nab52782

It's covering your gratuity. You do not need to tip the bartenders anything extra as you have already paid the service charge. It's much more than the tips would be... which is why others say it's a fare increase. But it does cover all of your beverage tips, if that is what you are curious about.

Yes, that was what I was wondering. I know the OP always has money to tip with from his reviews and I wondered if he (or anyone else) had further insights. I want to make sure they get tipped but I don't want to tip twice unless they give me a reason and I make that concious choice.

There’s probably a difference, as this is being disguised as “tips” (which they’re not) levied against an artificially-priced “free” item. The increase has nothing to do with the item being chosen or the employees that provide the service. It’s a fare increase, again and again, to the point that the face-value cost of the package is laughable.

Can you elaborate on your comment that these aren't tips? I'm a newbie and everything I've read and what I'd heard is that this is gratuity...am I missing something?

The Wikipedia page on the Antilla gives a good overview of the history. Knowing that before makes the dive more interesting.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

I will check it out - thanks!

Easy answer!

 

Happy Divers Aruba (www.happydiversaruba.com email: info@happydiversaruba.com).

 

Jeffrey there will provide you with port pick up and return, and operates dives with no more than 6 divers on the boat. For that reason you'll want to email early, and get your booking done, so you get your spots reserved. Also, because it's not a huge operation like many there, you may not get an answer to your email for a day or two. Also, There will definitely be someone to pick you up, but they often are also getting people from other resorts, so don't panic if they're 15 or 20 minutes late. They'll be in either a gray van or a 4-door pick up, well marked. As you walk out the port gate, you'll be at a little service road. There are benches right there, and that's the meeting spot.

 

Probably the most famous wreck in Aruba is the Antilla. I like it for several reasons: First, it is a "real" wreck, as opposed to a sanitized ship that was sunk for the purpose of forming a reef. Second, it's huge, so lots to see, and over time it's broken up in a way to expose a lot of the interior to easy view. Third, it's only in about 50 feet of water, so you can dive the complete wreck on a single tank.

 

The only down side to the Antilla site is all the cattle boats will be there. However, they're usually more populated with snorkelers than divers, although you can bet yours will never be the only group of divers on the Antilla at any moment. Seeing those boats with upwards of 100 people on board, or dive boats with 25 or 30, makes you realize the value of the Happy Divers experience, and honestly the prices are the same or lower with Jeffrey.

 

For other sites there with wrecks, there's the Debbie II wreck site at blue reef, this is a smaller wreck but fun, and you'll spend more time on the reef than the wreck. The Pederanales site has interesting history. The ship - a "lake tanker" - was hit by a German torpedo in WWII. The damaged center section was cut out and the ship shortened. The center section was simply towed off shore and sunken there. However, in intervening 75 years it's been broken up so it's not identifiable as a hull much anymore, but more a collection of structural parts. Still a good dive, and again very shallow. The Arashi site has a lot of interesting airplane parts, including landing gear, and good sized radial engines. I don't know exactly how they came to be there, but it's certainly not a plane wreck.

 

In any event, there are great wreck dives there, well suited to your stated experience level; and now you have a dive operator that will make it a great day for you.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

Thanks Harris! I will see if Jeffery is available! Appreciate your help and suggestions. I think we are going to try Antilla and hoping to see the airplanes that were sunk. We will see how it goes!

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My wife and I are looking to do a couple of wreck dives during our stop in Aruba and we'd like recommendations on a good dive shop to go with. We will have between 10 and 15 dives under our belts so we're fairly new but we aren't really interested in "discovery dives" which is what most of the reviews for dive shops seem to be focused on.

Thank you SO much!!!

 

 

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Please let us know how it goes. I'm thinking about using Brandon and would like to see feedback from some additional people. Thanks!