JoCo Cruise Scuba Crazy (in Grand Cayman)
Howdy, y'all --
For those of you going on the cruise who are interested in scuba diving in Grand Cayman: taking the official excursion would likely be a sub-optimal experience because of how many people get crammed onto those boats. (I checked the website of the official operator, Don Foster's, and all their boats are 18-24 diver boats. Ouch!)
Some of us are striking out on our own. There is an operator with excellent reviews called "Living the Dream Divers" (http://www.ltddivers.com/) that is able to accommodate both certified divers (with a 2 tank dive) and non-certified / first timer folks interested in a Discover Scuba course. They run with 2-8 divers on the boat -- much more personalized service.
I'm volunteering to coordinate the 2-tank dive. Some other folks are planning on doing their Discover Scuba course (but if you are interested in that, you don't really have to coordinate - just email Liz at [email protected]).
If we end up with 4 or more certified divers it might make sense to charter the boat (which would allow us to get a slightly later start in the morning if we wished), otherwise we are welcome to join on their normal 2-tank dive for which they will pick us up no later than 8:30 am. In order to lock in our spots, I think that we should see how many takers we get in the next two weeks or so -- if there are fewer than 4 we should just get spots on the normal boat, if there are more than 4 we should consider chartering the boat (up to 12 people, cost $600 not including individuals renting gear).
Here's the details they sent me:
"We pick up cruise ship divers from the Port and take you to our departure point. Its not necessary to have a private charter if there are only 2 of you. You can join us for our regularly scheduled 2 tank trip as long as we can pick you up by 8:30am.
We also have a Discover Scuba Diving course that day so if your friends are interested in doing that, please feel free to give them our email address and we will answer any questions they may have.
Our morning 2 tank trip is $95 and $25 for rental gear. Dive computers are complimentary on all our dives to maximize your bottom time and increase safety. Nitrox is available on all dives as well and is $12 per tank. The first dive is usually a max depth of around 80ft and second dive obviously shallower and on average around 40-60ft.
Let me know if you have any questions or would like to reserve space on board. We take small groups on our big, custom made dive vessel and at this point we have a few spaces left.
Happy diving,
Liz
Living the Dream Divers
Tel. +1-345-526-Dive"
This pricing is pretty comparable (and in fact competitive) with other operators in the area. Having the dive computer included complimentary is a nice touch - most places charge extra for that. They are recommended both by many excellent reviews on TripAdvisor.com and on the ScubaBoard forums. At 80' max depth nitrox is a good option for any of you who are nitrox certified -- if you aren't, get Nitrox certified :) It's good stuff at shallow to moderate depths and allows for more dive time safely at these depths.
Eventually I'll probably move the discussion to private email just for ease of coordination so if you are interested please PM me your email address as well.
I'd rather be diving,
Anye
For those of you going on the cruise who are interested in scuba diving in Grand Cayman: taking the official excursion would likely be a sub-optimal experience because of how many people get crammed onto those boats. (I checked the website of the official operator, Don Foster's, and all their boats are 18-24 diver boats. Ouch!)
Some of us are striking out on our own. There is an operator with excellent reviews called "Living the Dream Divers" (http://www.ltddivers.com/) that is able to accommodate both certified divers (with a 2 tank dive) and non-certified / first timer folks interested in a Discover Scuba course. They run with 2-8 divers on the boat -- much more personalized service.
I'm volunteering to coordinate the 2-tank dive. Some other folks are planning on doing their Discover Scuba course (but if you are interested in that, you don't really have to coordinate - just email Liz at [email protected]).
If we end up with 4 or more certified divers it might make sense to charter the boat (which would allow us to get a slightly later start in the morning if we wished), otherwise we are welcome to join on their normal 2-tank dive for which they will pick us up no later than 8:30 am. In order to lock in our spots, I think that we should see how many takers we get in the next two weeks or so -- if there are fewer than 4 we should just get spots on the normal boat, if there are more than 4 we should consider chartering the boat (up to 12 people, cost $600 not including individuals renting gear).
