Southern Caribbean Dive Advice Needed

[vplsh]

Hello!

My husband and I will be on the Caribbean Princess in March 2010. We will be stopping at St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire and Aruba. He would like to SCUBA dive in 2 or 3 ports. Other than Bonaire, which we know is a must, does anyone have recommendations as to where he should dive? We've never been to any of the ports, so he'd like to sightsee at a few ports too.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Scubachick84]

I don't recommend Grenada. While I thoroughly enjoyed the wreck dive I did and the operators were great, the reef dive left a lot to be desired, there were even some tires on the bottom and the visibility was pretty poor. I wouldn't dive there again.

[sddiver]

The other must is Dominica. But it also has great hiking, waterfalls ect. If you plan well you can do both.

 

http://www.natureislanddive.com/index.html

 

Rich

[diverearl]

I agree, Dominica has great diving would be my second choice. St Thomas has really good diving as well but rough water conditions can be a hugh factor at this port.

[kthy66]

Aruba is decent for diving if you go to the south coast but I believe the excursions off the cruise ships go to the antilla. The antilla is a large ship wreck off the west coast. It is an ok dive but not the best ,, usually is very busy and clarity is not the best.

[BlueC5Kitten]

Having only been to St. Thomas and Bonaire of the ports you mention, I would definitely vote for those two. I do agree with the poster above, re: St. Thomas's rough seas, thought. Seems it can be very hit or miss with diving there due to the winds...if there are high winds, and subsequently high seas, you will have a tougher time getting in the water...that being said, there are protected alcoves to which good dive ops can take you, but the reefs aren't as well developed in those areas, it seems.

 

I have heard great things about Dominica from friends, too though, so maybe make that your DH's trifecta of dive sites! Good luck, and happy diving!

[jimw]

There is good shore diving on St Thomas at Coki Beach for the cost of a tank--$10. a year ago....and no rough seas.

[vplsh]

Thanks for the advice so far. I'll look into the places you all have mentioned.

Does anyone have any ideas for a shore dive in Bonaire where I can hang out on the beach while DH dives? Also, are there guides who can go with him?

 

Thanks again!

[camarodrivenrs]

Contact Divi Divi Dive Resort in Bonaire and they will take care of you, offer both shore diving and offshore. Do not miss Bonaire.

[underseahunter]

AWESOME locales for diving.

If you only have two to choose, Bonaire and Dominica. On Dominica I can speak well of "http://www.natureislanddive.com/index.html" I have visited and dove with them there twice. They at least were authorized shore excursion vendors for Holland America, although not Carnival when I was there in June. They are very mindful of the departure times and will pick you up and drop you at the dock... Tell them hello from Chris in Palm Beach, Fl for me.

 

Bonaire would be the other must dive island on your cruise...

 

Aruba was a stinky place. The dive to some ww2 submarine stunk, totally junior varsity.

Like some others have said St. Thomas is nice, but marginal conditions, I skipped it last cruise, and I ONLY go cruising to go SCUBA DIVING. On STT you would be better off taking a tour of the island with one of the crazy cabs. Just walk to the end of the port area, with a group of like minded people. Once you have pulled out of the port area the cab will pull over and negociate a rate for taking you around the island. It cost $20 per person for our group, for like 4hrs. Awesome. Tell the cabbie to pull over for beer, and they will find a grocer, get a case, a cooler, and a bag of ice. JUST DON'T FORGET TO BRING A BOTTLE OPENER, NO carib. beers are "twist offs." Opener mandatory. Have fun. C

[vplsh]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Looks like he will dive with Nature Island in Dominica and try Divi Divi resort in Bonaire.

 

Any other recommendations for this itinerary?

[turtlegirl2]

Hi Lisa, we are doing this same itinerary in November and so far I have reserved dives with Princess at all these dive sites except Dominica, where we are on a wait list. I just emailed the nature island people and the divi divi folks to see if they have room for us on the dates we are in those ports.

 

Does anyone here know who Princess uses as their dive operators on these dive sites? sometimes, the local shops won't let you reserve with them if you are on a dive they are contracted with.

 

Dive sites again are: St. Thomas, Grenada, Dominica, Bonaire and Aruba.

 

Any info about who Princess uses (and if they are any good) would be greatly appreciated! We like using small independent operators but we've never been to any of these locations yet and would hate to make a bad choice.

 

Thanks!

[w&k]

St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire and Aruba.

 

In my personal opinion... you have to try Bonaire. I haven't got there yet, but cruise specifically to get to Curacao (and Aruba, too).

 

Gotta do Dominica! :D :D :D :D

If you are docked at Roseau, contact Karen at Nature Island Dive. http://www.natureislanddive.com.

If you dock at Cabrits, contact Helen at Cabrits Dive Center. http://www.cabritsdive.com

They are both top-notch operations, and their dives and crew are awesome.

 

Gotta do Aruba! :D :D

My choice here is to 'Dive with Clive' at Dive Aruba. Six pack diving at its best! http://www.divearuba.com For some reason, my camera is jinxed at this stop, so there are only a few good pix.

 

St. Thomas

We went with Blue Island Divers a few years ago, and ended up doing a deep wreck in rough water and a sheltered reef when I had specified sheltered reef only in my E-mail. Admiralty gets the general nod from cruisers for boat dives, and Coki for easy and inexpensive beach diving.

