st. lucia questions

[CaliDenna]

Wookie, you are absolutely correct in that! They told us that only about 10% of their business are divers. Weddings groups and honeymooners are a large part of it and just romantic getaways. We did see several family groups as well.

Non group divers might not get all the catering obviously such as where the surface intervals are, etc. as we had a dedicated boat due to size of group but I am positive the customer service throughout the resort and the great service by the dive crew would still be there. It's just something I think they do extremely well from every staff member we encountered. They have a very nice routine down for greeting all guests. They pick you up at the airport, upon arrival at the hotel you are taken to the open air bar/lobby area where they give you cool mint facecloths and a very light refreshing non-alcoholic drink as they give you their hotel brochure with everything laid out nicely in it. They go over everything and while they are doing this, staff is taking your luggage to your room. In the room they have these lovely gift baskets for you. Just a whole lot of nice touches throughout!

 

[tkaelin]

A just received a reply back from the Dive Op at AC and they said all shore diving at AC has to be guided, something about marine park rules. It also sounded like, with an exception, their boat dives were single tank dives leaving early morning, late morning and afteroon. Has anyone heard differently?

 

[CaliDenna]

Our boat dives were all two tank dives and left early morning. I don't remember about the shore diving; I don't think our group did much of it as we used the beach, hammocks, kayaks, little sailboats in the afternoons. We did do a night shore dive that was guided.

---------- Post added January 28th, 2013 at 11:06 AM ----------

Hi....I had the contact number from our trip there for the Manager of the Dive Ops there and he said all shore dives are guided and actually need to be paid. The free guided shore dives are only for dive groups. In regards to the boat dives they are all single tank dives; 8:30am, 10:30am and 2pm dives. The only two tank dives on Friday at 9:30am to the wreck.

 

[mbchiro]

We are looking to travel to St. Lucia in September 2013. We would appreciate any input on the following: 1. does all shore diving need to be done with a DM? 2. Has anyone stayed at Anse Chastanet? Is it a nice resort for topside activities as well as diving? 3. Are there any shark dives in St. Lucia? Thanks for your input!

My wife and I stayed at Rendevous back in 2009. We visited Anse Chastenet and snorkeled from the dock. We were not certified then. The resort is beautiful. The beach is amazing. I hear the diving is fair. We spoke with a person that dove with the main group. My wife and I are SSI certified divers and when we watched the SSI vids they were filmed in St. Lucia Some right at Anse Chastenet. If you go I will recommend some activities. Go on a Zip line excursion to the Castries Rain Forest. It is fun. Also a sunset cruise on the Brig Unicorn out of Rodney Bay. That is the ship Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed on. Also I recommend you contact Andre Joseph (he is on Trip Advisor) He has a touring service that basically is an air conditioned car or van that he will take you all over the island and give you a long tour of the important places and a lot of history of St. Lucia. I actually still have his card. His number is 1(758) 484-3689. His website is: ataxiservicestlucia.com, email josephdre913@hotmail.com. He is a really cool guy, has reasonable rates and will give you a first class tour of the island. St. Lucia is a beautiful place. Margate Bay is a nice place to stay or visit. They also have diving out of it.

 

[diveprof]

The wife and I stayed at Anse Chastenet a few years ago. The hill side rooms are wonderful as they are open (screens) on most sides and allowed a wonderful view of the Pitons and wild life (mosquitoes were around but there was bug spray, coils and netting for the bed). A 4 star Robinson Crusoe vibe. The bird life was amazing. There is no air conditioning in the rooms so if you are going in the summer, keep that in mind. We had a low wind day or two and it did get very warm though the ceiling fan helped some. The diving was fair - most of it was average caribbean though there were a few exceptions (saw the "thing" on a shore night dive, some nice small stuff and a nice grouping of garden eels on the wreck). Not much big stuff. The food was excellent and the beach was very nice. A dive master is required for shore dives.

 

[HDRider10]

We are booked for September 2013 at the Anse Chastanet Resort. Thanks for all the helpfull tips and information. This is our first big dive vacation and I am sure that we will have a great time. Looks like good diving and alot to do above the water which is one thing we were looking for. Should be a fun trip and I am really looking forward to this. I may have some packing questions as we get closer to the trip. Thanks again.

 

[scuba stan]

Most of you commented on the resort which sounds very nice.
Please tell me more about the diving. Are there any walls. Are there many fish?
Is the coral abundant. Is the reef is good sape. Would someone who has been to a lot of great dive destinations be disappointed?