Diving - Aruba, Curacao, Dominica, St Thomas

[dirvin0500]

Next March my wife and I are cruising to the 4 places in the thread title. I've jumped all over looking for dive operator recommendations but am having a hard time piecing together. Can someone give me suggestions for the 4 sites? I've seen some say "skip Aruba" but we love to dive and see God's world "under the surface".

I also know it's early but research takes time.

Thanks in advance for your help....

[Pilot70D]

Curacao - never pass up the opportunity to go diving with the Dive Bus. Suzy & Marc own the place and they are a hoot. They are one of THE best dive operators in the Caribbean and certainly the most fun operator. If you search this board and/or the ports board you will find many glowing recommendations for The Dive Bus including several I have posted.

Aruba - great diving so I wouldn't skip diving here. I would recommend JADS Dive Center. They do a great job in the water and before your arrival to tailor the dive to your desires. They do however have the most uncomfortable dive boat I have ever been on. They ought to call it The Sheer Agony. The path to happiness is to get your gear aboard just as soon as you get there. Do not stop and do the paper work first or the chances are the only place left will be the center part of the boat which has a raised cover taking up the leg room in front of the bench.

Dominica - I would recommend Nature Island Dive. They do an excellent job and they will pick you up at the end of the pier.

[Pilot70D]

I got interrupted before I could write about St. Thomas.

 

We have been diving with three different operators on St. Thomas. Two of them were really super and the third was good.

The two that I think are the best are BLue Island Divers and Coki Beach Dive Club. Both of these operators did a truly outstanding job when we went diving with them. You can't go wrong with either one of them.

Underwater Safaris did a good job. They were very professional and we enjoyed diving with them. It's just that the other two did things better. If at all possible I would dive with either Blue Island or Coki Beach DIve Club if they are available.

Hope this info helps. Enjoy that next dive.

:):):)

[bruce-r]

Here's my list:

 

Aruba - http://www.divearuba.com Clive runs a small boat operation, not a cattle boat.

 

Curacao -- although I haven't gone with them, http://www.the-dive-bus.com would be my choice too.

 

St. Thomas --- Coki beach is fine for a cheap shore dive, but the better sites will only be accessible by boat. I recommend http://www.admiraltydive.com Nice people, pick up and return to the cruise pier, and a small boat so no crowd.

 

Dominica - don't have a recommendation for this one other than just dive.

[Loves_Dogs]

We did the same itinerary this past December. I agree with previous posters, in Curacao The Dive Bus is the only way to go. Great people, super friendly and fun! My sons battery on his dive computer died mid-cruise. I emailed Suzy at The Dive Bus to see if they had the size battery we needed. They did not but after our dives, Suzy drove us to the local store so we could purchase the battery and my son was able to use his computer while diving at the next port. That was unexpected but very appreciated. I highly recommend them.

 

St Thomas - I wouldnt dive with anyone other than Admirality Dive. They are top notch, very friendly, fun and professional.

 

Dominica- We used Nature Island Dive. Diving was great but we were almost late getting back to ship. There were 4 divers (including us) from the cruise ship and 2 divers that were staying in Dominica on a dive vacation. The 2 non-ship divers took an extra long lunch in between dives and were very good on their air so they stayed under for a LONG time. Us 4 cruise ship divers were starting to panic and we got back to the ship with only half hour to spare. Too close for my comfort. Anything, flat tire or traffic jam and we would have missed the ship. While the diving was good, I felt that they disregarded our concerns for making it back to the ship on time and I personally would not use them again. Just my 2 cents.

 

Aruba - We booked through the ship.

[dirvin0500]

Thanks for the inputs. The opinions of my fellow Cruise Critics weight heavily upon my research. In fact, our first "Intro to Scuba Diving" that got us "hooked" we heard about through this board. It was in Cozumel and we went with Eagle Ray Divers. Since then we dive whenever we get a chance and like to hear from other divers. We aren't big shoppers and would rather dive at port stops. Looks like 8 more dives coming up on this cruise for sure. :p

[bruce-r]

Thanks for the inputs. The opinions of my fellow Cruise Critics weight heavily upon my research. In fact, our first "Intro to Scuba Diving" that got us "hooked" we heard about through this board. It was in Cozumel and we went with Eagle Ray Divers. Since then we dive whenever we get a chance and like to hear from other divers. We aren't big shoppers and would rather dive at port stops. Looks like 8 more dives coming up on this cruise for sure. :p

Sounds to me like you'd really enjoy a liveaboard dive trip. It really is eat, sleep, dive. Up to 5 dives a day in many cases, and so much easier than diving on a cruise.

