Diving in St. Thomas?

[akia29]

Hi all,

I've been reading the posts about not using the cruise excursion desk for booking dives? Any advice on who to book with in St Thomas? Any recommended dive sites? I'm on the NCL Spirit in October.

 

I'm a first time cruiser so I'm a bit antsy about booking something not with the cruiseline. (Worst nightmare is missing the boat!!)

 

Also My husband is not a diver and I was wondering what he might be able to do in St Thomas while I go diving? neither of us are shoppers, and I haven't heard much about St Thomas that doesn't include shopping! I'd much rather be down below making bubbles! ;)

 

Any suggestions are helpful

Thanks

[Dgonza]

I am leaving Saturday. I will be in St Thomas on Sunday. I am going with coki beach dive club (cokidive.com) It would be a beach dive as there is a reef right off shore. I guess there is some good snorkelling too. If your husband is interested, they do offer a resort dive where he would get a crash course and be able to dive down to 40ft with an instructor and you of course. My sister is going to do the resort dive. I am certified. I can let you know how it went when I come back. I have also heard sapphire beach is a good place for snorkelling. Another good place for snorkelling is Trunk bay over in St Johns which can be reached by ferry. I am only sharing what I have read. I have never been to any of the islands before. I hope this helps you out.

[scubaran]

Another good place for snorkelling is Trunk bay over in St Johns which can be reached by ferry. I am only sharing what I have read. I have never been to any of the islands before. I hope this helps you out.

 

Hi,

 

I agree with St. Johns. I'm a bubble blower but my wife and son aren't. So while I was under the water, they took the excursion over to St. Johns and snorkeled and hung out at the beach. My wife enjoyed it so much that she's looking forward to going back to St. Johns next time we hit St. Thomas on a cruise. If your husband is a bit more adventurous, you don't have to book an excurison on the ship (they use the same normal transportation, only have a guide lead you instead of you paying yourself) as there is regular ferry service to St. Johns and taxi service to the beachs there. My wife, being minus her husband guide, decided she felt better letting the excursion personnel herd her around but agreed that next time she'd feel just as comfortable doing it herself.

[sea-jay]

I dove with Coki Beach Dive Operation on my stop there two years ago. Here is their link: http://www.cokidive.com/ In addition to the diving, snorkleing and beach activities available at Coki Beach, there is also a large tourist attraction within a short 1/4 mile walk up the road. Here is a link to that place, Coral World: http://www.coralworld.com/ Just click on the St Thomas, Virgin Islands link.

 

The reefs were very easy to get to and there is an East and a West reef so you can get a two tank dive in without any problem. Coki dive will pick you up at the pier and you can take a taxi back to the ship, about $3/PP. Also, another advantage is that there is no boat to have problems with so you don't miss the ship. You control the time when you leave the water and get the taxi back to your cruise ship.

 

Happy bubbles!!

[cal2632]

We used Blue Island Divers. They will pick you up at the pier for a 2 tank AM dive. No worries about missing the boat - really! Can't say the diving in St. Thomas is great and it was very rough - 2 of us were sick on the boat between dives, but if that isn't a problem for you, you'll do ok since they told us those were typical conditions. The dive through the cruise ship is likely to be on a cattle boat, so really recommend booking independantly in this port.

 

Mona

[akia29]

Thanks everyone for the feedback! Keep it coming!

[akia29]

I dove with Coki Beach Dive Operation on my stop there two years ago. Here is their link: http://www.cokidive.com/ In addition to the diving, snorkleing and beach activities available at Coki Beach, there is also a large tourist attraction within a short 1/4 mile walk up the road. Here is a link to that place, Coral World: http://www.coralworld.com/ Just click on the St Thomas, Virgin Islands link.

 

Happy bubbles!!

 

Coki sounds like a great option, as my hubby can hang on the beach while i dive. Quick question though- I am NAUI certified not PADI, will they accept my C card there?

[Dgonza]

Yes they will. I am a Naui diver too. I will be diving coki beach in 4 days.... Whooooo HOOO!!! I had my refresher course through ssi so now I have 2 "C" cards.

[bruce-r]

Coki sounds like a great option, as my hubby can hang on the beach while i dive. Quick question though- I am NAUI certified not PADI, will they accept my C card there?

Coki is a great option for a mixed marrage, and your C card should be universally accepted. It doesn't really matter who it is from.

[scottlev]

Just came back from St Thomas and dove with Coki divers for my second time. Great beach diving. Very easy as you walk 100 feet into the water and there are 2 nice reefs to see. Saw Turtles, Lobsters, stone crabs, spotted eels, anglefish, Yellowtails, etc. I would highly recommend them and it is great if you have a non-diving partner as they can sit right on the beach there. On my second dive last week, it was just me and the divemaster, Zack. How much better can that get?

[Scubagolf]

We dove in the Virgin Islands in late December '05. On St. Thomas I arranged two days of boat diving with Chris Sawyer Diving [http://www.sawyerdive.vi/]. In addition to daily two tank dives locally, they do a longer trip on Fridays to The Wreck of the Rhone in the British VIs. Great trip.

 

A great resource is ScubaBoard.com.

