Nassau Diving
jimjaney
of the Seas for the Labor Day weekend cruise. I'm curious about the
difference between the ship's shore excursion and making my own arrangements
with a dive shop. Is all the gear provided? I saw something about an
extra charge for equipment. Does RCCL use one of the local shops? If
everything goes as planned I'll be certified prior to the cruise - this will
be my first Caribbean dive!
Thanks.
Jane
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Jeff H
"jimjaney" <jimj...@zoominternet.net> Partially wrote in message
news:3f244...@corp.newsgroups.com...
Is all the gear provided? I saw something about an
> extra charge for equipment. Does RCCL use one of the local shops? >
> Jane
Jane,
I can't exactly comment on Nassau diving, but I can comment on diving with
RCCL. I have been on approximately 17 dives on RCCL cruises. We have
primarily done the Western Caribbean where the diving is great.
Q1. Yes there is an extra charge for equipment if you need it. Equipment
consists of a reg, bc, mask, snorkel, & fins. Tanks, weights, & water
(ocean) are included in the price.
Q2. They do use local dive shops as I'm sure the ship doesn't want to take
on the liability of setting up a shop of there own. It is also cheaper than
importing :-).
I would suggest using the cruise line as your first dive. Once when I was on
Grand Cayman I set up my own dive because none was offered by the ship. Long
story short....after a ~9 mile taxi ride for $80 (three people) and getting
on the tender <1 minute before it left, I've decided the extra price is
worth the money. Also, allot of shops treat cruise ship divers as novices,
so you probably won't get a real tough dive.
Enjoy!!
Jeff
Reef Fish
>
> I can't exactly comment on Nassau diving, but I can comment on diving with
> RCCL.
Nassau has many (good) dive shops, such as Stuart Cove's, Dive Dive Dive,
etc. See:
http://www.worlddive.com/destin/land/bahamas/stuart_coves.htm
http://www.scubaduba.com/travboard/messages/3121.html
All shops will pick up divers up to an hour's drive away.
> Q2. They do use local dive shops as I'm sure the ship doesn't want to take
> on the liability of setting up a shop of there own. It is also cheaper than
> importing :-).
The last time I was on an RCCL, their activity staff spelled "scooba"
for "scuba". You think they are CAPABLE of running a dive shop? :-)
>
> I would suggest using the cruise line as your first dive.
That depends on the itinerary of the ship, how much time you have on
the port of call, etc. Whenever time permits, I always book my own
dives -- often the same morning the ship arrives at port, even in
remote places such as some remote islands in Tahiti where the only
shops the Travel Books listed went out of business two years before,
but I found a shop within an hour nevertheless. :-)
> Once when I was on
> Grand Cayman I set up my own dive because none was offered by the ship. Long
> story short....after a ~9 mile taxi ride for $80 (three people) and getting
> on the tender <1 minute before it left,
If I am not mistaken, in GCM all cruiseships bring their passengers
to the Georgetown Pier. There are shops within a 5-minute WALK from
the pier, such as:
http://www.worldofdiving.com/parrots.htm
They'll take you to anyone of the 50 or so dive sites within 10 miles
of that shop.
> I've decided the extra price is worth the money.
It depends on the TIME factor. Cruiseship arranged dives are generally
"cattleboats" for novices and exhorbitantly priced compared to better
shops you can find yourself.
> Also, allot of shops treat cruise ship divers as novices,
> so you probably won't get a real tough dive.
I strongly disagree. Shops treat cruise ship divers as novices only
if they ARE novices (most of them are). Experienced divers who can
show their credentials are treated accordingly.
That's another reason why you want to book your own dive, ESPECIALLY
if you're an experienced diver, so that you won't be pleased in a
boat with a large group of novices. But if you ARE a novice, then
cruiseship-booked shop may be the simplest thing to do.
In short, YMMV, depending on your experience as well as how much
you know about the dive shops on your ports of call. Jeff's horror
story about booking his own dive in Grand Cayman simply showed his
inexperience AND lack of adequate research prior to his arrival. ;-)
Nassau diving CAN be better than many of the Caribbean locations
frequented by cruise ships.
Bon Voyage and Good Diving,
-- Bob.