Dive Operators in Curacao

[cruzbound]

Hi all,

I have narrowed our dive excursion down to two companies in Curacao - the Dive Bus and Curious2Dive. I have heard lots of good things about the Dive Bus but they have not answered my email yet, plus I really did not like the fact that they say on their website that they will not refund you your money for the excursion, even if the ship does not dock or they cancel due to bad weather - REALLY, I have never heard of a company who does this since these two things are out of the customer's control. I guess I will have to wait and see what they say to me when they respond to my inquiry.

 

Has anyone used Curious2Dive ever? They are rated #2 on TripAdvisor (the Dive Bus is #3). If anyone has used them, please tell me about your experience.

 

Thanks, cruzbound

[ScubaCruiser54]

Try Ocean Encounters Curacao. We dove with them in 2011. Nice, clean and friendly.

[Laurie S.]

I would go with The Dive Bus. You won't be sorry.

[Motorcycle Gma]

Hi all,

I have narrowed our dive excursion down to two companies in Curacao - the Dive Bus and Curious2Dive. I have heard lots of good things about the Dive Bus but they have not answered my email yet, plus I really did not like the fact that they say on their website that they will not refund you your money for the excursion, even if the ship does not dock or they cancel due to bad weather - REALLY, I have never heard of a company who does this since these two things are out of the customer's control. I guess I will have to wait and see what they say to me when they respond to my inquiry.

 

Has anyone used Curious2Dive ever? They are rated #2 on TripAdvisor (the Dive Bus is #3). If anyone has used them, please tell me about your experience.

 

Thanks, cruzbound

 

Everyone on here seems to like Dive Bus, but I read they only do beach dives for us cruisers, plus you have to carry your stuff across the street! UGH. I don't want to put my equip. on and walk across the street to get wet. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

I really think I want a boat dive option so I'm considering Curious2Dive and saw very good reviews on them on scubadviser.com There were about 6 detailed reviews, so I'm sold.

 

I read that the Ocean Encounters (which now have a new name and website) are like cattle calls, up to 20 ppl per boat so I'm avoiding them!

[cruzbound]

Motorcycle Gma,

When are you going? If you go before March 2013 and use Curious2Dive post your experience. I will go check out their reviews on scubadvise.com. They got great reviews on tripadvisor.com. I also emailed them 20 questions and they were very responsive. I started reading some reviews on Ocean Encounters and awh, not very good at all so that is not on my radar for sure.

 

Thanks, cruzbound

[Laurie S.]

Everyone on here seems to like Dive Bus, but I read they only do beach dives for us cruisers, plus you have to carry your stuff across the street! UGH. I don't want to put my equip. on and walk across the street to get wet. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

I really think I want a boat dive option so I'm considering Curious2Dive and saw very good reviews on them on scubadviser.com There were about 6 detailed reviews, so I'm sold.

 

I read that the Ocean Encounters (which now have a new name and website) are like cattle calls, up to 20 ppl per boat so I'm avoiding them!

 

Yes, you have to go across the street, but they will carry your equipment.

[psbtrvlr]

Hi all,

I have narrowed our dive excursion down to two companies in Curacao - the Dive Bus and Curious2Dive. I have heard lots of good things about the Dive Bus but they have not answered my email yet, plus I really did not like the fact that they say on their website that they will not refund you your money for the excursion, even if the ship does not dock or they cancel due to bad weather - REALLY, I have never heard of a company who does this since these two things are out of the customer's control. I guess I will have to wait and see what they say to me when they respond to my inquiry.

 

Has anyone used Curious2Dive ever? They are rated #2 on TripAdvisor (the Dive Bus is #3). If anyone has used them, please tell me about your experience.

 

Thanks, cruzbound

 

That is my problem with Dive Bus too. I do not book with companies that won't refund if we don't dock. There's been too many times we haven't docked due to weather and political unrest. Our cruise is at the end of hurricane season too.

[psbtrvlr]

Motorcycle Gma,

When are you going? If you go before March 2013 and use Curious2Dive post your experience. I will go check out their reviews on scubadvise.com. They got great reviews on tripadvisor.com. I also emailed them 20 questions and they were very responsive. I started reading some reviews on Ocean Encounters and awh, not very good at all so that is not on my radar for sure.

 

Thanks, cruzbound

 

Motorcycle Gma and I are on the same cruise. It's October of this year.

[cruzbound]

psbtrvlr,

Are you diving in Curacao? If so, who are you thinking about using? If you use Curious2Dive, please come back and post your experience since I have lots of time to decide. I think on Curious2Dive we have a choice of shore diving or going out in a boat. I am undecided on what to do there because I know Curacao does have the best shore diving around (next to Bonaire).

