Anyone used Blue Island Divers in St. Thomas?

[AtlantaKelly]

Hello -

 

We will be docking at Crown Bay on Apr 1st and have signed up to do a Discover Scuba outing with Blue Island. Has anyone used them that could tell me about their experience? We are scheduled for an afternoon outing that is supposed to return by 5 . . . the ship leaves at 6 and I usually don't like to push it that close with a non-ship tour. Any thoughts?

 

Thanks!

[cal2632]

We used them last year, but for a 2 tank AM dive. They pick you up and deliver you right by the cruise ship (either dock). I would email them and confirm that you need to be back at the ship at 5, but I doubt you'd have a problem.

[getta]

We used them in oct of last year two women running things , one the boat the other was the dm. dove the navy wrecks 70' and a reef 55' . picked up at peer and back. we will be using them on are next cruise to st. thomas.

Ray

[swimmer722]

We used them in November and I would not use them again. The DM really did not dive with the group - as a matter of fact there was no group. Everyone just did their own thing. DM never counted heads, did an air check, or even look to see where everyone was. The boat captain said when we got on - "since everyone has a dive computer, just dive your computer and come up when you are done." He also said that we could do a safety stop if we felt like it, but it really wasn't necessary! On the reef dive, again, we were pretty much on our own. Don't know where the DM was, but since we were not familiar with the reef and no one was guiding us around, we really didn't see that much. Also, we weren't sure where the boat was, and didn't want to get to far away. Another couple on the boat came up about 30 minutes after we did - in the mean time no one seemed to worried about them (the DM was already on the boat). They came up far away from the boat and it took them a long time to swim back. The boat made no effort to go pick them up and I felt like the crew (DM and Captain) really showed a lack of concern for safety.

 

I am a fairly new diver, 15 or so dives and I was not comfortable with this operation.

 

Not sure what other ports you are going to, but we were very happy with the other operators we used; Dive Safaris in St. Marteen, Dive Fair Helen in St. Lucia, and Dive Barbados in Barbados. They were all very safety conscious and yet lots of fun.

[Hilary]

We had an excellent experience with Blue Island when we dove with them from our cruise a couple of years ago. We found the DM to be excellent guides and the dive briefings to be good. I've always felt comfortable recommending them.

 

Your experience is really sad, and I hope the op was just having a bad day and that this won't become the norm for these guys. I hope you e-mailed them and let them know of your experience.

 

As to safety stops, they are technically optional when you are diving within NDL's. I know people who only do safety stops when they dive deeper than 80', though I'm one of those that always does a safety stop on dives deeper than 30', and for deep dives, I extend the standard 3 minute stop to 5 minutes or more.

[Penguinlo]

We were very happy with their service. Picked us up right at the dock. I had emailed them a couple of times explaining that we were new divers and did not want anything too deep. We had a DM and Asst. DM and a driver and the boat to ourselves. DM was great, knew I was nervous and held my hand and pointed everything out the whole time. Asst. DM partnered with my husband who of course was not nervous and they did their own thing. Was the best dive of our whole cruise. Dived Aruba and Curacao also. Would use them again.

[Cap'n Cork]

I second Cal's experience with Blue Island. I used them in January, 2005 on a cruise on the Carnival Destiny. They did pick us up at the end of the pier.

 

If they treat you as well as I was treated, you should have no complaints.

[stingraynz]

Hi

 

We had a similar experience as swimmer722 (but not exactly) our dive trip was absolutely....here's the dive site....here's what to look for....this is what we recommend....come up at 500 psi....have fun! we are more experienced so we were quite happy to just do our own thing. I just got a new camera so I was very happy to go slowly and look in every crevice etc.

 

If you are newer or don't have a compass/watch or dive computer - you may want to consider this carefully. We were slightly weirded out at first as frankly we have always received the guided tour. We went to a wreck first and then a reef and at the end of the first dive we were very happy to check out on out own, at our own speed. Come up at 500 psi - not when the first one of the group get low on air! So this could be a bonus to some.

 

We absolutely did not have the feeling that they may not wait for us or lose us. We felt safe in that respect. Bring a compass to ensure your feeling of getting away from the mooring and losing the boat. We did our own safety stop, not a concern.

 

If you are more comfortable with having the guided tour with the DM or instructor, I would make them aware of this in your email inquiry. Obviously they do this for some. :)

 

I would use them again if I go to St Thomas again. I really enjoyed the dives.

[gvre]

We always use Chris Saywer Diving in St. Thomas.

they are a first class operation and have dove with them 3 time in St Thomas:

 

Chris Sawyer Diving

 

Richard

[Jacqueline]

Given the reports these are not the people to use for Discover Scuba. How about going to Coki Beach ? They have a great rep and pick up at the dock. Nice beach dive with plenty to see. We had one DM for two divers. Great tune up dive, esp if it has been a few months since last dive.

I also would not use an operation that will return an hour prior to departure. There is no cushion for any type of delay.

Their recommendations are not responsible in are contrary to guidlines. Why use them for education ? A safety stop is in place for good reasons and is a commonly accepted practice to account for individual differences in body types. Since these dives have free ascents, it is a compensation for what might be an ascent rate that is a bit more fast than it should be.

I do not have a problem with unescorted dives but feel that a dm should be there for those who want a worry free tour.