Cottages at Cane Bay SCUBA

[Tool Belt]

Anyone stayed AT Cane Bay SCUBA? Thinking about January. Any info as to the accommodations, the restaurants, the shore dives/boat dives and general conditions (ie wind) in January will be appreciated.

Thanks !!

 

[kierentec]

Good to see a fellow cheesehead interested in St Croix! The weather here in January is typically very nice, however the winds and swells on the northshore (cane bay area) can make the shore diving fairly difficult. Cane bay runs a good operation, however they are a little more limited to their diving. They pretty much only dive the cane bay area and west end, however they have the contract with the cruise ships, so during the busy season (January) their west end boat is typically reserved for the cruise ship passengers. So, you might be stuck on a 36ft boat with 20+ divers, or actually get bumped off so they can accommodate the cruise shippers (their contract says they have to). Again, they do run a very nice operation, and it is very convenient to stay right there in the cottages. however if you are set on diving with them, I would recommend coming durring the summer when they are not as busy.

If you are open to diving with another dive operator, please take a look at our website, World class scuba diving under the US flag on St Croix Virgin Islands where you can dive the largest living reef of any Caribbean island info on snorkeling hotels beaches watersports car rentals accommodations and scuba diving or look us up on trip advisor as well.
We have plenty of hotels to choose from, one which is located about 20ft away from where you get on the boat. We are the only dive shop that dives all 72 dive sites on the island, and have boats on both the west end and north shore. If you have any questions about diving here or just about the island in general, please feel free to contact me.

 

[CookieMonster]

Was in St. Croix in December. Stayed at a villa above the Bay. Did a couple days of shore diving with Cane Bay Divers but would agree with Kierentec, they are primarily concerned with pleasing the cruise shippers. Wouldn't even let us out on a boat when the ships were in which is why we were relegated to the shore dives right there at the beach. Worked out okay for us since my husband is not an experienced diver and prefers shallower dives, but it was a disappointment to me because there were some sites I had been told I could go to that were only accessible by boat when I arranged the trip and when I got there it was a different story. They wouldn't even take us around to the Pier. They did do one nice thing which I appreciated since my husband was nervous; they took him to the owner's house and put him in the pool there just so he could practice his bouyancy and get used to breathing under water again (though they did charge a fee for this). I sat on the beach with a book and read while they did this. Other than that, even hanging out at the shop I felt like we were in the way. I had my heart set on the Pier so I contacted N2TheBlue and they agreed to take us out on the afternoon of Dec. 31st so we could see it before we left. You literally walk from their shop to the Pier. They were closing down for New Year's Eve so it was quiet that afternoon but one of the DMs took us out and was so nice and super excited to show it to us. Had I known about them earlier in our trip I think I would have done more with them instead of Cane Bay. That said, the beach at Cane Bay is great. We were with non-divers who were happy to hang out there while we dove. EAT at Cane Bay has good food, good drinks and good music, and we ate lunch there most days and had afternoon drinks when we were done diving. We stumbled upon Rowdy Joe's restaurant mid-week for dinner and it seems to be on the corner in the middle of nowhere, but the food and service were excellent so we made reservations to go back there for their New Year's Eve party and it was a blast! Lots of beautiful beaches to explore. Have an amazing trip!