 

Thanks, cruzbound

[Motorcycle Gma]

Motorcycle Gma,

When are you going? If you go before March 2013 and use Curious2Dive post your experience. I will go check out their reviews on scubadvise.com. They got great reviews on tripadvisor.com. I also emailed them 20 questions and they were very responsive. I started reading some reviews on Ocean Encounters and awh, not very good at all so that is not on my radar for sure.

 

Thanks, cruzbound

 

I'd be curious about your 20 questions. Are they willing to work with cruisers? Will they refund if we don't make the port?

 

I will be happy to report back if we use them. Thanks

[cruzbound]

I asked them some basic 20 questions. Cost for a two tank dive is $95 plus tax and that is inclusive. They said they would pick us up at the docking area and bring us back. I think if we go with the dive bus we have to get a taxi. They take a max of four divers per group. Nice I like small groups. They also confirmed they dive by air consumption and not time which is huge plus for me. They know we are coming in via cruise ship and that does not seem to be a problem. I did not ask about boat dives or shore dives. We are good with either. I didnt ask about the refund policy but will email them about that tomorrow. The reason I asked the dive bus is because they actually had the no refund thing on their website and I thought it might be a mistake since I have never seen that before. I will post again with the additional answers.

[psbtrvlr]

I asked them some basic 20 questions. Cost for a two tank dive is $95 plus tax and that is inclusive. They said they would pick us up at the docking area and bring us back. I think if we go with the dive bus we have to get a taxi. They take a max of four divers per group. Nice I like small groups. They also confirmed they dive by air consumption and not time which is huge plus for me. They know we are coming in via cruise ship and that does not seem to be a problem. I did not ask about boat dives or shore dives. We are good with either. I didnt ask about the refund policy but will email them about that tomorrow. The reason I asked the dive bus is because they actually had the no refund thing on their website and I thought it might be a mistake since I have never seen that before. I will post again with the additional answers.

 

Thanks for the info.

[cruzbound]

Hey gang,

Got more information from Curious2Dive (by the way, his name is Hans - very helpful and good response time).

 

He says you can cancel within 24 hours of the dive and get your money back - they do not keep your money if the boat decides not to dock in Curacao or if the weather is bad and dive shop has to cancel (he said this would be called theft).

 

They do shore and boat dives however coming in via cruise ship we would not get there earlier enough to take the boat trip options so it has to be shore diving - which is okay with me. We did shore diving last time in Curacao but it was with the cruise ship because we were doing our last open water dives for our certification, and it was fantanstic.

 

The plus about shore dives is if there are snorkelers, they can come with and have a good experience too - unlike boat dives most of the time. When we did our shore dive for our certification in Curacao, we got to 60 feet with no problem so I know we will not be in 15 feet of water for the whole dive (because I do not like shallow water, to hard to stay down).

 

Hope this helps everyone and let me know what you decide as I would really like your input if you use them. The Dive Bus gets so many good reviews too but that refund thing makes me nervous - even though the possibility of having to cancel is very unlikely. The Dive Bus figures that what you take insurance out for - which kind of confuses me because I don't do insurance on anything and if I did do insurance on the cruise portion of the trip, it does not cover shore excursion (especially booked independently). They mentioned DAN but we are not part of that and I don't know how a credit card company works as far as a refund if the excursion is cancelled.

 

cruzbound

[Motorcycle Gma]

Hey gang,

Got more information from Curious2Dive (by the way, his name is Hans - very helpful and good response time).

 

He says you can cancel within 24 hours of the dive and get your money back - they do not keep your money if the boat decides not to dock in Curacao or if the weather is bad and dive shop has to cancel (he said this would be called theft).

 

They do shore and boat dives however coming in via cruise ship we would not get there earlier enough to take the boat trip options so it has to be shore diving - which is okay with me. We did shore diving last time in Curacao but it was with the cruise ship because we were doing our last open water dives for our certification, and it was fantanstic.

 

The plus about shore dives is if there are snorkelers, they can come with and have a good experience too - unlike boat dives most of the time. When we did our shore dive for our certification in Curacao, we got to 60 feet with no problem so I know we will not be in 15 feet of water for the whole dive (because I do not like shallow water, to hard to stay down).

 

Hope this helps everyone and let me know what you decide as I would really like your input if you use them. The Dive Bus gets so many good reviews too but that refund thing makes me nervous - even though the possibility of having to cancel is very unlikely. The Dive Bus figures that what you take insurance out for - which kind of confuses me because I don't do insurance on anything and if I did do insurance on the cruise portion of the trip, it does not cover shore excursion (especially booked independently). They mentioned DAN but we are not part of that and I don't know how a credit card company works as far as a refund if the excursion is cancelled.

