Scuba in San Juan, St. Martin, or Labidee

Hi,

I'm looking to book a cruise on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the seas that is going to San Juan, St. Martin, and Labidee.

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with any of these ports for scuba diving? Any help would be appreciated.

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Hi,

 

I'm looking to book a cruise on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the seas that is going to San Juan, St. Martin, and Labidee.

 

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with any of these ports for scuba diving? Any help would be appreciated.

 

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Labadee, there's no Scuba. Everything at Labadee is operated by the cruise line, and they've shown no inclination to make scuba part of the equation. I suppose it could happen, as a lot of the staff that's housed there dive regularly for various maintenance needs, so the availability of air fills and equipment doesn't seem to be the issue.

I know Puerto Rico has some great diving, but none is in San Juan. I dove at a resort in San Juan once, and it was pretty bad. Supposedly Carnival is now offering a scuba excursion there. I haven't heard if they go the distance to get to a decent site, or if they're just doing something right in San Juan.

St. Maarten has pretty good diving, although I've not been since the hurricane. It used to be difficult, as the Dutch side lacked operators that would work with cruise customers. However, Octopus Diving (www.octopusdivingsxm.com) now has an operation there, and I've been very happy with them. They're about a 15 minute walk from the ship, or you can take the water taxi. if you take the water taxi, make sure to tell them you're going to "Bobbie's Marina". Only the smaller water taxi boat goes there. The Octopus Diving shop is literally the first thing you see when the water taxi docks. The Dutch Side has some decent wrecks, and good marine life. I prefer it to the French side, anyway, and diving the French side is a hassle because of the transportation (the roads are always jammed on the way back to the port).

Harris

Denver, CO

Thanks for all the info Harris. I will check into octopus diving.

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