Dive Review-Dive Fair Helen-St. Lucia

[cruisegirl]

Scuba Diving review
St. Lucia
Nov. 27, 2007​

A little background on our group. We were all part of the Carnival Miracle Scuba Cruise. Most of us had cruised together last year on the Carnival Valor Scuba Cruise. Most of us are certified divers and many Adv. Certified & beyond. One of our members is a dive master & used to teach but now has a medical condition stopping him from using SCUBA. He can still free dive on his own but no SCUBA. Part of our group are free divers and those that like to snorkel.
Dive Shop--Dive Fair Helen
First Dive--Reef Dive
Location--Anse Cochon west
Visibility--50-60 feet
Deepest Dept./Bottom time-- 82ft./41 minutes
Overall rating--***** Not sure what kind of boat they used but it was nice. It had a front bow area to stand while sailing to our dive site. It also had a shaded area towards the engine area and then a back area uncovered. Plenty of room. They did not have rinse tanks for cameras but the 3 of us with cameras, used the mask rinse tanks. They did have a fresh water tank/hose with which you could rinse yourself off after diving. They also fed us on our surface interval on this dive. It was a giant stride entry with ladder to return to the boat. They seemed very knowledgeable and also seemed to check to be sure you were a cert. diver.
They don’t have a regular shop. It’s a hut area off a resort spot. I think the name of the resort area is Marigot Bay. If anyone has different info., feel free to correct me. The equipment seemed to be good/up to date. Nothing looked so old you’d be afraid to dive in it. Personally, I bring my own equipment. I’ve gotten it down to only needing a weight belt from the shop when I dive. Everything else I bring.
The reef is in 100+ ft. of water. It was lovely. Nice marine life, nice coral. Not quite the pretty colors as Belize but quite lovely. There were Yellowtail Snapper, Blue Tangs, Green Moray Eels, Grunts, Trumpetfish, Sergeant Majors, Flamingo Tongue Nudibranchs, Bristle Worms and something I can I.D. yet. It looks like a bubble. It’s shiny and looks like it has O2 in it. Can’t find it anywhere. We also saw Yellow sponges, Red sponges, Barrel sponges, red coral, blue coral. Very enjoyable. My deepest depth on this dive was 82 ft. There was such a variety of stuff to see.
Second Dive--wreck dive
Location--Lesleen M
Visibility--40-60 ft.
Deepest Depth/Bottom time--62ft./43 minutes
Overall rating--*****+
The wreck The Lesleen M, Location: North of the Pitons
Description: Freighter
Length: 55 metres (180 feet)
Depth: 19 metres (62 feet)
LESLEEN MThe Lesleen M was a 165 foot long, steel hulled cargo vessel. Lue Flotte
and Mary Ellen Kenny, New York based photographers, report that she
was intentionally sunk in 1986 by the ministry of fisheries with the intention
of creating an artificial reef. The Lesleen M was prepared for sinking by
the St. Lucian Port Authority. They removed her mast and wheel house as
these items may have caused the ship to protrude too high off the sea floor,
possibly causing a hazard to navigation. The Port Authority also cut holes
in the vessel above her water line in order to help the ship sink quickly
yet not take on any water while being moved. She was towed by the Port
Authority tug to a spot in 90 feet of water, but due to a strong current and
a half hour of sinking, She drifted quite a bit and ended up sitting upright
in 65 feet of water.
I was in heaven. I had been fearful of wreck diving. Mostly of penetration, getting in a spot where I can’t get out. So as our dive master gave a briefing, I finished by insisting I wouldn’t go inside. He just smiled. Even though I insisted. Lol.
We descended to 62 ft. and here was this lovely wreck. You can still make out the wreck, bow and stern. The marine life was amazing. From Grunts, Yellowtail Snappers, blue tangs, surgeonfish, so many to keep track of. Beautiful sponges and corals. You could see into the cargo area following the ladder down visually. And around the bow, you have a side area that you can swim around the ship, not the outside but like an outside walkway. You ask, did I do it…… YES. Lol. I went into the open area of the gut of the wreck and around the walkway area as it was open. I actually drained the battery on my camera taking photos. It was awesome. I could have stayed there forever just checking out all the nooks/crannies. This site is known for Seahorses but I didn’t see any.
I would definitely dive with Dive Fair Helen again. I like them, their dive masters and their boat, the Denise. Plenty of room. They had shade. It was a great time.
Any questions, feel free to ask……

