n8Delta
Registered
Howdy folks,
Just thought I'd drop some opinions from our great 10 day trip to Ambergris Caye. My girlfriend and I are new divers and we are 27 years old.
We stayed at Caribbean Villas the entire time. The hotel was perfect. Quiet, nice, clean, and a very accomodating, helpful staff. It was a healthy walk to town and dive shops---sometimes the walk felt long if we were tired before dinner. They had bikes to rent at the hotel though.
Dive trips: We dived 5 days. Our first dive was Hol Chan and a snorkel at Shark/Ray Alley. This was a perfect intro dive for my girlfriend (she was just certified, and this was her first dive). We used Ecologic divers and we were quite happy with them. The cost was $60 for the 1 tank dive and snorkel (with a park fee).
2nd day was with Ocean Adventures. The dive shop was the closest to our hotel, so we thought we'd try 'em. It was $60 for a 2 tank dive (ecologic and protech are $75). We were happy with the divemaster, and boat---however the divemaster said he was leaving for ecologic in a week.
3rd day of diving we went with Ocean Aventures, but our divemaster we liked didn't show up (called in sick or something??) so we were picked up by a boat from Ramons. The divemaster seemed very experienced, and was gave us helpful tips for diving (which was nice for us). Quite happy with Ramons.
4th day we decided to go the blue hole, and asked Ocean Adventures to book it. We later found out, there's basically only 2-3 boats that go to the Blue Hole from San Pedro. Ocean Adventures booked us with Aqua Dives (http://www.aquadives.com). I cannot explain how horribly run this dive boat was, and is the main reason for this post. See below for our horror story.
5th day was with ecologic again. We did a night dive at hol chan. Again very happy with Ecologic. If we continued to dive, we would used Ecologic, or try Protech/Amigos Del Mar (heard good things on the island about them)
Aqua Dive/Blue Hole Dive Review:
#1 the boat clearly had enough seats for 15 divers (comfortable) and 20 divers (max). We started off the trip with 22 divers, and it was already feeling cramped with the 4 member boat crew. After we took off, we were told that we had to pick up a couple snorkelers up at caye caulker. We later found out that the conditions were so bad, that the snorkelers boat would not go out. Instead of a couple snorkelers, we picked up 9. There was 35 people on this boat. MISERABLE experience. The weather conditions (although no aqua dives fault) were bad. There were not enough seats inside the covered cabin portion of the boat, and people (including us) were sitting on the back of the boat (we got COMPLETELY soaked due to the HUGE swells, I had to wear my wet suit the entire time to stay warm), people were sitting on buoys, and ice chests, all the crew were standing. The boat was nailing hard swells as we FLEW over 'em. THere was crates of weights sliding all over the boat, and people flying off their seats. The attitude on the boat at first was sort of fun, as we hit a couple big wakes, then turned to more misery. Several people puking, soaking, and everyone cramped. It turned a bit to fear for us, as I saw someone fly off their seat. I decided for us to put on our wet suits, not only because we were already soaked, but also because I saw no lifejackets on board.
The dives themselves were compeltely rushed, with no sense of order. We were ordered into the water like it was a boot camp... the boat captain was yelling at me from his cockpit to "Go Down Now" as I waited for my girlfriend (and dive buddy) to enter the water. People were confused on who they were following, as there was just so much chaos and people. You couldn't even bend over to put on your fins. My girlfriend was physically pushed over by the divemaster as he rushed around trying to maintain order. This was one of those boats that people get forgot on. My girlfriend did not finish the 3rd dive, because of her frustration, and confusion, she wasn't comfortable diving any more.
After the blue hole dive, they told us all the tanks were replaced. About 5-6 people said their tanks weren't replaced. One guy did not check his gauge, and had an out of air situation under water. He grabbed the divemasters secondary, and continued the dive with the divemaster (they did not even go up!!)!
We did not have enough gas at Half Moon Caye to get us home. We had to drive up to a large live aboard, and get gas from them to get us home. I believe we ran out of gas again, because after we reached the barrier reef, we had to stop off at another caye to fill up the tanks. At which point the snorkelers were told to get off the boat, and some other "taxi" would take them to caye caulker. We sat around for 30 minutes while they filled up the gas tanks with 22 people on board. They at least told the guy in the back to put out his cigarrette. It was dark and about 6:00pm at this point. We finally got home at 6:40pm.
I complained to the owner of aqua dives the next day, and they just told us that everything was fine, and that the boat was coast guard approved for up to 35 people. He actually told me that he only had 27 divers/snorkelers listed on his booking sheet. Which was clearly not true, (I did a head count several times). They don't even keep good records of who's getting on their boat---seen "Open Water"?!?!
As a side note, I found out the Aqua Dive trip to the blue hole the day before us got stuck on a reef! They had no communications device (cellular/radio) to call in for help. They physically had to flag down another boat after several hours of waiting!!!!
The trip/company is clearly about maximizing profit, at the expense of our enjoyability. It cost us more than $400 between the both of us, not chump change. They offered no rebate, or any ways to make it right. They didn't even apologize. We were very unhappy with this outfit---they were not only poor at running the boat and dives, I believe it was a very unsafe operatoin.
Hope this helps --- I plan to complain to PADI, Belize Coast Guard?, and the Tourism board for belize.
I asked around, and apparently Aqua Dives has a pretty poor reputation. Do your homework before you book. If you dive the blue hole, I have heard good things about Amigos Del Mar. We saw their boat the same day, and it looked very comfortable, with half as many people as us (on a larger boat).
San Pedro is wonderful, and our overall trip was awesome. I'd recommend it to divers and non-divers alike.
Nate
p.s. if you have any questions about A.C., let me know... we got to know the island pretty good.
