Thought I would post a quick trip report from my recent Caribbean cruise. I know, I know, it is shameful - the man who protested against the building of the BVI cruise ship dock in 1991 actually taking a cruise himself... 
I did not do as much diving as I would have liked (should have left the wife and kids at home), so will post quick trip reports for the dives I didn't do as well as those which I did:
St Thomas
Went diving with Admiralty Divers; I have been with them a couple of times before, they didn't remember me but no offence taken. They still run a very tight and professional ship and are always a pleasure to dive with. I had hoped to dive the wreck of the WIT Shoal, but failed yet again (weather). Instead did two very nice dives on the wreck of the Miss Opportunity and a reef just outside of Charlotte Amalie called Stony Face. Was very pleased to see three spiny lobster and a Nassau grouper on the latter dive; I haven't been diving in St Thomas for over a year, and it is nice to see plenty of "edible" marine life in areas that had been over fished in the past.
Dominica
Sadly had to skip diving due to late arrival time. Ship got in a 10am, but none of the operators leave later than 9am, and none that I found did afternoon dives that got back in time to catch the ship. This is sad, because the consensus at my LDS was that Dominica had some of the best diving in the Windward Islands.
Barbados
Skipped the diving; had to go visiting one of my wife's friends.
St Lucia
Went diving with Frogs. Frogs has a strong reputation on SB, and whilst they were great for the more experienced diver, I did feel a bit sorry for the poor DSDs on board. Dived "Superman's flight" just below the famous Pitons, and a shallower reef dive nearby. The visibility and vibrancy of the coral was impressive, but I didn't see much in the way of marine life. This corresponds with Rhone Man's law of Caribbean diving: the poorer the country, the more of the fish have been eaten (see also: Dominican Republic).
Strange thing that may have interested only me: 4 different dive boats picked up passengers from the ship, and in each case all the instructors were black. Almost everywhere else I have been in the Caribbean, dive operations were run by white expatriates. It must be a good thing having more local involvement in the dive industry, but it makes me wonder again why this is unusual rather than the norm in the Caribbean.
St Kitts
I didn't plan to dive St Kitts because there were so many land based attractions, I never even looked into it. But I was a bit surprised to hear repeatedly that St Kitts is one of the hidden wreck diving capitals of the Caribbean. It was an extremely pleasant island to visit, so I will head back another day to check out the wrecks.
St Maarten
I had planned to dive with Scuba Fun, despite being warned that the quality of diving in St Maarten was not good by my LDS. In the end I didn't go because of concerns about "hydration" issues resulting from a fierce hangover. But I did stop by to meet the guys at Scuba Fun and take a look at the boats, and it certainly seemed to be a well run operation, and if I find myself in St Martin I will go back to them.
I did not do as much diving as I would have liked (should have left the wife and kids at home), so will post quick trip reports for the dives I didn't do as well as those which I did:St Thomas
Went diving with Admiralty Divers; I have been with them a couple of times before, they didn't remember me but no offence taken. They still run a very tight and professional ship and are always a pleasure to dive with. I had hoped to dive the wreck of the WIT Shoal, but failed yet again (weather). Instead did two very nice dives on the wreck of the Miss Opportunity and a reef just outside of Charlotte Amalie called Stony Face. Was very pleased to see three spiny lobster and a Nassau grouper on the latter dive; I haven't been diving in St Thomas for over a year, and it is nice to see plenty of "edible" marine life in areas that had been over fished in the past.
Dominica
Sadly had to skip diving due to late arrival time. Ship got in a 10am, but none of the operators leave later than 9am, and none that I found did afternoon dives that got back in time to catch the ship. This is sad, because the consensus at my LDS was that Dominica had some of the best diving in the Windward Islands.
Barbados
Skipped the diving; had to go visiting one of my wife's friends.
St Lucia
Went diving with Frogs. Frogs has a strong reputation on SB, and whilst they were great for the more experienced diver, I did feel a bit sorry for the poor DSDs on board. Dived "Superman's flight" just below the famous Pitons, and a shallower reef dive nearby. The visibility and vibrancy of the coral was impressive, but I didn't see much in the way of marine life. This corresponds with Rhone Man's law of Caribbean diving: the poorer the country, the more of the fish have been eaten (see also: Dominican Republic).
Strange thing that may have interested only me: 4 different dive boats picked up passengers from the ship, and in each case all the instructors were black. Almost everywhere else I have been in the Caribbean, dive operations were run by white expatriates. It must be a good thing having more local involvement in the dive industry, but it makes me wonder again why this is unusual rather than the norm in the Caribbean.
St Kitts
I didn't plan to dive St Kitts because there were so many land based attractions, I never even looked into it. But I was a bit surprised to hear repeatedly that St Kitts is one of the hidden wreck diving capitals of the Caribbean. It was an extremely pleasant island to visit, so I will head back another day to check out the wrecks.
St Maarten
I had planned to dive with Scuba Fun, despite being warned that the quality of diving in St Maarten was not good by my LDS. In the end I didn't go because of concerns about "hydration" issues resulting from a fierce hangover. But I did stop by to meet the guys at Scuba Fun and take a look at the boats, and it certainly seemed to be a well run operation, and if I find myself in St Martin I will go back to them.
