St.Thomas/Barbados/St.Kitts/St.Maarten

Heading out next month on a Southern Caribbean cruise. Ports in St.Thomas, Barbados, St.Kitts, St.Maarten. Looks as though I could dive in any of the ports, but seeing as I'm traveling on my honeymoon with my soon to be husband who is not a diver I'd like to limit myself to diving in only 1/2 ports.

Given that, which (if any) of the ports would you recommend if you could only dive one? Any specific operators or dive sites? Bonus points for sharing why!

I prefer a 'boutiquey' experience, with small dive groups. I've had the chance to do a fair amount of US & Caribbean (eastern/western) diving- but never southern which is why I'm asking for your expertise :)

I've dove at all of these, I'd rank them as follows"

1) Barbados, with West Side Scuba Center, Peter granum is the own, and Gaird (G) is usually the DM on trips. A great operator and great diving. Generally the size of the groups is what you're after (no more than 6 people). http://www.westsidescuba.com

2) St. Kitts. This is a very close second, Dive St. Kitts is first rate. The diving is pleasant, certainly not challenging, but a lot of fun. One issue that we had a little bit, and others have also reported is late pick up at the pier. You may need to find a local to call the dive shop, to make sure they send someone. However, once you're at the dive shop, everything is run perfectly. Sort of a strange disconnect. very much a "boutique experience" We were three of the five divers on the boat. http://www.divestkitts.com

3) A distant third is St. Thomas. Blue Island Divers is who we used. they were fine, and their boat picks you up at the pier. A little rushed, but nice sites. http://www.blueislanddivers.com

4) Fourth is very close to third on my list. We dove on the French side (even though the ship docks on the Dutch side, with Octopus Divers. They did a good job arranging for transportation, but definitely run larger groups, They have several boats, but it's a little more of a cattle boat feeling.

Honestly if I was on your itinerary, I'd probably dive all four again, However, it would be easy to knock it down to two, Barbados and St. Kitts. Picking just one would be much more difficult. I would definitely dive both, but if you can only do one, I'd give the nod to Barbados.

Harris

Denver, CO

The one I would cross off my list for sure is St. Maarten! ;)

LuLu

Thank you both for the input! Really appreciate the time you took to share your experiences, and they certainly help me to narrow down my options!

Thanks :D

I haven't dived St. Kitts yet, but have the others. My favorite is St. Thomas, where I've dived twice, both times with Blue Island Divers. I would go back to Barbados, but use a different operator. I would never dive St. Martin again.