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Scuba diving in St Croix, Philipsburgh St Martin, Roseau Dominican, St George Grenada


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I am visiting several ports on the Southern Caribbean and would like to hear any recommendations on places to dive and their favorite tour companies. I don’t plan to dive in all the ports but would like to at least dive in two or three of them.

 

I was thinking of doing a two tank morning or afternoon dive, where the dive shop can pick me up at the cruise port terminal.

 

Any help would much be appreciated!

 

 

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All these ports have good diving, and good dive operators. I'm going to go in order of my preference:

 

First is Dominica. Here you have fantastic diving and a great dive operator. ALDIVE and Water Sports. Samantha and Billy there will arrange for pick-up and return from the pier, and provide you with excellent service. The diving is amazing, as is the scenery from the boat. www.aldive.com. Samantha is responsive to emails, and can get everything all set for you.

 

A close second is Grenada. Here I've used a few operators, and there's only one I recommend. It's Eveline Verdier's ScubaTech Grenada. They provide boat pick up at a wharf in the town. It's about a 10 minute walk from the port (even with dive gear), and it's a fun walk, because you go through the Sendal Tunnel. The famous dive sites for Grenada are the Bianca C Wreck, and the sculpture garden. Alas, the Bianca C is not something operators there will take day visitors on. The sculpture garden can be a fun second dive, but it's at most a "one and done" dive. If you have time after diving, stay on the boat back to the ScubaTech shop. It's at the very nice Calabash Hotel, and you can grab something to eat, and they'll bring you back to the pier by car. Their website is www.scubatech-grenada.com.

 

If you're only diving two of your ports, you can stop reading. There's a step down for the other two:

 

For St. Croix I use N2theBlue. The advantage is their location is one block from the pier gate, so no need for pick-up arrangements. The diving is typical Caribbean, so quite nice, but not at the level of Dominica or Grenada. http://n2theblue.com/

 

St. Maarten, I go with Octopus Diving. They have a location at Bobby's Marina. It's about a ten minute walk for the port, or you can take the water taxi. If you take the water taxi, tell them you're going to Bobby's Marina. The large water taxis don't go there, so you have to get on the right one. The water taxi literally docks at the Octopus Diving shop. Make sure when you book you specify that you want to dive on the Dutch side. They also have a French side operation. Getting back and forth is a hassle, and the diving is better on the Dutch side to boot. http://www.octopusdivingsxm.com/ With any luck your boat captain will be Willem, and your dive master will be Tiff.

 

Let me know if you have questions,

 

Harris

Denver, CO

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Be aware of the ship's scheduled arrival time vs. the nominal time that the dive boat departs. Often I find that the ship arrives at the same time the boat is scheduled to leave or even a half hour too late.

A small dive shop might work with you to adjust their schedule somewhat but I'm not sure it's fair to the other divers to do so.

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Of the stops mentioned I would recommend Dominica and Sint Maarten. I have been diving in Dominica, Sint Maarten and St Croix but not Grenada. Dominica is noted for it’s wall diving.

 

 

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All these ports have good diving, and good dive operators. I'm going to go in order of my preference:

 

First is Dominica. Here you have fantastic diving and a great dive operator. ALDIVE and Water Sports. Samantha and Billy there will arrange for pick-up and return from the pier, and provide you with excellent service. The diving is amazing, as is the scenery from the boat. www.aldive.com. Samantha is responsive to emails, and can get everything all set for you.

 

A close second is Grenada. Here I've used a few operators, and there's only one I recommend. It's Eveline Verdier's ScubaTech Grenada. They provide boat pick up at a wharf in the town. It's about a 10 minute walk from the port (even with dive gear), and it's a fun walk, because you go through the Sendal Tunnel. The famous dive sites for Grenada are the Bianca C Wreck, and the sculpture garden. Alas, the Bianca C is not something operators there will take day visitors on. The sculpture garden can be a fun second dive, but it's at most a "one and done" dive. If you have time after diving, stay on the boat back to the ScubaTech shop. It's at the very nice Calabash Hotel, and you can grab something to eat, and they'll bring you back to the pier by car. Their website is www.scubatech-grenada.com.

 

If you're only diving two of your ports, you can stop reading. There's a step down for the other two:

 

For St. Croix I use N2theBlue. The advantage is their location is one block from the pier gate, so no need for pick-up arrangements. The diving is typical Caribbean, so quite nice, but not at the level of Dominica or Grenada. http://n2theblue.com/

 

St. Maarten, I go with Octopus Diving. They have a location at Bobby's Marina. It's about a ten minute walk for the port, or you can take the water taxi. If you take the water taxi, tell them you're going to Bobby's Marina. The large water taxis don't go there, so you have to get on the right one. The water taxi literally docks at the Octopus Diving shop. Make sure when you book you specify that you want to dive on the Dutch side. They also have a French side operation. Getting back and forth is a hassle, and the diving is better on the Dutch side to boot. http://www.octopusdivingsxm.com/ With any luck your boat captain will be Willem, and your dive master will be Tiff.

