Cruise Diving?

I won a free cruise in a raffle to the Bahamas for a week. I know cruises are not great for diving but I couldn't pass up a dive excursion. I have very little information on the excursion and am worried if the dive boat will not have a camera table/rinse tank. Think I should take my Canon 500D / Ikelite Housing with 8" dome on the dive excursion or too risky?

I won a free cruise in a raffle to the Bahamas for a week. I know cruises are not great for diving but I couldn't pass up a dive excursion. I have very little information on the excursion and am worried if the dive boat will not have a camera table/rinse tank. Think I should take my Canon 500D / Ikelite Housing with 8" dome on the dive excursion or too risky?

Not sure which cruise you got or where you are traveling from, but if it is a port that you just go to and get on, it is usually alot easier than carrying things through an airport - in other words being able to dive off the cruise ship can be easier than the usual things we all deal with. I live in New York and if I ever went on a cruise leaving from here going to a destination where there is diving along the way I would take my gear with no second thoughts due to the relative ease. Quick aside, you may want to post the line and itinerary, people may be able to provide some feedback if they did an excursion off the line and place. Things may have changed, but may get you more detail.

That being said not all excursions are equal and some dive operations on the excursions may not be what you are used to or up to the things we normally look for. Depending on the ports you are going to and the embarkation times of the ship you may be able to make your own arrangements with an operator.

I am not sure I would be too concerned about whether there is a rinse tank or camera table. Have the things set up ahead of time and keep an eye on it on the boat. There will usually be someway to rinse it off or you could rinse it back in the cabin. Of course it is not the same as rinsing right away, but if there were a chance to shoot and dive, I would tend to want to shoot. I would guess there is usually someplace on the boat where you can have the camera safe or even just hold onto it until you get to the site and put it out of the way before gearing up.

Also double check with the cruise line, their site may list who the excursions are with and/or call to find out. For instance, poking through NCL (http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/shorex.html) you can get some information and see feedback. BTW, make sure to bring your C-Card(s)

You might consider having the housing set up on the cruise ship before heading off to dive. Carry it in a soft side cooler - like a Polar 24 or 48 - and use the cooler for a rinse tank.

Thanks, I was planning to have the housing already assembled before starting the excursion. I just would prefer a table to place it so some newbie diver doesn't slam a tank into it. I got information from Carnival and Unexso is the dive operator. I emailed Unexso for further information so I should hear something soon.

By the way, the dives will be at the Freeport, Bahamas port. I am also doing a beach excursion at Atlantis, Nassau Bahamas where they have snorkeling. Anyone have any experience at either of these?