Dive with the Ship's Excursion?

If you are a new diver then yes, the ship's dive excursion may be just what you need. They tend to contract with the largest dive operators and are required to keep the diver to divemaster ratio low. The ship handles all transportation to and from the dive shop or the dive boat picks you up at the ship. Dive gear can be included and all charges are through the ship so you don't have to worry about monetary conversions or having a lot of cash on hand. These operators tend to be overly cautious and that's why more experienced divers may opt out of the cruise dive excursion.

If you've been diving for a while then you might prefer a more customized dive experience. Most experienced divers try to avoid the "cattle boats" with 15 or more divers. Sometimes that's just what the cruse ship dive excursion is. Or a worse situation is when the ship doesn't draw enough divers for the excursion and cancels it. Sadly you then must scramble to find an operator at the last minute, and will likely end up not diving at all. The safety margin that the cruise dive operator observes may mean you come up with 1500 psi, a real bummer when you know you had another 15 to 30 minutes of dive time. But those safety margins are there for good reason.

Cruise ship divers can include people who haven't been diving in several years or newbies who just got certified for their cruise. Experienced divers like to avoid these individuals because they tend to be more accident prone. If one happens to be assigned to you as your buddy then you are stuck diving their profile, which may mean a dive that is shallow and brief. Additionally, you may end up "baby sitting" your buddy because they have forgotten or are unfamiliar with diving protocol. And sometimes it's just painful to watch these inexperienced divers knock over coral and chase after eagle rays!

Arranging your own diving in each port requires some research, and will definitely take more time than just signing up with the ship's excursion. However your work is usually rewarded with a much nicer dive experience. The next post will discuss how to set up your own diving in each port so that you don't end up in an unsafe situation or missing the ship. For those who decide to stick with the ship's excursion just remember to bring your C card and log book or you won't be allowed to dive. One other caution, if you check yes to any of the questions regarding health (ie, "do you have high blood pressure?") you won't be diving either.

We have used the ship's dive excursion, especially when the price is reasonable, the dive operator is highly regarded and the time in port is minimal. My advice is to bring your own buddy and be sure you get in a group that matches your experience level. If you're lucky the dive master may let your group dive your computers and you'll have a great dive or two. Bottoms up!

Dive with the Ship's Excursion?