RCCL ? re scuba places

[laura j]

Me and my hubby are going on our first cruise on 5-22-05, Rhapsody of the Seas.

We signed up for scuba in key west and in the grand caymans.

My question is do the scuba places out there rent dive computers, if not do you know what their equipment is?

My husb. has his own dive compt, but i'm newer with scuba and don't have the cash to buy one now.

I'm not sure what the name of the scuba place that rccl booked us with, so I don't have any way to check with the company.

Any input about your experiences will help.

Thanks a bunch. =):rolleyes:

[sea-jay]

You don't really need a computer to dive. If you stay with your hubby as dive buddy, his computer will give you all the dive information you need.

 

The dives you will be doing on these cruises are for the most part in 30-50 feet of water and as long as you keep an eye on your air pressure gauge and start up with at least 700 lbs, you will be ok. If the dive master puts a time limit on the dive, your hubby's computer time will cover you.

 

I dove for two years without a computer and only bought one when I recently took my Advanced Open Water Certification.

 

Happy bubbles.

[Hilary]

I agree that you don't need a computer, but I disagree that you should rely on your husband's computer for information. Just use the SPG that's provided with your gear (assuming you're renting), and make sure you follow the DM's directions about turn pressure and ascend pressure.

[cal2632]

Your rental equipment does not include a dive computer, but I agree with the previous posters that you won't have a problem. Your dives will probably be the 'follow-the-leader' type. You'll follow a very conservative dive profile. If you were diving on a smaller charter type boat, you'd be more on your own and want to follow the tables rather than your husband's computer. Just watch your air consumption and have fun!

[budaman]

We just got back from Rhapsody this past Sunday(see post below for info on GC) My niece did RCI excursion in Key West and enjoyed it. She originally thought it would include 1 daylight and 1 night dive but they finished before sunset. Don't remember who the Dive operator was in Key West. She met several people that also dived with us in GC.

[bruce-r]

You don't really need a computer to dive. If you stay with your hubby as dive buddy, his computer will give you all the dive information you need.

Sorry sea-jay I have to disagree with you on this one. Divers should NEVER "share" a dive computer. Training agencies and computer manufacturers both say that computer sharing is a no-no.

 

I do agree that she probably won't need a computer, especially if they are doing the ship's excursion. It will be a follow the leader dive with a predetermined profile. As long as everyone sticks with the profile, they won't need computers.

 

Laura J, The dive operator that RCI uses in Grand Cayman is http://www.redsailcayman.com/gc_cruise.html

[w&k]

Laura J - just shorties on your questions.

 

Cayman - I there last week (Splendour) and went with Neptune's divers from recommendations on this board and elsewhere. Great op, diving was good. Shorex was Red Sail, and they did a 'reasonable' time and profile according to another diver I met onboard, but the $$$ were far different.

 

Key West - Went diving on a shorex a few years ago. The divemaster was embarassed after the first dive, because he took us to the deadest pile of rocks I have ever seen. He was unaware he had real divers on the boat (we were the lowest at Rescue). We made up for it on dive #2 by doing some pillar corals under the intracoastal. Just don't expect the fabulous reefs you see on the TV ads.

 

About the computer issue: no recreational diver really NEEDS a computer. We're just making things easy on ourselves. If you have a depth guage and a watch, you're ready to go. Even better if your depth guage has a max depth needle. Of course, feel free to check your buddy's computer, but your dive profile is your own.

 

Have a great trip, and post reviews when you get back!

 

Wendy

[laura j]

Thank you for the reply's, I'm not worried about the dive as much now. I'm actually doing my lake dive to get certified next week. So i'll learn more about the dive tables then. But i'm not going to do any major divin on the cruise, so like you'll said, i won't have to fret over the dive tables.

[Sailfish]

I dove while on the the Enchantment of the Seas a few years ago in Key West -suffice it to say, it was a very disappoingting dive trip - all aspects - the dive op who made us wait 1 hour to fill up the boat with snorkelers, the DM's attitude, our fellow divers who all became sea sick (no fault of their own) - we dove alone, to two boring shallow dive sites. No DM or guide accompanied us on our two dives in Key West - in fact, I have yet to do a dive anywhere in the Keys where a DM our guide remained with us the entire time. I wouldn't count on a "follow the leader" type of dive in keys necessarily. We both had computers and our own gear and were accustomed to diving on our own - we both had compasses as well, so navigation wasn't a huge issue. All our other ship arranged dives in other ports had a DM along.

