DCWalker
New
Hi, I'm going to St Croix in September for 4 days of diving. Does anyone have experience diving with either SCUBA or Dive Experience. Reviews on TripAdvisor both look very good.
St Croix - SCUBA and Dive Experience
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Nivek Llekots
Contributor
I'm hoping to go to St Croix either next month or later in September, and these guy's in "Cane Bay" Cane Bay Dive Shop St Croix Shore and Boat Diving have been recommended to me as the best operator on the island.
drrich2
Contributor
There's also N2TheBlueSTCroix, and they post on ScubaBoard, also.
Here's a brief trip report on St. Croix Ultimate Blue Water Adventure from a cruise ship stop. Bottom line: I liked them fine. There are different parts of the island you can dive, and hopefully you'll be there when no ship is at the pier so you can dive the Frederickstead Pier.
St. Croix is a place I'd like to get back to some day, and I hope you'll post a trip report from your stay. I'd particularly like to hear a report of any shore diving experiences you have there, and where you stay, since St. Croix seems to mostly be a 'stay at some hotel & arrange diving separately' kind of place, unlike the 'Buddy Dive Resort, all in one' or Scuba Club Cozumel approach (where you basically get at least housing & diving, and depending on the place maybe food &/or vehicle rental in one package). The exception is the Cane Bay Dive Shop cottages.
Richard.
Here's a brief trip report on St. Croix Ultimate Blue Water Adventure from a cruise ship stop. Bottom line: I liked them fine. There are different parts of the island you can dive, and hopefully you'll be there when no ship is at the pier so you can dive the Frederickstead Pier.
St. Croix is a place I'd like to get back to some day, and I hope you'll post a trip report from your stay. I'd particularly like to hear a report of any shore diving experiences you have there, and where you stay, since St. Croix seems to mostly be a 'stay at some hotel & arrange diving separately' kind of place, unlike the 'Buddy Dive Resort, all in one' or Scuba Club Cozumel approach (where you basically get at least housing & diving, and depending on the place maybe food &/or vehicle rental in one package). The exception is the Cane Bay Dive Shop cottages.
Richard.
I have dove with SCUBA and N2TheBlue. We did boat dives with SCUBA. It was a great operation. I would gladly dive with them again. We did a guided night dive with N2TheBlue on the Fredrickstead Pier. I highly suggest this. The next day, we stopped by and rented some tanks for self-guided shore dives. N2TheBlue was/is the closest shop to the pier. They also had a nice setup where they would rent you a cart an lock to haul your tanks down to the pier. Regardless of who you dive with, I suggest diving both sides of the island. SCUBA had boats going out from both sides.
In sum, I can highly recommend SCUBA for boat dives and N2TheBlue for pier shore dives.
Billy
In sum, I can highly recommend SCUBA for boat dives and N2TheBlue for pier shore dives.
Billy
I've dove with both Cane Bay and N2TheBlue - both are very good!
Do a night dive at the Pier with N2TheBlue, not a deep dive, but very nice!
Do a night dive at the Pier with N2TheBlue, not a deep dive, but very nice!
stcroixscuba
Contributor
Regardless of who you dive with you'll have a blast diving St. Croix. Our diving is seriously THAT good. There are no dive shops on the island to avoid, we're all good and the diving is all EXCELLENT. As was mentioned earlier be sure to dive the Pier. It's easily (IMHO) one of the top 10 dive sites on the planet, especially at night. We're up to over 20 seahorses now, along with batfish, frogfish, octopus' dem. You'll be tempted to just dive it on your own as a shore dive but I highly recommend doing it with on the Divemasters that really know it regardless of whether it's us or any of the other four dive shops on the island.
Karloss
Contributor
We dove with SCUBA and really enjoyed them. They took our gear, rinsed it and would have it on the boat the next day including having your weights ready either on your belt on into your integrated system. The only thing they would suggest is keeping your mask and fins in case you might decide to snorkle.