 

Grenada - we actually had a dive set up for Grenada with Aquanauts, but unfortunately, I tied into some slightly-off seafood the night before, and was in no shape to dive that morning.

 

Here are links to my photos and website.

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

http://www.freewebs.com/wendyandkeith

 

Have a great trip wherever you dive!

 

Wendy

[turtlegirl2]

I've emailed all your suggestions and will hope to hear back from them early next week!

 

One problem I see is in Dominica... our ship gets there at 9am which is when NID says it leaves for its first boat dive. We could probably get there for the 10:30 dive but would this limit us to only one dive on Dominica if we go with them?? We are still on the wait list with Princess so no change there...

 

Any advice on this situation?

 

TIA,

Jacque

[jimw]

Here I am again, St Thomas can be a surprisingly good shore dive at Coki Beach. We rented a tank for $10. and dove 50 feet away. Lots of fish, a very nice dive despite massive diver pressure over the years. We rented our tanks from Coki Beach Dive Club.

[vplsh]

I've been corresponding with Nature Island Dive about the time. I am hoping to hear back that Steve can do the early dive so we can get out and about the island before we have to set sail.

 

I am also looking into the Divi Dive Resort in Bonaire, as that has been recommended. We specifically took this itinerary to have the chance to dive in Bonaire. And as I don't dive, a resort is a great choice.

 

We've heard mixed things about diving in St. Thomas. Does anyone else have any thoughts?

[w&k]

Turtlegirl & vplsh- The best way I have ever found to get a dive on your schedule is to bring a group. I have found 6 to be the magic number for bookings. You probably have already done this, but check your Roll Call thread for other divers.

 

Also check the port schedules to see the dockage in local time. You might find this website useful. http://www.dominica.dm/site/cruise.cfm

 

You're also going to get plenty of scenery on the way from Roseau to Nature Island Dive & back.

 

Dominica is called the Nature Island for a reason - it's simply beautiful because there isn't a whole lot there but Nature.

 

Good luck & I hope you have wonderful dives!

 

Wendy

[sparks247]

Hi Lisa,

 

Bonaire, being the shore-dving capital of the world, is a must!

Curacao has excellent dive sites too, check http://www.curacao.com for dive operators and

dive sites.

 

Andre'

[Motley]

I don't know if you have booked yet but I would highly recommend Nature Island Dive in Dominica. We just got back from our Victory cruise and they were fantastic. We had 2 great dives with them and they got us back to the boat with plenty of time to spare.

[turtlegirl2]

After emailing Karen at Nature Island Dive, we finalized our Dominica diving with her today! Any suggestions on what to do after our 2-tank with them in the a.m.? Karen said they could help us get a taxi to see some other sites, time permitting. Anyone done this before? If so, what did you do? She mentioned the waterfalls or Titou Gorge (?? - my notes are not here to check that - sorry if it's totally off!) We are excited to have this booked and can't wait to get to Dominica!

[flipflopgal]

I did Carib Princess last Nov, and will be going again 11/15. I found the prices fixed in Dominica, the same everywhere including the shore excursion offered by Princess, so we just took that as it couldnt be more convenient. I agree with all the others, Bonaire & Dominica are the 2 places to dive. In Bonaire we used divesunrentals@buddydive.com Rob was the guys name & we had an awesome dive off a beach at a resort, my best dive ever.

 

Enjoy

[vplsh]

Thanks, flipflopgirl. I've contacted Buddy Diving about Bonaire. He is booked with Nature Island Dive in Dominica.

[DreamDiver]

Hi Lisa,

 

Go to St. Thomas, Bonaire, Dominica. Avoid Aruba at all costs, horrible diving--spent 30 minutes at 25 feet looking at sand and old war heads. St. Thomas can be rough so pay attention to others around you when getting back on the boat. Our group had some "newbies" and somebody fell back on the driver below them who should have waited down below.

[w&k]

Hi Lisa,

 

Go to St. Thomas, Bonaire, Dominica. Avoid Aruba at all costs, horrible diving--spent 30 minutes at 25 feet looking at sand and old war heads. St. Thomas can be rough so pay attention to others around you when getting back on the boat. Our group had some "newbies" and somebody fell back on the driver below them who should have waited down below.

 

Wow, sorry you had a bad dive in Aruba. Next time, give it a try with a reputable operation. We have been to some absolutely beautiful reefs with Clive at Dive Aruba, and there are also a couple others that get good reviews here on the board.

 

I totally agree with you on the rough water in St. Thomas - when we went, it was diver pinball getting the newbie folks off and back on again. The crew on our boat did a great job keeping everyone upright. However, I'm getting old, fat, and lazy, and pass on rough water diving these days.

 

Wendy

[Middleager]

In St. Thomas, we went to Coki Beach twice. Both times we had great dives and snorkeling. I went on the boat dives. We also saw some other dive boats, and the captain/DM explained these boats came from the other island (St. John?), and they pay twice as much to come to the same dive sites.

 

At the beach, you can do shore dive (rent tanks also from the Coki Beach Dive Club, or just snorkel for free there. No rough water. My wife who is a non-swimmer, quite enjoyed the snorkeling there.