Here's the details they sent me:
"We pick up cruise ship divers from the Port and take you to our departure point. Its not necessary to have a private charter if there are only 2 of you. You can join us for our regularly scheduled 2 tank trip as long as we can pick you up by 8:30am.
We also have a Discover Scuba Diving course that day so if your friends are interested in doing that, please feel free to give them our email address and we will answer any questions they may have.
Our morning 2 tank trip is $95 and $25 for rental gear. Dive computers are complimentary on all our dives to maximize your bottom time and increase safety. Nitrox is available on all dives as well and is $12 per tank. The first dive is usually a max depth of around 80ft and second dive obviously shallower and on average around 40-60ft.
Let me know if you have any questions or would like to reserve space on board. We take small groups on our big, custom made dive vessel and at this point we have a few spaces left.
Happy diving,
Liz
Living the Dream Divers
Tel. +1-345-526-Dive"
This pricing is pretty comparable (and in fact competitive) with other operators in the area. Having the dive computer included complimentary is a nice touch - most places charge extra for that. They are recommended both by many excellent reviews on TripAdvisor.com and on the ScubaBoard forums. At 80' max depth nitrox is a good option for any of you who are nitrox certified -- if you aren't, get Nitrox certified :) It's good stuff at shallow to moderate depths and allows for more dive time safely at these depths.
Eventually I'll probably move the discussion to private email just for ease of coordination so if you are interested please PM me your email address as well.
I'd rather be diving,
Anye
Comments
I've got AOW and Nitrox, I will be renting gear, not sure I'm going drop $24 for nitrox for just 2 dives, though. I will need an insta-buddy.
Thanks for coordinating this. Cruise ship dive-ops can be hit-or-miss, and your research has turned up the same results as mine.
-Justin
I tried sending an e-mail to [email protected] but it bounced back undeliverable
Nevermind that, I failed with the double d in the middle of the e-mail. Anyway, my fiancHope y'all can join us!
"We offer daily lessons each with one on one instruction so you get the attention and time you need as a brand new diver. We are picking up a couple from the cruise ship terminal at 9am for their DSD and you are more than welcome to join them."
Anyway, I think my fiance and I will be signing up with LTD Divers, the discovery dive they talked about sounds great, and just what we were looking for after having whet our appetites with SNUBA.
"Our PADI Discover Scuba Diving course is a 3 part experience designed for people who have never tried diving before but would like to see what its all about. The course is safe, easy and fun. It is not a certification course although you could go on to do repeat shallow dives under the direct supervision of a dive instructor if you caught the dive "bug". All our courses are one on one so we take our time and it is very relaxed as there are no big groups. The Discover Scuba Diving course starts with some basic knowledge about diving, followed by in water skill practice and taking our first breaths underwater. Once comfortable, we take you on a stunning shallow dive where we look at beautiful tropical fish, coral and sponge life. We do this from our shore location where the conditions are like being in a swimming pool. The cost of the course is $110 USD and includes: all gear needed during the course, fresh towels and a guided dive of a beautiful shallow reef.
We offer complimentary pick up from the cruise ship terminal and drop you off afterward. Usually the DSD takes 3 hours from beginning to end. All our trips are weather dependent."
Also, I've never been to a Dairy Queen, and although maybe I should look for something more Cayman-y, as long as it's something I've never had before, it's worth a try. 'Cause it's a Dairy Queen! Like in books! And I never really thought about what it was or what they sold, it's just a place people in books go to, and I'd like to be in a book.
And Dairy Queen really isn't that exciting, it's just a soft serve chain. ;-)
Her latest email said :
I noticed your ship arrives at 8am so we will plan to pick you up by the Dairy Queen at 8:45am. That will give you plenty of time to disembark and get on the first tender in. We will wait up to 30min for you if the ship is late for any reason. We are unable to wait longer as we have other divers that we need to get diving and run our afternoon trips as well. I have never had a problem until recently and thought I would mention it now to our cruise ship divers to avoid any disappointment etc.