 

[DivingPrincessE]

Thanks for the review, a cruise I'm going on in March is stopping at St. Lucia (among others) and I'm trying to decide which islands to dive at. Sounds like you really like St. Lucia. Did you dive at any other islands?

 

[cruisegirl]

I did really enjoy the diving in St. Lucia. I also went diving in St. Kitts and liked that as well. I would love to go back sometime to dive more days. On both Islands. On St. Maarten we just did the beach thing. But I had not been wreck diving before so I was a kid in a candy store..lol.... It was awesome

 

[Lottie375]

cruisegirl - glad you liked the diving in St Lucia and the Lesleen M wreck. I'm doing that again next week (this'll be the fourth time!!)

Lottie )

 

[Hubert Smith]

Dive Fair Helen - the name says is all. They are only 'fair'. Not great. Not even good except for Alvin, Marlon and Bernadette.
As Canadians, we are probably the most easy going people in the world. It takes a lot to upset us but I feel the need to provide a less than favourable review of this non professional organization who left a string of broken promises and a wealth of poor and non-existent communication. They can dive but they can't run a business.
My wife and I were in Marigot Bay in early November, 2012. We pre-booked for scuba and snorkelling packages with Dive Fair Helen.

I took my first two scuba dives on Saturday, November 10, and was so excited and thrilled that I decided I would like to pursue PADI certification. I mentioned this to Alvin, the dive master and my instructor that day, Andre, and also asked whether I would be able to change my booking for Monday, November 12 from snorkelling to scuba diving. I was told that I could easily switch my second day to scuba, and that the instructors would speak with me about certification. I gave them contact information (both email address and our villa location in Oasis Marigot) for them to get in touch. I told them that we would be in Marigot Bay for another five days which should have been more than enough time to do the reading and the dives required. I was enormously enthusiastic about scuba diving and thought that Dive Fair Helen would be interested in my certification, the prospect of such an easy sell and the extra money! When we got back to the villa, we called Dive Fair Helen, left a message about PADI certification and switching from snorkelling to scuba diving for that Monday.

My wife and I both went out on Monday, November 12th. My wife stuck with snorkelling, but I dove another two times that day. The instructor and the dive master both mentioned that they would talk to me about certification, but neither one said anything specific to me that day. The dive master indicated that all four of my dives could be counted toward certification. This was confirmed later by Michael, the owner. Andre, the instructor never spoke to me about certification. He spent the time not in the water reading a book in the cabin or eating all the left over lunch meal.
We also encountered Bernette when we were at the grocery store in Marigot Bay on Tuesday, and told her that we were very disappointed about the lack of response. She suggested that I should get official log information giving me credit for at least some of the dives I did with Dive Fair Helen, but that has not happened either. After this conversation, I telephoned and spoke to Samantha, who confirmed our telephone number at Oasis Marigot and my email address, but we heard nothing before we left on November 15.
I also telephoned Samantha in early December after we got home, to ask about receiving log entries for his dives. I asked if these two days of diving (4 dives) could be considered equivalent to the training dives 1 through 4 from the PADI Open Water Referral Course. She told me that we would hear from someone about this, but we never got any response either by phone or by email. She did apologize for the staff and thought that only the 1st dive can be used for the certification, but she was not a PADI instructor. Alvin, the dive master, Andre, the instructor, and Michael, the owner, all PADI certified, said the dives could be used for certification but I guess this Samantha, who isn't certified can overrule the people who can actually dive with their vast experience as PADI certified divers. Samantha also said that she would look into all this other stuff that the staff told me. If she did, she didn't tell me or get back to me. She also promised to send the log pages and also register me on the PADI site as a DSD. I was told that this has been done but I have no way to confirm this. Very poor communication and absolutely no followup.