 

Hope this helps.

[Woodsmaster]

I have been on the Rhapsody for the same trip. I likewise was on the Enchantment a few years ago and I agree with the opinion of Sailfish on the quality of Key West Diving.

 

We dove on the RCCL Enchantment junket, and it was the worst "paid for dive" that I have ever been on. My son, daughter and I were supposed to meet at the dock with the dive guides. They arrived (late), we moved over to the dive boat dock via vans, and there was no dive boat there. It arrived, they began to give out gear, weights, etc. They delayed to allow others to arrive that were somehow affiliated with who knows what. When they finally figured out that they had enough people, we were further delayed as the dive boat left to go get fuel. (I think they wanted to get money to pay for the gas). It was a pontoon boat. We finally took off to go to the first dive site. Murky, sandy water, poor visibility, cattle boat mentality, and a poor dive briefing all led to a poor first dive. Swells were running 2-4 feet. We dropped in and most of the rest of the divers were scattered around and then took off on a chase of the one divemaster. He was a swim them hard against the current and burn up their air kinda guy. The group left us and we stayed relatively close around the dive boat, and the group passed by and all began getting out. It was less than 40 minutes in the water and we still had over 1400 PSI in our tanks (and I suck air big time). We were "forced to stop the dive and get out". The maximum depth was 25-27 feet. There was very little of interest along the reef.

 

We traveled to dive stop #2, and it was a shallow dive as well. I believe about 1/2 of the boat was hurling and chumming. Son and Daughter did not get in for second dive. I paired up with a guy who lost his buddy as well. Dropped in and the "guide" started a swim for your life into the current assault. There was no pointing out creatures, or anyting of interest, he was just swimming. The diver with me was a relative newby, and we fell to the back of the pack and I began checking under ledges, along cracks in the coral, and began seeing critters, lobsters, fish, etc. He was amazed at what I was turning up for us. We would piddle around and stay just in sight of the pack. I knew we were upcurrent from the boat and would not get lost. I also had my own gear and a safety sausage as well. We caught the group as they turned and began heading back to the boat. Again, we were in the water less than 45 minutes and I again came out with close to 1400PSI still in my tank. I will not dive with an RCCL operator in Key West again. They were late going out, late coming in, and it was a poor dive. We were rushed to get back to the ship and dump our gear and had about 30 minutes to shop the close trinket galleries.

 

If the operators are still acting that way, Save your dive and go to Cozumel, you will love diving there.

 

Now on to other comments:

 

someone stated: "You don't really need a computer to dive. If you stay with your hubby as dive buddy, his computer will give you all the dive information you need."

 

First of all, no disrespect intended, but you never dive on someone else's computer. You cannot guarantee that they dive to the same depth you were at and visa versa. If you start out in shallow water learning sloppy technique, you may well carry that to deeper dives and potentially endanger yourself or your dive companions. If you don't have a computer, plan your dive with the tables and then stay on your profile. The husband with the computer can stay around you. Better yet, why don't you have the computer and your husband can dive without one..... He might have the funds stashed to get another one...... After all, a plain old air computer is relatively cheap.

AERIS ATMOS 1 WRIST COMPUTER Retail Price $299.95 Today's Price $147.95

http://www.diverssupplyusa.com

 

I would agree that in 20-25 foot water you don't need a computer, but as a new diver, you should be developing good diving habits now, and not after an accident. Shallow water diving can be a lot of fun. We like diving in 70 feet or less as the colors are more vibrant. 100 foot dives are ok, but it cuts into bottom time pretty quickly. Recreational divers can get a lot out of a good computer, especially if you are making multiple dives in a day or making a lot of dives in a short period of time. We are recreational divers and the computers help us get a bit more bottom time than the "squared" dive tables will. At the end of a week of diving, making four to six dives a day, the computers do help, but you also have to plan your dives on the tables in the event your computer dies. A few in our group carry two computers just in case one dies or malfunctions.

 

If you go to Cozumel, BlueAngel is a great dive operator. http://www.lorenz.pl/angel/usver/intro/page1.htm

 

Have a great trip..... We go in July.