Newbie going to Aruba- HELP with dive shop and where I should dive?

[brambleberry]

I'm actually in Aruba right now (staying at the Marriot) and made the mistake of choosing Red Sail. Wow. That was a mistake. They are disorganized cattle boats. Both times, it's been 12 divers to 1 divemaster and every boat has had 2 blown O-rings on tanks and every dive has also had malfunctioning regs.

I'm scheduled to do a night dive with them tonight (they promised me 1 divemaster for every 4 divers so I bought a package) and after that, I'm switching dive companies for the rest of this trip.

 

[SkipperJohn]

Welcome back. I'm glad your experience with USA was good. I just returned on Sunday myself. I only managed 1 dive tho. On Monday I dove the Antilla, man did that wreck change! I was told Hurricane Hugo broke it up. For me it was interesting because it was a new perspective, but it isn't the snorkel haven it once was as it sits much lower in the water column now. Also I'm told there is no penetration as it is still breaking up. I got some good pictures of interior portions not visible before.

Hurricane Bill threw a little tantrum resulting in a serious swell and a small surge which reduced vis (funny how in NY I an thrilled to have 10 to 15 feet, in Aruba I am not happy with 25 feet).
I hope to get my AOW soon, next year when I go I'll try out some of the more challenging dives there towards the south side of the island. (Meanwhile I need to prepare for Danny this weekend!)

 

[brambleberry]

Just an update - we did our last two dives on the island with Jads and they were totally professional, ran on time and in general, it was just a better dive experience than Red Sail. There's something to be said for paying just a little bit more for smaller groups and more personalized diving attention. The South Side was awesome and the divemaster made sure we got our max bottom time for both dives.

 

[irie1029]

Totally agree JP at Jads really does a great job. Did you do Rocky Beach? Is the boat still near the airport?

 

[dcubedsw]

BEWARE! Mermaid has had their affiliations pulled by all the agencies for less than scrupulous behaviour towards female divers, both above and below the water by their staff. There is lots of reading if you do a search on them.

Really? I'm sorry to hear that. We three ladies (all in our 30's) went with them earlier this year and had absolutely no problems of that sort.

 

[SDiverJim]

A lot of great feedback here. I'm heading down with family to Aruba in February 2010 for 10 days. Sadly, I am the only diver. I was warned about red sail. I will give JADS or USA a shout. Nice photos Skipper.

 

[DarthSimon]

I will be diving with Jads for a second time in October of this year... They were fabulous last year, and can't wait to dive with them again...

 

[frostfire]

We have a timeshare in Aruba, so we've dived there many times. I would agree with the asessments of JADS, Clive and Red Sail. I was certified by Pelican decades ago, and have dived with them on a number of occasions since. Modern boats and equipment, with several divemasters on board. They dont require experienced divers to hang out with the newbies. There is nothing more annoying for an experienced diver than to be waiting on the bottom, burning up your tank watching some newbie who cant clear their ears flounder around on the surface with the DM.Also, just as an FYI, the diving in Aruba is quite shallow. The deepest dive is the Antilla which sits in 55-60' of water.

 

[highlandfarmwv]

Antilla is probably the shallowest dive I have done in Aruba. Most with Clive go to about 90 feet when you dive the actual reefs. Usually the first dive of the day is 90' or so and the second is a shallower one around 40'. (drift) Antilla is not even on a reef, try the reefs.

 

[frostfire]

Which reef is 90'? Malmok, etc are all quite shallow.