Review - Neptune's Divers, Grand Cayman 4/25/2005

[w&k]

Dive review – Neptune’s Divers, Grand Cayman, BVI

April 25, 2005 (RCCL Splendour of the Seas)

 

Rating of 1-5 stars:

Overall *****

 

People *****

Equipment *****

Diving **** (Lone Star Reef *** 49ft/56min Hammerhead Hole **** 48ft/44min)

 

Neptune’s Divers will DEFINITELY be my contacted operation when diving Grand Cayman again.

 

Personal dive biases: I am a Floridian with >300 dives, certification through rescue. My diving experience has been under all sorts of conditions, but I no longer dive rough, deep or cold water (why bother?), and avoid weekend warriors whenever possible. My diving preference is drifting on reefs, and I have been known to bring home a bug or two.

 

I got the tip on Neptune’s Divers from the Cruise Critic Scuba and Snorkeling board. The website http://www.neptunesdivers.com was clean and functional. My E-mail was answered promptly, personally and courteously by Casey. Casey reserved the spots for our group of 4, and the reservation was held on my credit card. I also received instructions on how to reach them by taxi/bus. My booking was very early, so I sent a couple of confirmation E-mails during the wait for our trip.

 

Casey also slid back our dive time to 9:15-9:30am to accommodate our docking time so that we would not have to be in the crazy first rush off the ship.

 

We made it off the ship immediately upon anchoring by sheer luck, and went to the taxi rank. As it turned out, GC does not change to daylight savings time, and by island time, we were an hour early. After some confusion at the taxis, we loaded up in a modified taxi van for $4 US each. Our meet was at Sea Grape Beach/ Public Beach on 7 Mile Beach at the picnic tables at the beach bar. Beautiful! We filled in the standard forms, and I signed the credit card slip for our diving. Then we hiked our gear bags down the beach through the sand. Captain Keith backed the boat up to the beach, and we loaded gear and hopped on. The boat is beautiful – large and roomy, with shade (Island hopper type about 35-38ft or so). We had a chat, and asked for pretty, easy dives. Unfortunately, Stingray City was out for our second dive as the water on that side was a bit rough. Fills were 2800-3000, and all gear was on-board. Casey was our divemaster.

 

Dive #1 – Lone Star Reef. Casey gave a great dive briefing on-site, and told us what to expect to see. Pretty dive, but hurricane damage was evident on the coral. Lots of variety in soft and hard corals, and some sponges. Critters included grunts, butterflyfish, parrotfish, eels, lobsters, and all sorts of little tropicals. Big cracks and ledges to peek under, and Casey did a great job of pointing out interesting critters. Got a nice pic of two baby Morays.

 

We had a shallow dive, so our surface interval was only 20 minutes. Basically, just enough time to move the boat, switch over tanks, suck on orange slices, and for Casey to tell the story of how dive #2 got its name. It’s hilarious, and I won’t spoil it for you. We had another dive briefing as part of the funny story.

 

Dive #2 – Hammerhead Hole.

 

Dropped to the bottom, and the first thing I saw was Lobzilla. Visions of melted butter started whirling around in my head. Good reef, but hurricane damage evident here as well. Lots of variety of hard and soft corals, better variety of sponges than the first dive. A Hawkesbill turtle swam in circles around me, succeeding in making me dizzy by the time I got five good shots. Saw Lobzilla’s big brother, causing more butter fantasies. Conchs, abundant Angelfish, and all the usual suspects were present. The critters were unafraid of us – a grouper displayed for me, and a soldierfish for Keith.

 

We were dropped back off at the beach, and gave the regulators a cursory rinse-off before heading back to the ship. We got onto a partially-filled bus, where the driver assured us we were leaving in about 5 minutes. However, the bus driver waited until the bus was totally full until we headed back, and the fare was the same as our own taxi ($4 US each). Instead of waiting 25 minutes for the bus to fill, just grab a taxi.

 

Excellent operation, people, boat and diving. What else can I say? We shall return!

 

Wendy

 

Check out some photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/wendyandkeith

[Jerry_G]

Wendy. You didn't by any chance go to Costa Maya. You've reviewed all three ports that I will be visiting in December. You're only missing Costa Maya. Thanks for the three reviews they will certainly help me.

 

Jerry

[w&k]

Jerry-

 

We were supposed to stop at Costa Maya - but the waves were running 15-18 feet with 35 mph wind. The dock there is not sheltered, and our Captain felt it was not safe to dock under those conditions. (Grandeur got a big dent from trying to dock a couple of weeks before)

 

We were rigged up to go with Blue Ha diving, and I was very disappointed to miss it.

 

Blue Ha has been renamed Dreamtime diving, and the new website is http://www.dreamtimediving.com

 

Have a great trip!

 

Wendy