Which islands are best to dive (cruise)? Thomas, Maarten, Kitts, Lucia, Barbados?

[kyley]

Hi All,
I'm going on a cruise in late June and hitting all these stops. I dive, but my wife doesn't, so I usually only get to dive one spot, maybe two if I'm luckly Which of these islands offer the best scuba diving (and preferably not too far from the cruise port)?
St. Thomas
St. Maarten
St. Kitts
St. Lucia
Barbados
Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts! Take care,
--Kyle

 

[diversteve]

moved to cruises for a better response...

 

[scubadiver888]

Depends how you define 'best'. I like seeing a lot of marine life when diving in the Caribbean. I would rank them from best to worst as:

1. St. Lucia
2. St. Kitts
3. St. Thomas
4. Barbados
5. St. Maarten

I usually go to these islands in April/May so things might be a little different in June. Personally, I'd skip St. Maarten for sure. You might like St. Thomas over St. Kitts.

 

[Rhone Man]

I expect it is subjective, but I would rank best to worst as:

1. St. Thomas
2. St. Lucia
3. St. Kitts
4. St. Maarten
5. Barbados

But I like wrecks, which is what you normally get in STT and St Kitts. Others who prefer marine life would probably put St Lucia top (St Lucia is lovely...).

 

[kyley]

Thanks guys, I guess I should have been more clear What I value most is (I guess in order):
1. Nice coral, inverts, unique little things (seahorse, etc.).
2. Good visibility and diving conditions (weaker currents).
3. All the big stuff too - sharks, turtles, goliath groupers, eagle rays, etc.
Thanks!
--Kyle

 

[scubadiver888]

None of the ports you listed are known for 'unique little things'. St. Thomas has a HUGE barracuda and places to see sharks. St. Kitts has turtles but you may or may not see them. St. Lucia is hit and miss on visibility. If it was raining the day before you go diving the visibility will be poor. However, when the visibility is poor (due to run off from the island) there is a greater amount of marine activity. This is why I always like St. Lucia.

One of the best dives in St. Lucia is Superman's Flight. It is a drift dive with strong current. I know you said 'weaker currents'. If you want weaker current because you just don't feel comfortable drift diving then Superman's Flight is not for you. If you want to avoid current because you hate swimming against the current then drifting back to the boat, Superman's Flight would be fine. They drop you off at one end, the boat follows your bubbles and picks you up at the other end. There is no swimming at all. You just let the current take you.

It will be hit or miss for the things you are looking for. Even a good dive operation has bad days. They'll know where the best chance of seeing the things you are looking for would be but they cannot guarantee it. For example, I was in St. Thomas and they took us to see sharks. I saw one shark but it never came closer than 100 feet from us.

 

[Rhone Man]

Yes, what Scubadiver888 said is broadly right. There are no guarantees.

If you asked me to take an "inkblot" style test in relation to those names as diving locations, I would say:
St Thomas - good wrecks, reasonable marine life
St Kitts - good wrecks, reasonable marine life
St Lucia - great corals and topography, weak marine life
St Martin - scrubby corals and debris that passes for wrecks, weak marine life
Barbados - weak game generally.

All of these are relative though - by comparison to other Caribbean islands.

One more piece of advice. In St Lucia, it is key if you are on a cruise ship to hook up with a reputable operator. Too many people pick up cruise ship passengers, just nip outside of Castries and jump in the water. The better ones usually do the longer run down to Superman's Flight (take your camera - the Pitons are magnificent from that angle) or one of the other better dives.

 

[scubadiver888]

Rhone Man,

I actually found St. Lucia to have a huge amount of marine life but I haven't been there in a few years. What Caribbean islands have more marine life?

Thanks.

 

[Rhone Man]

Rhone Man,

I actually found St. Lucia to have a huge amount of marine life but I haven't been there in a few years. What Caribbean islands have more marine life?

Thanks.

I guess experiences vary. When I was there in April 2010 I kept thinking "Well, it is pretty enough, but where are all the damn fish?"

 

[kyley]

Thanks so much guys, I really appreciate it. I have fun with drift diving, but sometimes find it frustrating (i.e. carrying a flag or trying to swim in place to snap a good photo, etc), but you've got me convinced that Superman's Flight would be a good dive. Do you have any recommended diver operators?

BTW, I've dove all over Cancun, Cozumel, Mayan Riviera, Florida, (and Jamaica as my first dives), etc. - so really what classifies as "unique" for me is stuff I haven't seen before! Things I might see out here that I wouldn't see in Mexico / Florida (although I'm assuming it's mostly the same life).

You both made it easy to eliminate St. Maarten & Barbados Sounds like St. Maarten has great beaches, so I'll be there!

I'm going to be diving in Vieques, Puerto Rico before the cruise sets sail too - any experience with good dive ops there? If I get any more dives in, it might be one on St. Kitts or St. Thomas, but sounds like St. Kitts would be a nice one to explore the rain forest on. Thanks again guys!
--Kyle