NToTheBlue:
Glad you posted. This brings up a topic I've been keen to figure out for some time; Why Don't St. Croix Get More Love? I like to look at Caribbean destinations & ask this question. Some, like Cozumel, Bonaire, the Cayman Islands & Belize, seem to soak up the lion's share of the tourist diving mindshare (& I'm guessing business). And I think St. Thomas gets a lot of business from cruise shippers; I did 4 dives there via cruise, & interestingly my 2 St. Croix dives were on a cruise stop. So, St. Lucia, St. Croix, a number of other places, why aren't they higher on the mainstream tourist diver's to-do list?
I've looked at St. Croix off & on. My thoughts from a customer perspective:
1.) Sounds like good diving, but I can get that at several other places.
2.) Not real expensive, but not real cheap, either. I can go elsewhere for comparable money.
3.) As a U.S. holding a passport may not be needed, but how many people fly around the Caribbean without one? Non-issue.
4.) If I come alone, it's to be a dive marathon. I want 4 - 5 dives/day, maybe 3 if the diving's wonderful (like I hear about Little Cayman). Seems I'd need to supplement with shore diving (will address that later).
5.) If I come with family, the non-divers (think cruise ship pod people, not bar hoppers, night lifers, deep sea fishermen or apt to be enthralled with visiting distilleries & history buffs; wife, mother-in-law, toddler) would need entertainment. Looking at it online, I don't see canopy tours, parasailing, zip lines, zoos, big Spanish forts, a lot of touristy things. Now, compare that to Belize...
6.) St. Croix's name comes up in threads asking about shore diving destinations. Potentially powerful marketing angle. But recommendations tend to be Bonaire (or Curacao if non-divers in tow), then maybe Curacao if you want something similar in the same area, then Grand Cayman (but more a boat destination), and oh, yeah, then St. Croix, with this great pier you can dive if a cruise ship's not in.
7.) But a lot of that shore diving is off Cane Bay wall, right? Fairly long swim outs if I've read correctly elsewhere?
8.) Other shore sites aren't marked with yellow rocks, you don't get a rental truck with a load of tanks to haul around as part of your basic package, and people aren't on the forum talking about the details of specific sites much. If you want to talk about a Bonaire dive site, people will join you. Seems like shore diving site discussions on St. Croix are more general (except the pier). So, if I rent a truck, do I have to drive on the wrong side of the road? Is finding my way around the island more of a hassle than running up & down Bonaire's west coast-hugging road?
9.) A lot of dive shops offer group trips to Bonaire, which has strong brand recognition amongst divers. It's one of those places so many people have been it's like you join a club when you go. A conversation piece, a shared experience. I 'cut my teeth' on Bonaire with 4 group trips before I started going alone. Especially for dive destinations where people need to get out & drive around to access shore diving sites, that group introduction is attractive.
10.) Association as a Virgin Island. This sounds lame because it is lame, but I'm guessing some who've dove in St. Thomas think they 'done a U.S. Virgin Island,' and if they decide to branch out, might hit a British Virgin Island (e.g.: hit that Rhone wreck) or go elsewhere. Kind of like if there were no Bonaire, Curacao would be likely be crawling with divers. Well, I'm guessing if St. Thomas didn't exist, we'd be hearing a lot more about St. Croix.
11.) St. Croix is a nice looking island viewed from a cruise ship, but does not stack up to the lush, tropical mountainous splendor of viewing St. Lucia. Of course, Bonaire isn't the most scenic island, either...
In summary, seems like St. Croix isn't quite as easy as Bonaire for shore diving, doesn't have a rep. for the great food of Cozumel or the topside attractions of Belize, and while it has some pretty strong selling points (e.g.: good diving, that pier), you can get most of that elsewhere. Is St. Croix one of those places people go after they've been 5 or 6 other places but don't want to pay & endure the travel hassles of reaching the Philippines or Indonesia?
Richard.
P.S.: I'm not dissing St. Croix. I'd like to dive it on a dedicated trip someday. I struggle with options - Cozumel, Bahamas via Live-aboard, Turks & Caicos, St. Kitts & Saba via live-aboard, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman (or Cayman Aggressor?), etc… I've already had dedicated trips to Bonaire, Key Largo & Belize.
