2011 Scuba

Cruise
Dive Package
Brochure

* Aruba * Curacao * Grenada *

* Barbados * St. Vincent * St. Kitts *
* St. Thomas * Grand Turk *
 Aboard the Grand Princess
January 3, 2011

Itinerary

Scuba Diving Itinerary

Port Duration

1 Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Depart 5:00PM

2 At Sea

3 At Sea (Pre-Dive Orientation)

4 Aruba (diving) Arrive 8:00AM Depart 8:00PM

5 Curacao, Netherlands Antilles (diving) Arrive 7:00AM Depart 5:00PM

6 At Sea

7 Grenada (diving) Arrive 8:00AM Depart 5:00PM

8 Barbados (diving) Arrive 8:00AM Depart 5:00PM

9 St. Vincent, St. Vincent & the Grenadines (diving) Arrive 7:00AM Depart 4:00PM

10 St. Kitts, St. Kitts & Nevis (diving) Arrive 8:00AM Depart 5:00PM

11 St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (diving) Arrive 7:00AM Depart 4:00PM

12 San Juan (Beach Day) Arrive 9:00AM Depart 4:00PM

13 Grand Turk (diving) Arrive 12:00PM Depart 6:00PM

14 At Sea

15 Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Arrive 7:00AM

Introduction
14 Night Caribbean Collection
2011Cruise Critic Scuba Cruise

The 6th annual Cruise Critic Scuba Cruise will usher in 2011 in style aboard the Grand
Princess on January 3, 2011! This is a divers dream come true! Sailing though paradise for
14 days is an experience you will never forget!

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We will set sail from Fort Lauderdale aboard the beautiful Grand Princess and start the New
Year off in style by visiting 9 ports of call – 8 of which will have available 2 tank boat dives!
Not a diver? Not a problem! We see to it that all our non-divers always have a great time!
We will be offering group shore excursions, parties and other activities in which divers and
non divers in the group can participate.

This two week cruise will call on some new ports we have never been to as a group: Grand
Turk, St. Vincent and Curacao. We will also return to favorites like Barbados and St. Kitts. In
all, we will be visiting 8 islands with excellent diving. Please don’t fell compelled to dive in
each, but you can if you want to!

As of Jan 2010, the port of Santo Domingo has been replaced with San Juan, Puerto Rico
indefinitely. It’s hard to say what will happen many months from now, but all members will
be notified of changes to the itinerary in advance of the cruise.

Scuba Certified members of the 2011 Scuba Cruise Group can purchase an 8 port dive
package that includes two tank boat dives and/or unlimited shore diving. Members (defined
as divers who are booked into the group through Cruise Critic’s agent at CruCon) are not
compelled to dive in all eight ports. Dive boat space in each port is limited to 16 members;
we recommend you check out the most recent dive boat list at Cruise Critic as to which
ports sill have space. Divers must be on the dive boat list in order to purchase dives.

Please note that the dives are not included in the cost of the cruise; therefore, you must
purchase your dives independently from a company called ShoreTrips. ShoreTrips has been
around for a while, and Liz Gonzalez, our group dive coordinator, has been putting together
our dive packages for five years now. The dives offered to our group through ShoreTrips
are not the same as those available to the general public at their website. Our rates and
which dive operator we dive with, not to mention which dive sites we visit, are negotiated
specially for our group. Only people booked into the group through Cruise Critic’s
booking agent at CruCon are eligible to purchase the dives in our dive package –
no exceptions to this.

Our custom dive package will include round trip transportation (where necessary) to all dive
operators. As of this brochures publication date of April 12, 2010, pricing is not yet
available, but will be soon. All dives MUST be purchased in advance of the cruise no later
than November 15, 2010. ShoreTrips has a 100% refund policy up to 11 days prior to diving
in the event you are unable to dive or go on the cruise. They will also refund 100% if we are
not able to dive because of weather conditions or the ship is not able to make it to the port.
In addition to this, if we experience an itinerary change, they will work on rebooking the
dives in the new port.

