st thomas, st lucia, barbados, st kitts, and st maarten

[CRAZYBOBC]

which of these would you dive if you could only pick two. anfd why?

also staying one night in puerto rico is it worth a dive there or are these island better.

thanks

[Laurie S.]

I haven't dived at St. Kitts or St. Maarten yes so I can't address those, but don't miss St. Lucia. St. Thomas also was very good, with Barbados coming in third.

[minidriver]

St. Lucia!

[gvre]

Having dove all those ports

 

Yes for St. Lucia I have dove with Frogs 2X and Dive Fair Helen.

 

Yes for St. Thomas dove 3X Chris Sawyer

[TreeCity]

Love St Thomas with Coki dive They always treat me right.

[Putterdude]

Have found Barbados and St. Kits so so, had a great time at Coki Beach at St. Thomas last week.

[parasailor]

I had a great dive with Caribbean Dive College www.caribbeandivecollege.com on January 25 and recommend them to everyone. St. Martin does not have very good beach snorkeling, but it has great dive sites for both the beginner (me) and the expert.

[moski]

Hi

 

We're going to be in St. Lucia 2/24/11, 8 am to 6pm, on the Carribean Princess. I am looking for a good Dive place. Can anyone help with a good Dive Shop and guide near where the ship docks? I am looking for a nice 2 tank dive and a way better price than the the ship.

 

Thanks for any input

[jakz2fun]

Hi Moski, I am also going to be in St. Lucia on the caribbean princess on 2/24. I did some research, and am booking through Dive Fair Helen. I had found some good reviews on them.

Here is some of the info I got from them:

You can take advantage of our Cruise Ship Special which has 2 tank dives (in spacious, shaded boats with all amenities including washroom, fresh water, easy entry and exit facilities), equipment (except wetsuit which can be rented for US$8.00pp), transfers to and from the dive shop (we do pickup and return you), lunch, marine fees and dive master. You can view the special from the following link; you will also be able to view the pickup point which should be near your docking area. http://www.divefairhelen.com/cruise_ship_special.htm

The cost per Certified diver is US$108.00 with equipment or US$92.00 if no equipment needed, book early and get the package for US$105.00/89.00, pickup time is between 8:45 – 9:00am, we will return you to port between 2:30 – 4:00pm as this depends on the sites we visit that day.

We dive the prime reserves on the island from Anise Cochin to Soufriere, visiting spectacular reefs, walls or even wreck dive if that is your fancy. We desperately try to offer the best St. Lucia has to offer. Depths are between 40ft. to 65ft., you can view some of the sites we visit here: http://www.divefairhelen.com/dive_sites.htm

[w&k]

which of these would you dive if you could only pick two. anfd why?

also staying one night in puerto rico is it worth a dive there or are these island better.

thanks

 

 

Out of those, St. Kitts would be my first pick, Barbados second.

 

No cruise would be complete without diving with Kenneth, Vajai and the crew at Kenneth's Dive Center in St. Kitts. Great folks, awesome diving. (5 weeks to go before our next dive with them!) http://www.kennethsdivecenter.com

 

Barbados has beautiful water and has great diving, if you know who to go with - we go with John & Mary at Dive Barbados (small boat diving). http://www.divebarbados.net Unfortunately, we have missed diving there the last couple trips as we have had other commitments for the Barbados stop.

 

St. Lucia has some great diving, but it's pricey and can be difficult to get to unless your ship times mesh with Dive Fair Helen. Island Divers has a good package, but it's a bit spendy. We did the ship's dive, but it was very spendy for a time limit 'hurry up and wait' scenario.

 

In St. Thomas we have been with Blue Island Divers under previous ownership. We are doing a B2B on RCCL Adventure/Carnival Victory in a month, and will do Coki Beach Dive Club on the first leg, and Blue Island Divers on the second leg.

 

St. Maarten has the reputation for rough water, so we've never even tried it. I'm way over that kind of diving.

 

Have a wonderful trip wherever you decide to dive!

