scuba in St. Maarten

[KATHY JEAN]

My hubby and I just got off the Golden Princess and wanted to share our diving experence. I heard lots of bad things about St. Maarten but want to set the record straight. WE had two great dives. The water was a little rough so getting back on the boat was a little tricky but the dive operators were very helpful. The reef was beautiful and we saw a school or barracuda of all sizes. Also a sea turtle swam up to one of the other divers and looked right into his mask. It was great. We booked through princess and the operators name was Dive Safaris. They took us from the peir to the dive-shop and then onto the dive boat. Our guide had raido ahead with the stuf we each needed (wet suit, weights whatever) and when we got onto the dive boat we were each assined to a spot with everything right there. They also had a board with all of the dive info on it whitch made it easy to fill in our dive books. I would dive again with them. Hope this helps you guys Happy Diving Kathy Jean

[bruce-r]

Thanks for the report. I'm glad that you had a positive experience. My experience was completely the opposite from yours.

[skypilotks]

What was the bad experince with Dive Safaris??

 

have you heard of Ocean Explorers in St Maarteen??

[bruce-r]

What was the bad experince with Dive Safaris??

I went with the ships excursion which used Dive Safaris. It wasn't the fault of Dive Safaris that the ocean had 6 to 8 ft swells and the visibility was terrible. Before we left the dock, we were told the conditions were marginal at best and they offered us a complete refund for the trip if we decided we didn't want to go, as long as we decided before we got on their boat. It was my fault for not taking them up on their offer.

 

have you heard of Ocean Explorers in St Maarteen??

I have heard of them, but I can't offer an opinion about them from personal experience.

[nancyhi]

I went out with them in December on a Xmas vacation dive. I had heard the diving in St Maarten was marginal and most bypassed it, but Leroy was one of the few operators I could find who would take us out for a single dive. I didnt' want to be out all morning, so I arranged for a single dive with all heavy equipment needed. the only downside was that you have to find your own way to his dive shop. The upside was, once you got there, he was all set to give you your stuff, you jumped in his small boat with only 5 divers, and went out all suited up from the time you get in the boat. You're at the divesite in less than 5 minutes. It was pretty inexpensive. Just make sure you arrange a taxi for the return back to the ship as you get out of the taxi when you get to the diveshop. He told us to tell them to come back in 2 1/2 hours, and we were back in a little over an hour, so we had to wait for about 45 minutes even after cleaning all our gear off. I think our wetsuitsdried in the time it took for the taxi to appear. but they were right on time. I just wish I had told them to come sooner. Taxi drivers will not wait for you though, so it was probably better that we had waited, then to have them leave you there and figure out how to get back to the ship. its a long ride. If you set up a special charter with Leroy, I'm sure he'll take care of the whole thing. We just wanted to do things cheap, and get right back tothe ship. We were out at 7 Am, and back by 11:30, most of the time spent in a taxi to and from the dive shop. do not take anything you dont' need with you, cuz you do not take anything but what you're diving with in the boat, and you have to leave the rest in the dive shop that's locked up when you're on the dive. Not even a towel. And everything in the boat is as sopping wet as on the outside of the boat. I was sorry I brought my purse along, cuz I ended up locking it in the store. Just bring your cruise card, credit card and C card and dive log, and gear.

 

The dive itself was fun. It's not the best dive ever in my life, but I had a good time, and saw lots of neat things, and the divemaster was really good and Leroy was there by our sides too. Two divemasters for 4 divers is a great ratio. And I had never done a rear entry before, I'm so pampered I've only done an entry off the back of a boat step. So the divemaster had to walk me through each and every step so I wouldn't lose anything when I fell in. He was very understanding and a good instructor, and didn't rush me along at all. I felt very safe and listened to every instruction, and went right in, smooth. Hey, its not so bad after all!!

 

Overall, i'd give Ocean Explorers an 8 out of 10. The only improvement being that it would have been nice to get a ride before and after the dive.