St Thomas Scuba Diving Help Needed

[Laurie S.]

No problem at all booking privately, especially in St. Thomas. We've always returned on time, had great dives, and paid much less.

[ajgag57]

Originally Posted by Laurie S.

No problem at all booking privately, especially in St. Thomas. We've always returned on time, had great dives, and paid much less.

It seems you are OK with Blue Divers. I will be diving in three ports on this cruise (wahoo). St Thomas is our last port. (other diving ports are St. Croix, Virgin Islands and Roseau, Dominica). Was just planning on booking thru the ship, but think I will book privately in St. Thomas.

I've always been happy with the ship tours, but there was one time they didn't get enough people to sign-up, so they cancelled my excursion (I was the only one to sign-up). I made a very big stink about it, and the concierge made private arrangements for me (thank you), but they also made it clear that the ship bore no responsibility, and if I was late coming back, it would be my problem. Turns out the dive boat was late coming back (terrible traffic). The driver of the drop-off van was in constant contact with the dive operator about getting me back on time. There was a spot close to the port (still stuck in traffic), and they let me off and I ran the rest of the way (about a 1/4 mile) dive gear and all. Was looking like I was going to make it, but then customs wanted to look through all my dive gear. I let them know my boat was leaving and the supervisor waved me on. I ran the rest of the way and got to the ship, and as soon as I got across the gangway, it was pulled up behind me.

As I said the dive operation was extremely concerned about getting me back on time, and I did make it, but it was a very unnerving experience.

That is at least one benefit of using the ship's excursion, no worries if the operator is late getting you back.

[Laurie S.]

The good part about Blue Island Divers is that if you're at the newer terminal, they are a 5-minute walk from the ship. They will pick you up on the dive boat, if you're at the older terminal, and drop you off.

I've only come close to being late three times while on a private diving excursion. Once was on Roatan when I went to Bananarama and their van caught on fire on the way back. The driver was in contact with the shop and he flagged down a local taxi for me. I got back with 40 minutes to spare, although I was nervous because I thought the ship was leaving a half hour earlier. LOL

The other time also was on Roatan with Subway Watersports when the driver didn't come back on time to pick us up. We got back with about 30 minutes to spare, but it was a long way back and we were rather nervous. It was my second time diving with them (and they are great!), and when the owner e-mailed me about how the trip went, I told her about the delay. She was shocked and very apologetic. He was instructed to pick us up at a certain time, and he was screwing off. I am guessing he probably was fired, and should have been.

The closest we came was on St. Lucia. We arrived back at the ship just on time. We were on a panga and a heavy rain slowed us down. They were untying the gangway as we got there, and we weren't the last ones to arrive.

Even with those three times, I wouldn't hesitate to do a private diving excursion. I've had several bad ship's diving excursions, with the exception of Belize when we went to Turneffe Atoll and in Nassau. Belize was good because they let my fiance and I dive on our own (he's an instructor and I'm a divemaster), and Nassau was good because the dives were awesome and it was a long way over there.

[Cruising4]

We booked with St. Thomas Diving Club for our upcoming cruise. First dive since certification for my kids, including a Junior diver.

Emails from them were wonderful and put to rest any fears I have of sending my kids off to dive!

Will post a review when we get back. Also diving in Samana and St. Martin.

[gcooper]

Originally Posted by Laurie S.

However, if this is your first time diving since being certified, I highly recommend that you don't take a camera along. You will need to focus on the diving at first to be safe.

Originally Posted by ajgag57

But still, considering your experience, I would also recommend you not take a camera. Its better to focus on your diving and just enjoy....Between buoyancy control, trying to take pictures, and trying to keep up with the group after trying to stop and take pictures, I quickly found myself getting task-loaded

Originally Posted by BillOh

You and Laurie make good points. The logic is not lost on me. I am hyper safety conscious. I'm going on a 2 tank dive and may consider taking the camera along on one dive and not the other. I did go back into the pool in scuba gear last week to get use to using it.

My experience with u/w photog while newly certified is about the same as Laurie and AJ. I spent so much time fiddling with my camera (and my rental gear) that I missed several of the things that others on the dives came back bragging about having seen.

Have you spent time snorkeling with your u/w camera? When you went to the pool did you take your camera as well and practice underwater with it? Are you going with an experienced buddy or will you be getting an unknown "insta-buddy"?

Maybe you could talk to your dive op, some will do videography for you for a fee. You could be in your own pictures/movies that way and not have to worry about the extra hassle of messing with your camera for your first few dives.

If you still decide to take your camera and are doing a 2 tank dive, my suggestion is to only take it down on the second dive. The first dive is almost always deeper thus battery life is drained faster (pressure and cold) as well as the red spectrum drops dramatically thus needing filters/strobes.

Enjoy your trip!

[LibratPDX]

Originally Posted by Laurie S.

I've been with Blue Island twice. The first time we had four divers, the second time we had six. Their boats aren't crowded. I haven't heard of the two operators you're looking at.

Ditto, almost verbatim

Dove twice with Blue Island, their boats are not crowded and they are awesome guys