There will be a mandatory Pre-Dive Orientation Meeting the first full day of the voyage –
January 4, 2011 at 9:30am. Please refer to the Group Cruise Planner for detailed information
about this and other group activities. If you plan to go diving with the group, please email
Suzi, the group leader. Dive specific communication is done through email, so it’s important
you provide contact information.

Estimated cost of the Dives

We offer a two tank dive package in each port of call at an additional cost to the certified
scuba divers in the group. Our group leader, escorted dive package includes round trip
transfers to and from the ship and a dive boat charter limited to 16 divers. Equipment rental
is available.

Certified dive group members can purchase all or some of the dives offered in the ports of
call

As of April 12, 2010, our dive package request was formally submitted to dive coordinator at
ShoreTrips; we are awaiting pricing and confirmation, which should be available sometime in

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May 2010. According to ShoreTrips, they will offer a discount if you book all 8 dive ports. All
dives will also be available a la carte, meaning you can pick in which ports you want to dive.
Please note the prices you see here are not confirmed; 7 two tank boat dives and
unlimited shore diving in Curacao total $783pp – you should expect to pay more.

Day 4 January 6, 2011

Aruba
Arrive 8:00AM Depart 8:00PM
Approximate Cost: $83pp

Day 5 January 7, 2011

Curacao, Netherlands Antilles
Arrive 7:00AM Depart 5:00PM
Proposed Shore Diving - Approximate Cost (with transportation): $50pp
Approximate Cost (boat dives): $120pp

Day 7 January 9, 2011

Grenada
Arrive 8:00AM Depart 5:00PM
Approximate Cost: $110pp

Day 8 January 10, 2011

Barbados
Arrive 8:00AM Depart 5:00PM
Approximate Cost: $126pp

Day 9 January 11, 2011

St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Arrive 7:00AM Depart 4:00PM
Approximate Cost: $100pp

Day 10 January 12, 2011

St. Kitts & Nevis
Arrive 8:00AM Depart 5:00PM
Approximate Cost: $106

Day 11 January 13, 2011

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Arrive 7:00AM Depart 4:00PM
Approximate Cost: $108pp

Day13 January 15, 2011

Grand Turk
Arrive 12:00PM Depart 6:00PM
Approximate Cost: $100pp

How to Purchase the Dive Package

The details on how to purchase the dives will be made available once pricing is established
at ShoreTrips. The dive package will be listed under the “groups” heading at ShoreTrips;
you will be able to access the group page by clicking on the “groups” tool bar on top of the
home page, then scroll down to “Cruise Critic 2011 Scuba”. All you have to do after that is
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click on the port of call where you want to dive and when you are ready to purchase the
dives, you can do so by clicking on “add to cart”. When you are ready to pay, simply click
on “check out” and pay using a credit or debit card.

Important:

First, make sure your name is on the dive boat list at the group forum – you can only gain
access to the group forum by signing up at www.cruisecritic.com . Unfortunately, you
can’t view the information posted there unless you are a member of Cruise Critic – it’s free
and no personal information is required to join. If you prefer, the group leader can add you
to the dive boat list – just email her when you are ready.

Any person not on the dive boat list will have his or her transaction at ShoreTrips voided, as
ShoreTrips is provided with the dive boat list. The group leader gets notified by ShoreTrips
anytime someone is added to the dive boat manifest.

The next step involves a visit to the ShoreTrips’ website. Before you can purchase the dives,
you will need to establish a user ID and password. The nice thing about ShoreTrips is they
don’t require you to input a lot of personal information; you simply click on the new user
icon on the left and enter in a user ID and a password. You’ll need this information later to
access your dive voucher once your dive purchase is confirmed, so please make note of your
user ID and password.

