Barbados recommendations needed to salvage our trip

[Winterpeg]

We have reservations and airfare all booked for Dominica for the first 2 weeks of March 2018. Alas, it has been devastated by the hurricane and we must change our plans. The resort just posted that they will be closed for the rest of 2017 and 'most of 2018'.
We have flights booked from Canada to Barbados on air miles, and then we paid for the last leg, from Barbados to Dominica. That's non-refundable so we'll lose the money. We can refund or change the rest of the trip on air miles, but there are fees for doing that, too. We're wondering if the best option might be to just stay in Barbados and dive there. We've never been and know nothing about it.
Any recommendations? We usually like to stay in a dive resort with an onsite op, like Scuba Club in Cozumel and Buddy Dive in Bonaire, if that helps. Not too fancy or pricey.
We'd sure appreciate any ideas or suggestions.
Thanks

 

[drrich2]

I haven't dove it so this may best serve as a 'bump' to your thread; if you don't mind an old resource from 2011, Undercurrent had (I believe a free access) article, Hightide Watersports and Gibbs Bay Inn, Barbados.

If you really do some digging (say, use Google to search for 'Barbados Scubaboard,' you should turn up some older threads. Curiously it seems I seldom see trip reports here about it, yet a number of people enjoyed the diving, and the topside can be nice from what I understand. I've visited on cruise ship stops a couple of times.

Richard.

 

[sheeper]

I love Barbados. My favorite dive operation there is Barbados Blue (Barbados Blue Watersports - 5 Star Dive Resort, Snorkel Tours & Jetskis).
they are on the grounds of the Hilton and should be able to take good care of you..

 

[Winterpeg]

thanks for trying. I googled around last evening, visited dive op sites, tripadvisor, hotel sites. No luck. I did see that old Undercurrent article.
Basic problem is that i found dive shops that looked great, including the Barbados Blue mentioned above, but they are either independent (not onsite at a specific resort), or they are onsite at a pricey hotel or resort.
Even if we could afford to stay at the Hilton, it's not even remotely what we would want. We like laid-back resorts dedicated to diving, where we can socialize with other divers and relax in the evenings.
I gave up and we decided to just cancel the flight to Barbados and take the penalty on the air miles. We've booked Reef House in Roatan instead. We've been there before.

 

[drrich2]

Hope you enjoy Reef House Resort. Too bad about Barbados; I hope in time we see more trip reports detailing the whole trip experience (e.g.: hotels/etc...people stay at, whether they needed to rent a car, what traffic was like, how far hotel was from dive shop, expense of eating out, etc...).

When I plan a trip, I like a destination 'archetype' - a sample plan that's pretty worked out that I can study, then modify to suit my needs. Dive resorts and live-aboards both make that easy. Detailed dive reports including hotel & travel logistics can make that easier (still some complexity), as can package offerings where a dive op. partners with local hotels (e.g.: Rainbow Reef in Key Largo hooked me up just this way years ago).

When I go to a dive op. website that offers me a package for a given number of boat dives, fine, but if it doesn't tell me nearby options to stay at, a bit about them (e.g.: budget, upscale, mid-range), I get tired, discouraged and start thinking about those 'turn key' easy options.

Wonder if Barbados has good 'overall package deal' options on offer? Even if it's not a 'dive resort.'

Richard.

 

[Winterpeg]

totally agree Richard, that's what i encountered last night. Only a couple of dive shops had links to accommodations, and those were very pricey and not what we wanted. Others only listed price per dive and no boat schedules or packages. They seemed geared more toward casual divers - those who are on a cruise or who are staying in a hotel or resort and just want to do a couple of dives while there. We go to dive every day and want some kind of package.
I know nothing about Barbados and if i were going to look at it, i would take the time to research all the logistics, possible packages, email a couple of dive shops for info or recommended accommodation, etc. But in the aftermath of 2 major hurricanes, we figure a lot of people are going to be rebooking trips, and the dive locations that were not affected (like Caymen, Bonaire, Coz, Roatan) are going have a busier-than-average winter. Coupled with the need to cancel our current bookings, and losing about $1000 total on that, we just wanted to get an alternative trip worked out ASAP while there is still availability.
I hope Dominica is able to recover and we can go there in future. I had done quite a bit of research for that trip and we were really looking forward to it.

 

[NDL_Diver]

We have reservations and airfare all booked for Dominica for the first 2 weeks of March 2018. Alas, it has been devastated by the hurricane and we must change our plans. The resort just posted that they will be closed for the rest of 2017 and 'most of 2018'.
We have flights booked from Canada to Barbados on air miles, and then we paid for the last leg, from Barbados to Dominica. That's non-refundable so we'll lose the money. We can refund or change the rest of the trip on air miles, but there are fees for doing that, too. We're wondering if the best option might be to just stay in Barbados and dive there. We've never been and know nothing about it.
Any recommendations? We usually like to stay in a dive resort with an onsite op, like Scuba Club in Cozumel and Buddy Dive in Bonaire, if that helps. Not too fancy or pricey.
We'd sure appreciate any ideas or suggestions.
Thanks

I was in same boat heading to Dominica, last week of feb 2018. Castel Comfort refunded me and I wrote the airline and explained in detail and they allowed me to get full credit, no change fee... on my non refundable ticket. I was on AAirlines

 

[NDL_Diver]

I believe travel award tickets are changeable and you can cancel also, at least on United. We are now headed to Roatan.

 

[flyboy08]

I'm surprised the airline didn't credit your miles since the island was basically leveled? I would have pushed that to no end!

 

[Winterpeg]

my husband changed the tickets on the aeroplan and we are now headed to Roatan. There was a penalty of a couple hundred bucks. The last leg of the trip was Barbados to Dominca on a regional airline and he said that's non-refundable, but maybe i should ask him to push it.
I haven't even got hold of Castle Comfort yet. I emailed them at the address posted on their website and i got a 'failed delivery' notice. I just assume that they are swamped and i'll try again in a few days. The website does say that the deposit can be refunded or applied to a future trip. I'd really like to do a future trip once they get back up and running, maybe the following year.