Diving Rec's

[astrosgirl87]

My fiancee and I are going on a cruise the end of October and are hoping to get two dives in. We're stopping in Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire and St. Maarten. Diving in Bonaire is a given, as I've heard nothing but amazing things, but I'm not sure where the other dive should be. My gut is telling me Aruba is out...neither of us have a ton of dives under our belt, and I've heard Aruba diving isn't that great and can have strong currents. So....Curacao vs. St. Maarten....any recommendations? Thank you!

 

[timetraveler]

Curacao.

 

[boulderjohn]

Curacao's diving is very similar to Bonaire. Ste. Maarten is mediocre.

It may be possible to dive in Saba instead of Ste. Maarten. There is a ferry from one to the other, although it is supposedly a potentially rough ride. You can also fly, taking a low level flight to and from the world's shortest runway. If that is an option, choose Saba. The diving is spectacular there.

 

[jonhall]

Not sure where cruise ships go into Curacao but in St. Maarten cruise ships go into Great Bay where Scuba Fun and Octopus dive ops are close by - you can make a long walk or take a very short taxi ride (maybe the ops pick up now.) Dive sites are a short 5-10 minute boat ride. Was there in late Oct. a couple of years ago and the diving, IMO, was decent. It was pretty easy, visibility was good, and there was plenty to see in the way of sea life. Seeing nurse and reef sharks was common.

The dive ops I mentioned above are walking distance to restaurants/shops in Phillipsburg (whatever has been reopened after the hurricane), and a nice beach where a lot of cruise ship people spend their time.

Don't know that I'd recommend trying to get to Saba as scheduling would have to work out (don't think you could get back to cruise ship before 6:30 pm.)

 

[diversteve]

On Curacao you'll likely dock at the Megaport - smaller ships sometimes in the harbor downtown.

Some options -
Bas Harts Diving - IIRC they'll pick you up for escorted shore dives.

You can cab to Pierbaai beach and dive with the Dive Bus but they won't pick you up.

A third option would be see what Caribbean Sea Sports might be able to offer you on arrival. They're at the Hilton which is about 1/2 mi north of the Megapier. They also provide a shuttle from the Renaissance which you'll walk by as you walk from the port towards the tourist part of downtown - you might be able to get a ride.

IDK who the official cruise operator is on Curacao but suspect if there is one - it's Ocean Encounters. Their main shop is a few minutes further south than the Dive Bus - across from the Sea Aquarium (which you can find on a map)

I've done a solid week of diving on both Bonaire anc Curacao - Curacao has much easier entries. However the best dives may be too far west to consider on a cruise schedule.

In terms of what you'll see - both are pretty similar. Nothing very big at either island, we saw more eels on Curacao - about the same amounts of smaller fish/coral. We've also only ever seen seahorses on Curacao.

On Bonaire you can walk to the Dive Friends shop in town near the Town Pier and dive right there. Or there's more expensve options like VIP Diving. Oddly, unless it's changed recently - the Divi doesn't take cruise divers - it's about the closest to the pier.

 

[diversteve]

otoh, Curacao would be a good non-dive stop. There's the Rif Fort/Renaissance mall complex as soon as you're off the ship, there's the swinging bridge across the harbor to the old downtown - all the colored shops you see in the ads are there. There;s some downtown tours, most of the beaches are really nice also. Many are also dive sites with shops on-site so you could do both.

The Renaissance has the big casino and there's a few good restaurants in the area if you tire of ship food. Also the Ostrich Farm or the Sea Aquarium are tourist spots. If you've got the funds - there's Substation Curacao - a deep submersible near Pierbaai. Or Christoffel Park for hiking but you'd likely have to rent a car to get there. Several old forts and the oldest synagogue in the new world if that's of interest. . www.curacao.com

 

[Altamira]

Without question, for better diving, I would choose Curacao over Aruba or St. Maarten. In Curacao, I have used Ocean Encounters both as a cruise ship excursion and as an independent dive op for shore and boat diving. The quality of the dives and their operation were equally excellent. If you shore dive, their beach area and restaurant are great for surface intervals.