Slaveeye41
New
Been to STX several times over the past 3 years. First trip we stayed at a rental villa "SeaView Play" on the North Shore just down the street from Cane Bay Scuba. We did a combination of Shore dives from Cane Bay beach, Boat dives with Cane Bay, and Boat dives with STCroixScuba. During that same Trip Captain ED from SCUBA performed the wedding ceremony for my wife and I on the beach out in front of the villa. It was a 2 week stay with a small group of family and friends. We made many new friends on the island that trip from other dive pros working around the shops on the island to the owner of Above the Cliff, Rowdy's, EAT at Cane Bay amongst others. My wife and I fit in pretty well with the people and the vibe along the north shore and decided to return over the years to visit our new island friends and dive our favorite wall off of Cane Bay. The shore diving off the north shore is amazing. If there is something you looking for then you'll probably find it there. Sharks, sea horses, Eagle Rays, etc. The only thing I haven't seen is Dolphins. The diversity of dive sites around the island is incredible. The pier is an easy and enjoyable night dive. My wife and I did almost a 2 hr dive there once.
The second year back we stayed at the Cottages at Cane Bay. There we got the complete stay and dive package for about 10 days. Accommodations where simple. Bed, Window A/C, Small kitchen, a couch, with a bit of local TV and depending on the time of day somewhat decent internet for posting dive pics to Facebook. We did many dives from shore on our own and jumped on the boat when they where heading to a site we either haven't done or love doing. Shore diving from Cane Bay beach is a bit of kick out to the wall. About a 100 yards or so. My father in law was not a fan and prefers diving from Boats, but my wife and I enjoyed the time kicking out on the surface and taking in the amazing view you get of "The Beast" (The largest mountain on STX) Not a bad way to start a morning and hell we where never in a hurry diving on our own time.
Last year we got a pretty good deal and stayed at Carambola Beach resort. Also on the North shore, nice place and was a great experience and a step up from the Cottages, but can be pretty pricy if you don't catch a special when they have them. That year we dove from the shore there at Carambola and grabbed tanks from the dive shop on site called "The Sandy Bottom" dive shop. Also a great staff of the owner and his wife plus their dog "Deco" I think his name was. Everyone we met on that rock took us in and treated up like family and we have alway felt at home on STX. We now have a few friends that have moved there and will be returning probably next year. We are heading down to Curacao here in a couple of weeks so we'll be missing our STX dive fam this year.
The second year back we stayed at the Cottages at Cane Bay. There we got the complete stay and dive package for about 10 days. Accommodations where simple. Bed, Window A/C, Small kitchen, a couch, with a bit of local TV and depending on the time of day somewhat decent internet for posting dive pics to Facebook. We did many dives from shore on our own and jumped on the boat when they where heading to a site we either haven't done or love doing. Shore diving from Cane Bay beach is a bit of kick out to the wall. About a 100 yards or so. My father in law was not a fan and prefers diving from Boats, but my wife and I enjoyed the time kicking out on the surface and taking in the amazing view you get of "The Beast" (The largest mountain on STX) Not a bad way to start a morning and hell we where never in a hurry diving on our own time.
Last year we got a pretty good deal and stayed at Carambola Beach resort. Also on the North shore, nice place and was a great experience and a step up from the Cottages, but can be pretty pricy if you don't catch a special when they have them. That year we dove from the shore there at Carambola and grabbed tanks from the dive shop on site called "The Sandy Bottom" dive shop. Also a great staff of the owner and his wife plus their dog "Deco" I think his name was. Everyone we met on that rock took us in and treated up like family and we have alway felt at home on STX. We now have a few friends that have moved there and will be returning probably next year. We are heading down to Curacao here in a couple of weeks so we'll be missing our STX dive fam this year.
morecowbells
Contributor
I hope you share your experience with us! St. Croix has popped up on the radar several times as a dive destination. This Feb my husband wants to try somewhere new; we are debating between St. Croix or Belize. Top side St. Croix looks more appealing, but reading on other forums, safety seems to be frequently mentioned. I understand the rules in Curacao or Bonaire about not leaving anything of value in the car and leaving windows down, but I never felt unsafe walking around at night.
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