RCL dive excursion or private in Cozumel?

Getting my open water cert Weds. I've read mixed reviews on the RCL dive excursion. My dive instructor said I should use a local operator, but my wife is worried ill miss the ships departure. What's everyone's opinion, and when do 2 tank dives end? Any recommended operators?

Scuba with Allison. Hands down. She is excellent, very safety conscious, and got us back in plenty of time for the boat.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

There are many (many, many) choices in Cozumel, and probably any will be better for you than the Cruise Ship's operator, which is Sand Dollar.

I've used Aldora there and been happy, and they - like many of the Cozumel dive ops - make diving from the cruise ship easy. Aldora uses the 120 CF tanks, so the dives (and consequently the surface interval) are longer, and we were still back on board by about 2:00, and that was after taking our time on other things. Getting back on time in Cozumel will be no problem.

I'm guessing you're sailing out of Galveston. When are you going?

Harris

Denver, CO

When your ship dock and leaves is a big factor in getting your own dive operator. Most of the operators boats go out at about 8:00am so if your ship doe not disembark passengers in time for you to get off the boat and get to the operates site by the time the boat goes out you are out of luck. It is a fairly good walk just to get off the Carnival property to get a cab to the operate location.The only operator that can pick you up at the ships pier is Sand Dollar.

Blue angel used to run a 10:00am boat. The other problem you may run into is this is the busy season and some may booked up.

Sand Dollar is not bad they are used to new/inexperienced diver and vacation divers. They pick sites that are well suited to new/inexperienced diver for safety reasons and general ease of keeping track of divers. They have big boats with lots of divers and do not take the cruise ship excursions very far or for very long. They have a financial interest in getting your two dives as close as possible and in as short a time as possible. As cruise ship passenger you pay the cruise line more than the going rate for a 2 tank dive, they take a good chunk for their profit, and the cruise line pays Sand Dollar less than the going rate because of the guarantee of having customers regularly.

I tried to book with Aldora on 4/22 when I arrive on Royal but since we don't get in until 9:00 am they couldn't work me into the schedule. Not happy as I had a great time last year with Aldora.

I have never used Allison but might check them out.

Harris,

Did we dive together last year from Royal in January?

I tried to book with Aldora on 4/22 when I arrive on Royal but since we don't get in until 9:00 am they couldn't work me into the schedule. Not happy as I had a great time last year with Aldora.

 

I have never used Allison but might check them out.

 

Harris,

 

Did we dive together last year from Royal in January?

Joe, we sure did! Rito and I are going out of Galveston again in May. No Belize, but Costa Maya which I prefer.

Harris

Denver, CO

Were going this weekend. Glad to know there are good options.

QUOTE=omeinv;49470425]There are many (many, many) choices in Cozumel, and probably any will be better for you than the Cruise Ship's operator, which is Sand Dollar.

I've used Aldora there and been happy, and they - like many of the Cozumel dive ops - make diving from the cruise ship easy. Aldora uses the 120 CF tanks, so the dives (and consequently the surface interval) are longer, and we were still back on board by about 2:00, and that was after taking our time on other things. Getting back on time in Cozumel will be no problem.

I'm guessing you're sailing out of Galveston. When are you going?

Harris

Denver, CO

Thanks, two good points about arrival times. I guess everything is a comprise. Ill have to contact one of the operators for more info. My dive instructor today said the local dive guides provide weights for the BCs. Does that match your experiences?

Thanks, two good points about arrival times. I guess everything is a comprise. Ill have to contact one of the operators for more info. My dive instructor today said the local dive guides provide weights for the BCs. Does that match your experiences?

Yes. All dive ops will provide weights (Thank goodness, my luggage is heavy enough. Generally you'll see two prices for dives: With and without great. With means the operator provides all your kit. Without means you're expected to bring your own except for weights and air.

The best I've found for Coz is Aldora, but if they're not able to work with you, then I've even just found a dive op on the fly. There are so many there it's possible to do that.

In Costa Maya, I highly recommend Gypsea Divers (http://www.gypseadivers.com). They can be slow to resond to email, so since your trip is so close, it's worth giving Catherine there a call. It's a two dollar cab ride from the pier to the shop.

Harris

Denver, CO

Another vote for Aldora. They have staggered depart times. So usually one of their options may work.

I got a call from Aldora and they have arranged their schedule and I will be able to dive with them. Pretty happy. They are a great operator

In Cozumel Roberta with Scuba Shack is the best! She is right next to Ernesto's across the street from Park Royal, very close to the cruise pairs. She has smaller boats and excellent DM's and boat captains.

Thanks for the helpful info. I keep going back and forth about booking independently for a 2 tank dive vs going through Royal Caribbean at Cozumel and Roatan. I always thought it was more expensive to book through the cruise line, but with diving have found it more expensive to book direct. Why is that? RC is $119 with equipment and prices for Aldora/Cozumel are $146 per person.

West end divers in Roatan $140, Barefoot Divers in Roatan $150 including transportation and equipment.

Would love your thoughts!

Comparing Aldora to the other Cozumel operators is a bit unfair. They use the 120 cubic foot steel tanks, versus the standard 80 CF aluminum tanks elsewhere. This means much longer dives, and more comfortable as you use less weight.

For Roatan, I used to consider Anthony's Key Resort, the operator used by the cruise lines, to be an exception to the "book it yourself" rule. Unfortunately the last time I dove with them they'd gone from doing an excellent job to doing the bare minimum.

I've had several good experiences with cruise line dive operators, and some quite poor as well. I've also run into some very poor operators that I've booked independently. I generally start the process either as soon as I book the cruise, or several months in advance, and email specific desires to dive operators. You can usually get a pretty fair idea of how good they are by how willing they are to meet your needs (presuming you're not unreasonable).

Harris,

Denver, CO

Getting my open water cert Weds. I've read mixed reviews on the RCL dive excursion. My dive instructor said I should use a local operator, but my wife is worried ill miss the ships departure. What's everyone's opinion, and when do 2 tank dives end? Any recommended operators?

From Cozumel, I would recommend "Dive With Martin." They are a small outfit but you don't need much in Cozumel. The best reefs are 5-10 minutes from the port and the nice thing about Dive With Martin is that they operate from the dock at the cruise port. When you arrive, you can literally look out and see their little hut -- it's small, but great.

When you book, request Palancar Reef. It's amazing.

We dove in Roatan with Scuba Roatan and had 2 great dives! My only complaint is they offered no water or snack in between dives. Guess we've been spoiled in the past. So always bring water and snacks! Lesson learned.

In Cozumel we went with Aldora. After waiting over an hour for another booked customer who didn't bother to get off the ship in time, we got all the way to the dive site when they called to say they had arrived. Annoyed already, they went to pick them up leaving us frustrated and delayed by over 2 hours. BUT the dives were amazing! 4 of us had a 45min dive and 91min dive bothe of which were amazing! So beautiful! DM was great and did a great job! Would book with them again even after the annoying delayed start.

Getting my open water cert Weds. I've read mixed reviews on the RCL dive excursion. My dive instructor said I should use a local operator, but my wife is worried ill miss the ships departure. What's everyone's opinion, and when do 2 tank dives end? Any recommended operators?

You've had some good answers, I'll address the "miss the ship" worry. Private dive places depend on good word of mouth to continue to exist. When you correspond with them pre-cruise let them know what ship you are on and they will probably relieve your fears.

We used scuba Tony. We really liked him. We did a discover scuba type. Very patient staff. We were taken to two different locations.