9 day caribbean cruise - where to dive?

[sink-er-swim]

Hi guys I'm going on a 9 day cruise leaving January 2nd and im looking for some input on where to dive. I will be going to St. Croix, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Dominica, Grenada, Tobago, and Barbados. Which island should I dive? and does anyone have any recommendations for what dive shops to use? I would appreciate any advice I can get.

 

[marcaumarc]

The only island in your list that I am familiar with is St. Martin (Sint Maarten). It isn't well known for diving, but we liked it so much my dive buddy and I just moved here for a year. Most of the wrecks are on the Dutch side and most of the best reefs are on the French side. We've always gone diving with Octopus Diving in Grand Case and we're going to start our divemaster internship with them soon. We're definitely biased now, but they are a terrific shop, and they only take out a maximum of 6 divers at a time. They just got a great new boat, too, so they can get to dive sites on both sides of the island really quickly. Definitely email me if you have questions. Also, my site has some info on diving on St. Martin and you can get lots of info on their site as well: Octopus Diving - Scuba Dive and Snorkel in Saint Martin / Sint Maarten

 

[T23]

sink-er-swim,

I've got a cruise scheduled week of Christmas and it seems we have some similar ports of call so I'll be following this discussion to see what recommendations turn up on at least some of them!

As far as Sint Maarten goes... I dove with Octopus Diving out of Grand Case a couple of years ago. Great outfit. No complaints. However, they are on the opposite end of the island from where the cruise ships dock. So it is going to require either a taxi or rental car and at least an hour each way. There are several dive operators very close to the cruise ship docks though they seem to mostly be the cattle boat variety.

 

[marcaumarc]

Yes, Octopus is in Grand Case on the French side, so it is harder to get to than the shops near the docks. Right now, things are much quieter than in past years, so depending on how much tourism picks up, it might not be as far. Without traffic it is probably 20 minutes drive, but if it is busy, then it can definitely take much longer. You might also check in with Octopus and see what the bookings are like. They might be able to send someone for you, especially if there were multiple people coming from the same ship.