St. Thomas Dive Report

[boingophreak]

Did 3 dives (1 at Epcot and 2 in St. Thomas).


11/10/2005
Epcot's Dive Quest was incredible! 273 ft of vis (that was the diameter of the tank otherwise it could have gone on forever) in a 6 million gal tank. 65 different verities of Tropical sea life (including a giant sea turtle, 3 tiger sharks, a spotted ray and a couple of brown rays.) Although a dive into a tank sounds dull, this is NOT TO BE MISSED. If you find yourself at Walt Disney World - Dont' miss out on this.

11/16/2005
Chartered with Blue Island Divers.
St. Thomas - Dive #1 was a beautiful coral reef called REEF Bowl. Depth = 67 ft, Vis = 75ft, Water temp = 80 degrees F. Saw a parrot fish, baby sea turtle (I told the kids it was "Crush" from Finding Nemo) and lots of other sea life.

Dive #2 - My first Wreak dive. Navy Barges - Depth 40 ft. Vis was poor (8-10 ft), sandy bottom. It was 2 old WWII barges that were sunk in the late forties. Although the surrounding water was murky, it did clear up once inside the vessels. Saw a barracuda, giant lobster and a small ray. First time I have ever done a wreak, so it was a little spooky going through the holes that had been blown through the ship, but we had a great dive master\guide who took everything very slow and made it very enjoyable.

 

[Jersey]

I agree, love the Epcot dive. The life outside the tank is as much fun as the life in the tank! My family gets a kick out of seeing me dive (all non-divers) & I enjoy playing with the patrons in the restaurant. Heading back next week for a family trip & plan to do it. How large are the sharks? Last visit (Oct '03), there was 1 or 2 small - 3 footers. Staff said they were hoping to add some larger specimens.

 

[smokey braden]

boingophreak,
welcome to this board.
thank you for the trip report.
diving in that fish tank sounds cool.
regards,

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Welcome to Scubaboard! I thought the Navy barges was a decent dive considering it was arranged through a cruise ship when we were in St. Thomas.

 

[boingophreak]

I agree, love the Epcot dive. The life outside the tank is as much fun as the life in the tank! My family gets a kick out of seeing me dive (all non-divers) & I enjoy playing with the patrons in the restaurant. Heading back next week for a family trip & plan to do it. How large are the sharks? Last visit (Oct '03), there was 1 or 2 small - 3 footers. Staff said they were hoping to add some larger specimens.

The sharks have grown. I would say they were now around 5 - 5.5 ft.

There was a wedding reception going on in the coral reef while I was diving, so I did my best underwater Travolta imitations for the guests.

 

[boingophreak]

boingophreak,
welcome to this board.

Thanks

thank you for the trip report.

Your Welcome.

diving in that fish tank sounds cool.
regards,

It was. If I go back I will do it again!!!

 

[boingophreak]

Welcome to Scubaboard! I thought the Navy barges was a decent dive considering it was arranged through a cruise ship when we were in St. Thomas.

Thanks for the welcome. I booked the dives on my own months ago, not through the cruise ship. I did enjoy the Navy Barge dive. It was having to swim nose to fin with everyone (so that we could see each other) that I did not like. I did love the barges once we were inside. I also thougt that Blue Island was a great outfit and I will dive with them again if I am ever back in St. Thomas.

 

[scubabrandon]

if you don't mind me asking...how much does mickey charge to dive at epcot?

 

[boingophreak]

The cost of Disney's Epcott Dive Quest is $140.00 (This does also cover a one day pass into Epcott so you do not have to pay extra for that and a free T-Shirt).

They also offer a customized DVD of the experience for an additional "donation" of $35.00 to their wildlife conservation fund.

For further info see http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/tours.htm

if you don't mind me asking...how much does mickey charge to dive at epcot?

 

[Jersey]

Brandon - Yep $140 for the 'experience' but you can get about 15% discount on the dives via AAA or DVC membership or PADI membership or DAN membersip, just ask. They offer 2 dives daily, the later usually lasts longer - about 50 min max. I think a portion of the cost is tax deductible as a contribution to some wildlife fund, but I'm not a tax advisor! You do get to see some of the behind the tank things as well - last trip they were not quite ready & we got to see where the dolphins are kept. They also offer a $100 surface supplied air snorkel 'experience' for guests 10 years & up.

Boingo thanks for the info. 10 yr old nephew is doing the snorkel this trip & is so excited about being in the water w/ sharks as large as he!