Anyone Heard of Bottom Time Hawaii?(Big Island)

[Rossiapacifica]

Just wondering. They were recommended by a friend and I would love to hear some other input than something that was discussed after a little too much off-gassing at the local dive bar. Good or bad, Expensive or cheap(relatively of course) or other information would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[pacificparadisedivers]

Aloha~

I have heard of Bottom Time - but have not dove with them as of yet.

The reports have come back stellar. I am a dive operator here on Oahu and plan to dive with them on the big island later this year.

We sent a couple of folks that had been diving with us here on Oahu to them- rave reviews followed along with many thanks from our customers (who are now more our friends!).

I say give them a shot and do not believe you will be disappointed.

Enjoy~

 

[xenn]

I know this is a bit late, but I have been diving with Bottom Time Hawaii several times over the past year & half and have found them to be great! In the past I've also been diving with Jacks and one or 2 operators, but after diving with Bottom Time, you won't look back. Their crew are friendly & helpful; full service - they set up your gear, swap it over etc; they'll look after it, wash it down if you do a few days with them; trips include food - lunch / dinner, pastries, drinks, all included. Captain Jeff goes out of his way to find dolphins, pilot whales and fish during the surface interval - so it's full service, not a rushed get-in, get-out trip. They also will take you further north or south than some of the other operators, and take special requests - lava tubes etc. So you see more of the reef & better places. Re. cost - they're not the cheapest, but they're not trying to be. They offer a premium service and you pay $10-$15 or so dollars more for it. Money well spent in my books. Their equipment is also really new, as they're only about a year old. I went out with them when they'd first set up, and I'm all for supporting a good new operation.

They win hands down for the best boat in Kona - forget the little cattle call boats - their boat is is a huge 34ft power catamaran. Being a cat, there's less rocking - easier to move around & less seasickness if you're prone. My sister went with me (she gets sea sick) and was fine on BTH's boat. It also has a toilet onboard & warm water shower - great bonus for the lad-ees! They do morning dives & also do the manta night dives, at the northern site - which is a far superior night dive! Don't go south the Sheraton site - it sucks if there's no mantas. You can find them online: bottom time hawaii (but all one word). Hope this helps. Cheers!

 

[Cacia]

Just wondering. They were recommended by a friend and I would love to hear some other input than something that was discussed after a little too much off-gassing at the local dive bar. Good or bad, Expensive or cheap(relatively of course) or other information would be appreciated. Thanks

I have heard good things through the grape-vine. Check out their website! I love it, it is so cool and unique. Very entertaining.

 

[lnjohn]

Another late reply, but just got back from spending 1 night and 2 days diving with Jeff and crew. We jumped on a last minute airfare special of $218 roundtrip from orange county for travel October 24-31st. I have dove Jacks and Dive Makai in the past, but will be diving only on Bottom time in the future. As the previous posts have indicated their boat is clean, fast and well laid out. The captain and crew were all very friendly and helpful. I went far south with them on our last day past place of refuge and Kona Paradise. We explored a volcano that had collapsed and fell into the sea. According to Jeff, no one but the Agressor dives this far south. On the 2nd day we did a drift dive, which was a first for me with any dive operators in Hawaii. The total divers on our boat were 5 on day one 6 on days 2 and 3. With a crew of 4 we were well taken care of at all times. If you want to dive the same places and jump in the water 5 minutes after leaving the harbor, go with one of the older companies. If you want some diversity and have the time travel with Jeff on the bottom time.

 

[Dive California]

WOW!...What an experience…do not skip the introduction…what a cool site.

 

[berserkeley]

I just wanted to say that I recently attempted to dive through Bottom Time Hawaii and the dive shop attempted to double charge our account for the dives. When brought to the merchant's attention, the merchant refused to refund our account for their error. Subsequently we discovered that they're nicknamed Bottom Slime by the Kona dive shops because they're notorious for these types of practices. I would not even recommend this dive shop to my worst enemy.

