norwegian sky shark dive?

[serval_girl]

I called Norwegian to see what operator they use and they wouldn't tell me anything expect its someone ONLY contracted with them and who doesn't do private excursions. OK I've never heard of that-is it just because Nassau is such a busy port that a GOOD company with experience in the area can afford to only work with one cruise line and no one else?

 

I was assured they keep it under 20 people which is good-under 10 would be so much better but oh well. So has ANYONE done this trip with them and have any insight as to the quality of dive sites they take you to, their safety and friendliness? For the price and the fact one dive is a shark dive I really really really don't want to get stuck with a substandard operator!

 

I only booked through them because it was the only way I could get in a 2 tank dive at that port.

[bruce-r]

I called Norwegian to see what operator they use and they wouldn't tell me anything expect its someone ONLY contracted with them and who doesn't do private excursions.

What they were really telling you is that the company they have contracted with to do this excursion won't take cruise passengers unless they book the trip thru the ship. The dive operator still does private excursions, just not for people who they know to be cruise passengers.

[Dive Master]

I am pretty sure NCL uses Stuart Cove's for the shark dive in Nassau. I am signed up for Stuart's PADI Shark Awareness Class in 2 weeks. I noticed the NCL tour picks up at 11:45 AM also and the description of the dive is an exact match of Stuart Cove's website.NCL did not have the dive listed on it's shore excursion site when I booked my trip.

[Stevesan]

My snorkel trip with Stuart's Cove (booked thru the ship):

 

Nassau: “Snorkel Bahamas Adventure” is a 5-½ hour trip operated by Stuart’s Cove. On a previous excursion I went on the impressive Athol Island snorkel. This Stuart’s Cove outing surpassed all of my previous experiences, including Athol Island. The boat trip is @ three hours, and visits Schoolhouse Reef, the spectacular Golden Key Reef and finally a “swim with the sharks” at ‘The Wreck of the Bahama Mama’. I have never before witnessed such a number and variety of fish as at Golden Key. There are never-ending fish, large and small, singly and in large schools. The floor is decorated with huge, magnificent coral formations of all shapes and sizes. While there, a shark cruised past our group. He obviously thought this was his ocean and didn’t know, nor care, that we weren’t scheduled for a shark encounter until after Golden Key. Surprisingly, getting in with a dozen or so sharks is not frightening. I suspect we were too caught up with their grace and magnificence to be scared. The fact that the boat captain hadn’t lost a diver in twelve years was also encouraging. This is a five star, gold medallion, prime trip, not to be missed!

[serval_girl]

Thanks everyone. I was wondering if that was the case and am happy to hear it will likely be Stuarts! Wish the cruise line would just say so-its only like a 10$ difference and Im happy paying that if it assures I wont miss the boat!

[caskar]

If your trip is with Stuart's Cove you will have an amazing time. We did a snorkel and shark swim with them 2 years ago. It was the fantastic. Make sure you take a good underwater camera. Enjoy!!!

[serval_girl]

just got back and want to say THIS WAS THE COOLEST DIVE! It was Stuarts Cove that we went with and they were great. The only issue was that they didnt make sure the buddy system was enforced-mine jumped in and went down before I was suited up so I just ended up following behind the dive master. I was expecting a few sharks-had just got back from GBR and Cod Hole dive which had been a disappointment-expected tons of groupers and saw 2. Well this was n ot the case! there were like 20 sharks during the first dive (a wall dive) and between 45-50 for the feeding!! Its true-youre not scared-your too busy watching in awe. AMAZING! Just make sure to bring a camera-mine (a SeaLife piece of junk) broke on me so no photos. SC films and photos you and you can see it all online but the photos to buy are expensive. Of course its worth it to get a shot of you surrounded by 8 ft long reef sharks!:)

