Your Chosen Article
Scuba Diving During a Cruise Vacation
Say you want to scuba dive but your significant other is not a
diver and would rather do other activities like shopping. If you
both decided to go on a Caribbean cruise vacation, is it still
possible for you to go scuba diving? The answer is yes. This
will be a big relief to all certified scuba divers who are going
on cruises with itineraries that include such great scuba dive
destinations as Cozumel and Grand Cayman. After all, as
certified scuba divers, it would be a shame to go to these ports
and not dive.
Many cruise ships offer scuba diving as part of their available
shore excursions. Some ships even have small dive centers on
board for those who want to take introductory sessions in the
ship pools. These cruise lines will often have business
contracts with local dive operators at each port that has scuba
diving. These local dive operators will take certified scuba
divers on boat trips on behalf of the cruise lines. Booking and
payment will be through the cruise ships rather than the local
dive operators. The cruise lines claim that if for any reason
the scuba trips run late, the cruise ships will not leave port
until all passengers from these cruise ship organized excursions
are back on board. They won't wait around for passengers who
decide to take their own excursions not booked through the
cruise ship. This is how the cruise ships try to convince divers
to take their excursions even if the cost is usually at a
premium compared to what local dive operators would normally
charge directly.
Another way to get some scuba diving in during a cruise vacation
is to make arrangements and book in advance with local scuba
dive operators at each port you are interested in diving at.
Although there is always some risk in missing your port
departure if your own outing runs late, just make sure you plan
your own dive trips so that you are back on the ship well in
advance of port departure. Usually if your cruise ship arrives
at port early in the morning, you could book the morning dive
trips with the local operator and still have the rest of the
afternoon to shop or do other sightseeing. For later arrivals
where you would miss the morning dive trips, it is still
possible to take the local operators' afternoon dive trips but
in this case, it is very important to make sure that you confirm
what the estimated time of return to the docks are. If you can
return to the docks at least two hours before the cruise ship's
scheduled time of departure, than you will have ample time even
if the dive boat returns a bit late. It it's only an hour or
less, the timing may be too tight. See if the dive operator has
a shorter single tank afternoon trip which might get you back to
the docks earlier.
Some local dive operators even have special pick up and drop off
services to and from the cruise ship terminals to their dive
shops. These dive businesses are obviously making an effort to
take some dive business away from the cruise ship organized
excursions. These particular local dive operators would be ideal
if you could find them before your cruise vacation. Otherwise,
you may have to take a local taxi to the dive shop if it is not
within walking distance of the cruise ship terminal. Of course,
this is usually not a problem either and even with the added
cost of taxis, the overall cost of going with a local dive
operator may still be lower than the cruise ship organized dive
excursion.
Some cruise ship passengers have successfully gotten on local
dive trips without any advance booking. These divers just walked
into a local dive operator once at port. Although this is
certainly feasible, it is not recommended especially in a
destination that fills dive trips up quickly. With the internet,
it is quite easy to make arrangements with many local dive
operators in advance of your cruise vacation. Tell them which
day your cruise ship will be coming in and the expected time of
both arrival as well as departure. Some ports like Cozumel have
more than one cruise ship terminal so it's important to let them
know if possible which one your ship will be docked in. They
will then give you your best options for some scuba diving for
that particular day.
About the author:
Clint Leung is a NAUI certified Master and Rescue Scuba Diver.
He is also owner of Free Spirit Activewear
(http://www.FreeSpiritActivewear.com) , an online
retailer/designer specializing in premium quality scuba diving
activewear. Free Spirit Activewear has numerous information
resource articles on scuba diving as well as free eCards.
For More Scuba Gear, Classes and Dive Vacations Information:
Scuba Gear For Sale
Scuba Diving Certifications
Scuba Gear Prices
Military Scuba Diving Hawaii