Best Beginners Scuba in all of Caribbean?

We are considering doing a Caribbean cruise or two in January, 2016 that would allow us to visit 3-5 beautiful, easy dive sites. We've cruised and snorkeled quite a bit, but at age 60 we are just now beginning our dive certification (I know... but better late than never!). We have nothing booked yet, so we are wide open for suggestions. Where are your favorite, easy places to scuba?

Also, if we were to do a refresher dive in the Fort Lauderdale/Miami/Keys area prior to the cruise, any suggestions there?

Thanks!

http://www.keylargodiving.com/

first dove with these guys in the mid 80's and the same folks are still there

easy refresher dives in the Keys .... stay at the popular sites and to get deeper than 45 you'd have to dig a hole!

best thing about this shop .... they only run 6 packs. No crowds here . . .

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then, shore diving in Cayman at Sunset House and/or Eden Rock is easy ... the reef is a short swim from the dive shop. No need for a boat ... as beginner you probably don't want to do 100' on the wall . . . (search the names here, you'll find many comments)

Cozumel is 'easy' in that most is drift diving ... no swimming; more like riding an amusement ride .... BUT it is boat diving and if like me at 60 ... those boat ladders are getting to be less fun every year .. .

I can only tell you my Cozumel experience and let you make the decision. I booked an "Intro To SCUBA" excursion in Cozumel on the Carnival MAgic. They used "Sand Dollar Sports" for the dive op. SDS was good, safe, thorough and I have no complaints. That said, the area for their course leaves a lot to be desired. The shore entry was rough, as was the water, and hence the viz was poor. When we got to depth, never more than ca. 25 ft., viz was better, but really barren seascape.

Again, SDS were fine, and they were convenient, and my son enjoyed it enough that he got certified several months later. If I were doing it again, I would find someone (an independent dive op like Aldora Divers) doing an intro course at Paradise Reef or Chankanaab for better underwater scenery.

Best of luck and have fun!

is OP going to be open water certified B4 the cruise?

Your post IS a wee bit cornfusing.

My reply is based on your being OW certified but wanting a brush up; I read your post as you will be OW certified, but no experience

while the follow on assumes you are looking for 'Discovery Dives' ... as this is what most associate with "Beginner SCUBA" Someone who has no diving experience . . .

It matters . . . .

At Key Largo, Rainbow Reef can do refresher dives with you in a pool (at Marriott Courtyard) if necessary, then take you out to dive with a guide. Most ops in Key Largo do not provide a guide, but Rainbow does.

For dives in the Caribbeans, USVI Coki Beach has good shore dives for beginner divers. The boat dives are also good.

Don't go with the cruise dive ops as they are often cattle boats. But Aldora Divers caters more to advanced divers as their big tanks can allow divers an hour bottom time. Since you're beginner divers, Dive with Cristina might be more suitable as she has a large smooth albeit a bit slower boat, but she's patient and can work with you to improve your skills.

As mentioned, Eden Rock at Cayman Island is an easy shore dive.

Costa Maya and Roatan also have nice easy dives in calm waters in pristine reefs.

Champaign Reef at Dominica is a very nice shallow dive that is unique to see bubbles from springs.

Heck, for easy dives, if you start out from Tampa, can go north to Rainbow River. Very nice shallow drift dive with >100' of visibility. That'll be a great intro type dive before the cruise.

Yes, we do plan to be OW certified. I see now why that wasn't clear. If all goes as planned, we will do our OW this June.

My thinking is we will spend a few days at Rainbow Reef before the cruise. It sounds really nice and a good place to refresh our skills (which will be very basic I'm sure). I've looked at many itineraries, and opportunities for easy and beautiful dives will be a top factor.

Thanks again. I really appreciate the help.

I started diving at 60 also. I completed my DM last July at 67 so you could have some good years ahead. Of the places I have been diving in the Caribbean I can recommend 1 Cozumel, 2 Dominica, 3 Costa Maya and 4 Bonaire. I have been diving on several other Islands but do not consider them as good. For new divers diving with the cruise line dive operator is generally a good idea as these operators deal with a lot of new and vacation divers and have to have a good safety record because of the liability the cruise line may incur.

Of the places I've been, my recommendations for a new diver would definitely include Barbados. At Carlisle bay there, they've sunk several small ships in shallow water. We dove 6 wrecks in one dive. Since they were sunk deliberately they're very open, and attract a fair number of fish, even though it's a site with lots of divers, and countless snorkeler's above.

Another great dive stop with lots to see in a low stress environment is St. Kitts.

Dominica is indeed beautiful, so that would be on my list of good suggestions.

Cozumel's worthwhile diving is all drift diving. There is nothing inherently "worse" for the new diver about this, but it will be critical that you commit to keeping the divemaster in site.

St. Thomas, you might think twice about there A lot of the popular dive sites are deeper, and with more current than you may want for your first few dives.

Roatan is definitely a good one to consider, as the sites are somewhat protected, and there's lots to see there.

Costa Maya has some nice, relatively shallow, good diving. That was my first dive site after I completed my open water course, so I guess I'm living proof it's OK for beginners. :)

Unless there's a compelling reason to go with the ship's dive excursion, I'd suggest you research operators on line in advance of your cruise, and book directly. The ship's excursions can end up with very large groups. If you book independently you can let the operator know in advance you're newly certified, and they can accommodate you more specifically.

I see you're in Colorado as well, feel free to email by clicking the link in my signature if I can provide you with any specifics.

Harris

Denver, CO

For a good operator in South East Florida I recommend Rainbow Reef. They are the best staffed outfit I have ever used. They offer all levels of diving/training from super shallow reef diving to the excellent deep wrecks in their area. PADI 5 Star rated.

Hi

I know you said you wanted to cruise in the winter, and I have no idea what cruise line you are interested in, but one very good itinerary for scuba is available this coming fall on Celebrity. We are looking to get certified this summer and I have this cruise booked as a potential post-certification trip. It visits 4 ports over 7 days- Cozumel, Roatan, Costa Maya, and Belize. It looks like a one-off itinerary for Celebrity which is the other reason I booked it (I'm always looking for new and different itineraries).