Dive review

[mac66]

Just got back from my ABC island cruise.  Dived three days in a row.

 

I dived in Bonaire with Dive friends.  Had a guide all to myself which was nice. Two shore dives. First dive was at Yellow House Reef. Second dive was The Cliffs which is a vertical wall dive which was very cool. Saw lots of critters. Squid, tarpon, moray eels etc. Paid around $150 with equipment,  taxes and marine park pass. Picked up and dropped off at ship.

 

Next day dived in Curacao with Scubacao.  5 divers all together,  I was the only one from the ship. Both shore dives. Dived at Double Reef and Fisherman's Wharf.  Amazing reefs in both places. The guide was very attentive and I highly recommend Scubacao. Cost was $125 with equipment including pickup and drop off.

 

Day 3 was in Aruba.  Booked a boat dive through the ship. RCL uses  Red Sail Sports as their vendor. 12 divers, split into two groups. Dived the Antilla wreck the first dive. I had dived on her 3 years ago and I was surprised how much she deteriorated in that time.  Second dive was Bertinelie, or something like that,  which was a wreck/ debris site.  Decent dives booked through the ship was $119 with full gear.

 

The dive boat was a short walk up the pier from the cruise ship.

[ROUS]

Thanks, Mac.  I saw your report over on ScubaBoard as well.  This is great info.  I'll be cruise ship diving the ABCs in about a month.

[omeinv]

18 hours ago, mac66 said:

Second dive was Bertinelie, or something like that,  which was a wreck/ debris site. 

Mac, 

 

It sounds like the Pedernales Wreck.  You’re exactly right calling it a “wreck/debris” site.  
 

The Pedernales was a lake tanker, that transported oil from Lake Maricaibo, Venezuela to Aruba for refining.  During World War II, she was struck by a German torpedo midship. She made it to Aruba, where she was repaired by cutting away the midsection, where the damage was, and re-joining the fire and aft sections; making a shorter ship.  The mid section was dumped where you dove, and between being used as a naval gunnery target, and storm damage -exacerbated by its shallow location - only the structural pieces remain. 
 

Harris

Denver, CO

 

 

 

[Team Stag]

Good Stuff.  Thanks for sharing.  We have an upcoming ABC cruise; so I appreciate the info.

[mac66]

Yup, the Pedernales was the wreck. 

 

And...Dive Friends is sort of conglomeration of dive shops and locations around Bonaire. They have a shop a short walk across from the Port terminal. We signed the waivers there and were then taken to the dive sites. Nice facilities/operations in both places we were taken. They let my wife come along to snorkel since I was they only diver.

 

Both the dive sites in Curacao were off public beaches so no facilities. 

 

One of the guys at our dinner table booked a boat dive through VIP or buddy dive in Bonaire, not sure which.  He was the only cruise ship diver in his group of resort divers. He said he was pretty much ignored the whole time and had to find his way back to the ship on his own. He wasn't very happy.

Edited December 5, 2022 by mac66

[omeinv]

27 minutes ago, mac66 said:

 

One of the guys at our dinner table booked a boat dive through VIP or buddy dive in Bonaire, not sure which.  He was the only cruise ship diver in his group of resort divers. He said he was pretty much ignored the whole time and had to find his way back to the ship on his own. He wasn't very happy.

That sounds like Buddy Dive for sure.  VIP doesn’t do any boat diving. 

 

I join your positive opinion of Dive Friends. We use them for tank rentals when we are there on non-cruise Bonaire trips and they’re great.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[bikerjohn1]

Just dove with Caribbean Sea Sports in Curacao last week.  They are located at the Dreams resort about 3 miles from the cruise ship pier.  I am certified but have not dived for 5 years so I requested a refresher course. We did the refresher and a 2nd tank off of Dream's private beach.  The dive's were ok,.  The reefs were not very full or colorful but it was relaxing.  If I didn't need the refresher first, I could have done a boat dive which I heard was much better. (we were only in port from 7:30-2:00).  The dive shop was easy to deal with and the prices were fair but next time I would only do it again if I did not feel like I needed the refresher first.  

[mac66]

Just checking my dive notes...

 

In Bonaire we saw some huge fish which I thought at first were sharks.  I motioned to the guide who told me later that they were tarpon.  We also saw sea horses, eels, turtles and lion fish as well as the usual tropical fish.

 

In Curacao we saw turtles, eels, lion fish and a school of squid who went by us real close.  One of the other divers showed me pics of them mating. Apparently they are usually pretty skittish except when preoccupied. The reefs in Curacao seemed to be very healthy. 

 

In Aruba we saw turtles,  eels, lobsters and huge schools of the fish.  I did get immersed in a school of probably 2000 fish which was interesting. It was like being in a cloud. They seemed totally unconcerned with my presence.  

 

I did see a number of fish i never saw before. Guess I need a book or a card to id them so I can check them off.

Edited December 5, 2022 by mac66

[destinsharks]

If you caught sea horses in Bonaire you're both very fortunate and had a good guide!  We found one once two trips ago on the north end of the island but got skunked on our last weeklong trip.  All my interactions with Dive Friends staff have been positive on island, even as a non-customer.  Glad to hear they also treat cruise visitors well.

[mac66]

14 hours ago, destinsharks said:

If you caught sea horses in Bonaire you're both very fortunate and had a good guide!  We found one once two trips ago on the north end of the island but got skunked on our last weeklong trip.  All my interactions with Dive Friends staff have been positive on island, even as a non-customer.  Glad to hear they also treat cruise visitors well.

Yeah, the guide was pretty excited about the sea horses, was really talking it up to the other guides when we got in. I was kind of overwhelmed with the wall dive so I wasn't fully aware of the significance. 

 

I've been diving for 3 years, all on cruises. Got certified while cruising.  Logged 6 dives on this trip and am now at 22. Hope to get 4-6 more on our February cruise.

 

Not bad for someone who started diving at the age of 65.

[destinsharks]

Never too late to start diving!  We're fortunate to live in the FL panhandle with great diving right off our coast but still love diving new places anytime we travel.  Adding Grand Cayman and Roatan to our lists hopefully on a NCL cruise next month.

[mac66]

One of the guys I dived with in Aruba just sent me videos of the Antilla dive.  Saw an octopus which I had forgotten about. That was kinda cool.