Diving Dominica

[everyotheryear]

We wanted to dive in Dominia and contacted a dive shop but their cancelation policy did not make us comfortable. Has anyone out there had any luck with a dive shop? We would rather not dive with the ship....don't care to dive with lots of people. The shop we talked to would not say we would get our money back if the weather was bad or we had to cancel for some reason and they wanted to charge full amount up front on our credit card. Any advice would be appreciated.

[texswamper]

We have booked to dive with Nature Island Divers in a couple of weeks. They did require a cc to hold our reservation, but will not charge it until we're there. The cancellation policy also was not out of the ordinary.

 

I will post a report on the dives after our cruise.

[DeepThinker]

We were on the Celebrity Equinox April 2010 and I chose to dive in Dominica. I found out afterwards that it is one of the top dive destinations in the world. It is undeveloped so the coral reefs are in pristine condition. My dive buddy was a marine bioligist and he was amazed at the incredible condition of the reefs and how many different coral we saw. It was truly amazing. Dominica has numerous active volcanoes several of which are underwater, you will be amazed. I would love to go back there for a week but it is a very difficult island to get to by air. I booked my dives through Celebrity but I would highly recommend Dive Dominica if you want to book yourself. Have an awesome time, I am envious!

 

Frank

[CaribKng]

We wanted to dive in Dominia and contacted a dive shop but their cancelation policy did not make us comfortable. Has anyone out there had any luck with a dive shop? We would rather not dive with the ship....don't care to dive with lots of people. The shop we talked to would not say we would get our money back if the weather was bad or we had to cancel for some reason and they wanted to charge full amount up front on our credit card. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

We were there last November and dove with the ship. There were about 16 divers and we were broke into 2 groups of 8 each with a divemaster so it wasn't bad at all. The tour operator they used was Dive Dominica and they were great and had large boats that allowed easy entrance and exit from the water.

 

Absolutely loved diving there and would love to go back and do it again.

[Sailfish]

We will be diving in Dominica in February - please visit our group BLOG where you'll find lots of good dive related information, including detailed dive shop references. You'll also find detailed port by port dive info at our Dive Boat BLOG. I have been to Dominica a few times and believe it to be among the best dive ports we have ever been to. You won't be disappointed.

 

Good luck!

[texswamper]

I'm back in Angola now and can finally report on our dives in Dominica. We booked online with Nature Island Divers through Karen. When we got off the ship we found her outside the gate and because it was raining a bit, she had a taxi take us to the shop. The ride down to the shop was about 25-30 minutes but it was such a scenic drive through rainforest and along the coast that it was almost like getting an island tour as well!

 

When we arrived at the shop we realized that it would just be the three of us and we promptly signed the forms and loaded our own gear onto their large pontoon boat. It was so nice to not be fighting for space to set up and move around. We drove out off the dock less than a quarter of a mile for our first dive. It was fantastic! I actually felt that the coral here was as if not more beautiful than in Bonaire and the visibility was better for us than in Bonaire. After our first dive, we headed back to the shop for our surface interval to just chill. Second dive was similar but on a wall (I could find the dive site names) but equally beautiful and full of life! Karen, Weefer (our dive guide) and all her crew were very professional, helpful and informative. We would love to go back and spend a few days diving Dominica and would definitely dive with Nature Island Divers again. :)

[dirvin0500]

We went with Nature Island the week of 14 Mar 11. Super folks. Our DM "Lazy" was attentive and very helpful. They also have a really great pontoon boat to dive from with plenty of room. Picked us up and took us back to the ship in the price quoted. They did require a CC to hold and didn't charge until after the dive. First dive was on a site called L'Bym (The Abyss) which is a wall dive that goes down to 2000 feet. The second was a shallower dive that ended in Champagne Bay. It's one of only 4 sites in the world with geo-thermal activity under the sea floor that makes it look like your diving in a glass of champagne.

[chadbeck]

Another vote for Nature Island. I have been with them twice now and can't say enough good things. The guides know the area so well it amazing. Any thing you want to see they will find it. One dive the dm thought there were still frogfish there but had moved so on the way back in from the dive we jumped off in 15ft and nothing but sand and one rock just so he could show us what he couldn't find. Just a great group of people.

[w&k]

It depends on where your ship is going to dock.

 

If you are docking in Roseau, go with Karen and the crew at Nature Island Dive. http://www.natureislanddive.com

 

If you are docking in Cabrits, go with Helen and the crew at Cabrits Dive Centre. http://www.cabritsdive.com/

 

Both ops are totally awesome.

 

About cancellation policies... a lot of folks charge a deposit. If your ship does not come in, you should not be charged. If your ship comes in, and you don't show, you get charged. That's only fair...

 

The only place I have encountered with a no refund policy was in BVI somewhere, I think... but I can tell you that I definitely didn't book with them.

 

Have a great time wherever you get in the water!

 

Wendy

 

dive pix

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