Scuba diving from cruise ships is an ideal way to try out multiple dive destinations in one trip.
Whether you want a sailing where the diving requires little advance planning, or you prefer to schedule all your dives yourself, here's a roundup of cruises and cruise lines that are ideal for scuba divers.
Expedition Cruises with Diving
The term "live-aboard" diving is a familiar one to most scuba divers. It invokes images of twelve to twenty hard-core divers in the water as much as humanly possible while the boat moves from reef to reef in an all-diving atmosphere at hard-to-reach-any-other-way locations.
This is not that.
Expedition cruises are a happy medium between more traditional cruises and the live-to-dive boats. Expect a pace that allows you to explore both under water and above with the aid of expert expedition leaders. Also, expect onboard amenities similar to a traditional cruise, but on a much smaller scale and in a far more relaxed atmosphere.
Look at Zegrahm Expeditions for cruises in Australia and the South Pacific that include scuba diving. They have a Great Barrier Reef sailing onboard the 42-passenger Coral Expeditions II next year that could help you cross the GBR off your dive bucket list. Or take a look at Coral Expeditions cruises on the reef now through March of 2019.
Linblad Expeditions offers cruises in the South Pacific and French Polynesia aboard the National Geographic Orion. Along with 101 other passengers, you can take in the reefs, wildlife and culture of these islands with the help of Linblad's expert guides.
Traditional Cruises
If you prefer a more traditional cruise, there are plenty of options for getting to and below the waves at destinations far removed from the ordinary.
Looking to scuba dive French Polynesia, the Marquesas or maybe Vanuatu? Check out at Paul Gauguin Cruises. This luxury line has only one ship, but it is dedicated to the islands of the South Pacific year-round. They also offer PADI training and certification on select cruises.
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Princess Cruises does a great job of getting you to the best spots for diving on the Great Barrier Reef. Consider these itineraries with multiple ports of call along the reef. Diving excursions may or may not be offered, but diving can easily be booked independently in these ports.
NCL's Pride of America sails Hawaiian waters, stopping at four islands year round. With overnight stays on Maui and Kauai, planning scuba diving on a cruise could not be any easier. Expect to see turtles, sharks and maybe even a giant manta.
Royal Caribbean has long been known for pushing cruise boundaries, so a Royal Caribbean cruise that gives you access to some of the best diving in Southeast Asia should come as no surprise.
Take a look at this round trip itinerary from Singapore, with port calls in Malaysia and Thailand. There are no scuba excursions via the ship, so you will have to book dives independently. That is easy enough to accomplish in Kuala Lumpur and Phuket, however, where the ship overnights.
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The Best of the Caribbean
Cruises in the Caribbean are perhaps the easiest way to get some scuba time while enjoying the food, fun and simplicity of traveling by cruise ship. If your goal is to dive beyond the basic Caribbean scuba hot spots, there are plenty of options for you.
Windstar's Caribbean cruises take you to ports you can rarely access by large ship. Virgin Gorda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and even Culebra Island off the coast of Puerto Rico are all on these itineraries. The ships will typically offer a few dive excursions, or you can book independently in some locations.
Bonaire is consistently ranked as one of the top scuba destinations in the world, but finding a cruise ship that gets there can be challenging. Royal Caribbean and Princess both have Southern Caribbean cruises that include Bonaire, along with Curacao and Aruba.
But take a look at Holland America's 15-night sailing this coming November; it's a cruise ship diver's dream. Every port of call is a diving hot spot.
And if true luxury cruising with scuba diving is your goal, look no further than this Caribbean route in December via SeaDream Yacht Club. Ports of call include impossible-to-find stops at Saba and Anguilla, plus an overnight at St. Barts.
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