Bahamas, St. Lucia, or Antigua

[busted]

I dove in the Bahanas about a year ago.We dove with Stuart Cove's operation which is on the other side of the island from the Sandal's resort. It is a bit of a drive but the diving was great! We dove 5 days and saw sharks on almost every dive. It is expensive and very commercial on Nassau.

 

[Denton]

Hi,
I just returned from Sandals Grand St. Lucia Monday. The trip was a honeymoon set up by Natasha and was very nice. She's the best! As for Sandals and St. Lucia... skip it. The island is beautiful but the Grand was a bit run down and the service was poor. You can find better for less. The unlimited diving was a big draw that fell through. I did one dive and was a underwhelmed by the sealife/coral. I would have given it a few more chances but the Sandals dive facility is not worth the risk. They don't use weight belts or integrated BCs. My dive had two beginners and a DM in training. The beginners were told to load weights into their BC pockets! They told them it was the standard way and no one uses belts anymore. My rental bc was old and one pocket didn't close (ripped) so I held that sides weights in my hand. Made using my camera a bit tough. The DM told us there was no current. Reality was about 2mph straight off the point. One beginner never let go of the DM's bc. The DM in training swam in front of us most of the time and did nothing but stir up an already poor vis (15 ft before he started hitting the reef). Granted the previous weeks rain didn't help the vis. I don't know how long it takes to clear.

I'm not one to go off on negatives (I've dove with Natasha for years and I'll let her be my character witness) and I'm sure there are some great operators on St. Lucia (like the one mentioned at Anse Chastanet). From my experience I'm going with Natasha's picks... Bonaire is quiet and awesome diving. Tucan Diving is fantastic. Luciano instructed me on my AOW and I'm hoping to get more training from him in 2004. Cozumel is cheap and real good. Belize is fun. An awesome country to roam around and really good diving.

Sorry for the negative ranting. I've only been home from St. Lucia one day and am jones'n for Bonaire in '04. Natasha? :^)

Denton

 

[bridgenet]

Hey Denton!

Congradulations, that was quick !!! Last I remember you were just going out when we were in Bonaire. Happy for you :yea:

Had we known where you were going I would have suggested Anse Chastanet. That is where Kim and I had our honeymoon and did our Open Water. Nice small resort with great dive shop. Sounds like you got the dive shop from hell, sorry to hear but am sure you made the best of the trip.

Congradulations again and hope to meet your new addition on some future Natasha trip!

Kev and Kim

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

bridgenet once bubbled...
Had we known where you were going I would have suggested Anse Chastanet. That is where Kim and I had our honeymoon and did our Open Water. Nice small resort with great dive shop. Sounds like you got the dive shop from hell, sorry to hear but am sure you made the best of the trip.

Second that opinion for anyone considering St. Lucia.