Which port in Southern Caribbean for newbies?

[TwoSue]

My husband and two kids (12 and 15) and I are starting scuba lessons tonight so we will be certified by the time we take our cruise at the end of June. Our ports will be Grand Turk, Dominican Republic, Curacao, and Aruba. We would like to dive once or twice during our trip. Which port would you recommend and which dive shop? We don't usually book excursions through the ship.

[Dabaras]

With a 12 year old, I believe you are restricted to about 40 feet (and probably a private divemaster). Based on this, I would say probably Curacao would be a good bet. I haven't dove it from a cruise ship, but I did spend a week there a few years back and there are some very nice, very easy shallow dives (as well as some wicked deep advanced dives)

[Capt_BJ]

I don't have a good answer for you but can help you cut down your wish list anyway

 

You'll all be newly certified so I'd recommend shallow and guided. Your youngest is restricted to 40 feet according to PADI rules as I follow them, but COULD dive with a certified parent. Since you are all brand new I'd say you want a guided dive.

 

I've dove in all these places and I'd suggest just forget about DomRep (Samana?) ..

 

Turk is probably the most 'diver destination' of the three remaining, but also small.

 

My dives in Aruba have typically been coastal west of the port and OK ... not great ... usually wrecks (boat and airplane)

 

Curacao .... nicer but my dives were all beyond 60 feet . . .

 

So you want to find a shop that will set up a guided shallow dive or two . . .

 

I'd put Curacao and Turk at the top of the list ..... just my opinion.

[TwoSue]

That's very helpful! I have another question... now that we have to buy/borrow all this equipment (fins, booties, mask, snorkel, gloves), do we need to schlep it with us or can we rent it along with the other equipment we'll need? That's a lot of stuff to put in the luggage for the four of us!

[Capt_BJ]

most dive operations

 

can rent you everything

[topspot]

We did our first dives in Grand Turk, with Blue Waters divers http://www.grandturkscuba.com

[Capt_BJ]

btw

 

If you have masks that work well for you - I WOULD carry those. Nothing can ruin an otherwise enjoyable dive faster than a leaking mask . . . masks alone won't take up much room.

[bdklein]

I don't have a good answer for you but can help you cut down your wish list anyway

 

You'll all be newly certified so I'd recommend shallow and guided. Your youngest is restricted to 40 feet according to PADI rules as I follow them, but COULD dive with a certified parent. Since you are all brand new I'd say you want a guided dive.

 

I've dove in all these places and I'd suggest just forget about DomRep (Samana?) ..

 

Turk is probably the most 'diver destination' of the three remaining, but also small.

 

My dives in Aruba have typically been coastal west of the port and OK ... not great ... usually wrecks (boat and airplane)

 

Curacao .... nicer but my dives were all beyond 60 feet . . .

 

So you want to find a shop that will set up a guided shallow dive or two . . .

 

I'd put Curacao and Turk at the top of the list ..... just my opinion.

 

 

But as newbies Aruba has some shallow dive sites that might work well for them, such as Pedernales.

[w&k]

My husband and two kids (12 and 15) and I are starting scuba lessons tonight so we will be certified by the time we take our cruise at the end of June. Our ports will be Grand Turk, Dominican Republic, Curacao, and Aruba. We would like to dive once or twice during our trip. Which port would you recommend and which dive shop? We don't usually book excursions through the ship.

 

 

Curacao is my top pick for your list, and if you're going to get wet in Curacao, you have to go with Suzy and Mark at The Dive Bus. http://www.the-dive-bus.com Their house reef is fabulous, and steps away. I like the privacy and security they have now as they are across the street.

 

Simple, easy, and laid back... catch a cab from the ship, do some awesome diving, hang out, have a bevvy, and play "what did you see?" and catch a cab back. Just watch out for the blackmail pictures!

 

In Aruba, contact Clive at Dive Aruba. http://www.divearuba.com It's small boat diving at it's best, and Clive picks you up right outside the gate. His boat is in the marina right next to the cruise pier.

 

 

Tell them both Wendy and Keith from Florida sent you, and they'll let you come and dive with them anyway.

 

Have a great time - wish I was going with you!

 

Wendy

[cruzbound]

Curacao has awesome shore diving and we used Curious2dive and Hans was a great guide. When we went with him this past March, it was only the two of us in the group - great, personalized experience. He also picked us up and drop us back of at the port.

 

Good luck and have fun!

[TwoSue]

Thanks for the advice. We're leaving tomorrow and will be diving with Hans in Curacao. Also booked Grand Turk Diving. We have our things with us and we're ready! I'll report back in a couple of weeks when we get home.