 

[gkndivebum]

[...] We explored a volcano that had collapsed and fell into the sea. According to Jeff, no one but the Agressor dives this far south. On the 2nd day we did a drift dive, which was a first for me with any dive operators in Hawaii. [...]

Er, that would be Au Au crater. Lots of local operators go there. Just not every day.
My most recent dive there was 17 December 2007, and not on BTH's boat (Hale Kai).

As for drift diving, that happens a lot as well - the operator has to consider the
relative skill level of all involved before making the choice to do drift diving.

There's lots of interesting diving down south. The Agressor does go further south
than the day-charter operators here; the furthest south I've been on a day-charter
is a dive site near Milolii called Tubastrea Tunnel.

Some of my favorites down south: Ule Pinnacle (specifically the canyon to the south
of the Pinnacle); The Hive; Paradise Pinnacles; 3 Room Cave; Twin Sisters. There's
more...

 

[cuddlefish]

Obviously this is a very old post...but, like others, I am going to jump in. Saying that Bottom Time and the Aggressor are the only ones that go that far south is an untruth. Especially frustrating since they are a new op and the ops that have been around for decades have been going that far south for decades! Hello! Granted, no one goes that far south regularly (except Aggressor). I just love how all the new ops claim to go to all the good spots. The are several ops that have been around 20+ years. Give them some credit for knowing what the heck they're doing. How do you think the new ops find out where to go?! I'm not saying they aren't good...I'm just saying let's not distort the truth.

 

[Happy_Girl_Seattle]

I just wanted to say that I recently attempted to dive through Bottom Time Hawaii and the dive shop attempted to double charge our account for the dives. When brought to the merchant's attention, the merchant refused to refund our account for their error. Subsequently we discovered that they're nicknamed Bottom Slime by the Kona dive shops because they're notorious for these types of practices. I would not even recommend this dive shop to my worst enemy.

I was looking forward to an excellent dive experience in Kona, but the Bottom Time Dive Company has ruined my holiday.

Under no circumstances would I dive with Bottom Time Hawaii, because the Divemaster was more interested in looking for sea urchins to feed to the fish than taking care of the for which divers he was responsible. I was left to swim back to the boat by myself when my air ran out and he sent me in the wrong direction. The boat captain laughed at me when he saw how far away I was from the boat at this point, and said he did not come to get me, because I didn't "look like I was drowning." A very rude comment after his divemaster had gotten me into this predicament, and they made a lot of fun as I had to swim back to the boat exhausted after my ordeal.

The worst insult after this stressful and terrifying experience, is that they refuse to refund me for the remainder of the dives I had purchased, because I did not cancel "within 48 hours." Also, they said the divemaster did not consider me his "buddy", despite the fact that I was the only solo diver on the boat (there was one couple, the divemaster, and myself).

I have never heard of or seen a divemaster tell a diver to go off on their own when they run out of air. That is rule number one in diving --- don't leave any diver alone --. He should have known better and don't let any greedy dive company tell you differently.

Since my decision not to continue with this company was based on their dangerous and negligent attitudes about diver safety, and rude behavior on board after the incident, I felt entitled to a refund of the remainder of the dives.

However, they have been extremely rude to me on the phone, including hang-ups, pretending that they lose the cell phone (however everything is fine when I call from a Hawaiian number.) They have agreed that everything happened as I stated, but are set on sticking by their "policy", which I never saw, signed or agreed to.

They have been less than helpful and very rude when I try to resolve this issue. I am now going through the Better Business Bureau to resolve this --- I shouldn't have to pay nearly $500 for one dive.

\Merry Christmas and Mahalo to you Bottom Time, I hope you can sleep with yourselves knowing that you cheated me out of an enjoyable holiday. Just remember, cheaters never prosper.

I hope this saves other Kona divers on their holidays from the same heartache that I have endured.