You can purchase the dives at any time; you can pay for one dive now and the others later.
Or you can pay for all five at once - it’s up to you! Here is ShoreTrips cancellation policy:

You may cancel your ShoreTrips booking and receive a full refund up to 11 days
before the actual date of your ShoreTrips dive. At 10 days outbound, all trips
become non-refundable. To cancel a ShoreTrips Dive, log into
www.shoretrips.com with your User Id and Password. Then click on "View
Bookings" and click on the garbage can icon next to the booking. This will cancel
your booking and refund your charge card in full.

What to Expect After You Purchase Your

Dives
Within 48 hours, you will receive a confirmation email from ShoreTrips, and once your dives
are confirmed by the group leader, you will get another email with a link and directions on
how to access your dive voucher. You will need to print out a copy of this voucher and put it
with your cruise documents, and take it with you on the cruise. You will need the actual
voucher to dive in each port of call, so it is recommended you save a copy electronically that
you can access while on the cruise in the event you forget or lose it.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the group leader.
Remember, all dive group communication is done via email, so if you have not done so
already, please email the group leader once you are confirmed on the cruise.

FAQ

Our scuba cruises are set up to dive in as many ports of call as possible. Many scuba cruise
members opt to dive in each port where diving is available, while some do so only in certain
ports, making time to spend with non-diving spouses and friends.

Each diver is responsible to book their own dives. The group leader will provide you with
secure online links that you must access on your own. The group leader keeps track of the
numbers on each boat. The cost can vary, and we can't tell you exactly how much the dives

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will cost you today, but plan on most two tank dives to run about $100pp.

We believe the biggest benefit to diving in a group is the fact that we all dive together the
entire two weeks with no surprises. During our pre-dive meeting on board the ship, you will
get an opportunity to meet your fellow divers. This is about as close as you will get to a
Liveaboard on cruise ship!

1. If you had to pick the top 4 ports in which to dive, which would you most likely
select?

Shore Diving in Curacao, Barbados, St. Vincent and Grand Turk. But the diving in all 8 ports
is excellent.

2. How much input will we have as to which dive operations are selected for the
group.

Liz Gonzales, from ShoreTrips is our dive group coordinator and will be contacting dive
operators in each of our ports to set up our dive package. All dive operators are PADI
insured, who generally cater to small groups. I will post information about each dive
operator at our group forum, so if you are not a member of Cruise Critic, please sign-up.

ShoreTrips will provide us with a group page where members can purchase the dives.

3. How many divers are in a group.

We deal with dive operators who have the ability to accommodate everyone in the group.
Our request is to keep the group exclusive - meaning only group members and approved
passengers will be diving on the boat with us. Depending on the number of divers, we may
have one dive boat or two at our disposal.

4. Storing dive gear on the ship

We often get questions about storing scuba gear on the ship; there is no secure place on the
ship with easy access to store our dive equipment except in your cabin.

That being said, I can make a few suggestions. First off, if it’s within your budget, book a
stateroom with a balcony. Besides providing extra living space, it's also the best place to put
your gear out to dry. It's so warm in the Caribbean, your gear will dry off in a couple of
hours. Dealing with wet gear after your dives is the biggest hassle - you just made life a little
easier by putting your stuff on your balcony to dry. No balcony? No problem! You can always
take your stuff out to the pool deck for an hour or two - in the hot sun, I guarantee it won't
take long for your stuff to dry out. Go with a friend, grab a cold one and relax! Trust me
when I say that you won't be the only divers on the ship - this itinerary is very popular with
divers, so no worries.

5. Dive boat questions

I get a lot of questions and concerns about diving in the Caribbean mostly from newly
certified folks. They want to know how well equipped the boats are, how many divers will be
on each boat, and often express concerns about doing back-flip entries. Since we have not
yet made any arrangements with dive operators, I can't tell you what to expect from each
port we visit. But I can tell you that all dive operators will be PADI insured and have a solid
safety record. Some dive operators will split us into small groups of 6 divers per boat while
others have up to 16 people on one boat. Often dive boats are small open hauled boats (and
yes, you will be asked to do a back flip entry).

