Looking for Caribbean recommendations

[maudiver216]

Hello all,

I am going on a cruise with Royal Caribbean from San Juan, Puerto Rico next month stopping at the following islands:

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

I would be grateful if someone could answer the following questions:

1. How feasible is it to dive with a local operator as opposed to using the cruise-approved shore excursion operator and not be left behind on the island?
2. What are the top dive operators in each island?
3. How are the shore dives at these locations?
4. If I had to choose two or three islands to dive at, which ones should I pick?
5. Finally: why is diving in Puerto Rico so expensive? A Puerto Rican friend of mine suggested that I was looking at tourist-only prices.

I appreciate any insight received.

Thanks!

 

[jonhall]

There are some current threads on this topic right now and you can find some piecemeal info about different islands doing a search here on SB. As I am going on a similar cruise in January, I have done a little research already. I was trying to plan dives on the islands where the topside excursions didn't seem worthwhile to me and my wife.

I plan to book with the local operator as opposed to the cruise ship (have found a $20 difference at one op.) My requirements are that the dive op must be near, or pick up at, the cruise ship as well as other a few other things I expect from any dive op. Although a taxi probably wouldn't be a problem time wise, I like the idea of transportation from the op itself. As long as you're doing morning dives, there shouldn't be a problem being getting back to the cruise ship.

* St. Maarten has dive ops a short walk from the cruise ship pier. Easy enough to book ahead with them. Can't recommend one as the one I used (Scuba Fun) must still be closed due to hurricanes a few years ago.I think I saw Caribbean Dive College is in business.
* St Kitts is one of the places I plan to dive. Kenneth's Dive Center (or their boat) is 2 minute walk from cruise ship. Dive St. Kitts is a 10 minute drive from ship but they pick up. They had about the longest time for a trip because they go back to a hotel for the surface interval. Pro Divers I'm staying clear of even though their boat is a few minutes from the ship, because they have a 7 day cancellation period!
*Antigua - dive ops are farther away. I dove with Indigo Divers out of Jolly Harbor which is about 30 minutes from the cruise ship pier, but their were cruisers on every dive I did.
* St. Lucia doesn't appear to have any dive ops near the cruise pier but Scuba St. Lucia has a boat that leaves from the cruise ship pier 3 days a week. Have to inquire to find out the days. Otherwise it looks like a long ride to an op where the dive sites are located.
* Barbados - looks like dive ops are 20 minutes away. Roger's Scuba Shack picks up but others may also.

Most of the ops on these islands are around $105-120 for 2 tank with gear included. A little cheaper if you have your own. When I dove in Puerto Rico 4 years ago, it was $116 for a 2 tank dive. The hardest thing for me was finding a dive op on the east side of the island. Wound up diving in Fajardo.

 

[maudiver216]

There are some current threads on this topic right now and you can find some piecemeal info about different islands doing a search here on SB. As I am going on a similar cruise in January, I have done a little research already. I was trying to plan dives on the islands where the topside excursions didn't seem worthwhile to me and my wife.

I plan to book with the local operator as opposed to the cruise ship (have found a $20 difference at one op.) My requirements are that the dive op must be near, or pick up at, the cruise ship as well as other a few other things I expect from any dive op. Although a taxi probably wouldn't be a problem time wise, I like the idea of transportation from the op itself. As long as you're doing morning dives, there shouldn't be a problem being getting back to the cruise ship.

* St. Maarten has dive ops a short walk from the cruise ship pier. Easy enough to book ahead with them. Can't recommend one as the one I used (Scuba Fun) must still be closed due to hurricanes a few years ago.I think I saw Caribbean Dive College is in business.
* St Kitts is one of the places I plan to dive. Kenneth's Dive Center (or their boat) is 2 minute walk from cruise ship. Dive St. Kitts is a 10 minute drive from ship but they pick up. They had about the longest time for a trip because they go back to a hotel for the surface interval. Pro Divers I'm staying clear of even though their boat is a few minutes from the ship, because they have a 7 day cancellation period!
*Antigua - dive ops are farther away. I dove with Indigo Divers out of Jolly Harbor which is about 30 minutes from the cruise ship pier, but their were cruisers on every dive I did.
* St. Lucia doesn't appear to have any dive ops near the cruise pier but Scuba St. Lucia has a boat that leaves from the cruise ship pier 3 days a week. Have to inquire to find out the days. Otherwise it looks like a long ride to an op where the dive sites are located.
* Barbados - looks like dive ops are 20 minutes away. Roger's Scuba Shack picks up but others may also.

Most of the ops on these islands are around $105-120 for 2 tank with gear included. A little cheaper if you have your own. When I dove in Puerto Rico 4 years ago, it was $116 for a 2 tank dive. The hardest thing for me was finding a dive op on the east side of the island. Wound up diving in Fajardo.