Just thought I'd drop some opinions from our great 10 day trip to Ambergris Caye. My girlfriend and I are new divers and we are 27 years old.
We stayed at Caribbean Villas the entire time. The hotel was perfect. Quiet, nice, clean, and a very accomodating, helpful staff. It was a healthy walk to town and dive shops---sometimes the walk felt long if we were tired before dinner. They had bikes to rent at the hotel though.
Dive trips: We dived 5 days. Our first dive was Hol Chan and a snorkel at Shark/Ray Alley. This was a perfect intro dive for my girlfriend (she was just certified, and this was her first dive). We used Ecologic divers and we were quite happy with them. The cost was $60 for the 1 tank dive and snorkel (with a park fee).
2nd day was with Ocean Adventures. The dive shop was the closest to our hotel, so we thought we'd try 'em. It was $60 for a 2 tank dive (ecologic and protech are $75). We were happy with the divemaster, and boat---however the divemaster said he was leaving for ecologic in a week.
3rd day of diving we went with Ocean Aventures, but our divemaster we liked didn't show up (called in sick or something??) so we were picked up by a boat from Ramons. The divemaster seemed very experienced, and was gave us helpful tips for diving (which was nice for us). Quite happy with Ramons.
4th day we decided to go the blue hole, and asked Ocean Adventures to book it. We later found out, there's basically only 2-3 boats that go to the Blue Hole from San Pedro. Ocean Adventures booked us with Aqua Dives (http://www.aquadives.com). I cannot explain how horribly run this dive boat was, and is the main reason for this post. See below for our horror story.
5th day was with ecologic again. We did a night dive at hol chan. Again very happy with Ecologic. If we continued to dive, we would used Ecologic, or try Protech/Amigos Del Mar (heard good things on the island about them)
Aqua Dive/Blue Hole Dive Review:
#1 the boat clearly had enough seats for 15 divers (comfortable) and 20 divers (max). We started off the trip with 22 divers, and it was already feeling cramped with the 4 member boat crew. After we took off, we were told that we had to pick up a couple snorkelers up at caye caulker. We later found out that the conditions were so bad, that the snorkelers boat would not go out. Instead of a couple snorkelers, we picked up 9. There was 35 people on this boat. MISERABLE experience. The weather conditions (although no aqua dives fault) were bad. There were not enough seats inside the covered cabin portion of the boat, and people (including us) were sitting on the back of the boat (we got COMPLETELY soaked due to the HUGE swells, I had to wear my wet suit the entire time to stay warm), people were sitting on buoys, and ice chests, all the crew were standing. The boat was nailing hard swells as we FLEW over 'em. THere was crates of weights sliding all over the boat, and people flying off their seats. The attitude on the boat at first was sort of fun, as we hit a couple big wakes, then turned to more misery. Several people puking, soaking, and everyone cramped. It turned a bit to fear for us, as I saw someone fly off their seat. I decided for us to put on our wet suits, not only because we were already soaked, but also because I saw no lifejackets on board.
The dives themselves were compeltely rushed, with no sense of order. We were ordered into the water like it was a boot camp... the boat captain was yelling at me from his cockpit to "Go Down Now" as I waited for my girlfriend (and dive buddy) to enter the water. People were confused on who they were following, as there was just so much chaos and people. You couldn't even bend over to put on your fins. My girlfriend was physically pushed over by the divemaster as he rushed around trying to maintain order. This was one of those boats that people get forgot on. My girlfriend did not finish the 3rd dive, because of her frustration, and confusion, she wasn't comfortable diving any more.
After the blue hole dive, they told us all the tanks were replaced. About 5-6 people said their tanks weren't replaced. One guy did not check his gauge, and had an out of air situation under water. He grabbed the divemasters secondary, and continued the dive with the divemaster (they did not even go up!!)!
We did not have enough gas at Half Moon Caye to get us home. We had to drive up to a large live aboard, and get gas from them to get us home. I believe we ran out of gas again, because after we reached the barrier reef, we had to stop off at another caye to fill up the tanks. At which point the snorkelers were told to get off the boat, and some other "taxi" would take them to caye caulker. We sat around for 30 minutes while they filled up the gas tanks with 22 people on board. They at least told the guy in the back to put out his cigarrette. It was dark and about 6:00pm at this point. We finally got home at 6:40pm.
I complained to the owner of aqua dives the next day, and they just told us that everything was fine, and that the boat was coast guard approved for up to 35 people. He actually told me that he only had 27 divers/snorkelers listed on his booking sheet. Which was clearly not true, (I did a head count several times). They don't even keep good records of who's getting on their boat---seen "Open Water"?!?!
As a side note, I found out the Aqua Dive trip to the blue hole the day before us got stuck on a reef! They had no communications device (cellular/radio) to call in for help. They physically had to flag down another boat after several hours of waiting!!!!
The trip/company is clearly about maximizing profit, at the expense of our enjoyability. It cost us more than $400 between the both of us, not chump change. They offered no rebate, or any ways to make it right. They didn't even apologize. We were very unhappy with this outfit---they were not only poor at running the boat and dives, I believe it was a very unsafe operatoin.
Hope this helps --- I plan to complain to PADI, Belize Coast Guard?, and the Tourism board for belize.
I asked around, and apparently Aqua Dives has a pretty poor reputation. Do your homework before you book. If you dive the blue hole, I have heard good things about Amigos Del Mar. We saw their boat the same day, and it looked very comfortable, with half as many people as us (on a larger boat).
San Pedro is wonderful, and our overall trip was awesome. I'd recommend it to divers and non-divers alike.
Nate
p.s. if you have any questions about A.C., let me know... we got to know the island pretty good.
