Dive Companies in Aruba, Dominica & Bonaire

[Socref124]

We will be on the Caribbean Princess in January with stops in Aruba, Dominica and Bonaire. We would like to dive at these three islands and would like to hear of some positive feedback about dive operators. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

[Socref124]

No one has any recommendations?

[chadbeck]

I used Nature Island in Dominica last year and they were great. It was a little crazy to hook up with them when I got off the ship because of the way the port was set up but we managed to find each other. They drove me back to their dive shop about 40 minutes from the ship which was a nice ride to be able to see some of the island as well. The dive sites were all really close 5 -10min boat rides. The dive guides are great asked me what I wanted to photograph found everything except a frogfish and seahorse on the first dive so on the second dive said he would have the boat drop us in the water before the dive site in the sand and swim down to the site. So we jumped in about 15ft. swam out to a rock and three frog fish, swam out to the sea grass and all kinds of sea horses. Sorry was kind of long but I can't say enough good about them. Even enjoyed lunch at a locate joint after with the crew. Just very warm and welcoming group of people.

 

For Bonaire just find a place to grab some tanks and go shore diving. All the dives are marked well and pretty easy.

 

Hope that helps some

[sddiver]

Ditto on Nature Island dive in Dominica. They are away from the ships port in Soufferie? Cool little town away from the crowds. Marine park is just off shore of their shop. Have yet to be to Bonaire though its on my list. Aruba is average for diving. Dove with ships operator. Not memorable.

 

Have a great time.

 

Rich

[GeneHunter]

I see you have the same question on ScubaBoard. You'll probably get better answers there. Also, check out http://www.infobonaire.com for dive operators.

 

Our group stays at Capt Don's for our annual trip, but I don't know if they handle cruise ship passengers. Our trips are always after the cruise season. They keep busy with those staying on site, but you can always ask.

 

Barbara

[Socref124]

Thanks everyone. This is exactly what I have been looking for.

[cruisingforsix]

Just curious about your steeler ring. we are pittsburgh natives. hope "yunz" have a wonderful cruise. we are sailing on celebrity summit the next week.

[w&k]

Hi there fellow Floridians!

 

On Aruba - we dive with Clive at Dive Aruba. http://www.divearuba.com It's small boat diving at it's best, and Clive will pick you up and drop you off from right outside the gate. Unfortunately, we had to miss Clive on our trip in October, but we're heading back again in the spring.

 

In Dominica, there is a great choice at either end of the island.

 

If you are docking at Roseau, Nature Island Dive is the way to go. http://www.natureislanddive.com

 

If you are docking at Cabrits, go with the folks at Cabrits Dive Center. http://www.cabritsdive.com/

 

Sorry, but we haven't made it to Bonaire...yet.

 

Have a great trip!

 

dive pix

http://community.webshots.com/user/wendyandkeith

 

website

http://wendyandkeith.webs.com

[CaribKng]

We will be on the Caribbean Princess in January with stops in Aruba, Dominica and Bonaire. We would like to dive at these three islands and would like to hear of some positive feedback about dive operators. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

 

We were in Aruba and Dominica on the Emerald Princess last month. We did both dives with the cruise line. They used Red Sail Sports in Aruba and they did on OK job. In Dominica they used Dive Dominica and they were excellent. They were extremely helpful with everything and the divemasters payed close attention to the groups. There were about 16 people on the excursion and there were two dive masters. They split us into two small groups of 8. The boat was plenty big enough for all of us and was easy to get back on. During the surface interval they kept us on the boat, but gave a brief tour of the island on the way to the next dive site. If I was going independently, I would not hesitate to use them.

 

Hope this helps.

[jtonra]

I've dove in Aruba many times. I typically use Unique Sports. They have several boats and lots of dives scheduled on any given day so you can usually find something that fits with the cruise schedule.

[Midge907]

I have done some research on Bonaire in the past and it seems like

Buddy Dive Resort always pops up for some very high rated reviews. They do boat diving and LOTS of shore diving in Bonaire.

