Carnival Destiny, New to Diving

[ColoradoCruzers]

I have completed pool and book work, will go to Homestead in Utah for my OW. Assuming I get certified, would anyone have recommendations for an operator that will accomodate a brand new diver in any of these ports? St Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua? If any recommendations would allow snorkelers or even Discover Scuba for DH and DS (17 & 22) that would be a definite plus! Don't want any of them to feel too left out afterall. Thanks in advance for any advice. Oh, I will be there the first week in June if that makes any difference.

[bruce-r]

I can only make a recommendation for St Thomas. I really enjoyed my dives with http://www.admiraltydive.com there. They pickup from the cruise pier which is quite convenient. I think they also take snorkelers and I know they do Discover Scuba dives. Boat dives will likely be of higher quality than shore dives.

 

Second choice would be a guided shore dive at Coki Beach with http://www.cokidive.com DH & DS could also do Discover Scuba dives there.

[gmcrow]

Good luck on your certification! We have reviews of some of your ports on our blog at http://www.cruisedivers.blogspot.com. We didn't find anything in Antigua.

[kruisegirl]

Hi- we are neighbors as my husband also got certified at the Homestead several years ago. We are going on the Destiny in April and I have been doing some research on shore dives as they are quite a bit less expensive.

If you are going to be in San juan for a couple of days, which I reccommend as long as you are going that far. He has dived with carib aquatics and had a great time with them. That was a boat dive. In St. Thomas head to Coki Beach and Peter at Coki Beach dive. He is great, have dived there a couple of times. Great shore diving for beginners. We are going to do a shore dive in Barbados, would be happy to let you know how it goes. You have to take a boat dive in Dominica. Incredible, that is all I can say about Dominica. Carnival doesn't offer dives from the doat and because of the time we get in, there aren't a lot of boat dives available. We have used Anckorage dive now 3 times and it has been great. Talk to Aaron. She is wonderful. We are going to try a shore dive in st. Kitts at Bird Rock Beach hotel. Will post when we get back

[ColoradoCruzers]

Kruisegirl, thanks for the tips. I think I will go with Peter at Coki Beach as posted previously as well. He replied to my email quickly and has been patient with my newbie questions. The guys will just snorkel there while I do the beach dive. In Dominica, I have been corresponding with Irie Safari. They will do a dive and allow the snorkelers to be up above snorkeling and watching me blow bubbles:D . I guess I should find out if that was a beach or boat dive, I think it was beach since they are located right there. We will be in San Juan the day before and day after. Got some good deals on Priceline. And yes, please post what happens in Barbados. Thanks again to all who have posted.