scuba with celebrity

[swimmer722]

Has anyone ever done scuba diving with Celebrity? We are on the Summit to the Mexican Riveria and are considering diving with the ships excursion in Puerta Vallarta. I just received my open water cert. and the price of Celebrity's excursion is almost the same as a private trip. We always do something on our own, as opposed to the ships excursion, but thought that for convenience, this might be OK. Since this will be my first dive since certification, I don't want to end up with a lot of really experienced divers or with a DM who is inattentive.

[Searanger]

Celebrity is not big on scuba diving, thus fewer people who dive seem to go. I have had excursions cancelled on two separate cruises on the Century and this past April had back to back dive trips cancelled (St Thomas, St Martin) on the Consellation. Luckly, I had a backup plan in St. Thomas, but was SOL in St. Martin. In all cases the reason given was lack of participation. So if you really want to go you should book private. Of coarse the popular dive spot like Cozumel and Cayman always seem to have enough people. It would be nice however, if Celebrity went the extra mile and placed you with another operator. (ie..I remember in Jamaica seeing the dive operator who Celebrity uses still going out...with one boat rather the two) How hard would it have been to pick up a few divers at the dock on the way out. But no, they have a minimum of 8 guest before they run the excursion

[bruce-r]

Has anyone ever done scuba diving with Celebrity? We are on the Summit to the Mexican Riveria and are considering diving with the ships excursion in Puerta Vallarta. I just received my open water cert. and the price of Celebrity's excursion is almost the same as a private trip. We always do something on our own, as opposed to the ships excursion, but thought that for convenience, this might be OK. Since this will be my first dive since certification, I don't want to end up with a lot of really experienced divers or with a DM who is inattentive.

Normally, I try to make my own arrangements too, but if the ship's dive excursion is about the same price and you are a beginner, I think it would be a good choice. It seems like most cruise dive excursions are geared toward the beginning or once a year diver so you shouldn't have to worry about ending up with a lot of advanced divers (which really wouldn't be a bad thing at all) Having a backup plan would be a good idea in case the excursion is canceled.

[Jerry_G]

I like to book my own whenever I can, but I am conscious of arrival and departure time, as well as whether the boat is tendered or docked. If you are going to book on your own them make sure you can complete the dives and be back to the boat on time. When you make the reservation be sure to tell the dive op that you are coming off a cruise ship and when you need to be back. Make sure that ship time is the same as the local time. I have a time threshhold that I adhere to. The dive op must make a commitment to have me back 1 hour and 30 minutes prior to departure or I book the ships excursion. I have actually just barely made it back to the ship using my 1hour and 30 minute time. The dive boat had engine problems and we had to be towed in.

[jjfritz]

swimmer722. Hope you will go on the ship scuba with us. We dive a lot, but we will help you if the DM is unattentive. Remember, every experienced diver has been a beginner at one time. I remember it well! See ya on Sept 30.

[divadiverfl]

We dove on Celebrity--they were fine. When we went to Dominica we went off the boat--when we go to GC we set it up ourselves. give them a try.:)

[caribdiver]

Swimmer722:

 

I have never found ship dive excursions to be competitively priced with do-it-yourself. (the operators get financially "soaked" by the cruise lines.)

 

Example: the Celebrity 2-tank price in "PV" is $96.

 

You can book on-line with PADI operators in PV for as little as $65 with oceanquest.com or go to virtualvallarta.com for 760 pesos ($70) and that's just to name a few; there are more. I have no doubt you can find a PADI operator who can meet your port schedule and beat the Celebrity price.

 

IMHO saving 30 bucks buys a whole lot of cold brewskies!! (If there's two of you then you're talking 60 bucks and hey that almost fills up a gas tank!)

 

Pick out some operators and find out who can meet your schedule. Then let them know you're a newbie. Odds are they'll have absolutely no problem with that. 99% of the PADI DMs in Mexico are great!

[cruiser2615]

I notice that most of these posts are rather old so I thought I'd provide an update. I'm a PADI Advanced diver and just returned from a cruise on the Reflection. I researched the dive ops and found that for this trip booking through Celebrity cost me almost nothing. In both Grand Cayman and Cozumel, the dive operators were of good quality; better in GC but quite acceptable and safe in both places. The skills of the divers were all over the board, with some who needed a great deal of help from the guide. The dives were very good, with excellent visibility, good sea life and coral and one great wreck dive which allowed very safe penetration. Perhaps my only gripe was that the sites were all very close (usually within view) of the ship, making me suspect that they may not have been the best sites available but chosen for convenience and to cut down on fuel expense.

[BillOh]

Celebrity is not big on scuba diving, thus fewer people who dive seem to go. I have had excursions cancelled on two separate cruises on the Century and this past April had back to back dive trips cancelled (St Thomas, St Martin) on the Consellation. Luckly, I had a backup plan in St. Thomas, but was SOL in St. Martin. In all cases the reason given was lack of participation. So if you really want to go you should book private. Of coarse the popular dive spot like Cozumel and Cayman always seem to have enough people. It would be nice however, if Celebrity went the extra mile and placed you with another operator. (ie..I remember in Jamaica seeing the dive operator who Celebrity uses still going out...with one boat rather the two) How hard would it have been to pick up a few divers at the dock on the way out. But no, they have a minimum of 8 guest before they run the excursion

 

Thanks to the OP for the message and Searanger for your thoughts. We are contemplating an X cruise in the near future. I love Royal, but excursions are their weak point. I'm surprised they admitted the reason for cancelation was lack of participation. All I can get it s a canned, "for your safety " reply.

[mac66]

Thanks to the OP for the message and Searanger for your thoughts. We are contemplating an X cruise in the near future. I love Royal, but excursions are their weak point. I'm surprised they admitted the reason for cancelation was lack of participation. All I can get it s a canned, "for your safety " reply.

 

I would guess that passengers on X tend to be older and thus statistically less likely to dive.