stuart coves diving?

Going to Nassua in January with family and friends.I am especially looking forward to the trip for the diving opportunity.
My wife and myself are the only divers in the group and we are researching what our best dive opportunity would be.
Has any one recently done the Stuart Cove shark dives?So far this is our leading pick but we do not have any experience in the Nassua area.
Does any one have any other suggestions?
BY the way can any inform me on the Shark Awareness Specialty offered through PADI?
Thank you in advance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My husband, 13 year old son and I dove with Stuart Cove's this summer. My son completed his OW cert. and we dove for five days after his certification. We had a great experience with only one exception. If you are using their shuttle bus you are rushed after the dive is over. We had a rental car for most of the time so it was not a big deal with us but you have no time to shop in the dive shop and you are rushed to look at the pictures they took while you were diving. I started having some ear trouble near the end of the second week so I could not do the shark dive but my husband and son did. They had a blast and really enjoyed it. The pictures taken were execellent and they said it was worth the money. We also did a night dive and it was great also. I do not think you will go wrong in using them for your diving. Enjoy and make sure you buy a picture to prove to all your friends that you dove with the sharks.

My wife & I did 3 days with Stuart Cove's in April, including the shark dives. We had a great time and the shark dives were the highlight of the trip. We used the shuttle buses and didn't feel rushed at the end of the day. On the last day, we chose the pictures we wanted and ordered the shark dive DVD (a great souvenier), did some t-shirt shopping in the gift shop, and made the bus back to the hotel. They do have more than one bus, so when the first one fills up it takes off and there's a chance to catch the second one.

From what I've heard the choice of dive ops in Nassau is dwindling, but I wouldn't hesitate to dive with SC again.

I went on a 2 tank afternoon dive with Stuart Cove's about two weeks ago. The diving was fantastic, 5-10 minutes from the dock. On our 2nd dive we dropped down a few hundred yards from the shark dive boat and we actually encountered about 15 - 20 black tip reef sharks during the course of our wall dive, it was amazing! They were either headed over to the feed or coming off the feed. The only negative about the trip was the actual "service" on the boat. At most places I have been to in the Carribean and Pacific the crew goes out of their way to earn their tips, ie. load the gear on the boat, change tanks for you, etc. This wasn't the case on our boat. We did everything for ourselves. I would also encourage you to bring your own regulator if you have one as theirs were pretty beat up. Overall, a great afternoon diving and I would dive with them again.

I went on the shark dive with them a year or two ago. No problems at all - they even let my wife go along (she wasn't diving this time), although there were only four divers on the boat - they may not let non-divers go if it's a full boat.

The first dive is just swimming around the reef with the sharks that show up. The second one is the feeding. Both were very enjoyable.

Dive staff was competent, though if you want help you need to ask for it. Once asked for/about something, they were very helpful. My wife said that the captain of the boat was very friendly and talkative while the rest of us were diving.

Get the DVD/tape of the dive. The photog was excellent (at least on my dive) and I watch that tape over and over.

I probably wouldn't do the shark dive again - for me it was just a 'once is good enough' type of thing. I can't see the dive varying much from time to time, and there's just too much other stuff to see and do down there.

Hope this helps,
David