First Time Ocean Diving Recommendation

HI ALL!

My husband and I will be cruising in December 2016 to Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel on the RC Liberty of the Sea.

We are recent open water certified divers thru SSI with no ocean dives and about 12-15 lake dives. We will probably have another 5-10 lake dives by the time we depart.

I am looking for some guidance. We would like to dive in Cozumel and Roatan, but the excursions through the ship and the travel agency we purchased the cruise through have limited scuba excursions. Not terrible tours, but most are snorkel tours. Is it possible to scuba on a snorkel tour?

We are not completely confident or experienced enough to just go to a local dive shop and "dive in" on our own and would like to know if anyone is experienced in these two port areas enough to provide recommendations on good guided dive tours. We are ok with group dives through a recommended cruise excursion company or direct with a local dive shop. No need for one-on-one guide ;)

Much appreciated!

Cruise On!

First, your "lack of experience" is not a worry. Actually you have more dives than many on your boat are likely to. Furthermore, your lake dive experience means you've done a fair amount of diving in lower visibility and colder water diving.

So with that out of the way, you're in for a treat. Caribbean diving will undoubtedly give you the experience you've trained for. You'll have great visibility and water temperatures that can be dove without a wetsuit, or with something thin and comfortable. I teach all summer here in local reservoirs in a thick, full wetsuit; in water where 5 feet of viz is a great day. Believe me, it's a different world.

The ship's excursions in Roatan use Anthony's Key Resort. I used to like them, but my last experience there was enough to make me definitely look elsewhere. I'll be there in a few weeks and will be trying Subway Watersports. I'll be happy to let you know how that works out.

In Cozumel the ship uses Sand Dollar. I would not use the ship's tour there. There are countless options and frankly any of them will be better for you. The best I've found there is Aldora. They're more expensive than others, but they use 120 Cubic Foot tanks, instead of the regular 80 CF tanks, so you get longer dives; and they have nicer boats and gear than most.

You didn't ask about Belize, but that's one place the ship's excursion is probably your best bet. They use Hugh Parkey's. The advantage there is the ship is anchored quite a ways out from Belize City. The dive boat picks you up at the ship, saving you a LONG tender trip in the wrong direction. The diving there is pretty nice.

Feel free to click the link in my signature if I can be more specific.

Harris

Denver, CO

First off, I totally agree with what omeinv said. We, too, dive primarily in lakes here in Texas, so I'm always glad to have better than 5' viz. :D

For Cozumel, we like to use either Scuba with Alison or Chucho Divers. Both work with cruise ship divers and both are very friendly and professional. Alison is very popular, and books up fast, so it's best to contact her sooner rather than later. She's a PADI Master Instructor, so can sign you off on different "adventure dives" if you so choose.

In Roatan, we like to use Subway Watersports. We've used them several times and are happy with them. They'll pick you up at the bottom of the hill and drive you to their dive shop. They'll also drop you off at the terminal when done.

Have fun!

Cozumel dives are likely going to be deep (70+ feet) and drift - not always the best intro to open ocean diving. Some people love them - others do not (wife and I found we aren't the biggest fans of drift diving). Unfortunately I can comment on the other destinations as we haven't dived either yet, but Roatan is supposed to have good shore diving (we love shore diving)

Roatan is easy diving, reefs are very close to shore and very little current. Use the cruise dive op, Anthony's Key, and you will have a great time.

Cozumel is a bit more advanced diving, drift, reefs are farther off shore. I have to say that since you are a newbie and won't be bringing gear most likely, it is better to use the cruise dive op, Sand Dollar. They have mostly people just like you, newer divers, and will take you to easier dive sites. Once you get more experience, you can go with another dive op there.... for now, you are best off with Sand Dollar.

Belize... don't dive there, it is a two hour boat ride each way.... do something else at that port. Lots and lots of cool things there to do and see.

Word of advice for Coz drift dives - or for any drift dive for that matter. Know the name of your dive op, your boat's name, the boat captain's name, and the comm channel they monitor. Our group surfaced once with an extra diver. He didn't know any of that stuff. Eventually his boat came over and got him while we were doing our SI - but only after a bunch of hollering by a bunch of folks on their two ways. Turns out his dive buddy was his girl friend. Always wondered what that flight back home was like.

Thanks Harris! Great info and yes, if you would not mind, please do let me know how your dive went with Subway Watersports.

Looking forward to WARM water diving and visibility more than 5-10 feet!!

PF

Thanks Lefty Writer! I appreciate the info! Looking forward to warm and clear water dives!! It will be a great experience!

Thanks for your reply CT Sean! Drift diving is a bit intimidating for sure and exactly why I am asking for good recommendations due to our inexperience! I want it to be fun and not overwhelming so this is good information for sure!

PF

Thanks ABQRobin! You confirmed what I thought about Belize and why we decided not to try and dive there, but to take in some of the local sights and see what else there is to offer as we have heard there is so much to do there. This will be our first taste of Belize so not sure what we can accomplish during the 8 hours we will be there, but plan to come back to Belize for a full blown vacation as I know we will leave wishing we had more time!

Thanks for your reply!

PF

Word of advice for Coz drift dives - or for any drift dive for that matter. Know the name of your dive op, your boat's name, the boat captain's name, and the comm channel they monitor.

