When we first saw a cruise itinerary that did Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize, and Roatan the first thing that came to mind was scuba diving. What a great way to experience multiple top-notch dive locations and have a cruise ship transport us around!
So, is it a good idea to take a cruise with the main purpose of doing the scuba diving ship excursions?
While in theory this was a great idea, the reality of dragging dive equipment on a cruise ship and trying to rinse and dry it in the small cabin (even a suite with a tub) was far from ideal. We would recommend minimizing what you bring. Many divers rent dive equipment, but we prefer to bring our own. We’ve had some issues with rental gear and found that renting equipment was not always ideal. On one trip we even had a hose burst (fortunately on the surface), and this made us weary of rental gear in high volume dive operations.
Further, we find that while the dive excursions from the cruise ship can be good, they are also quite limited in time (usually 40 mins, sometimes less, even for shallow dives). This is no doubt to get passengers back to the ship on time. The cost of the excursions is also much more than what a local dive operator would charge. Do keep in mind that if there is not enough participants, the whole dive excursion may be cancelled and you will receive a note in your cabin the night before. It happened to us!
So, while this was a nice way to get a taste of these wonderful locations it was also a little frustrating. I guess just like cruising to visit land destinations you just get a glimpse of what the ports get to offer. It was the same with the diving.
We have since returned to most of these islands to spend a full week and to do multiple dives. Perhaps the glimpse we got while on the cruise was enough to entice us to return.
For inspiration: Check out our scuba diving destinations
If you’re new to diving and want to see some exotic dive destinations, this may be a good way to experience some of these wonderful sites for a dive or two. But do keep the above points in mind knowing that the dives will be more expensive, shorter, and you do risk the chance of last-minute cancellation.
Should I organize my own dive excursion?
Of course, you can always bypass the ship’s excursion desk and organize your own scuba diving excursion directly with a local dive operator. Some will even delay their morning dive to accommodate cruise ship passengers.
However, you may need to organize your own transportation to the local dive shop. And if for whatever reason the ship cannot dock or needs to change the itinerary at the last minute you may not be able to get a refund like you would have had you booked with the cruise ship. And the dive operator can also cancel at a moment’s notice and leave you to scramble for something else to do while in port. This actually happened to us in Freeport during our recent cruise to the Bahamas.
Sometimes organizing a scuba diving adventure on your own is the only option if the ship doesn’t offer one. That’s how we ended up snorkeling on the Kittiwake in Grand Cayman. Our cruise ship didn’t offer any scuba diving excursions at all during the cruise. And the local dive operators’ departure times didn’t work for us with our arrival times.
Should I bring my own dive gear?
Obviously, we prefer diving with our own equipment that we know and love. But, unlike liveaboards regular cruise ships aren’t made to cater to scuba divers.
If we plan on diving only once or twice during a cruise, we will forgo bringing most of our dive gear. We bring our prescription masks, dive computers and of course my camera and rent the rest. It’s really awkward (speaking from experience) to try to wash dive gear in the cabin’s shower and there isn’t any place to hang it to dry. And the balcony is off limits as everything could fly away!
So, in the end, it’s probably best to simply rent the dive gear when on a regular cruise but make sure you inspect it well. Check all the hoses and look for signs of wear and tear under the hoses’ protective boots. Make sure that everything is set up properly and do your buddy checks. Ensure your inflator hose is connected, weights secure, and your air is on before getting in the water. Don’t rely on the boat crew to do this for you. We once had a divemaster actually turn off our air as we were jumping in, so make sure to tell them that your air is on!
Do bring your own dive computer and mask, especially if it’s a prescription mask. And of course, your camera and accessories to bring home memories. And of course, your DRYFOB for your valuables too!
Conclusion
While going on cruise in the hopes of discovering new dive destinations may seem like a wonderful idea, our experience was that it may not be as satisfying as one would hope.
Dives can get cancelled at the last minute by the dive operator, the ship’s shore excursion desk might cancel the tour for lack of participation, or weather may even prevent you from getting into port or out on a boat.
One thing is for sure, even if everything works out, the dives will be shorter and likely rushed in order to hustle everyone back in time to the cruise ship. Not our style of diving! On top of that dealing with dive gear in a cruise ship cabin is not our idea of fun.
So in the end while we may still opt for a cruise to dive a specific location, this is mainly to see if we would like to return for a longer stay. However, if diving is the main activity, we would definitely prefer to stay at a dive resort for a real dive vacation.