Cayman Islands-Any Suggestions???

[ianr33]

When I came up to the ladder, the first thing the divemaster yelled before I even had my fins off
"YOU'RE 9 MINUTES OVER PROFILE".

Thats one of the reasons I like shorediving.

 

[knotical]

This is a primo operation:
Scuba Diving in Cayman Brac www.indepthwatersports.com

 

[EastEndDiver]

This last trip on Grand Cayman I dove with Peter Milburn and we were the only two people on the boat.It is as close to diving your own boat as you can get.He asked if we wanted him to guide us or do our own thing.If we opted to do our own thing he would stay on the boat and relax.We are both photographers and he was extremely helpful in any way we needed.The nice thing is he trailers the boat and we sort of decided where on the island to dive if the weather was acceptable.The boat is a rather large 26' which the max he takes out is 6 divers.

 

[DiverDebbie]

We're on Grand Cayman now and have mostly been diving with Don Fosters. They've been great. Very friendly service, and if you have a computer you can dive to your limit without going into deco. No scolding from them for being over the suggested dive time. Plus they also took me out solo one afternoon, which is service I will never forget!
We also went out with Ocean Frontiers last weekend to dive the East side. The ladies at the desk were less than friendly, but the staff on the boats were excellent. They provided top notch service, and again we weren't given and short dive profiles to follow. Great dives.
We didn't stay there, but the resort Ocean Frontiers is out of, Compass Point, looks very nice and well run with a great system for taking your gear from the boat in milk crate like containers, rinsing and drying in a secure but open air room. The place seems all about service, the buildings look nice, and there's even a bit of a beach there. It's a bit out of the way in the East end, but packages seem to included cars, and trust me, you need a car on Grand Cayman, no ifs ands or buts.

 

[laurendell]

People with the right attitude and don't break the rules that were laid out are given lots of lattitude.. I know I have worked things out with the shop ahead of time and have had first dives of well over an hour (in that case my team is the first in the water (in some case before the briefing) and ready to exit as soon as the last other diver is exiting).. I'm usually diving with other rb divers (or solo) so if I took the attitude RT didn't mean anything I could tay as long as I wanted.. I never made anyone on the boat wait for me or my group.. ..

I take it this means you think I didn't have the "right attitude" - whatever that means - and that this was the problem, but I don't think I should have had to "work things out with the shop ahead of time" to account for the fact that I might see something really interesting on my dive which would make me come up 5 minutes after the "profile". If you're ok with this kind of diving and having a boat check your computer after and yell at you when you don't follow their rules (assuming there's no safety issue), then I'm sure this would be perfectly fine. For me, I just found it quite irritating to be literally yelled at and it took away from the experience a bit.

It's great no one on a boat has ever had to wait for you to come up after they are done diving, I guess I just sit on the other side of this in that I would never mind waiting on the boat 5-10 minutes for someone because they saw something awesome and wanted to have a better look (or for any other reason for that matter). I would be pretty surprised to hear that anyone else in our group had a problem with this either. I guess I'm just a bit more laid back with my dive vacations and prefer a dive op that is more concerned with my dive experience than with keeping to some set in stone schedule.

Personal preference.

 

[tammymacb]

I'd give another thumbs up for Don Fosters. My husband and I have traveled several times to Grand Cayman, most recently 11 nights at Sunset House in August. I'd have to say my favorite spot was Spanish Bay Reef, but they're gone now and I certainly had a good time with SH.

I've used many of the operators on the island including: Sunset Divers, Divetech, Divers Down, Eden Rock and Don Fosters.

I think that Don Fosters isn't as "respected" an op because they service the cruise lines. In our experience, we were on a separate boat from the "shippers" and had wonderful service and friendly staff. We used them for 9 straight 2 tank AM dives and I was really sad to leave them. Their prices are "reasonable" or as reasonable as you'll find on GC and we were really happy. We also met some great folks on the boats including several "regulars" who are GC residents.

They'll see me again.

 

[Scuba Sweetie]

Don't dive with Red Sail Sports on Grand Cayman. Dove with them off a cruise ship in 2004, and had a horrible experience. Beautiful boats, but very unprofessional, and too many safety concerns to list. PM me if you want more info. This is the worst dive op I have ever dove with, by far. Hopefully by now they have hired more reputable staff.

 

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

So far, I've never noticed anyone being scolded for not coming up at the same time as everyone else. If my husband and I come up first on the boat or there after we never pay much attention to who else is still in the water and when they'll be getting back on board. I'm always jealous of the people who can last longer than me anyways (provided they have their minimum safety stop air left).

I would guess your situation was a one time thing and probably wouldn't happen with most operators unless the diver is ignoring safety rules.

 

[msbrew]

We are looking for a dive shop/dive master suggestion for the Cayman Islands. Any suggestions with regards to hotels, resorts also appreciated. Thanks.

we stayed at Divi Tiara on Cayman Brac. Can't begin to tell you how good it was! not fancy, but great food, staff and diving!

 

[Damselfish]

AFAIK Divi Tiara is closed, except for the time shares.