Dive Tech in Grand Cayman, thumbs up or down?

[worlddiver]

I have a feeling we were on the same boat together. We had two divers that were cowboys and causing problems for the whole boat. They were repeatly last in and last out and on the first dive one guy came back buddy breathing to the hook-a-line. Day 2 they broke from the group and did their own dive to 150 feet (bent computer) They were not permitted to do 2nd dive. Day 3 & on they were working with the instructors and were good boys. I found the staff (all instructors) to be the greatest. Most the staff are techincal divers and Tech instructor and know their ****........... The boat was keep on the Westwall (flat calm) because of weather on the North and because of 2 cowboys. The other boat was diving Northwall everyday, which we were on Day 4 - 7 (seas 3-5ft).

The Cayman Island government new standard to 130 feet is great for the diving industry, espically for the been there done that mentality.

We would rate DiveTech and Cobalt Coast Resort a 10 out 10 in our world travels. Big boats, small group and 24 hours unlimited shore diving from our hotel room.

 

[kevink]

I have been referred to as a lot of things in my time, but I don't recall 'Cowboy' being one of them. I very much doubt we were on the same boat together. My weapon of choice is a Suunto Vyper, not the typical sidearm of a cowboy (unless you are a very conservative cowboy). I pulled up the log of the dives I did with Dive Tech - -

Day Max Avg UW Locale
1 95 55 41 Orange Canyon
1 71 50 42 Bonnie's Arch
2 99 60 43 Little Caves
2 51 36 54 The Aquarium
3 102 51 45 Big Rock
3 50 36 47 Oro Verde
4 104 53 42 Trinity Caves
4 45 31 52 Mitch Miller's Reef
5 88 60 40 NW Point
5 71 43 53 Bonnie's Arch

Any idiot can deep. You can go right to the bottom (even at 2000') if you want. It takes skill to be able to safely come back up. I was not faulting them for not going deep, my cheif complaint was herding divers and running 1/2 tank profiles along the most destroyed portions of the Caymans (7 mile beach).

I chose Cobalt Coast and Dive Tech to be able to see the north end and to be hopefully diving amongst experienced divers. I ended up getting the same sort of non-sense diving that cruise ship passengers strive for.

 

[gsw]

As a humble obsever of this thred I would say that Kevink isn't looking at the big pic. What is all this Divetech and Cayman bashing about? It seems that Divetech has the safety of it's clients as their upmost concern, and a diver should respect that and not go around trying to get people to steer away from this fine dive op and island. If you have special concerns it's best to contact Divetech before your trip and Nancy would be all too willing to help you out. The slam on the Divetech staff and their love of the sport was way out of line also, ie ("Anybody can become an instructor") that shows no respect for others.

I would also like to say that there is a growing list of Cayman Island lovers on this board, some who have chosen to live in the Caymans such as Drew Sailbum, Caymaniac, / World diver, Aggie diver, Northeastwrecks, wb416, and others who must have a dim view of such a post that wants to convince people to shun the fine people of Divetech, and Grand Cayman.

My family and I are making a return trip to Grand Cayman this summer and look forward to improve our diving skills with Divetech and stay at Cobalt Coast. Anyone that is swayed by the negitive post will be missing out on a great vacation and meeting some of the best people they will ever encounter as divers.

Keep it fun, Keep it safe:

GSW

 

[kevink]

I started this thread to see how my experiences with Dive Tech could have been so diferent from the rest of the world. This is one of Rodale's top rated shops in the ENTIRE WORLD. I wanted people to get their passion into this post.

After my time with Dive Tech I felt that I had made two trips to the Caymans - - my first and last.

I posted my experiences with this shop. I am a little passionate and biased, but it is not outright bashing. I am basing my opinion on what happened during my stay there. I am not just talking trash for no reason.

I did a ton of research before I went to Dive Tech in the Caymans. What I was told to secure my booking was definately not what I received once I went down there. This creates an expecation gap with (me) the customer.

So far most of the people that have come out strongly in favor of Dive Tech have less posts on this board than I do which concerns me on a number of levels.

What I can read to date tells me that the staff is helpful and good at tech training, but your recreational diving should be limited to shore diving or charters with them.

Is Safety Enough? I fully agree that every dive needs to be run safely, but this is not what draws people to places like the Caymans. I can plop on a tank and safely dive in my pool (with a buddy of course).

It is expected the dive will be safe, we take that for granted. For an operation to stand out you need to deliver over and above that. If a shop strives solely to provide safe diving - customers will receive exactly that, and NOTHING MORE (setting the bar pretty low if you ask me). If on the other hand the shop strives to provide a memorable experience they will not only deliver safety but also take the extra effort for your guests. (good breifings, choice of sites, underwater flora and fauna, UW points of interest, etc)

The challenge is still out - - who wants to come to bat for them?

 

[Drew Sailbum]

had to do with site selection.

I live on the island, and work at a dive operator. We dive both north and south. I have reviewed my dive log for that time and only one day during your entire stay did we not dive south - we dove off the east tip.And we never dove north the 3 week period around the end of April and beginning of May '02.

DiveTech was not the only oeprator choosing to stay off the North Wall. Conditions were not suitable.