[CRUISENSNOOZE]

I have done some research on Bonaire in the past and it seems like

Buddy Dive Resort always pops up for some very high rated reviews. They do boat diving and LOTS of shore diving in Bonaire.

Yes, we use Dive Buddy and they are great. Its about 8 dollars for a taxi there. Can dive straight off their pier and then lunch and another dive. Very laid back. Have stayed 3 weeks on this island and all good dives.

Chris

[Pilot70D]

We will be on the Caribbean Princess in January with stops in Aruba, Dominica and Bonaire. We would like to dive at these three islands and would like to hear of some positive feedback about dive operators. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

 

We were just diving in Aruba last week and we have been diving in Dominica several times. Nature Island Divers in Dominica does a great job. We have been diving with then three times and can't say enough good things about their operation.

Aruba on the other hand can be a problem. We were set to dive with Clive who owns Dive Aruba but at the last minute he emailed us that has boat capsized and all he was offering was shore dives. This information was current as of the second week in December.

Last year in Aruba we went diving with JADS. They did a good job in the water but their dive boat can be a terrible experience. The War Department (a.k.a. Mrs. B.) vowed that she would never dive with JADS again.

We were now down to two days before we sailed so I went against my own advice and signed us up to go diving through the ship's excursion in Aruba. Bad move on my part. We were on Celebrity and Celebrity uses Red Sail in Aruba.

NEVER, NEVER EVER DIVE WITH RED SAIL IN ARUBA. They are a rip off operator. I got the ship to email them and asked for NITROX if available for our two tank dive. No problem they replied. Nitrox was $15 per tank extra so I had the ship email back asking Red Sail to provide it. Our first dive was normal in every respect. It was a wreck dive we had done before. Depth was about 65' and duration was normal.

Before the second dive we reurned to the dock and picked up five or six resort course divers with their instructor. We then headed to our second dive. The second dive was at 20' and lasted for 30 minutes. All of us (7 certified divers) got back aboard with 1600-2100 PSI in the tanks. I'm sorry but a 30 minute dive to a depth 20' is not a real dive furthermore you don't need NITROX to reach that stunning twenty foot depth for thirty minutes.

We did complain to Red Sail at the dock and to the excursion office back aboard the ship upon our return. No credit or partial refund was given for this second kiddie dive. What a rip off particularly in view of the fact that we weren't informed what our second dive would be like until it was too late to do anything about it.

:mad::eek::mad:

[troutcatcher]

Pilot70D:

 

Thanks for letting me tag along in Dominica and Curacao last year. I'm already signed up to go with Nature Island Divers in Dominica next month.

 

Who do you recommend in St. Lucia?

 

Any advice for St. Croix? Looks like Cane Bay Divers is the most recommended and has locations all over the Island. Not sure that Cane Bay West in Fredericksted (cruise port) has the best dive sites. Do you recommend the other side of the Island (Christensted) for better dive sites?

 

How was the food on the Millennium this year? We sailed on NCL in June with kids and grandkids and they are in last place in our opinion. Holland America last month was actually better than Celebrity last December. Celebrity still gets high marks for food in our opinion and of course, has the best smoking policy.

 

Hope you had a great Christmas.

 

Sorry about the snow in Georgia, our kids in Cedartown were shocked.

[memorylaneleduc]

Hi. We are sailing the same itinerary in march. We are booked with Woodwind Sail in Bonaire. Have read lots of great things about their tours. Regardless, after your trip, post what you have decided and what you thought about them.

[BlueC5Kitten]

I was just in Bonaire this past September at Captain Don's, though have stayed at the Sand Dollar Condos previously (trying to remember the name of their dive op, but it escapes me...Bonaire Dive and Adventure, or something like that...say hi to Jerry the Naturalist, if you go there). Both places were very good...we also dove the reef at Buddy Dive since it is immediately adjacent to the reef at Captain Don's. The folks at Buddy Dive were very nice, and accommodating even though they knew we were from Captain Don's Habitat. BTW, if you get to meet Captain Don, he is a hoot!

 

A quick cab ride can get you to these three dive ops in minutes. I recommend them ALL!