Comparing St. Thomas, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Croix, & Antigua

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IslandGirl-PT

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Location
Kansas City, Missouri
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Hubby & I are newly OW certified and are looking forward to a trip we're taking in late December so we can do some diving...like, the type of diving we want to do now that we're certified. Doing our check-out dives in the murky lakes in Missouri were less than ideal for us although I know there are plenty of people that enjoy the lakes and quarries of the Midwest.

We had this cruise booked for quite some time before we decided we'd get certified & now wish we could trade it in for a dive trip of equal value! But, on the other hand, sampling five different islands sounds good too...anyway...

Of the 5 islands, I'm looking for comparisons I guess...maybe you haven't been to all of them but your opinions of any that you've been to are appreciated!

The 5 islands we're visiting are:
Castries, St. Lucia
Basseterre, St. Kitts
St. John's, Antigua
St. Croix, USVI
St. Thomas, USVI

Also would be interested in what dive shops you may have used and recommend.

Thanks in advance!
 
Wow, am I the first to reply?

Hi Island girl! I live in St. Croix which makes me a little bit biased, I'm sure. St. Croix has FABULOUS diving. Since you're coming in on a cruiseship, you'll be docking on the west end of the island. Therefore I would recommend going with either N2TheBlue N2 The Blue :Dive St Croix, scuba dive St Croix, St Croix dive shops, scuba dive virgin islands, virgin islands dive shops- or Cane Bay Dive shop Scuba Dive St Croix, Cane Bay Dive Shop,dive St Croix with the best St Croix dive packages

Both are great, N2 for west end pier (awesome dive!) and wreck dives. I'm not sure if they dive the wall, but I know for a fact Cane Bay does, and that is my favorite (personally). Both N2Blue and Cane Bay have a shop right at the pier where you will be docked.

Hey, if you get a chance come say hi while you're on St. Croix! I sell my work along the waterfront when there's a ship in dock. Just look for the tent with all the sea turtle jewelry. You can't miss it, or so I've been told, lol. They do call me the crazy turtle lady ( I wonder why?) :)

Hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise,
Liz

Handcrafted Jewelry Inspired by Nature by FantaSeaJewelry on Etsy
 
Of the islands you are looking at, Island Girl, St. Croix is the most logical option if you want to dive. You can dive anywhere that there is water, but STX has the best diving of the list and it's a major reason why I settled here earlier this year after 30 years in S. Florida.

Liz's advice is great. Cane Bay on the North shore has the best wall diving and...you can dive it from the beach!!! Cane Bay Dive Shop is RIGHT there, conveniently located. They offer boat dives, as well as guided beach dives. My partner has lived here 35 years and that is STILL his favorite dive spot. (Disclaimer: I'm an employee, but at one of their other locations...still, when I want to dive, I drive to Cane Bay beach.) You can make a deep wall dive or a shallow dive or something in between right there at Cane Bay. There are two restaurants right there for after-dive enjoyment.

You will dock at Fredericksted Pier; both Cane Bay Dive Shop and the shop N2TheBlue will be right there. And don't forget to stop by and check out some of Liz's beautiful jewelry...I have some of it myself! She also carries some of my partner's jewelry so check out his equestrian and western designs.

Enjoy your trip...you are visiting some really nice places!
 
Island Girl I have to agree with everyone so far that St. Croix has the best diving on your itinerary. One of our two dive boats departs from right off of the cruiseship pier and dives the west shore wrecks (5 of them within about 100 yards of each other) and reefs (there's LOTS). A 9:30am departure will have you back on the pier around 1230p.

We also dive the north shore walls and reefs from our Christiansted location. It's about 40 minutes from the cruise ship pier by Shopping Shuttle ($16RT) which comes right to our door. Our normal 8:30am departure time is delayed to 9a on cruise ship days to allow passengers to get here from the ship.

Congratulations on seeking out diving info on operators other than through the ship. Know matter who you choose here on St. Croix you'll have an awesome time, and will have saved money and probably have a much less crowded and stressful dive vs going with the ship.

As always I'll add in that own and operate our shop so I have an obvious vested interest in what I'm telling you.
 
Ha! How about some opinions from people NOT living on the island they're recommending! None of those are "oh my god" diving spots (comparatively to say, Coz or Caymans) but I've had some nice dives in St. Thomas and St. Lucia.
 
I think the fact that St. Thomians and St. Lucians are not posting in this thread answers your question, mathauck. :ijs:
 
Now that's just good comedy humor! :rofl3:
 
I have had the chance to dive all of those locations while on cruises. I'd have to say St. Croix was my favorite. I used Cane Bay and they did an excellent job transporting us to the dive site and leading the dives. I would probably follow that with St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Antigua and St. Thomas. That being said, they are all great dive locations and coming from a quarry, you shouldn't be disappointed.
 

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