Cruises
 

I will be going on a carnival cruise in a few weeks that goes to Caymen Islands, Costa Maya, Cozumel and Belize. I love to dive and was wondering what sort of experiences people have had diving. Can you get good excursions off of the boat, if so, do you save much money.
Any info appreciated.

Is this the Carnival Inspiration departing from Tampa? I went on that cruse last March to the same destinations and I had a fantastic time. There was at least one stop where you could go snorkeling, scuba diving, or snooba diving. I believe Cozamel was one of them.

Welcome to FlyerTalk. Glad you found us http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

There's actually a separate forum for Cruises. You might try posting there as well...might get some good info.

We recently took the other Carnival ship out of Tampa for the 4-day cruise to Cozumel. The ship does departure day, then one day at sea, one full day at Cozumel, and then another day at sea, and then arrival in the morning.

We booked our dives through the boat. The price was reasonable and the service was good and the diving was great.

You can book them yourselves if you want to, but why bother?

-David


[This message has been edited by LIH Prem (edited Feb 25, 2004).]

We have done this itinerary more than once- not on carnival though. Good diving and snorkeling at Grand Caymen, Belize and Cozumel. We had bad weather when we were at Costa Maya.but we arranged a trip though MAYA HA resort- they can do a dive or snorkel trip. Usually iit is cheaper to arrange when you do not use the ship's tours. Check out the www.cruisecritic.com website- go to ports of acll and you will find the answer to anya nd all cruise elated questions.

Carnival will let you book on the boat. It may or may not cost more than something you arrange yourself, but you can be confident they have checked out the operator, they will take care of transportation, equipment, etc., and there will be minimum hassle. That said, they may not offer the kind of diving you want (it may be geared more to beginners or large groups), they may not have it at all locations and you don't get flexibility (in terms of dive spots, etc.).

ALERT!!
Do NOT assume that the vendors used by the cruise lines are vetted! This a truly a myth, perpetuated by the lines themselves. Money talks, and little else http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/frown.gif

I agree to check out cruisecritic.com, and go to their message boards, then under Scuba review the postings and responses there- at least one company used for diving by the lines has serious issues, and these frequent cruisers/divers can save you some nightmare dealings.

If you feel comfortable in vetting a company yourself, or it taking recommendations from the other posters, it is invariably cheaper to do it yourself and usually opens up more options and MUCH smaller groupings, important in diving IMO.

S

Any shore activity booked through the cruise line guarantees the ship will not depart without you.

Not a hard and fast guarantee. Didn't a couple of snorkelers get left behind by the activity operator last year? As I recall it, they were never found.