Best Scuba Places for Next Cruise

[Laurie S.]

I hauled all my gear, too, last month at Costa Maya, Roatan, and Grand Cayman and had a terrible time doing it. That's why I've now bought a wheeled bag. I just hope it holds up awhile.

 

[Scuba Laura]

Definately St. Thomas is the place to dive, which is a little unknown secret except to those who have dove there. On the south south/west side of the island there are many wrecks and beautiful reefs with a large variety of corals and fish. As another shop owner said, these sites are the least visited and only used by 2 - 3 dive centers. Very rarely will you be on the same site as another charter as these shops work together to guarantee you get the best dive.

IF you feel the need to bring your own gear, I have found that the 8 lb bag Akona offers is the best out there. IF you don't want to pay the extra fees for the extra bag, dive with Admiralty Dive Center. They replace their rental gear every 12 months with Aqua Lung Pro Qd's, top of the line gear! The staff consists of the best trained and experienced Instructors (no dive masters), who can handle any situation and make sure that the dives are as safe and enjoyable as possible.

Admiralty will pick you up right at the cruise ship docks, no need to walk. They now have a videographer who captures the dive from beginning to end!!

LET'S GO DIVING!!!!

 

[Laurie S.]

That's the bag I bought and it just arrived yesterday. It looks pretty good, but I think I'll make a canvas cover bag for it to help protect it from the airlines wonderful handling.

 

[Scuba Laura]

Hey Laurie, I've used mine several times now. I got so when I go back to the states, I can buy things we can't get on the islands. With a 50 lb limit, this bag holds alot!! It's made pretty good and I've got no complaints (yet).

Speaking of the gentle handling of baggage, have you seen the You Tube Dave Carroll made about United breaking his taylor guitar? If you haven't check this out!

YouTube - United Breaks Guitars

 

[Laurie S.]

I haven't seen it, but I've heard about it. Thanks, I'll take a look.

 

[sebach]

I'd be interested to hear how the diving is in Martinique, though will have long forgotten about this thread by the time you get back!

I've been in Martinique 2 times (40 dives). I liked the place a lot (nice wrecks, walls, canyons, ...).

 

[jcbreitbach]

I would not agree with the statement that St. thomas is the best by long shot. My wife and I just got back from a cruise out of San Juan where we dove 6 different islands (St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and St. Marteen). Of the list I would say that St. Thomas came in a distant 6th. We were not impressed with the diving or the dive operators (Blue Island), but to be fair the water conditions were far from ideal and the boat was loaded with alot of divers. The diving in St. Lucia was amazing you should absolutley dive there and make sure the shop you use takes you to the Pitons. I used Dive Fair Helen they were very good and very affordable compaired to some of the other shops. My next favorite spot was Barbados and it was a close second. The dive shop was outstanding Ecodive Barbados. Andrew the owner and Mikey his assistant were great. From the time they picked us up at the port, through the dive briefing, and all the way though the boat ride out and back. Andrew is very knowledgable about the island and the water surrounding it. The final stop was St. Marteen. I had been there before and still think that it is a great spot. I have used Ocean Explorers everytime and can't recomend them enough. I hope this helped and enjoy your trip.

 

[Laurie S.]

I'm set with dive trips at Barbados, St. Lucia, and St. Thomas, but have had no luck with Martinique. The only e-mail contact I could find was for Crazy Frogs and they don't respond. Oh well, I always can take the ship's snorkle excursion if nothing works out there.

 

[LUNAJOSE]

HELLO, WHILST IN BARBADOS, I DOVE WITH ''THE DIVE SHOP'. FATIMA IS THE OWNER AND SHE RUNS A VERY PROFESSIONAL AND FRIENDLY DIVE SHOP AND SHE PROVIDES PICK UP AND DROP OFF SERVICE. CHECK OUT ''THE DIVE SHOP, LTD'', BARBADOS. IN ST. LUCIA, I DOVE WITH "SCUBA STEVE", DIVE SHOP THEY ALSO WERE GOOD TO DIVE WITH. YOU WILL NOT BE DISSAPOINTED. HOPE THIS HELPS. JOSE' LUNA.:cool2:

 

[flashlight]

Blue Island is correct, Mother Nature plays a part in where we go and what the conditions are like under the water.
There are other operators on St Thomas with bigger boats and smaller boats, with the number of people that visit it is hard to always make every one happy.