I would like to report an awesome dive trip to St. Croix with N2 The Blue located in Frederiksted between June 30 and July 9.
We arranged a two tank a day boat diving package with N2 The Blue and dove the majority of the sites on the west end of the island including several dives at Cane Bay on the wall. We also did a few shore dives on our own at two locations.
N2 uses a small boat with a maximum of six divers. The boat is not crowded and the entry and exit are easy. We dove with N2s DM, Tim, every day and never dove the same site twice. Each day our boat was captained by either Steve or Derek. Our profiles were excellent leaning toward long dives-we had several longer than 70 minutes. Dives over 60 minutes were the rule rather than the exception. Most started deep and came up on top of the reefs at 35-30 feet. We dove the wrecks, the pier, and essentially all the sites on the west end. We also dove the Cane Bay Wall three times. At Cane Bay we explored different aspects of the wall on each of the three dives-we did not do the same dive each time. The west and north sites all have something different and unusual to offer and looking back I would say that none are better than any other. When we go back, I would dive all the sites again and I will dive with N2 The Blue (N2 The Blue
ive St Croix, scuba dive St Croix, St Croix dive shops, scuba dive virgin islands, virgin islands dive shops-).
We saw two massive turtles (not to mention many small ones), moray eels, spotted eels, a sea horse, a green moray (the size of a medium dog), spider crabs, lobsters-you wont be disappointed by the sea life.
I want to emphasize how great N2 The Blue was by relating two things that happened. On the third day of our trip the o-ring in my pressure gauge failed and though I could have fixed it my self, and had the tools and o-rings with me to do the job, Tim and Steve switched out the gauge (I didnt even have to get out of the water) and insisted they would take care of it. The next day when I donned my gear the gauge was fixed and they didnt even charge me for the service. Secondly, Tim endured an 85 minute dive allowing my daughter (15 years) the extra time to play with the fish on the Swirling Reef of Death which Im sure hes seen 1000 times-maybe more. He didnt have to do that. This was the extra mile and I strongly recommend N2 The Blue to anyone considering going to St. Croix to dive.
We stayed at the Northside Valley (Northside Valley) which is an eco resort on the west end of the island. The units are open and screened and nestled against a hill in the rain forest. It is a stunning setting where at night your abode is flooded with the sounds of the forest and fed by the cool breezes off the ocean. It is a wild place to stay and I miss the mornings on the deck with coffee watching the ocean. The units are fully functional like a condominium so there have kitchens and so on. The units are rustic and do not have air conditioning so winter is the best time to lodge here unless, like us, you dont mind the somewhat warmer conditions of the summer.
If you visit St. Croix you must have a car to get around. We rented from Judy of Croix. They drive on the left so be ready for that. I also want to warn potential visitors about the roads. They remind me of Mexico-there are potholes and many dont have shoulders so be careful. But we got used to the left-hand-thing and traveled around a lot. Its worth mentioning the the kayak tour of bioluminescent lagoon in clear kayaks operated by Bryce (seathrukayaksvi@gmail.com)-very awesome experience and a must do.
On a final note, if you desire making a dive trip to St. Croix I recommend making reservations 6 months in advance. Make your airline reservations first before doing anything else. I did this the other way around was sorry for it. The air travel is not straight forward, and expensive, so in the interest in keeping costs down deal with it first. Then once you have the air tickets set up, then deal with lodging and the diving.
Some operators have nonrefundable deposit policies and I had a really bad experience with one operator when I could not get my airline dates to coincide with my dive operator/lodging dates and that is how I found my way to N2 The Blue who really helped me out. In the end, I didnt have to give up diving days on a vacation I had saved money for going back one year.
I am more than willing to provide specific advice to anyone considering a trip including my costs and the specific issues communicated above-just PM me.
Once again, thanks to N2 The Blue for a great trip.
Pete, T, and Linda
We arranged a two tank a day boat diving package with N2 The Blue and dove the majority of the sites on the west end of the island including several dives at Cane Bay on the wall. We also did a few shore dives on our own at two locations.
N2 uses a small boat with a maximum of six divers. The boat is not crowded and the entry and exit are easy. We dove with N2s DM, Tim, every day and never dove the same site twice. Each day our boat was captained by either Steve or Derek. Our profiles were excellent leaning toward long dives-we had several longer than 70 minutes. Dives over 60 minutes were the rule rather than the exception. Most started deep and came up on top of the reefs at 35-30 feet. We dove the wrecks, the pier, and essentially all the sites on the west end. We also dove the Cane Bay Wall three times. At Cane Bay we explored different aspects of the wall on each of the three dives-we did not do the same dive each time. The west and north sites all have something different and unusual to offer and looking back I would say that none are better than any other. When we go back, I would dive all the sites again and I will dive with N2 The Blue (N2 The Blue
ive St Croix, scuba dive St Croix, St Croix dive shops, scuba dive virgin islands, virgin islands dive shops-).We saw two massive turtles (not to mention many small ones), moray eels, spotted eels, a sea horse, a green moray (the size of a medium dog), spider crabs, lobsters-you wont be disappointed by the sea life.
I want to emphasize how great N2 The Blue was by relating two things that happened. On the third day of our trip the o-ring in my pressure gauge failed and though I could have fixed it my self, and had the tools and o-rings with me to do the job, Tim and Steve switched out the gauge (I didnt even have to get out of the water) and insisted they would take care of it. The next day when I donned my gear the gauge was fixed and they didnt even charge me for the service. Secondly, Tim endured an 85 minute dive allowing my daughter (15 years) the extra time to play with the fish on the Swirling Reef of Death which Im sure hes seen 1000 times-maybe more. He didnt have to do that. This was the extra mile and I strongly recommend N2 The Blue to anyone considering going to St. Croix to dive.
We stayed at the Northside Valley (Northside Valley) which is an eco resort on the west end of the island. The units are open and screened and nestled against a hill in the rain forest. It is a stunning setting where at night your abode is flooded with the sounds of the forest and fed by the cool breezes off the ocean. It is a wild place to stay and I miss the mornings on the deck with coffee watching the ocean. The units are fully functional like a condominium so there have kitchens and so on. The units are rustic and do not have air conditioning so winter is the best time to lodge here unless, like us, you dont mind the somewhat warmer conditions of the summer.
If you visit St. Croix you must have a car to get around. We rented from Judy of Croix. They drive on the left so be ready for that. I also want to warn potential visitors about the roads. They remind me of Mexico-there are potholes and many dont have shoulders so be careful. But we got used to the left-hand-thing and traveled around a lot. Its worth mentioning the the kayak tour of bioluminescent lagoon in clear kayaks operated by Bryce (seathrukayaksvi@gmail.com)-very awesome experience and a must do.
On a final note, if you desire making a dive trip to St. Croix I recommend making reservations 6 months in advance. Make your airline reservations first before doing anything else. I did this the other way around was sorry for it. The air travel is not straight forward, and expensive, so in the interest in keeping costs down deal with it first. Then once you have the air tickets set up, then deal with lodging and the diving.
Some operators have nonrefundable deposit policies and I had a really bad experience with one operator when I could not get my airline dates to coincide with my dive operator/lodging dates and that is how I found my way to N2 The Blue who really helped me out. In the end, I didnt have to give up diving days on a vacation I had saved money for going back one year.
I am more than willing to provide specific advice to anyone considering a trip including my costs and the specific issues communicated above-just PM me.
Once again, thanks to N2 The Blue for a great trip.
Pete, T, and Linda
