Former FLL Now MSP Diver
Contributor
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions on where to dive in St. Thomas. Unfortunately after setting up a dive trip to the Rhone, I found out our ship wasn't due in Charlotte Amalie until 9:00am, and couldn't be guaranteed that we could get off in time to make the 9:30am charter on the other side of the island. Bummer.
So we ended up doing the the scuba excursion set up by the cruise. We dove with Underwater Safaris, whose shop - Waterworld Outfitters - is right off the cruise ship pier in the Havensight Mall. Their boats dock at beginning of the cruise ship pier outside the old abandoned Ramada hotel.
We went out on the Eagle Ray, a dedicated dive cat-style boat - very similar to the boats used by South Florida Dive Headquaters in Ft. Lauderdale for those who are familiar with that outfit. There were 16 divers on board from two cruise ships, but we weren't overly cramped. Seven crew members, five of whom went in the water, were all fun and personable. Boat amenities were not quite to par - jugged water offered only, and no snacks during the surface interval (OK - so I'm spoiled - I need my vanilla cookies or animal crackers).
All in all, it wasn't too bad, though the dives were "escorted" - three DM "guides" in the water sheparding everyone along. I didn't care for being hustled along, but the DM did tell my daughter and I we could have a little more latitude after he saw us unpack our own partial gear (regs, computers) that we brought, and was particularly impressed we had brought our own clips for our octopuses and consoles (no biggie - I've never seen clips on rental equipment). Judging by some of the moves we saw, it wasn't a bad idea to have someone in the water with some of these divers.
Cost was $75 for a two tank dive for adults, $65 for those under 15. Equipment was included except wetsuits, and they rented shorties for $10 additional which we opted for. The provided regs were Sherwoods, BC's were Aqua Lung. Both of these looked brand new. Weight belts were the soft Sea Quest type - very comfortable. Masks were generic no name in neon colored frames, but mine fit me surprising well. Fins were full boot type, also no named and they looked like they were made from solid rubber - very stiff.
We went out to a small island about 2 miles offshore from Frenchman's Bay. First we dove on Rye Reef - it was laid out in five "fingers" radiating outward. We saw plenty of life - turtles, rays, a lobster (and me without my snare
). There was a miniwall at the beginning of one of the fingers - about 60 feet tall which gave the wonderful illusion of a real wall dive.
We hung back at first, but soon shot ahead of the pack to ditch some hanger on buddies we aquired under water. A husband/wife pair, they were certified years ago on vacation, and hadn't dived in years since. They didn't rent suits, and were getting a bit chilled in the 80° water. He crashed into the bottom as soon as he submerged, and went racing after us each time we tried to ditch them. They both hit the reef and broke coral and sponges off. He was constantly on top of us, running into our tanks and kicking us in the masks. He didn't even get the hint when I pulled one of his fins off after a particularly viscious kick. He thought I was playing. We then tried really hard to ditch them, but I felt guilty after he took off and left his wife so we took her to the DM and buddied her up with him. Things were great after that. Max depth was 68 ft, with a 38 minute dive time. I would have liked to have stayed down longer, but lots of folks were sucking the air pretty good and we had to surface as a group.
The second dive site was very close to the first - in fact the boat remained anchored in the same spot and we just swam in the opposite direction to the wreck of the Cantanser Senor. An old freighter than had broken into three pieces, sat in the sand at 49 feet. Eels in the holds, engine room open with two large diesels accessible, and open holds with holes in the ceiling for swim throughs. Mr. Stupid managed to scratch his back going through the hole, right after he bopped his head on the deck showing off doing a somersault. But that was all we saw of them and it was a leisurely 37 minutes in the water. I surfaced with more than 1000 psi still left.
Other than the Stupids at the beginning of the first dive, it was an overall great experience. Relatively warm water, though a suit was welcome, the best viz I've ever been in outside of the aquarium at Epcot, and my cheapie camera capturing some great shots(attached and a couple more here.