Great info! Thanks a lot!

 

[maudiver216]

*Antigua - dive ops are farther away. I dove with Indigo Divers out of Jolly Harbor which is about 30 minutes from the cruise ship pier, but their were cruisers on every dive I did.


Most of the ops on these islands are around $105-120 for 2 tank with gear included. A little cheaper if you have your own. When I dove in Puerto Rico 4 years ago, it was $116 for a 2 tank dive. The hardest thing for me was finding a dive op on the east side of the island. Wound up diving in Fajardo.

Is it worth diving in Antigua? If the distance between the cruise terminal and the dive ops with Indigo divers is worth the hassle then I'll seriously consider it. Right now i'm hesitant to book a dive in Antigua due to the dive ops not being able to pick up passengers at the cruise terminal.

Thanks

 

[jonhall]

Marine life isn't as abundant as in a place like Grand Cayman, but there are reef fish, turtles, and I did see reef and nurse sharks on most dives. Was able to go to 2 different sides of the island and the deepest we went on any dive was 60 ft. Again, I dove with Indigo Divers: Scuba Diving in Antigua

If you do dive in Antigua with Indigo Divers (or anyone else who may be located in Jolly Harbor), this may be helpful: pretty sure you would have to take a taxi to Jolly Harbor, but there are plenty of taxis, especially around the casino which is at the cruise port. There was actually a cruise ship excursion that took people to an area of Jolly Beach for the day. If you have someone with you that wanted to beach it, the beach is only a 5-8 minute walk from the Jolly Harbor boardwalk (where you would get on the dive boat if diving with Indigo Divers.) It's a very nice beach, separate from where all the cruise ship people go, with chair rentals available - it runs along the Jolly Beach Resort. There are also restaurants around the harbor boardwalk and one on the beach where the cruise ship people are. We stayed at Tranquility Bay which is a part of the Jolly Beach Resort, so when I dove, I had a 3-5 minute walk - very convenient.

I think Antigua and St. Maarten are very similar although there were a couple of nice wrecks in St Maarten.

If you dive in St. Maarten and wanted to dive the small wrecks, they are closer to Simpson Bay. It's a longer boat ride for ops by the cruise ship pier, but taxis can get you to Simpson Bay in about 20 minutes. Ocean Explorers Ocean Explorers Dive Center - Scuba Diving in St Maarten / St Martin Best Dives is on Kim Sha beach in Simpson Bay, which is right off the main road. They cater to cruise ship divers as long as you get to their shop. There are a few decent beaches and beach bars along that stretch also for any non-divers.

Is it worth diving in Antigua?

I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to diving. Even if the diving is not great - whatever great is - I usually come away with a pretty good experience and see some things I hadn't seen before. Having been to Antigua, although beautiful, topside activities are pretty much sightseeing and great views. Knowing what I know, I would rather spend time diving there instead of being driven around the island (unlike when we have our cruise stop in Barbados, I know we want to go see the caves, so diving won't be on my schedule there.) Hope this helps a little.

 

[skearse]

* St Kitts is one of the places I plan to dive...Pro Divers I'm staying clear of even though their boat is a few minutes from the ship, because they have a 7 day cancellation period!

We dove with Pro Divers a few years ago and have friends that dive with them pretty much annually, and can highly recommend using them. If you haven't contacted them directly, I'd suggest talking to them and see if you could work something out.

 

[maudiver216]

Marine life isn't as abundant as in a place like Grand Cayman, but there are reef fish, turtles, and I did see reef and nurse sharks on most dives. Was able to go to 2 different sides of the isl.

I went to Grand Cayman about two years ago and wasn't all that impressed. The only thing I did like about it was at the Lemon Drop Wall site. I didn't see much marine life there when compared to my local diving in southeast Florida.

Thanks again for the info!

 

[maudiver216]

We dove with Pro Divers a few years ago and have friends that dive with them pretty much annually, and can highly recommend using them. If you haven't contacted them directly, I'd suggest talking to them and see if you could work something out.

Thanks. Unfortunately, they won't be available during my stop.

 

[GrafCanuck]

Hi
I've been on the same cruise and destinations but before I was certified. Have been to these islands other multiple times for your typical weekly vacation. I don't recall shore diving on any of these islands. I do remember dive ops on each of these islands. Haven't used any of them so can't comment other than buying some snorkeling stuff. Best to google dive ops on each of the islands' tourist site. Enjoy.

 

[maudiver216]

Hi
I've been on the same cruise and destinations but before I was certified. Have been to these islands other multiple times for your typical weekly vacation. I don't recall shore diving on any of these islands. I do remember dive ops on each of these islands. Haven't used any of them so can't comment other than buying some snorkeling stuff. Best to google dive ops on each of the islands' tourist site. Enjoy.

Which islands are most worthy to visit topside?

Thanks!