[RedHeadTexan]

just got back and want to say THIS WAS THE COOLEST DIVE! It was Stuarts Cove that we went with and they were great. The only issue was that they didnt make sure the buddy system was enforced-mine jumped in and went down before I was suited up so I just ended up following behind the dive master. I was expecting a few sharks-had just got back from GBR and Cod Hole dive which had been a disappointment-expected tons of groupers and saw 2. Well this was n ot the case! there were like 20 sharks during the first dive (a wall dive) and between 45-50 for the feeding!! Its true-youre not scared-your too busy watching in awe. AMAZING! Just make sure to bring a camera-mine (a SeaLife piece of junk) broke on me so no photos. SC films and photos you and you can see it all online but the photos to buy are expensive. Of course its worth it to get a shot of you surrounded by 8 ft long reef sharks!:)

 

Thanks for the review. DH and I are doing the same excursion on the Majesty in January. On the 2nd dive how far away are you from the feeding?

[gmcrow]

Thanks for the review. DH and I are doing the same excursion on the Majesty in January. On the 2nd dive how far away are you from the feeding?

 

You aren't ANY distance away from the feeding. You are surrounded by it. Got bumped so many times that I decided it was best to hold my hand over my regulator because I envisioned getting it knocked loose and not wanting to reach out to retrieve it for fear of loosing my hand! The MOST awesome thing I have ever experienced except for encountering sharks in the wild (not at a feeding spot).

[RedHeadTexan]

You aren't ANY distance away from the feeding. You are surrounded by it. Got bumped so many times that I decided it was best to hold my hand over my regulator because I envisioned getting it knocked loose and not wanting to reach out to retrieve it for fear of loosing my hand! The MOST awesome thing I have ever experienced except for encountering sharks in the wild (not at a feeding spot).

 

Wow! I will definitely be holding my regulator and letting my DH handle the photography for that dive. To date my most awesome dive was with the sea lions in Cabo...but they never bumped me ;). I think that the shark feed will surpass that. Thank you for answering my question. I am really looking forward to this dive!

[scubaran]

Hi,

 

My instructor in upstate NY is a friend of Stuarts and he allows him to be a guest shark feeder when we go down to Nassau. Here's a picture of what you can expect (yes, that's my crazy instructor feeding this one). :)

 

Randall

[RedHeadTexan]

Wow, that is one intense photo. Thanks for sharing it! :D

[scubaran]

Wow, that is one intense photo. Thanks for sharing it! :D

 

BTW, no limbs or body parts were left behind. Seems like it'd be dangerous but the sharks are totally focused on the food and I guess they just see us as just part of the landscape (just remember to keep sushi on the ship and not in your BC pocket :)).

 

Randall

[gmcrow]

We just watched a Discover Channel special about these same shark feedings and it seems that they only bump the people whose hearts are beating the fastest. Guess I need to learn to slow my heart rate. DH barely got bumped at all. After the food is gone and the sharks scatter a bit, be sure to spend a few minutes looking for teeth in the sand.

[Dive Master]

I did the PADI Shark Awareness Class and Dives last Monday 11/17/08 with Stuart Cove's.This is one awesum experience and a "must do" dive.Yep, you are going to get bumped over and over again.THe swirling sharks create a kind of underwater whirlpool that blows you around,so hold on tight to the rock you are placed on.After the two dives I met with the young instructor who did the actual feeding. We reviewed my test questions and talked about the Caribbean Reef Sharks.I told him about the great wrecks and the Sand Tigers in North Carolina.My PADI Shark Diver C-card was in the mail when I got home---guess I am now a truely certified nut! I would love to do the Shark Feeder program the next time I am back if I can come up with the money.

 

I bought the DVD for $65 after the dives,It is really cool and I am terrible with photography.I have dived with several different types of sharks before in the wild but the shark feeding is one neat dive.We had around 40 large sharks swimming about.This is the shark dive that NCL offers in Nassau but I was the only diver from the Majesty on the dive.Three more divers from the ship did the 2 tank reef dive.Stuart and Michelle are great people and run a first class operation.