 

 

GREAT ADVICE!! That is probably my biggest fear when thinking about drift diving...well actually getting lost. At least your extra guy ended up with a group instead of by himself in open ocean, haha...

 

PF

omeinv -why not the Sand Dollar?

I will be there in November. It will be my first ocean water dive after getting certified. None of the other people in my group on the cruise will be diving with me. I felt it was best to book through my cruise line since I will be taking this excursion alone with other people from my cruise boat. I will have much less experience than poster.

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omeinv -why not the Sand Dollar?

I will be there in November. It will be my first ocean water dive after getting certified. None of the other people in my group on the cruise will be diving with me. I felt it was best to book through my cruise line since I will be taking this excursion alone with other people from my cruise boat. I will have much less experience than poster.

 

 

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Sand Dollar runs the Scuba excursions for all the cruise lines. They are the definition of a cattle boat. You pay a premium price for a sub-standard experience in a place where excellent dive ops are plentiful, and prices are very reasonable.

There's no reason at all to pay extra for this.

I understand your desire to have the security of booking through the cruise line; but Sand Dollar's safety record doesn't bear out that confidence.

My first recommendation for you would be to contact Aldora, and let them know you'll be experiencing your first ocean dive. They have enough business, and enough boats to do a good job of separating groups up into similar experience levels, so your dive site will be appropriate for you and the others in your group. Also, since they use the larger tanks, you can pretty much count on a full length dive, even if your air consumption is a little high (it typically is for new divers).

If that doesn't seem like the answer that works for you send me an email at the link below, and we'll find you an operator with whom you can be completely comfortable.

The good news is November is far enough out that we can definitely get you the perfect answer. Trust me, that answer is not Sand Dollar.

Harris

Denver, CO

Thanks Harris! Great info and yes, if you would not mind, please do let me know how your dive went with Subway Watersports.

Looking forward to WARM water diving and visibility more than 5-10 feet!!

 

PF

So we had our dives with Subway. The experience was 100% positive.

They provided detailed instructions on where to meet their driver, and he was right there waiting with sign in hand. It's about a 20-25 minute ride to their place. They were ready and had everything set when we got there. There were four of us together, two with all our own equipment, and the other two needing gear. The rental gear was good quality, and in good repair. The boat is nice enough. It's medium sized, and diesel, so there were some fumes from the exhaust, but nothing beyond the nature of diesel power on the water.

I was teaching the two newer divers Wreck and Deep Diving Specialty courses, and the Subway staff was very able to accommodate our added requirements because of this (For example I had to take my students deeper on the dives than the DM had others going to). There were only two other divers on the boat, plus the DM, a boat assistant and the Captain, so it was quite comfortable.

We were lucky to have near perfect conditions. Roatan on a bad day is still great diving but this was a great day, so the diving was fantastic.

As the sites are very close, we returned to the shop for our surface interval. They have a nice dock-side restaurant, with food if you want it, but no pressure if you don't.

The price was less than the ship's excursion through Anthony's Key, and the experience was superior to any I've had there, and far superior to my most recent dives with Anthony's Key.

So, I give them a very strong recommendation.

One thing is they don't take credit cards. The usual procedure is use PayPal for a deposit, and pay cash for the remainder upon arrival. We just went ahead and paid the full balance via PayPal, as it was less hassle for us. In any event, no big deal, just something to be aware of.

Harris

Denver, CO

omeinv -why not the Sand Dollar?

I will be there in November. It will be my first ocean water dive after getting certified. None of the other people in my group on the cruise will be diving with me. I felt it was best to book through my cruise line since I will be taking this excursion alone with other people from my cruise boat. I will have much less experience than poster.

 

 

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I would read the bad reviews for Sand Dollar. Although they have plenty of good reviews, my guess is that, like you and I, many are first time ocean divers and have nothing else to compare to. So, as long as they had no issues, the experience was pleasant enough to give a good review. The bad reviews they had were enough to scare the bejesus out of me!! I will steer clear as there are WAY too many other dive shops with raving reviews to risk possible injury or worse!

So we had our dives with Subway. The experience was 100% positive.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

Thanks for following up Harris! I appreciate your time to give your feedback! It definitely helps to have reviews from divers with first hand experience! December can't come soon enough! I hope we are as lucky to have good weather when we are there.

We've used Subway several times, and really enjoy diving with them. They are definitely our "go to" dive op on Roatan.

thank you for your recommendation, I appreciate it. now to find others on my cruise booking with aldora as well

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You really don't need to find others with Aldora on the same cruise. They will send you detailed instruction on how to get to their office from the Pier (A few dollar cab ride). They really work well with the ship's passengers. Just follow their directions, with the most important being head for the shop immediately upon docking, so as to not hold up others.

Harris

Denver, CO

Just my two cents...I've been certified since 1982 and have dived all three places several times. Belize is my favorite by far.

The most common problem I see is poor buoyancy control with new divers on their first real open ocean dive. I was diving with DWM in Cozumel 2 weeks ago while on FOS. When the DM was asking how much weight everyone needed one new diver said he needed 25lbs(average size guy). DM put 14lbs on him and he was still a little over weighted.

He was all over the place on the dive with his lack of buoyancy control, up then down back up. Drove the DM crazy.

. . . what airbusdrver said.

Add a decent current to poor BC and watch what happens.

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