[cmdchiefthom]

I contacted Admirality Divers and wanted to do one of the wrecks rather than Buck Island, or the barges. We dived the Miss Opportunity (Hospital Ship) and Flat Cay which were both fantastic dives! Ryan and Duane were both great and the cool thing it was only my wife and I on the boat. The cost was $85.00 each! I was so impressed with this operation hence a $100.00 tip! Take it from me, this operation is one of the best kept secrets on the island.

[everyotheryear]

I've had a couple of great dive experiences with Coki. They took care of us very well. My (and a dive buddies) first dive after certification. Also my DW's first dive after certification.

 

As far as accepting NAUI certification......go to their website and write them an email. They have always responded within a day or two when I have had a question.

 

A couple of tips: Go early....the beach will get a little more crowded as the day goes on. Also, we were the first set of divers on both trips. They reccommended that we get there early to see more. With the addition of people comes more activity which can move some of the aqautic life out or into hiding.

 

It's a great beach dive, easy, nice water, not a whole lot of current. We've seen lobsters, turtles, morays, an eagle ray and a whole lot of fish. It's not the fanciest operation, but I would highly recommend them. They were very helpful, easy to talk to and more than willing to make our experience a good one.

 

Have fun.......everyotheryear

[bruce-r]

I contacted Admirality Divers and wanted to do one of the wrecks rather than Buck Island, or the barges. We dived the Miss Opportunity (Hospital Ship) and Flat Cay which were both fantastic dives! Ryan and Duane were both great and the cool thing it was only my wife and I on the boat. The cost was $85.00 each! I was so impressed with this operation hence a $100.00 tip! Take it from me, this operation is one of the best kept secrets on the island.

WOW, you really were impressed. $100 tip is quite a lot.

[infopaul]

cmdchiefthom,

 

Well I,ve been a little busy and this Sunday I'm heading for NYC for a few days on business. If I get a chance I might catch a dive with a buddy that has a dive shop on City Island, Bronx (I think the water is too cold though-you know me, I wear a 3mm when I take a shower-lol). I've been back a couple of weeks now from our cruise in Central America and the wife wants to go on another on May 20, Eastern Carib. I still haven't finished planting the garden so the pressure is on.

 

I did dive Guatemala waters on this past cruise which was quietly a unique oportunity. The dive operator is very good and his boat captain and divemaster are accommodating and are just as nice as could be. I wanted to go looking for 2- 400 year old pirate wrecks but time wasn't permitting us the luxury of trying to locate them. I did find a couple of nice spots in and on the fringe of Amatique Bay. I even thought about helping to promote this as a cruise diver hot spot (it's a good band for the buck). The operator and location has all the right elements, he's just not savvy to Americans and cruise divers. There's a little more to write about this and Mahahual and Belize as well, when I get the time I will start a new post.

 

I hope you and yours are all doing well. I'm pleased that you enjoyed Admiralty. I knew you would find it just that good. What would you say as for experience level for that dive for the benefit of others who were interested, penetration, skill level?

 

I'll talk to you soon and i'm back on the boards at least for the next few days so you can tell me about your cruise and dives. I am anxious to hear...Paul:)

[DiveCruiser]

Hi all,

I've been reading the posts about not using the cruise excursion desk for booking dives? Any advice on who to book with in St Thomas? Any recommended dive sites? I'm on the NCL Spirit in October.

 

I'm a first time cruiser so I'm a bit antsy about booking something not with the cruiseline. (Worst nightmare is missing the boat!!)

 

Also My husband is not a diver and I was wondering what he might be able to do in St Thomas while I go diving? neither of us are shoppers, and I haven't heard much about St Thomas that doesn't include shopping! I'd much rather be down below making bubbles! ;)

 

Any suggestions are helpful

Thanks

I used Blue Island Divers They pick you up and drop you @ the end of the peir. I have used them for years.

 

Don't worry.

Bob

[CoNEY46]

I was just in St Thomas 2 weeks ago and did the resort course with Cokidiveclub. They were very proffesional and did a great job both educationaly and socially.

 

I would highly recomend them

[FliLady]

How long did it take you to do the Coki shore dive? We are trying to get a dive in and get over to Trunk Bay in St. John all in one day!

[squirrellee01]

Please let me know if you get an answer to this question because we want to do the SAME thing! And we are only in port from 8-4. THANKS!

[bruce-r]

Please let me know if you get an answer to this question because we want to do the SAME thing! And we are only in port from 8-4. THANKS!

I think the answer to her question was another question. Why don't you just go straight to St. John and do your diving there? She decided that sounded good, so I think that is what she is going to do. Google "St. John scuba" and you will be rewarded with several choices for dive operators.

[CruiseLunatic]

Coki sounds like a great option, as my hubby can hang on the beach while i dive. Quick question though- I am NAUI certified not PADI, will they accept my C card there?

 

I am a YMCA certified diver and have had no problems diving anywhere in the caribbean. My wife in now certified but prior to that she beach bummed it while I was diving. It does work out well that way at Coki. Real good folks there and they will answer emails.

[Loves_Dogs]

I used Coki Beach Dive last week and they were GREAT! I would definitely use them again. I expressed my concern of missing the ship when I emailed them so she scheduled our dives early. We met at 8:00 and were back on the ship hours before it left.