 

Wendy

 

dive pix

http://community.webshots.com/user/wendyandkeith

 

dive reviews

http://wendyandkeith.webs.com/

[bruce-r]

which of these would you dive if you could only pick two. anfd why?

also staying one night in puerto rico is it worth a dive there or are these island better.

thanks

 

Of your choices I know for certain the I would definitely NOT dive in St. Maarten again.

 

Diving in Puerto Rico is problematic as the decent diving is over 2 hours away from San Juan. I'd probably not try to dive there.

[w&k]

Kenneth's Dive Center has changed the name of the website to drop the 's'.

 

It is now http://www.kennethdivecenter.com

 

Wendy

[KampsvilleKruisers]

I am wondering about these islands as while. I am wondering out of these great diving islands, which ones don't really have much to offer on land? Since we only have one day at each place, I would really like to dive in a place that we won't miss anything on land. We are not big into drinking or shopping. We like to tour the natural wonders of the islands. Basically I guess I am asking, out of these islands, which one will I not miss above water?

[sd200044]

I had a great dive with Caribbean Dive College www.caribbeandivecollege.com on January 25 and recommend them to everyone. St. Martin does not have very good beach snorkeling, but it has great dive sites for both the beginner (me) and the expert.

 

 

What was the cost and how did you meet up with the dive shop? Taxi? What was the cost?

[sd200044]

OK - I have read several threads on here about Diving in St. Maarten being crappy. I noticed NCL is not offering a Dive Excursion and I was wondering if anyone can shed more light on this. I am diving in St. Thomas and Nassu which I have dove before and had a great time, but I am used to Cozumel and belize so my standards are pretty high. I can't imagine any diving being bad in the caribbean, but I would like more info. If no diving in SM, then what would you recommend?

[parasailor]

Cost was $99 for 2 1 tank dives at 2 different sites. Their dock is accessible directly by water taxi (which, in SM, are more like shuttle buses than taxis) at the Bobby's Marina stop and is a short walk from downtown Phillispsburg. They dropped us off at the cruise dock afterwards.

[parasailor]

People on my cruise liked the nature trip at St Kitts.

 

St. Martin and St Thomas have not much above water to offer. I second Coki Dive Center on St. T.

 

Yes, St M water can be choppy--but I, a newbie diver, LOVED diving the Maze and HMS Proselyte sites only 50 feet down at St. M with Caribbean Dive College--the shallow depth meant lots of time to explore, rather than descend/ascend. It was choppy on the surface (I should have taken Bonine), but well worth it.

[sd200044]

Cost was $99 for 2 1 tank dives at 2 different sites. Their dock is accessible directly by water taxi (which, in SM, are more like shuttle buses than taxis) at the Bobby's Marina stop and is a short walk from downtown Phillispsburg. They dropped us off at the cruise dock afterwards.

 

 

How much was the water taxi from the cruise ports to Bobby's Marina?

[parasailor]

The water taxi is $6 for an all day pass or $4 per ride. The $6 will take care of both a dive trip and a later shopping or sightseeing trip. The trips take a few minutes. The taxis go from the ship to Philipsburg and then on to Bobbys (may help to request a Bobby's stop).

[grvdggr71]

Also recommend St. Lucia - dove with Scuba St. Lucia at the Anse Chastenet reef and Superman's Flight at the base of the Pitons. The cost was a little high (booked via the cruiseline), but was well worth it and some of the best diving we've done. We also enjoyed our dives in St. Thomas with Blue Island Divers (wreck/coral gardens combo).

[gerryl12]

I spent a week in St Maartens in November and had 5 dives with Blue Bubbles dive center 4 off their boat . I was a little aprehensive as I am newly certified. They put all my anxioty to rest and I had a great time and the dive master was fantastic. The water was a little rough but all in all i thought it was fabulous.

 

The cruise ship wharf is about a five or ten minute walk 1/4 mile from their office. I believe the price was about $100 for a two tank dive. Also they have many good dive sites.