We spent quite a bit of money on these dives, and do not regret having done so, but we are very disappointed that communication issues and lack of followup have caused us to feel less positive about Dive Fair Helen. On the first dive I asked the staff about certification. On a call to the office I asked about certification. On the second dive I asked about certification. Every time I was told to talk to someone else, or simply ignored. I should not need to go chasing after anyone to achieve that. Dive Fair Helen provides the courses. Contact me and earn your money, the cost of which I see, has gone up another 8%.

If they were a professional organization, I would be PADI certified, registered with the PADI site, have my logs for the 4 dives and have happy memories about Dive Fair Helen. When we complained, our wrongs should have been righted and provisions and compensation made. Neither has happened. We were told and promised many things by one and all but nothing has happened and nothing ever will.The owner, when contacted, initially promised to right the wrongs. I gave them every opportunity to correct their errors. The owners response was 'beyond his comprehension and based on a misunderstanding.'
After 4 months of calling and emailing, I have given up and am posting this poor review.
I now know why his staff acted, or rather didn't act the way they did. The example comes from the top. Do yourself a favour. Choose another dive shop.

 

[rick00001967]

this is truly an unfortunate situation. we also used dive fair helen on our trip to st lucia. i hope alvin, marlin, and andre are still doing well. we very much enjoyed our time spent diving with them. they were a great group to be with.

that being said, we also had some issues with communication. so it is sad to hear they are still having some issues in that regard. only advice i could give for future reference would be to try and limit your contact to one person when trying to get organized. not to make excuses for them but i think sometimes the one person thinks the other person is taking care of things, so in the end, nothing gets done.

hopefully you came away with a great appreciation for the sport and enjoyed your time underwater. don't let one experience sour you. get enrolled at home and take the full course. you will be a better diver for it in the end.

 

[Hubert Smith]

Hey Rick,
Thanks for your advice.

I liked Alvin, Marlon(?) and Andre as well. I thoroughly enjoyed the diving. It was spectacular. I also enjoyed being with them. I don't have a problem with the diving part. After all, I wanted to become certified after the dives.

My problem, and the problem you and many others have had is the abysmal communication. I tried to talk to one person but when that failed, I tried to talk to everyone. After all, we only had five days.

I was amazed that Dive Fair Helen didn't have to spend money attracting me as a new diver. I was there and WANTED to be certified. Why weren't they all over me?

Anyway, I do enjoy the sport and we are planning a trip to Antigua so I will probably be certified there.

As a fellow Canadian, you know we are quite easy going so no, the experience won't sour me;-)

Cheers.

 

[rick00001967]

marlin/marlon ?? lol not too sure - good to hear you will still want to get certified. antigua is a nice island. only been once but liked what i saw. long time ago. i am sure things have changed quite a bit.
good luck with your training

ps.....i still think you are far better off doing a full course here at home even if you do your open water dives in a place like antigua. just my 2 cents

 

[Hubert Smith]

I asked Marlon about his name and he said 'Marlon' as in Marlon Brando;-) We joked about that for a while.

Thanks for the well wishes on the training.

I'm curious as to your reasons for doing the course at home. Can I do everything except the open water dives or should I do those here as well?

 

[rick00001967]

as opposed to marlin like the fish. lol

in my opinion you will receive better training at a local dive shop (assuming they are a well run outfit, most are) as compared to cramming in everything over a week or two at a resort type destination. not knocking anybody in particular. just a generalization.
a lot of people do the academic work and pool work at home and then do the open water warm water dives on vacation. you can do them on a trip organized by your home dive center or they can do a referral for you and you do the open water dives at a vacation spot of your choice.
if you are willing to do the dives at home all the better. after diving up here in a heavy wet suit or dry suit with a hood and gloves etc, warm water diving will be that much easier. but a lot of people just are not interested in cold water diving.