 

Let me know if you have questions,

 

Harris

Denver, CO

 

 

 

Hello Harris:

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your reply’s to my scuba questions. You’re first two scuba sites were not even on my list. They are now.

 

Have you ever used Dive Grenada?

 

Do you bring all your own equipment ( less tanks and weights)?

 

Thanks again.

 

 

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Hello Harris:

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your reply’s to my scuba questions. You’re first two scuba sites were not even on my list. They are now.

 

Have you ever used Dive Grenada?

 

Do you bring all your own equipment ( less tanks and weights)?

 

Thanks again.

 

 

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I've not used Dive Grenada. I had used Eco Dive and Trek there. I Definitely would not recommend them.

 

I always bring all my own gear. It's a minor hassle, but very much worth it to me for having my gear for comfort, known history, and quality. That being said, at every one of the four operators I mentioned, we had another couple with us that was using rental gear, and in every case the gear was good quality, and no issues whatsoever.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

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Another option in Grenada is Aquanauts. They were fantastic with pick-up and return to port. In fact they picked us up and we started at their shop at a resort, where we did all of the paperwork, etc. but then after our second dive they gave us the option to get off at their Grande Anse shop where we washed all of our gear, hung it to dry and then spent some beach time. When we were ready to go back to the ship they had a taxi (paid for) waiting for us. Great boats, equipment and dive masters. It was a wonderful day.

 

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All these ports have good diving, and good dive operators. I'm going to go in order of my preference:

 

First is Dominica. Here you have fantastic diving and a great dive operator. ALDIVE and Water Sports. Samantha and Billy there will arrange for pick-up and return from the pier, and provide you with excellent service. The diving is amazing, as is the scenery from the boat. www.aldive.com. Samantha is responsive to emails, and can get everything all set for you.

 

A close second is Grenada. Here I've used a few operators, and there's only one I recommend. It's Eveline Verdier's ScubaTech Grenada. They provide boat pick up at a wharf in the town. It's about a 10 minute walk from the port (even with dive gear), and it's a fun walk, because you go through the Sendal Tunnel. The famous dive sites for Grenada are the Bianca C Wreck, and the sculpture garden. Alas, the Bianca C is not something operators there will take day visitors on. The sculpture garden can be a fun second dive, but it's at most a "one and done" dive. If you have time after diving, stay on the boat back to the ScubaTech shop. It's at the very nice Calabash Hotel, and you can grab something to eat, and they'll bring you back to the pier by car. Their website is www.scubatech-grenada.com.

 

If you're only diving two of your ports, you can stop reading. There's a step down for the other two:

 

For St. Croix I use N2theBlue. The advantage is their location is one block from the pier gate, so no need for pick-up arrangements. The diving is typical Caribbean, so quite nice, but not at the level of Dominica or Grenada. http://n2theblue.com/

 

St. Maarten, I go with Octopus Diving. They have a location at Bobby's Marina. It's about a ten minute walk for the port, or you can take the water taxi. If you take the water taxi, tell them you're going to Bobby's Marina. The large water taxis don't go there, so you have to get on the right one. The water taxi literally docks at the Octopus Diving shop. Make sure when you book you specify that you want to dive on the Dutch side. They also have a French side operation. Getting back and forth is a hassle, and the diving is better on the Dutch side to boot. http://www.octopusdivingsxm.com/ With any luck your boat captain will be Willem, and your dive master will be Tiff.

 

Let me know if you have questions,

 

Harris

Denver, CO

 

 

 

Hello Harris:

 

What dive sites have you dove at in Dominica ?

 

I just noticed today that the cruise ship pier just opened this morning.

The island is devastated, many houses with roofs gone, sewage flowing everywhere, no electrical power. ABC Nightline just did a report on tv and it was awful all the damage.

 

Do you think it will be all right to dive their in December?

Have you done the champagne bubble dive?

Have you done any wreck dives their?

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

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Hello Harris:

 

What dive sites have you dove at in Dominica ?

 

I just noticed today that the cruise ship pier just opened this morning.

The island is devastated, many houses with roofs gone, sewage flowing everywhere, no electrical power. ABC Nightline just did a report on tv and it was awful all the damage.

 

Do you think it will be all right to dive their in December?

Have you done the champagne bubble dive?

Have you done any wreck dives their?

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

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L'Abym wall dive is spectacular. The Champagne reef is a fun dive, with a great variety of topography from sea grass with stone fish and sea horses, reef with the usual Caribbean life, and then the Champagne Bubble vent are itself. This is usually a great second dive as the depth are moderate, and the area with the vents ranges from 5 to 15 feet, so you'll doubtless have snorkeling groups in the area.

