SANDALS: Scuba Included

[fda483]

Love Sandals, been to three of them but.... to be clear, while diving is included its not a dive resort. Two dives a day, all lead dives and they are ended at 30-35 minutes regardless of air consumption.

Joe

 

[annstravels.ca]

Thank you. Great to have feedback from someone who has done the diving at Sandals. I love Sandals too!

---------- Post added January 21st, 2013 at 09:35 AM ----------

Twice a day is when the boats go out and the guests who are certified can go every day if they want. Guests cannot go diving on their own.... There needs to be a boat, equipment, the dive master etc. Also depending on the depth they can't go more than a couple of times per day.. The body needs to decompress.

The equipment is scuba pro, we use our own custom newton dive boats, all dive shops are certified by padi and naui and the certification can be done on site for a cost. They need to rent a wetsuit if they want, clients can also take their own equipment to the resorts if they choose but its all there for them already. If they want to start diving, they need to take a scuba lesson at the cost of $80 unless they're already certified or haven't been diving in years.
If you need additional info on particular resorts I can get the dive masters email as well. We can set up boats for groups to go out individually, etc as well.
http://www.sandals.com/scuba/

 

[Bryan Cunningham]

Only Sandals includes unlimited diving and the Caribbean's most comprehensive resort diving program. If you're already a scuba enthusiast, you can enjoy up to two dives daily. And you have the option of choosing many other unforgettable dive experiences, such as private dives or night dives. Only Sandals takes adventure to such depths of excitement.
Two dives a day; a PADI-certified staff; first-rate, custom-built boats; partnerships with DAN and National Geographic; and thrilling slate of dive sites all add up to an amazing diving experience
Experienced divers rejoice! Sandals offers some of the most exciting dive sites in the entire Caribbean region, as well as top-of-the-line equipment; extremely knowledgable and expert dive masters and captains; and a customized fleet of state-of-the-art 49' Newton boats. Thrilling underwater experiences await.

Let me help you plan the perfect vacation!

Well written, but simple not accurate. Not only have I been to many of their resorts, but actually worked for them for just over a year as an instructor. Some of their resorts, like Antigua and Nassau, are no where near the good dive sites. Their boats are crowded and you are not even guaranteed 2 dives a day. From experience, many people conned into going to Sandals believing they are getting a perfect dive trip leave very disappointed.
Next, their safety record. TWICE in Antigua they have left divers out on the dive sites. In Nassau their boat ran over their own instructor. At Beaches they went out in weather too rough and two divers were sent to hospital with back injuries... Need I go on?
Sorry, but Sandals diving makes the hairs on my neck prickle.
Bryan

 

[Rich Keller]

I went to their Turks & Caicos location a few years ago and had the option of doing both a 2 tank AM and a 2 tank PM dive. I do not recall if there was a night dive option but even without it you can get 4 dives a day in on some of the best reefs I have seen in a long time.

 

[Bob DBF]

I went to their Turks & Caicos location a few years ago and had the option of doing both a 2 tank AM and a 2 tank PM dive. I do not recall if there was a night dive option but even without it you can get 4 dives a day in on some of the best reefs I have seen in a long time.

My wife wants to go to a Sandels again so I'll keep the Turks & Caicos in mind.

We went to a Sandels in Jamica and I dove in the morning each day, before the rest of our party came back to life, also why there were only 6 or 7 divers for the first trip. The dives were beginner, follow the leader, but at least I was diving and in a tshirt instead of a 7mm Farmer John. I understood why they operated that way, as the divers I met were marginal. The most notable of the dives was when they tried to cancel the dive because of a mabe 2' long flat swell. Between describing how these conditions were best I'd ever see at home and their oberservations of me over the past dives they relented. Wound up being me, the dm, and the skipper, was the best dive of the trip.



Bob
-------------------------------------
I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.

 

[annstravels.ca]

I do find that the Turks and Caicos is the best for diving. Here is a great link to the dive sites.Caribbean All Inclusive Scuba Diving Vacations at Beaches Resorts

We are thinking of putting a group together to the Turks and Caicos. Please let me know if this is of interest to you.

 

[ScubaBing]

We stayed at Beaches Turks & Caicos in 2011. I cannot recommend the resort for diving due to safety concerns.

Our group constantly had people come up with no air, not just one person, multiple. The divemaster didn't care if people were low on air, he kept going - craziness.

Beaches is not the deal Sandals was "back in the day". You have to pay for more than house wine and the food is not unique anymore - bland accross the board.

For the money you spend at Beaches, you could go to many nicer dive resorts.

They have to get their safety together before I go back.

 

[mikeycanuk]

You could rent a spectacular villa, go to a proper dive op and eat at great restaurants and rent a car for less than a stay at Beaches. Spent 10k for one Jan week for a 2bedroom in 2007. We didn't dive then. You pay a lot for a name and "convenience".


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Mike]

The closest similar experience you can equate to the Sandals diving experience is comparing it to cruise ship diving.

The dive sites are mediocre, the divers are inexperienced and the dives are timed 30-35 minutes and dumbed down as much as possible to provide a safe experience for the train wreck lowest common denominator diver.

But the good news is you can dive as much as you want for free as long as two dives a day is as much as you want and you aren't bumped off the crowded boat due to over demand.

 

[lv2dive]

Well written, but simple not accurate. Not only have I been to many of their resorts, but actually worked for them for just over a year as an instructor. Some of their resorts, like Antigua and Nassau, are no where near the good dive sites. Their boats are crowded and you are not even guaranteed 2 dives a day. From experience, many people conned into going to Sandals believing they are getting a perfect dive trip leave very disappointed.
Next, their safety record. TWICE in Antigua they have left divers out on the dive sites. In Nassau their boat ran over their own instructor. At Beaches they went out in weather too rough and two divers were sent to hospital with back injuries... Need I go on?
Sorry, but Sandals diving makes the hairs on my neck prickle.
Bryan

I started diving with a Discover Scuba at a Sandals, so given my initial exposure was that type of diving, my expectations were aligned with the Sandals experience. For someone who wants to get some Nitrogen loading on a vacation with a non-diving spouse, I'd say that Sandals or Beaches would at least fit that bill, going in with low expectations. However, I totally agree with Bryan - I would NOT go to a Sandals or Beaches for a "diving" vacation.

With regards to safety and history - in all fairness... the trip where the two divers were injured happened well over a decade ago. There had been storms the night before/early morning but by the time the boat went out, the ocean was fairly calm - except there were large swells over the reef. I don't think that the boat captain took the waves in the best way, but at the end of the day it *was* an accident. (And how do I know all this? I was on the boat.) I don't know the timing of the Antigua or Nassau situations. Having dove with four or five different Sandals or Beaches - I felt like they were safe - if anything - TOO safe/coddled.

Someone else mentioned people coming up on low on air. Well, I do not blame Sandals for this - I am of the opinion that each certified diver is responsible for monitoring their own gas. And generally they keep the resort divers separated from the certified divers so I don't think this is a resort diver issue.

At any rate - I would not go to a Sandal's or Beaches for diving bc I think there are much better options for my diving vacation dollar... but it is not a safety factor for me. If I was going on an extended family vacation I'd prefer something like a Beaches T&C over a location with NO diving bc there is at least a diving option, however elemental it may be.