Excursions Review: Helmet Dive and 2 Tank Scuba

[olechka]

Just back from HAL cruise that stopped in Grand Turk.

 

I did the helmet dive excursion offered through the ship. Overall it was a cool experience but I wouldn't recommended it:

1) They take you in 2 teams and you are under water only 20 minutes, I felt very rushed, not enough time to even take pictures

2) There is nothing to see there, only 2 islands of corals and a few fish

 

My husband did the 2 tank scuba dive from the ship and it was the best dive he's ever done, the huge drop put him in awe and the 2 stop was very cool, lots of fish, groupers that let you play with them.

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

[NYJean]

Hi

 

I booked my brother on the two tank scuba through the ship (crown princess) but I am sure they are using the same people as your husband did.. my question is: was it really crowded?? did he get plenty of dive time?? my brothers girlfriend is insisting I cancel the ship excursion and re-book with the other dive center on GT who won't even take reservations! It is a first come first serve policy which isn't good for cruisers who will only be there for one day. thanks

[casasle]

I highly recommend you check out Blue Water Divers - owner, Mitch, has 24 years experience - www.grandturkscuba.com

Very professional, friendly operation.

[olechka]

Here's response from my husband regarding Diving:

 

It was Oasis Divers and it was 5-6 people per dive master (there were 2 groups).

 

It was not crowded and they allowed us to stay down with a buddy as your air usage allowed it, so yes bottom time was plenty if you don't suck your air.

[NYJean]

from my understanding there are only two on gt and when I contacted blue water they told me they would not take reservations.. well that isn't so good for someone coming in on a ship... what if others come first then you are out of luck on your only day in GT.. so in a group of 5-6 with each master is pretty good...

[bruce-r]

from my understanding there are only two on gt and when I contacted blue water they told me they would not take reservations.. well that isn't so good for someone coming in on a ship... what if others come first then you are out of luck on your only day in GT.. so in a group of 5-6 with each master is pretty good...

 

Actually, there are 3 dive operators on Grand Turk.

 

Oasis, which does the ship's dive excursions. You can't book them directly if they know you are on a cruise. They have a decent reputation as a dive shop. They keep the cruise divers separate from the divers staying on the island. They use large pontoon boats for the dive excursions, so there is a possibility that you will have a fairly large group of divers.

 

Blue Water divers is who I went with in December. Small boat with only 5 divers. The dives were guided, but you could finish your dive puttering around near the boat if you had the air. I didn't have reservations with them, but they did offer me reservations when I contacted them. Others from my ship did have reservations. YMMV.

 

Sea Eye Diving is the third dive op. They were the ones that wouldn't/couldn't make a reservation although they did assure me that they kept spots open for walk up customers and that there would be room on the boat for me.