Aruba,Bonaire and Curacao dive operators and sites suggestions

[Scuba2007]

Hello Scuba board members. Greeting from Canada (Calgary-Alberta). My wife and I are PADI AOW certified divers since 2007 and have logged about 150 signed log dives around the globe.

We will be taking the Celebrity cruise in November this year to visit Bonaire,Curacao, Aruba and Grand Cayman. We would love to hear from the forum members any suggestion regarding dive operators and dive sites to visit at each port we will visit to help us to decide which island we will plan for our next extended stay dive trip with the whole family. This is the first time we are visiting the ABC islands so we have no idea what to expect.

Any input will be highly appreciated and thank you in advance for the time and suggestions.

Best regards,
Philip

 

[tkaelin]

Hard to judge an island and diving on each island from a short cruise ship stop trying to squeeze in a dive. Sort of like trying to judge a golf course by playing a hole or two or a ski area based upon a couple runs. In full disclosure I am personally not a fan of cruise ships and try to avoid the crowd whenever they make port. Others here on SB will have more useful info but I suspect that you will be limited in options on both the dive op and dive options because you are visiting by cruise ship.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

These are the top 3 dive operators in Aruba.

Explore Aruba’s Underwater World With Dive Aruba!
JADS Dive Center Aruba
Native Divers Aruba PADI Open Water Diving certifications

I dove with Native Divers for 5 years and was very happy with them but that was in 2008

I dove with Divi Dive Bonaire – A DIVER'S PARADISE in Bonaire in 2006 with 11 other divers from my dive club and were very happy with them.

 

[flyboy08]

Do a search....your answers are in each of their respective forums...

 

[Scuba2007]

Do a search....your answers are in each of their respective forums...

OK THanks

 

[Altamira]

GC. Lobster Pot Dive Center. A great dive op, a short walk north of the cruise terminal, co-located with two other excellent dive ops, so you have flexibility in getting your dives in on your port stop. Contact Mike Painting, Lobster Pot Dive Center.

Bonaire. I have used Dive Friends Bonaire for boat and shore dives. They are excellent, and have a dive op just outside and to the right of the cruise terminal.

Curacao. Oceans Encounters for boat and shore diving, and The Dive Bus for shore diving. Both are excellent.

In the four ports you will visit, the ship's dive ops are also very good, so don't be afraid to use any of them. How long your port stay will be is a good guide to decide whether to use the ship's dive op or an outside vendor. GC is a tender port, so if your port time is short, the ship's op may be a good option, depending on whether or not you can get some priority disembarkation.

 

[Janie88]

My husband and I were on a cruise this past December, with stops in Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.

Aruba -opted not to dive.
Bonaire - dove with ship excursion. It turned out to be with Buddy's Dive resort. Boat was packed. I was initially very unhappy about it, but I will say that they were very organized and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I am also spoiled that my husband and I tend to book and dive with ops that have maximum of 8-10 divers on a boat, or on a live aboard where it doesn't matter.
Curacao - Booked private with Scubacao - highly recommend them! They were much cheaper than ship's excursion and we ended up with a private guided shore dive. 'Very nice.

 

[mac66]

Just getting around to checking these forums since cruising and diving has been shut down for the past two years and is just starting to start up again. Just got back on a cruise to Mexico and Roatan, first dives in 2 years.

So it's unlikely that the OP got to go on his/her cruise in 2020. We had 6 cruises canceled in 2020 & 21. Just got to get this last one in last week.

We did the ABCs two years ago. Dived in Aruba and Curacao. In Aruba I used Happy Diver's. Jeffery picked me up at the pier. There were two others on the boat. We dived on the Antilla wreck (a German freighter scuttled at the start of WWII) and another smaller wreck. Good dives, I'd go with him again.

We also used Scubacao. We had snorkeled with them on a previous cruise and I went back to scuba with them after getting certified. Great experience, highly recommended.

 

[Rick Brant]

Another vote for The Dive Bus on Curacao. I had a great morning session with them two years ago.

 

[BigDaddyGlad]

Jeffery picked me up at the pier. There were two others on the boat. We dived on the Antilla wreck (a German freighter scuttled at the start of WWII) and another smaller wreck. Good dives, I'd go with him again.

I dived with Jeffrey at Happy Diver's off a cruise ship as well. Not the most personable fellow, but the dives were great, and I loved that he took a bunch of pictures and sent them at no extra charge. I'd have no issues going with him again, either.

On that same trip, I used VIP in Bonaire. A truly first-class dive shop, and I wouldn't hesitate diving with them again after the great all-around experience the first time.