 

cruzbound

 

I think I'm going to book with them. 4 is really small, so better book in advance, huh.

[cruzbound]

I always book in advance. I don't know how many people they will sign up per day but they only put four people with one dive guide - so they could have multiple groups but that doesn't bother me because the reef is very large and there are many different spots to go so I don't think it will be like a cattle call - which is what I always try to avoid. It seems this dive shop offers diving and snorkeling for the disabled too - that is nice to see as these days it does not seem like people are willing to help others anymore. Post your experience with them once you return from your trip, I will be watching for it.

 

Thanks!

[LindaSSF]

My husband & I have reserved a spot with Curious2Dive in April off our cruise ship. Hubbie is doing a Discovery Dive and I'm doing a refresher course with them, followed by a dive together. Hans has been very good about asnwering questions and setting things up so we can do things together despite differences in experience/certification.

 

I'm looking forward to hearing about your dives in October & March.

[geekybiker]

I used sunset divers in Curacao. The dive shop was great. The hotel attached... meh. They're on the nothwest side of the island so I'm not sure if they work with cuise passengers.

[CaribKng]

We did used the Dive Bus when we were there. Suzy was awesome and the whole group of people there were great. The downside to them was putting our gear on and walking across the street, however, if we would have asked, I'm sure they would help carry the equipment over. The walk to the beach was not very far, but we did get quite warm.

 

If you happen to use another dive op, please leave us the comments as you can never have too many options.....

 

Happy cruising!

[Laurie S.]

Yes, they do carry the equipment over for you, if you ask. I have a cranky back and they carried it over for me for the first dive. I was feeling good, so I walked it back and forth the next two times. But, at the end of the second dive, I needed help again. I also carry a large camera and strobe and couldn't handle it all at the end. My boyfriend walked back over there and got help for me. It was no problem at all.

[G.C]

The Dive Bus house reef is amazing. They will if asked carry your gear across the street. No need to worry about waves, cattle boats or much else with them. From shore it really does not look like much at all. Once underwater you love this site. I have dove with them 6 times. Suzy can be little slow with emails it is a small family company. Just get her to confirm if the ship does not dock you will not be charged. She can see the ship from her place so they know when you arrive or don`t.

[Denise&Paul STL]

We are diving the end of January in Curacao from a cruise ship that gets in at 1 pm and leaves at 10 pm. We are looking at either Dive Bus or curious2dive. Neither of us are in the greatest athletic shape, so we will probably go with curious2dive as we may need the extra assist. I will let you know how it goes if we do. Prices are what I've seen on here, and I like that, too - set prices rather than change depending on who calls and how much they can get.

 

Cruzbound: We always get the DAN insurance before we go out. It is not a credit card and has come in EXTREMELY handy and well worth it. Particuarly, our first trip out when we didn't have the camera all the way closed - should never take a camera on the first trip out!! Anyway, they covered the cost to replace the camera! That alone was several hundred dollars we saved. Our regular insurance, including life insurance will not cover scuba accidents,:eek: so it is nice of be insured by someone does.

[cruisee<3]

So glad you bumped this thread in time for me to go on my cruise ... I booked a dive with curious 2 dive and I'm glad the response is all positive :) thanks for the info!

[cruzbound]

I have made my decision - we are booked with curious2dive. Can't wait, Hans has been great. Thanks for all the help and ideas eveyone.

 

cruzbound

[babu15]

The Dive Bus house reef is amazing. They will if asked carry your gear across the street. No need to worry about waves, cattle boats or much else with them. From shore it really does not look like much at all. Once underwater you love this site. I have dove with them 6 times. Suzy can be little slow with emails it is a small family company. Just get her to confirm if the ship does not dock you will not be charged. She can see the ship from her place so they know when you arrive or don`t.

 

Hi, my fiends and I have made advanced reservations with The Dive Bus, and are sailing on December 9, 2012. I am just curious as to how to get there. The website clearly states that the do not provide transportation to and from the port. Could you tell me if the cabs readily know where The Dive Bus is located? How much for the ride? And are the cabbies willing to pick you up at a certain time, to be brought back to the ship?

 

Your help will be much appreciated.:)

[G.C]

Hi, my fiends and I have made advanced reservations with The Dive Bus, and are sailing on December 9, 2012. I am just curious as to how to get there. The website clearly states that the do not provide transportation to and from the port. Could you tell me if the cabs readily know where The Dive Bus is located? How much for the ride? And are the cabbies willing to pick you up at a certain time, to be brought back to the ship?

 

Your help will be much appreciated.:)

 

 

There have always been cabs available at the end of the pier during our cruise visits. $ 20 each way I would not get in if the cabbie had not heard of the Dive Bus. They are located across the street from Breezes Resort