Best diving: St. Maarten, San Juan or Amber Cove in Dominican Republic?

[Sigyn]

Our ports for our holiday cruise include St. Maarten, San Juan and Amber Cove. Which of these three are the best for diving? My husband is a certified diver and our 15-year-old son will be certified by the time we travel. He completed six dives in a Try Dive course on Catalina Island this summer and will do his certification in a few weeks. (He won't know what to think with the warm water of the Caribbean after the chilly water of Catalina!)

Edited September 16, 2022 by njsmom

[omeinv]

@njsmom

 

Of the ports listed, you'll have the best luck in St. Maarten.  I responded on your other question about San Juan, and I'm afraid you won't have much luck there.

 

I've not yet been to Puerto Plate (Amber Cove), but there are apparently no dive operators actually diving in proximity to the cruise ports, although they have desks there.  I've got a cruise the in November, and ran into a brick wall trying to actually book something. 

 

For St. Maarten, I've most recently used AquaMania.  They were OK but not great.  What happened in St. Maarten was a Hurricane a few years before COVID really impacted everything, and most dive operators went out of business, then COVID drove another nail in the coffin.  In looking now I see several operators seem to be up and running; so AquaMania would probably be fine for you, but I would likely look at other options (i.e. they were fine but not great).  I'll be there in November, but it sounds like your cruise is before ours. 

 

Although it doesn't have a reputation for great diving, I've always found St. Maarten to have good sites, with some wrecks, and usually you see reef sharks, which I imagine your newly certified son will really enjoy. 

 

In the next few weeks I'll be doing some more dedicated research into dive operators there, so feel free to email at the link in my signature, and I'll share anything I find out. 

 

Harris

Denver, CO

 

 

 

 

[Capt_BJ]

concur ......

[Sigyn]

Thanks to both of you. My son and husband will be diving, so I'll research St. Maarten for them. We're also stopping in St. Kitts, but my husband already has a golf excursion for that port. 

[Bobroo]

A really, really good option for your family is a shore dive at Scuba Dogs in San Juan. Scuba Dogs is not a far cab ride from the port, this is basically walk up service (no appointment necessary) and the dive can be as easy or complex as you want to make it. In short, this is a perfect opportunity for a new OW diver to get their feet wet at their own pace.

 

One word of caution, just be able to identify a stonefish. They are in the area.

[mac66]

I dived with Aqua Mania in St. Maarten in 2019. Their shop is a short walk from the pier. I walked with another diver from the ship. When we got there they put him on a dive boat with 19 other ship divers and me on a boat with 7 otherswho had booked privately. Both boats went to the same dive sites but at different times.

Edited September 28, 2022 by mac66