Basic research should have determined that seasonal wind patterns in the northwest Caribbean are primarily NE to ENE through that time frame. Most favorable winds for diving the North Wall are in the summer.

 

[ns2ny]

I'll keep it short.

My wife and I did a trip to GC last year and we loved Cobalt Coast and Ari is a great host. I too would give them an 11 out of 10.

As for Divetech, we did experience some minor glitches. With that said, once we spoke to Nancy (the owner) and presented the issues, she was more than happy to straighten them out and get things in order.

So I would recomend then to anyone going down there as well.

David

 

[marisa-t]

I stayed in Grand Caymans last summer in August and was at Sunset house for 7 days. I loved the dive operators except for Erika who thought she was better than anyone or anything, and I got the room on the end of the building so I got to hear all the tank being brought in every morning (5 a.m. to be exact) man those things are LOUD, but all in all the dives were awesome. Orange Canyon, Trinity caves. Oro verde wreck. Royal palms, the Mermaid, Stingray City, and so many more.

I would go back to Sunset house any day, the resort was fun and the food was good. I worked with a travel agent named Dee who works for Sunset house and she helped plenty. Our Stay was all inclusive, we spent about 750 pp for the Resort, and the airfare was around the same or less.

YOu can get awesome pics in Grand Cayman, maybe not as good Cathy Churches but nevertheless is is the top pic stay for me in Grand Cayman. www.sunsethouse.com


Heading to Maui in Augustcan't wait!


sassfrass

 

[DiverDoug]

Timely discussion, because I'm going back to GC on 6/27, and am in the process of booking dives with various operators. I tend to break it up and not go with one outfit exclusively. For instance, I have boat dived north side with Dive Tech [no complaints and no one hurried me], Fisheye on the West side [I like 'em; again, they guided and didn't push], and Peter Milburn for West Side diving. What can you say about Peter -- as the dean of caymanian diving, it's a pleasure to follow where he leads.

My Dive Tech experience has always been positive, except last July, when I showed up on Canada Day [who knew?] and found out their boats were booked solid all week. I did rent all my gear from them [for the third time], and various of their staff have always been nice, helpful and knowledgeable. I'll probably do a couple of dives with them this time.

 

[Divetech Cayman]

Hello Kevin K -

This is Nancy @ Divetech, and I am writing a short resposne as I have had a lot of folks email me the posting that you put up. It's my first time on a scuba board. I am sorry that we did not meet your expectations, that's always a shame and I mean it - vacation time is precious and should be enjoyed to the max. While I would love to address all of the comments (which I would be happy to do one on one) I would like to say 2 things. The first - is please do not hold Cayman accountable for Divetech. This is a great island, and the diving is really awesome, year round. The second is that, while opinions differs, the staff at Divetech are some of the best I have ever had a chance to work with. They may be rushed sometimes - hold that against the company, not the staff. But in general, on a day to day basis, they work hard to please our customers, go out of thier way to do anything extra that they can, and I do not believe that they deserve the criticism that you are giving them. As an FYI, the 130 foot rule is in place in Cayman now, and we are offering this as an additional profile to guests that choose. Thanks kindly for the moment of your time.

 

[wb416]

kevink once bubbled...
I started this thread to see how my experiences with Dive Tech could have been so diferent from the rest of the world. This is one of Rodale's top rated shops in the ENTIRE WORLD. I wanted people to get their passion into this post.

After my time with Dive Tech I felt that I had made two trips to the Caymans - - my first and last.

I posted my experiences with this shop. I am a little passionate and biased, but it is not outright bashing. I am basing my opinion on what happened during my stay there. I am not just talking trash for no reason.

I did a ton of research before I went to Dive Tech in the Caymans. What I was told to secure my booking was definately not what I received once I went down there. This creates an expecation gap with (me) the customer.

So far most of the people that have come out strongly in favor of Dive Tech have less posts on this board than I do which concerns me on a number of levels.

What I can read to date tells me that the staff is helpful and good at tech training, but your recreational diving should be limited to shore diving or charters with them.

Is Safety Enough? I fully agree that every dive needs to be run safely, but this is not what draws people to places like the Caymans. I can plop on a tank and safely dive in my pool (with a buddy of course).

It is expected the dive will be safe, we take that for granted. For an operation to stand out you need to deliver over and above that. If a shop strives solely to provide safe diving - customers will receive exactly that, and NOTHING MORE (setting the bar pretty low if you ask me). If on the other hand the shop strives to provide a memorable experience they will not only deliver safety but also take the extra effort for your guests. (good breifings, choice of sites, underwater flora and fauna, UW points of interest, etc)

The challenge is still out - - who wants to come to bat for them?

My experience with Dive Tech is limited to shore diving from Turtle Reef and Cobalt Coast, as well as a couple of night dives. Found the staff to be friendly and easy to hold conversations with.

I've only done boat dives with Divers Down on the North and West sides, and Cayman Dive Lodge on the East side, so my experience can't speak to yours concerning the boat dives with DiveTech. Also, I stayed in Nautilus Apartments both times, so we were also away from the crowds.

I wouldn't give up on the Island, as it has some pretty spectacular diving. Now that you know you're way around the island, ad-lib-it a bit on your return trips. That's the way I did my second trip and I had a blast! There's lot's of diving on "that there" Island!