 

 

Dominica did get hit hard by the hurricane, but I would not hesitate to go. Samantha And Billy say they came through fine.

 

 

I don't think Dominica has much in the way of wrecks, at least not in areas accessible in a reasonable amount of time from the port. Grenada has more. As I mentioned before, Grenada has probably the Caribbean's most famous wreck, the Bianca C (the Titanic of the Caribbean). No operator will take cruise ship divers there, because they want to know how you dive before they take you. It's top deck is at about 110 feet, and moorings are forbidden, so it's necessary to go in when GPS says you're on the site, then drop the 110 feet to the ship with what's usually a good current. The goal is a descent at 40 or 50 feet per minute, while staying in a group. That being said, Grenada has other wrecks that may not be famous, but would be worth a visit for sure.

 

 

Harris

Denver, CO

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  • 3 weeks later...
All these ports have good diving, and good dive operators. I'm going to go in order of my preference:

 

First is Dominica. Here you have fantastic diving and a great dive operator. ALDIVE and Water Sports. Samantha and Billy there will arrange for pick-up and return from the pier, and provide you with excellent service. The diving is amazing, as is the scenery from the boat. www.aldive.com. Samantha is responsive to emails, and can get everything all set for you.

 

A close second is Grenada. Here I've used a few operators, and there's only one I recommend. It's Eveline Verdier's ScubaTech Grenada. They provide boat pick up at a wharf in the town. It's about a 10 minute walk from the port (even with dive gear), and it's a fun walk, because you go through the Sendal Tunnel. The famous dive sites for Grenada are the Bianca C Wreck, and the sculpture garden. Alas, the Bianca C is not something operators there will take day visitors on. The sculpture garden can be a fun second dive, but it's at most a "one and done" dive. If you have time after diving, stay on the boat back to the ScubaTech shop. It's at the very nice Calabash Hotel, and you can grab something to eat, and they'll bring you back to the pier by car. Their website is www.scubatech-grenada.com.

 

If you're only diving two of your ports, you can stop reading. There's a step down for the other two:

 

For St. Croix I use N2theBlue. The advantage is their location is one block from the pier gate, so no need for pick-up arrangements. The diving is typical Caribbean, so quite nice, but not at the level of Dominica or Grenada. http://n2theblue.com/

 

St. Maarten, I go with Octopus Diving. They have a location at Bobby's Marina. It's about a ten minute walk for the port, or you can take the water taxi. If you take the water taxi, tell them you're going to Bobby's Marina. The large water taxis don't go there, so you have to get on the right one. The water taxi literally docks at the Octopus Diving shop. Make sure when you book you specify that you want to dive on the Dutch side. They also have a French side operation. Getting back and forth is a hassle, and the diving is better on the Dutch side to boot. http://www.octopusdivingsxm.com/ With any luck your boat captain will be Willem, and your dive master will be Tiff.

 

Let me know if you have questions,

 

Harris

Denver, CO

 

 

 

Hello Harris

 

I have been trying to contact Aldive and have not heard back from them. Their website says their are closed due to hurricane Maria. Another website Buddy Dive said their operations will be closed for another year while they rebuilt.

 

Is it just a low season for them ? Do you have their email address or phone number?

 

Thanks

Bill

 

 

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The email I have is:

 

aldive.watersports@gmail.com

 

The phone numbers I have are:

813-774-5254 US Line

767-275-3483 Local Line

I do see their website is now saying they're closed until further notice. Last time I looked, it said they had come through OK.

Harris

Denver, CO

 

 

 

Thanks

 

 

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  • 1 month later...
Hello Harris

 

Looks like Aldive is closed and other scuba operators you would recommend.

 

Thanks

Bill

 

 

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I've not dove with any other operators there. In checking websites, it appears that others, besides ALDIVE, have closed due to the effects of the hurricane.

 

 

My best advice would be to use Google, and then email the remaining operators, asking which will provide cruise port pick up and return.

 

 

Harris

Denver, CO

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I've not dove with any other operators there. In checking websites, it appears that others, besides ALDIVE, have closed due to the effects of the hurricane.

 

 

 

 

 

My best advice would be to use Google, and then email the remaining operators, asking which will provide cruise port pick up and return.

 

 

 

 

 

Harris

 

Denver, CO

 

 

 

Thanks

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Have you ever used Dive Grenada?

 

 

 

 

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I'm a week away from trying Dive Grenada, but I'm tempering my expectations as I arranged a scuba/snorkeling excursion together for my group.

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I'm a week away from trying Dive Grenada, but I'm tempering my expectations as I arranged a scuba/snorkeling excursion together for my group.

 

 

 

Great news, let me know how things go.? The area is pretty devastated from the past hurricane so our review will greatly be appreciated.

 

Bill

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