There is really not a quick answer to that question. Several factors must go into making the decision for each port in which you plan to dive. The number one concern is schedule. If you book a boat dive on your own, it is crucial to coordinate the timing of the dive with both the arrival and departure of the ship. This can be a daunting task in some ports, but not too difficult in others.
The second most important thing to consider is transportation to the dive location. Will the dive operator pick you up at the pier? Is it walking distance? Can you get a taxi BOTH ways? We recently had fellow divers on a ship tell us that they had opted to book their own dive in Barbados, but the dive operator never arrived to pick them up, and the taxi cabs would not take them to the dive shop. Having seen the chaos on the pier while we made our way to the ship's shore excursion transportation, it was easy for us to understand how their plan went awry.
We rarely opt to book our own dive in unfamiliar ports. It helps to have been there, seen the pier facilities, and gotten the lay of the land.
We have seen a lot of negative stuff on message boards about the quality of dives when booked through the ship. Here's what we've discovered: crowded dive boats are usually only a problem in crowded ports. Crowded ports, and thus crowded dive boats, happen when multiple ships will be in port together, when you are sailing on a mega ship, or when your particular cruise is popular with a young crowd.
Ports that are always crowded:
Cozumel, Key West, Grand Cayman, Nassau
That doesn't mean that we've always had bad dives when booking through the ship in these ports, but you should know that the possibility exists.
Cruises not popular with a young crowd:
cruises that are 10 days or longer, cruises on small ships, cruises out of unusual ports, cruises during the school year.
Young crowds increase the potential number of divers on your ship, thus making it more likely that you will all end up on a cattle boat for your dive. Sail on a ship full of old geezers and the number of divers drops dramatically. Add a young passenger list to a popular port and you are almost guaranteed a sub-standard dive experience.
We've also encountered what we call "cruise divers are bad divers syndrome." We were actually told by a dive master in Aruba that they don't take the cruise ship divers to their good reefs. We've been on bad diver excursions in St. Thomas, Cozumel, and Barbados, all places where we know there is better diving to be found.
All of this boils down to one thing: research, research, research. Talk to your local dive shops, email dive shops in the ports you will visit, and read message boards.
The second most important thing to consider is transportation to the dive location. Will the dive operator pick you up at the pier? Is it walking distance? Can you get a taxi BOTH ways? We recently had fellow divers on a ship tell us that they had opted to book their own dive in Barbados, but the dive operator never arrived to pick them up, and the taxi cabs would not take them to the dive shop. Having seen the chaos on the pier while we made our way to the ship's shore excursion transportation, it was easy for us to understand how their plan went awry.
We rarely opt to book our own dive in unfamiliar ports. It helps to have been there, seen the pier facilities, and gotten the lay of the land.
We have seen a lot of negative stuff on message boards about the quality of dives when booked through the ship. Here's what we've discovered: crowded dive boats are usually only a problem in crowded ports. Crowded ports, and thus crowded dive boats, happen when multiple ships will be in port together, when you are sailing on a mega ship, or when your particular cruise is popular with a young crowd.
Ports that are always crowded:
Cozumel, Key West, Grand Cayman, Nassau
That doesn't mean that we've always had bad dives when booking through the ship in these ports, but you should know that the possibility exists.
Cruises not popular with a young crowd:
cruises that are 10 days or longer, cruises on small ships, cruises out of unusual ports, cruises during the school year.
Young crowds increase the potential number of divers on your ship, thus making it more likely that you will all end up on a cattle boat for your dive. Sail on a ship full of old geezers and the number of divers drops dramatically. Add a young passenger list to a popular port and you are almost guaranteed a sub-standard dive experience.
We've also encountered what we call "cruise divers are bad divers syndrome." We were actually told by a dive master in Aruba that they don't take the cruise ship divers to their good reefs. We've been on bad diver excursions in St. Thomas, Cozumel, and Barbados, all places where we know there is better diving to be found.
All of this boils down to one thing: research, research, research. Talk to your local dive shops, email dive shops in the ports you will visit, and read message boards.
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