[dirvin0500]

We have been talking ab out doing one of those in the next couple of years. Something in the Belize area probably. We would love to do something more "exotic" but some of the costs are simply prohibitive.

When we travel we take our own gear and really only need air and lead.

[Pilot70D]

We have been talking ab out doing one of those in the next couple of years. Something in the Belize area probably. We would love to do something more "exotic" but some of the costs are simply prohibitive.

When we travel we take our own gear and really only need air and lead.

 

In a head-to-head comparison between a conventinal cruise and a live aboard, the live aboard looks like it's much more expensive. But is it really?

First of all let's assume that you have a middle of the road cabin on the conventional cruise ship - not an inside cabin and not the roayal suite either.

Yes indeed, the initial cost of the live aboard is higher than an equivalent length voyage on the cruise ship. However, let's look in more detail. We're both divers and we tend to dive in every port that has good diving. Our typical all up expense for a two tank boat dive ranges from approximately $200 to around $230. This includes the dive, tips, transportation cost (if any) but does not include any surcharge for NITROX.

On the live aboard the price includes your dives. NITROX may or may not be included in the base price. It varies. Still for us to go diving in five ports on our most recent cruise the cost was a little over $1,100. Add that to the cost of our cruise and we are starting to get very close to the price of a live aboard. Also bear in mind that the live aboard offers you the opportunity to dive as many as five times per day every day. For cruise ship divers it's one 2 tank excursion then back to the ship.

But wait (as they say on TV) there's more. There are FAR fewer extra expenses on the live abaord. There is no spa, no casino, no shopping gallery, no upscale restaurant, no art auctions and no bar. In short the live aboard is much more of a WYSIWYG trip with no big extra tab at the end. We typicaly spend around $1,000-$1,200 between the two of us on a ten or eleven day cruise or about a hundred bucks a day. Add this and the diving expenses to the basic cruise fare and this total often exceeds the price of the live aboard.

The botttom line is not about dollars though. It's about what you want to do. The live aboard is a dive intensive experience and everyone aboard tends to eat, sleep, breathe and live to go diving. That kind of experience is not for everyone but if costs are important then don't rule out the live aboard just because the initial price tag is more.

This is my $0.02 worth. Everyone have a great St. Patty's Day. May each of you go out and have the traditional five course Irish feast today and enjoy that next dive trip whenever and wherever it takes place.

:):):)

[dirvin0500]

Thanks Pilot70D. I see you live in Atlanta. We're in Montgomery, just a couple hours down the road. We dive regularly off of Panama City and for that we are truely grateful but we would trade those for a Caribbean dive any day.

We are talking about either a live aboard or a strictly dive vacation at a dive hotel that's all inclusive. We love Cozumel but yet again, have never been to the Southern Caribbean. For that we have to wait a year.

[MrCo9]

I dove 4 days in Aruba in August 2007, even though visiblity was less than the 100+ you get in the rest of the Caribbean it was not bad. Lots of small particles floating in the water. I went with USA Unique Sports Aruba most of the dive crew is from Holland. They are VERY friendly and helpful. On my night dive with them I was able to watch a snowflake eel hunt for about 10 minutes.

[bruce-r]

But wait (as they say on TV) there's more. There are FAR fewer extra expenses on the live abaord. There is no spa, no casino, no shopping gallery, no upscale restaurant, no art auctions and no bar. In short the live aboard is much more of a WYSIWYG trip with no big extra tab at the end. We typicaly spend around $1,000-$1,200 between the two of us on a ten or eleven day cruise or about a hundred bucks a day. Add this and the diving expenses to the basic cruise fare and this total often exceeds the price of the live aboard./QUOTE]

 

Actually, in my liveaboard experiences that varies.

 

Nautilus Explore had a well stocked bar with no diving after drinking.

 

Naia included beer/wine with dinner, also no diving after drinking.

 

Truth Aquatics - no bar but most groups do BYOB and it was up to the diver to decide if you got to dive after having a drink.

 

I agree, it really depends on how much diving you want to do. A liveaboard has a lower cost per dive than any cruise.