Blowing Bubbles... finally.

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A day of diving planned... the only one on the cruise due to the holidays and short port periods. P.S. Never dive with a cruise ship. That's a note to self and to others who are experienced divers. On many different levels, it wasn't the way I like to dive. This may be boring to the non-divers who read this, just a warning.

Cruise ships cater to laziness, lets be honest here for a moment. Going from point A to point B is taken care of through money. It's a requirement for many people's vacationing... not all, but many. Certainly not my requirement, I am satisfied to have a fruity drink and a spa. Now, is diving a lazy sport? Not in my book, though the ability is there to some extent. It's what I like to call babysitting. My girlfriend, Kate, and I have discussed it many times. There's a difference between being a spoiled boat diver and refusing to take a beach dive because it's "too hard" or the tanks are too heavy to carry. Self sufficiency is our motto, but that isn't taken away by enjoying a lovely boat ride to our spot and falling over the side without having to carry our gear too far. It's a bonus, not a requirement. I don't expect people to fix my gear for me, though I'll allow it, and check it again afterwards.

Take my mentality above, shove me onto a bus with 40 other divers. Herd me like a cow to a dock, where I have to embark on a lovely boat, with a lovely crew, to watch morons kick up sand and take the entire dive to figure out their buoyancy and there you have it, babysitting. It's not my job to make sure others are safe, but I am a worry wort enough to do it anyway. Finding out that some young idiot had been harassing a beautiful turtle underwater and my ensuing rant to him on the boat about his stupidity didn't add to my opinion of cruise ship diving either. I will say that the boat and crew were knowledgeable and friendly, wouldn't mind diving with them separately, but wasn't happy to find out that dives are limited to about half an hour. I came up from both spots with well over half my air. Okay, I'm done griping.

The trip did provide me the opportunity to learn that I'd love to go back there. The water is beautiful and the marine life rich and diverse... a live aboard, small dive charter, or a dive resort are definitely avenues I'd like to pursue. Sorry, no photos... I didn't take my camera, but it was lovely.

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Comments

[Capt Ray]

Cruise ship divers
Lets be honest Krysten, people who go on these diving trips on cruise ships cannot be allowed to do it on their own and its best for the wildlife that they only be allowed in the water for half an hour!! Love Capt Ray

[Parvati]

You're right...
As usual, you're right. I want to be down longer than 30 minutes though... :) Guess I'll go somewhere else.

[Zona]

Shore dive
Next time you come, grab your buddy, turn right off the cruise ship at George Town, walk about 10 minutes to Don Foster's at the edge of town, hire a couple of tanks and do the shore dive. Or hop a taxi and go to Sunset House, about a five minute drive from town, and do a shore dive from there. Both good sites and near enough for you to do a nice long dive, have lunch and a drink afterwards, get in a little bit of touristy shopping and get back on board your ship in plenty of time. If you've only got a few hours in Cayman and want to go diving, why waste your time on the boats and the buses to get there just to use up half your tank.