cruise ships and diving?

[Bjazzman]

I've never given much thought to a cruise ship until recently. I think it would be great to experience a bunch of places where I could dive and since my wife doesn't there is probably a lot for her to do as well

So to those that have been on carribbean cruises what was your experience like with the diving. Any certain cruise lines better for this and where did you dive?

I'd really like to go to bonnaire curacao belize roatan and dominica

[rob2966]

Cruise ships used to also dock at Cozumel, which has some great diving. Not sure if they do anymore, the dock was destroyed in Hurricane (Emily?) about 5 years ago. They may have rebuilt.

The cruise ship dives usually are expensive and not necessarily the best sites (limited time and generally many inexperienced divers). If you are a new diver though they would be fine. The day trips from local centers will likely be better, but might be risky based on timing, don't want to miss the boat .

Best option is to get the wife diving too . That is what I did. My wife now joins me diving, even when I go cave diving in Mexico

Later
Rob

[Bjazzman]

My wife is afraid of open water and had a bad experience when she was a kid involving her nearly drowning so its a no go for her

I am worried like you said that there might not be enough time for dives if we're only at port for a few hours since some dives take longer. I'd definetly want to do local charters and not whatever the cruise ship provides

[Phalex]

Originally Posted by rob2966

Cruise ships used to also dock at Cozumel, which has some great diving. Not sure if they do anymore, the dock was destroyed in Hurricane (Emily?) about 5 years ago. They may have rebuilt.

The cruise ship dives usually are expensive and not necessarily the best sites (limited time and generally many inexperienced divers). If you are a new diver though they would be fine. The day trips from local centers will likely be better, but might be risky based on timing, don't want to miss the boat .

Best option is to get the wife diving too . That is what I did. My wife now joins me diving, even when I go cave diving in Mexico

Later
Rob

I cruised to Cozumel last July. We docked no problem.

[Philbiker]

Cruising is fantastically mega-awesome. Lots of people dive and lots of people cruise, so I'd guess that if you look around you can find cruises which can specifically accommodate diving. Maybe a ship that arrives early in the day and overnights at a certain location. Lots of cruises do this (and it's great).

If you have an old fashioned travel agent that you like, they are usually a great resource for cruising, and cruises are the same price no matter who you buy them from. Travel agents are great in this regard.

Two great resources for cruising research: www.cruisecritic.com - a forum like this is the cornerstone of this - they may be able to help if you search. www.vacationstogo.com has all the pricing for cruises. It's updated all the time.

I LOVE cruising and want to do it again! I've never dived on cruises but done lots of snorkeling. Just have to save up for it.