[aks1001]

Hi My daughter and I did a discovery scuba with Atlantis Diving in Curacao. They we great! Its an easy shore dive. They will pick you up at the cruise port and return you there for free. We have become certified divers since. It was an easy dive. The equipment we used was very nice! They were very nice and patient.:) Just google Atlantis Diving.

[TwoSue]

Just thought I'd give a quick report on our two dive trips...

 

We ended up bringing our own masks, snorkels, fins, and booties and that worked out well. First dive was just the four of us with Grand Turk Diving. We were all still a little nervous, especially my 12-year-old, but Smitty was patient and made sure we were confident before we got in the water. He took us out in a small boat to the wall. We started in about 15 feet of water, in a sandy spot with thousands of garden eels. After swimming around there a bit, we headed over to the wall and had a spectacular dive there. I honestly wasn't paying too much attention to the depth, just following our guide, but later he told me we went to 70 feet. We were all supposed to limit at 60. Oh well. After the first dive, we headed back to the shop for another tank. My daughter was cold and wasn't too sure she wanted to dive again, but her only option was to sit on the boat alone atop the rocky ocean, (unless one of us chose to stay with her) so we got her a wetsuit and she went ahead and did it. The second dive was closer to the ship and then he dropped us off right near the pier. Great intro to scuba in the Caribbean with no wetsuit, amazing visibility. We snorkeled the next day in the Dominican Republic and there was no comparison.

 

Second dive was at Curacao with Curious2Dive. Hans, the owner, was taking another family for an Introductory Scuba class so we had Guillame. We did two shore dives, driving back to the shop for our surface interval. This dive was even better than Grand Turk! It was a similar wall (though not so deep), but we also went to a tugboat wreck and a pier, so there was a lot of variety with what we saw. Our guide took pictures of what we saw (and us!) and e-mailed all of them to us for no charge. Guillame was more personable than the guide at GT, and pointed out many things for us along the dive, including a seahorse. Our daughter waited on the beach for the second dive. One of the highlights was popping up through the surface exactly at sunset..... wow!! I would highly recommend this dive shop.

[cruzbound]

Hi Susan,

Glad to hear the diving went well. Curious2dive was awesome when we used them. They showed us our first seahorse. Going through the pier was amazing. Curacao has great shore diving - I heard Bonaire is the best (which is on our list of places to visit) but I would love to go back to Curacao for a full week of diving. I loved the fact that they sent us pictures from the dive - especially since we do not have a camera yet (hopefully soon). I hope Hans gets lots of business from our dive reports.

 

Happy diving!

[G.C]

Here is another vote for Curacao and the Divebus. Their house reef is a walk in with a rock wall to the shore loaded with fish. So depth will not be an issue for your group. Mark can plan a dive to fit your group`s skill level that everyone will enjoy. Email Suzy and she can provide pricing including rental gear.

[cruzbound]

G.C.

Poster has already gone on her cruise and provided us a report. I have heard good things about the Dive Bus however I did not like their cancellation policy when I contacted them. Basically they don't have one. They told me if the ship does not dock due to bad weather that is not their fault (so no refund). One never knows what kind of weather will come around and in the case of Mother Nature it is nobody's fault so I would say the customer should not loose their money.

 

Happy diving!

[Capt_BJ]

Curacao has great shore diving - I heard Bonaire is the best (which is on our list of places to visit)

 

Bonaire is shore dive heaven . . . there is no reason to book any boat dives as those dives are typically to the same places you could access from shore.

 

Once you get there you pay the 'park fee' to dive, and you get a tag to hang on your BC. Sort of like a ski-lift tag idea - authorities know you paid the tax. Then depending on where you paid this they either give you or you can buy a diver guide book to the island. ( You can also find this online . . . . )

 

The easy dive-able side of the island has a coastal road. As you drive the road you see big rocks painted yellow with a number in black. Open your guide book and look up the number and you find information about the dive site! Which direction to swim ... any warnings, special things to look for.

 

Crowds? Not an issue, if you see someone parked at your desired site .... well I've never saw more than 1 car already there but if that's too much, drive to the next rock!

 

YES, you do need to rent a car .... but what they call a car, or a van for that matter is well "island" !!!!

 

If you feel more comfortable with dive master and briefings I FULLY understand. Book some boat dives until you are comfortable rolling your own . .

 

 

(yes you need a boat to get to Klein Bonaire .... but IMO there's nothing special over there. Nothing like the difference 'tween Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. I skip KB but if visiting the Brac look forward to Little Cayman day and Bloody Bay)

 

*****************

OP, so glad my recommendations worked out for you!