A few dive operators have larger, more comfortable boats that can accommodate up to 12
divers. As a rule, you'll find storage space below deck, and all divers then make giant stride
entries. There are pros and cons to both types of boats. Personally, I prefer diving in smaller

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groups. Doing a back-flip for the first time can be a little intimidating, but most divers, after
doing a few, have no problems.

6. Questions about what to take & wet suits

We always travel with our gear, minus our tanks and weights. You will get weights and tanks
from each dive operator. You can also rent your dive BC, regulator, etc. for a small fee. I
know with only a 50 lb per bag limit, you have to really pack smart. Small rolling duffels that
can be carried onto the airplane work great for dive gear. Everything usually fits, except fins,
which can be packed in checked luggage. Travel or soft-backed BC's are a good choice when
diving in the Caribbean.

You won't be able to dive with gloves, so leave them home, and dive knives seem to make
ship security a little nervous. Thermal protection such as a light weight wetsuit is a good
idea even when diving in June, though a lot of divers make due without one. You can expect
water temps to be around 84 degrees which is considerably cooler than your body's core
temperature. If you have never been diving in warm salt water, remember you will need to
adjust your weights; remember it's better to have a little more than too little!

7. Sea sickness

If you are concerned, please remember to take what you need to avoid getting sick.

8. I will be traveling with non-divers and can't see diving in all ports of call. I
would like to dive in two or three ports only; will this be possible?

Yes. You are under no obligation to dive with the group. You can pick the ports where you
want dive with the group.

10. Will dive boats allow snorkelers to come along?

Some dive operations allow snorkelers to come along for an additional cost, as long as there
is room on the dive boat. Divers have priority, but we will let you know if there is room a
month or two before the cruise.

One thing to keep in mind is the dive sites we visit may not be good for snorkeling, since
some reefs and walls begin around 30-50 feet - a snorkeler at the surface may not see
much.

Useful Information for Divers New to

Cruising
There are pros and cons to a dive vacation that's also a cruise. However, most divers, after
doing one, tell us they had a good experience. Celebrity does an exceptionally good job in
combining excellent dive ports with a low key, albeit upscale cruise experience.

If your idea of the perfect dive vacation is doing multiple dives per day (like you can on a
live aboard), a scuba cruise is not for you! You will have the ability to do up to 8 dives while
on the cruise. You should plan on the dives being somewhat more conservative than what
you would do if you dove with the same dive operation day after day; we do, however, make
every effort to customize our dives to meet the needs of our group which usually includes
more experienced divers.

The reality is a dive vacation combined with a cruise is not for everyone. As I have said
before, the diving tends to be more on the conservative side, as each dive operator we see
gets only one chance to dive with you. As is the case with most vacations, there are pros

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and cons to take into consideration before deciding to join us. How much you spend on your
cruise accommodations in large part depends on the type of stateroom you select. Diving in
the ports of call is not included; therefore, you will want to budget around $400 per diver if
you plan to dive in each port. Although most of your meals and entertainment on the cruise
is included, there is the additional cost for drinks and anything else you buy on or off the
ship.

One issue that comes up a lot and needs to be addressed has to do with transporting gear.
Though some dive operators will throw in dive gear, we strongly recommend you bring your
own. Rental gear in the Caribbean can be hit or miss – even if it’s free. Most in the group
will be diving with their own gear. Booking a balcony is also highly recommended, as it
comes in handy when drying out wet dive gear.

Important URL’s:
Group Leader Information
Name: Susanne (Suzi) Rudek
Location: Sacramento, CA
Phone: (916) 712-6592
Email: Scubacruise2010@yahoo.com

2009 Scuba Cruise Booking Information

Agent: Johna
Agency: CruCon Cruise Outlet
Phone: (800) 493-6609
Agency Website: http://www.crucon.com/
Email: JohnaN@CruCon.com
To Book Cruise, you MUST CALL CruCon

Cruise Critic Member Cruise Group Info

(You must be a registered member to view
Information posted at the group site)
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=637