you need, and he will make it happen.

Please research if you go Oasis in Grant Turk. There have been newbie incidents in the last few years. I highly recommend Mitch Rolling and his company, Blue Water Divers. Mitch has been in Grand Turk running his company longer than any other op in GT. Top notch guy. WEbsite is ez for cruisers. Tell him what you need, and he will make it happen.

blue water divers in grand turk is fantastic. i've dived with them many a time.

St Marteen was so so. Blue Water at GT was very good, but we were disappointed in the lack of sea life. It seems the lion fish have worked on it fairly heavily. The DM took care of about a dozen of them on the dive. Haven't been to St Kitts. Given my experience with the other 2, I would go with St Kitts 1st from the reports I have seen then GT.

Thanks for all of the suggestions, I really appreciate them all!

As others have said, diving solo is not a big deal if you go with the ship tour. Probably 50%+ of the people diving are solos. Also, they tend to keep in a group so there is always somebody nearby.

Grand Turk can be hit or miss. St Kitts is usually pretty good from a wildlife point of view.

St Maartin is usually reserved as a beach day. My wife doesn't dive and if I dove all the ports, she would be asking if the ship's captain can do divorces as well as marriages ;).

Orient Bay is the preferred beach on St Maartin. We have tried some of the others, but OB has the best sand and the island breaks the waves up so it is usually pretty calm unless the wind is blowing straight off the sea.

ken

Aphelion-

My dive op in St. Kitts is Kenneth's Dive Center. http://www.kennethdivecenter.com They're island family to us - we've been diving with Kenneth and the crew for something like 15 or 16 years. Kenneth and the crew run a couple of large cats, and a slightly smaller boat. All of them are great. We were there just a few weeks ago, and I can't wait to go back! Tell them that Wendy from Florida sent you.

We have been out with Oasis divers in Grand Turk a few times when we've stopped there, and it was fine. They dive some decent-sized catamarans.

The first time I went out with Oasis, we were jam-packed with something like 18 divers and 3 DMs. I had a group of six divers, so I had a quiet word with one of the DMs, took our folks off the back and led the group over to the close coral heads until our DM caught up. The last time, we had 12 divers on the trip, and we split over two boats. Luck of the draw, I suppose.

You're a new diver. Your class taught you how to be safe, but your fellow divers will be able to help you become a great diver. A great way to find other divers is to ask on your thread, and you may be able to find a buddy, or two or three. Most of us 'old hand' divers are happy to take you with them. We're also very appreciative if you treat us to an after-dive beverage :D

Look for divers on your cruise thread, and walking around the ship. If you have dive T-shirts, wear them, or go talk to folks wearing them to see what stops they're diving. I've met more great folks on cruises than I can count.

It's also a good idea to introduce yourself to the DM, so they can pay a little more attention to you, particularly if you haven't found anyone onboard.

Have a great time, and welcome to the underwater addiction!

Wendy

As other have advised, as a new diver you should go with the Cruise excursion. Let them know in advance and don't feel like you have to keep up, dive within your limits and enjoy. I have dove in Grand Turk on two occasions. One with Blue Water and one with Oasis (this one is the cruise operator) both were great experiences.

With Blue Waters most divers were already paired as it is booked via independent excursions (like minded friends) But I can say in our group we would have kept an eye on you. Most experienced divers love to share the love of the sport and most remember when we got our C-card.

Oasis is the cruise excursion and chances are you will find other solo divers. typically their dives are in the 60' to 40' range as you will have a mix of experience. The crew that we went with was very professional, safety and environmentally conscientious.

Cant say about St. Kitts as I wont know until September and St. Martin (St. Maarten) is a beach day for us as we will be flying next day but they both sound fantastic. Hope you have a great dive and enjoy your cruise.

Fair winds and Following seas

Hello everyone just thought i would give and update about what i finally ended up doing. I booked independently through dive st kitts and it was a wonderful experience. They made me feel very safe. It was a smaller group which i liked. We dove a wreck and a reef both were great. I saw three hawk billed turtles which was awesome. The divers i met in st kitts convinced me to dive in grand turk with them. Everyone was very supportive and understanding. I did end up booking through carnival for grand turk and i could not have been happier the reef and wall around grand turk is breathtaking. This was probably the best experience of my life. Also i was lucky enough to have my first shark sighting on the wall. We also saw a couple of pretty large stingrays. You know you are in love with diving when your doing your last safety stop and are already thining about when your next opportunity to dive is. Thank you all for your suggestions.

Glad you had a wonderful time!

Grand Turk is hit or miss with us as far as sea life. Two trips ago we had really bad vis due to weather, but we heard the whales on our 1st dive and dolphins on the 2nd. The Dolphins must have been close, and I half expected them to be right behind me, but I never saw them. Still very cool-no sights, all sounds.

We are going again next week, so we will see how that goes.

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

Hello everyone just thought i would give and update about what i finally ended up doing. I booked independently through dive st kitts and it was a wonderful experience. They made me feel very safe. It was a smaller group which i liked. We dove a wreck and a reef both were great. I saw three hawk billed turtles which was awesome. The divers i met in st kitts convinced me to dive in grand turk with them. Everyone was very supportive and understanding. I did end up booking through carnival for grand turk and i could not have been happier the reef and wall around grand turk is breathtaking. This was probably the best experience of my life. Also i was lucky enough to have my first shark sighting on the wall. We also saw a couple of pretty large stingrays. You know you are in love with diving when your doing your last safety stop and are already thining about when your next opportunity to dive is. Thank you all for your suggestions.

What a wonderful post! So glad you had a great time. I've been a diver for 24 years and love diving anywhere in the Caribbean. I belong to 2 dive clubs and we go on quite a few club trips every year. We'll be going on the Emerald Princess in November as a club trip and I'll be diving again in December on the new NCL Escape. So many people don't understand the draw of diving but we divers know it's a whole 'nuther world down there.

Hopefuly you'll have many many more enjoyable dive experiences!

Hello everyone just thought i would give and update about what i finally ended up doing. I booked independently through dive st kitts and it was a wonderful experience. They made me feel very safe. It was a smaller group which i liked. We dove a wreck and a reef both were great. I saw three hawk billed turtles which was awesome. The divers i met in st kitts convinced me to dive in grand turk with them. Everyone was very supportive and understanding. I did end up booking through carnival for grand turk and i could not have been happier the reef and wall around grand turk is breathtaking. This was probably the best experience of my life. Also i was lucky enough to have my first shark sighting on the wall. We also saw a couple of pretty large stingrays. You know you are in love with diving when your doing your last safety stop and are already thining about when your next opportunity to dive is. Thank you all for your suggestions.

I'm so happy you came back to let us know how it went, particularly since you had such a great time. There are many people who get their certifications, and then never really take to diving. It's always nice to hear a newer diver has really "become immersed" in the sport.

Harris

Denver, CO

Please research if you go Oasis in Grant Turk. There have been newbie incidents in the last few years.

I booked a ship's excursion with Oasis last February. They talked a good plan, but once beneath the waves, it was more or less fend for yourself. My group had 4 of us with the divemaster, which was a great ratio. One couple were experienced divers and stuck together taking pictures. Myself and the other lone diver were not very experienced. She had a lot of trouble with weights or something and the DM was so busy with her, it took me a while to get his attention to point out my depth gauge was not working and my mask was flooding. Turns out I had a strap end stuck in my mask. The DM did give me a substitute gauge. The conditions were great and we saw a lot, but I felt no one was really watching out for us.

Mostly I book privately, but only dove in GT because my dive in Cozumel the week before did not take place and I did not have the resources to properly research private operators in GT.