Scuba Operators In Dominica and Barbados

[DiveCruiser]

We will be on the Carnival Destiny the week of Oct 15, 2006. Has anyone used a dive operator on Dominica and Barbados that they would recommend and Why?

 

Thanks

Bob

[dabear]

In Dominica which has only a few dive operators, we dove with Nature Island Divers. We prefer not to use the ship's operator (if time permits) as they tend to be more crowded and sites less interesting. Nat Is Divers was fine, for a smaller operator, good dive master, took us to very good sites and picked us up at the dock. Boat was only fair, but we didn't have to travel far (xcept by car) since dock was near the dive sites. ps great untouched reefs.

[cal2632]

Be aware that Nature Island divers is quite a drive - not close to the cruise terminal at all. Also, some lines use them as their excursion operator (HAL does, I know) so check with them to see if your cruise uses them. If so, you might be better off booking the excursion as then you get the transportation included.

[WesW]

We dove with Anchorage Whale Watch and Dive Center Monday in Dominica.

They are very good. Picked us up at our cruise line's dock (Silver Whisper) in their boat. Dive crew handled everything; setting up equipment, selected exceptional dive sites, during surface interval we went to a hot springs on the coast, they provided rum punch (after all dives) and fresh juice, I mentioned I wanted a Dive shop T shirt--they brought one on board for me, they took me back to the cruiseline dock--one of the best dive crews I have experienced. The diving was super, viz about 60-80ft...would recommend them in a heart beat...six other divers from Carnival's destiny were with us too. r/wes

[Buda40]

We chose Dive Barbados (not through the cruise line) while in port in mid April 2006. There were some good points and some bad. John's wife Mary (very nice) picked us up just outside the dock in their Toyota pick up. They have a small hut right on the beach. We had to help load the tanks onto the boat which was anchored off shore. There were large boulders in the area and with the wind, it was not easy to load up or enter the boat. Although most operations we have been diving with, already have the tanks on board, it would not have been too bad had we been warned to wear protective footwear.

 

Our first dive was very nice and John pointed out many critters of interest. When we surfaced, they were having problems with the boat and could not get it out of gear. One of the divers almost got run over. Once positioned, John was first on board and did not help bring the rest of us up. The boat driver was not too helpful either. John was busy smoking cigarettes which he tossed overboard. :mad:

 

At our 2nd dive, John informed us that he would give us a brief tour around a wreck then let us be on our own for about 1 hour. Since we were all experienced, it was nice not to have to follow someone around. He showed us an air pocket which was cool to talk to everyone 40+' under water. The dive was absolutely beautiful! With no current, you could hover very closely to the wreck and see so much.

 

On the return trip, they had motor problems which they worked on for about 10 minutes. We had haul off our tanks, again with the boulders and wind.

 

While the dives were very nice, we did not feel the service met up to our expectations.

[dabear]

does Ancorage Whale Watch and Dive Center have a web site? We'll be back in Dominica in 2/07 and maywant to try another dive operator.

[DiveCruiser]

does Ancorage Whale Watch and Dive Center have a web site? We'll be back in Dominica in 2/07 and maywant to try another dive operator.

They do but not much of one http://www.skyviews.com/dominica/anchorage/index.html#anchor

 

Bob

[w&k]

Divecruiser-

 

On Barbados, Dive Barbados is our operation. http://divebarbados.net/ We just returned a couple of weeks ago from the Empress of the Seas 11-day, and one of the main reasons we booked the trip was to dive with John and Mary again. My new review for them should be up in a couple of weeks.

 

On Dominica, we went with Nature Island Divers, http://www.natureislanddive.com/diving.html and when we return to the island, will book with them again - we had a pair of wonderful dives.

 

However, it depends on the type of operation you are looking for. Dive Barbados and Nature Island Divers are smaller operations, and off the beaten path. We always try to book folks that have great personal service, and treat us like we're family, not customers.

 

If you enjoy big dive centers and large, fancy dive boats, these are probably NOT the type of operations you would enjoy. If you are looking for small operations with personal service, these ARE ones for you to consider.

 

It all depends on how you like to dive, and your personal level of comfort and skills. That's why the different types of dive operator exist, because each have their fans.

 

Wherever you book, have a wonderful trip - and don't forget to post a review when you get back!

 

Wendy

 

Review of Dive Barbados -

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=121690

 

Review of Nature Island Divers -

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=121704

 

Dive pix

http://community.webshots.com/user/wendyandkeith/

[scubaran]

Hi,

 

Last year I used West Side Scuba Centre in Barbados and can highly recommend them. They picked me up at the terminal (along with several other people) and took us to their store (about 5-10 minutes away right on the beach). There we were asked for our certification cards and if there was any equipment we were going to rent. Then they did something I really liked. They asked how many dives we had done. Most places just lump people together but Peter, the owner, divided the group up into experienced and inexperienced divers and assigned different dive masters to each. Since I've had a few dives with novices, I appreciated being teamed up with a group that at least could maintain decent bouyancy and wouldn't go through their air in 15 minutes. After we had everything, we walked about 100 ft. down the beach to their boat that was anchored out in about 3ft. of water (Peter was planning on building a dock but I don't know if he did or not), walked out our gear then got on board. We did two dives, got out, went back to the shop where they had two big rinse tanks and outside showers, then they took us back to the ship. It was really a nice time. If you're interested, their website is: http://westsidescuba.com/. BTW, as usual, I'm not affiliated with them in any way! :O)

 

Randall

[BullinOhio]

I went on a ship's excursion (Princess, 2 years ago) that used Dive Dominica and was very pleased. The staff was very good and the tour was not overcrowded. The wall in Dominica is still one of my favorite dives ever. During the surface interval we cruised around with dolphins playing all around us. Dive Dominica was very professional. If Carnival is using the same operator, I would go with them again in a heartbeat.

 

I was unimpressed with diving in Barbados overall. Hope you have better luck there.