I'd rate the whole experience an 8.5 - with marks off for the guided dive cut short by the DM's and lack of amenites on the boat. I'd use them again.
Marc
So we ended up doing the the scuba excursion set up by the cruise. We dove with Underwater Safaris, whose shop - Waterworld Outfitters - is right off the cruise ship pier in the Havensight Mall. Their boats dock at beginning of the cruise ship pier outside the old abandoned Ramada hotel.
We went out on the Eagle Ray, a dedicated dive cat-style boat - very similar to the boats used by South Florida Dive Headquaters in Ft. Lauderdale for those who are familiar with that outfit. There were 16 divers on board from two cruise ships, but we weren't overly cramped. Seven crew members, five of whom went in the water, were all fun and personable. Boat amenities were not quite to par - jugged water offered only, and no snacks during the surface interval (OK - so I'm spoiled - I need my vanilla cookies or animal crackers).
All in all, it wasn't too bad, though the dives were "escorted" - three DM "guides" in the water sheparding everyone along. I didn't care for being hustled along, but the DM did tell my daughter and I we could have a little more latitude after he saw us unpack our own partial gear (regs, computers) that we brought, and was particularly impressed we had brought our own clips for our octopuses and consoles (no biggie - I've never seen clips on rental equipment). Judging by some of the moves we saw, it wasn't a bad idea to have someone in the water with some of these divers.
Cost was $75 for a two tank dive for adults, $65 for those under 15. Equipment was included except wetsuits, and they rented shorties for $10 additional which we opted for. The provided regs were Sherwoods, BC's were Aqua Lung. Both of these looked brand new. Weight belts were the soft Sea Quest type - very comfortable. Masks were generic no name in neon colored frames, but mine fit me surprising well. Fins were full boot type, also no named and they looked like they were made from solid rubber - very stiff.
We went out to a small island about 2 miles offshore from Frenchman's Bay. First we dove on Rye Reef - it was laid out in five "fingers" radiating outward. We saw plenty of life - turtles, rays, a lobster (and me without my snare
). There was a miniwall at the beginning of one of the fingers - about 60 feet tall which gave the wonderful illusion of a real wall dive. We hung back at first, but soon shot ahead of the pack to ditch some hanger on buddies we aquired under water. A husband/wife pair, they were certified years ago on vacation, and hadn't dived in years since. They didn't rent suits, and were getting a bit chilled in the 80° water. He crashed into the bottom as soon as he submerged, and went racing after us each time we tried to ditch them. They both hit the reef and broke coral and sponges off. He was constantly on top of us, running into our tanks and kicking us in the masks. He didn't even get the hint when I pulled one of his fins off after a particularly viscious kick. He thought I was playing. We then tried really hard to ditch them, but I felt guilty after he took off and left his wife so we took her to the DM and buddied her up with him. Things were great after that. Max depth was 68 ft, with a 38 minute dive time. I would have liked to have stayed down longer, but lots of folks were sucking the air pretty good and we had to surface as a group.
The second dive site was very close to the first - in fact the boat remained anchored in the same spot and we just swam in the opposite direction to the wreck of the Cantanser Senor. An old freighter than had broken into three pieces, sat in the sand at 49 feet. Eels in the holds, engine room open with two large diesels accessible, and open holds with holes in the ceiling for swim throughs. Mr. Stupid managed to scratch his back going through the hole, right after he bopped his head on the deck showing off doing a somersault. But that was all we saw of them and it was a leisurely 37 minutes in the water. I surfaced with more than 1000 psi still left.
Other than the Stupids at the beginning of the first dive, it was an overall great experience. Relatively warm water, though a suit was welcome, the best viz I've ever been in outside of the aquarium at Epcot, and my cheapie camera capturing some great shots(attached and a couple more here.
I'd rate the whole experience an 8.5 - with marks off for the guided dive cut short by the DM's and lack of amenites on the boat. I'd use them again.
Marc
