I was in Frederiksted, St. Croix for the first time on a cruise stop and did a 2-tank dive with St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures (SCUBA) in Frederiksted. They have a 2-tank cruise special where they adjust starting time to ship arrival time. I generally try to avoid cruise ship packages or excursions if possible but they only offer the cruise ship dive package from their Frederiksted location on days when cruise ships are in port.
TLDR: Good operation, good dives, would use again.
LOCATION: Right outside cruise pier, 2 minute walk from end of pier
CHECK-IN: Easy as they already had all my information from my booking. Rental gear was ScubaPro BCDs and regs. I didn't rent any gear since I had my own but their’s appeared to be in good condition and I didn't see anyone have any problems with it on either dive. Was a 2 minute walk from the shop to the boat docked at the end of the pier.
BOAT: Scuba Dos. 31’ Island Hopper, space for 10 divers plus staff. Has first aid kit, O2, AED, etc. Has shade but no marine head. Separate rinse buckets for masks and everything else. They hang a dive bar at 15’ for a safety stop reference plus a reg on a 20’ hose in case someone runs low on air.
SAFETY BRIEFING: Performed on dock before boarding boat. Thorough, covered everything. Asked everyone to come up with 500 PSI and to not go into deco. There were 3 divers who didn't have computers so the DM asked they stay at her depth throughout both dives. NOTE - I'm not sure if the shop rents computers (I know they sell them) but they didn't ask about computers until we were at the boat.
During the safety briefing the DM set up everyone's gear on the boat (and was understanding when I asked her to let me set up my own gear). The Captain asked what we hoped to see so he could select dive sites accordingly.
There were 7 divers plus the DM: a group of 3, pair of 2, 1 single plus me. We were just advised to stay together as a group, no effort was made to ensure people had buddies. I asked the other single to buddy up before the dives.
DIVE 1: 10 minute ride to Sprat Hall (max depth 57’). Nice relaxing reef dive, saw several turtles (my favorite). After 45 minutes we were back under the boat and could ascend whenever you wanted.
SURFACE INTERVAL: On boat, they handed out fresh fruit and had water. For those that wanted her to, the DM switched everyone's tanks.
DIVE 2: Alien Nation. Sloping reef, depth 40’-100’. We started at 60’ and slowly went up. Saw a nurse shark. After about 35 minutes we were close to the boat and I believe one of the Divers was low on air because the DM gestured through hand signals for the group to remain where we were and she ascended with the diver to the boat. We assumed the DM was coming back but after 10 minutes the group decided to ascend to the safety stop and then boarded the boat. Once onboard they offered a beer to those that wanted it. It was a short 10 minute ride back to the dock. They have larger rinse buckets and a hose back at the shop.
Overall I was happy with the experience and would probably use SCUBA again, especially if coming back to St. Croix on a cruise ship.
TLDR: Good operation, good dives, would use again.
LOCATION: Right outside cruise pier, 2 minute walk from end of pier
CHECK-IN: Easy as they already had all my information from my booking. Rental gear was ScubaPro BCDs and regs. I didn't rent any gear since I had my own but their’s appeared to be in good condition and I didn't see anyone have any problems with it on either dive. Was a 2 minute walk from the shop to the boat docked at the end of the pier.
BOAT: Scuba Dos. 31’ Island Hopper, space for 10 divers plus staff. Has first aid kit, O2, AED, etc. Has shade but no marine head. Separate rinse buckets for masks and everything else. They hang a dive bar at 15’ for a safety stop reference plus a reg on a 20’ hose in case someone runs low on air.
SAFETY BRIEFING: Performed on dock before boarding boat. Thorough, covered everything. Asked everyone to come up with 500 PSI and to not go into deco. There were 3 divers who didn't have computers so the DM asked they stay at her depth throughout both dives. NOTE - I'm not sure if the shop rents computers (I know they sell them) but they didn't ask about computers until we were at the boat.
During the safety briefing the DM set up everyone's gear on the boat (and was understanding when I asked her to let me set up my own gear). The Captain asked what we hoped to see so he could select dive sites accordingly.
There were 7 divers plus the DM: a group of 3, pair of 2, 1 single plus me. We were just advised to stay together as a group, no effort was made to ensure people had buddies. I asked the other single to buddy up before the dives.
DIVE 1: 10 minute ride to Sprat Hall (max depth 57’). Nice relaxing reef dive, saw several turtles (my favorite). After 45 minutes we were back under the boat and could ascend whenever you wanted.
SURFACE INTERVAL: On boat, they handed out fresh fruit and had water. For those that wanted her to, the DM switched everyone's tanks.
DIVE 2: Alien Nation. Sloping reef, depth 40’-100’. We started at 60’ and slowly went up. Saw a nurse shark. After about 35 minutes we were close to the boat and I believe one of the Divers was low on air because the DM gestured through hand signals for the group to remain where we were and she ascended with the diver to the boat. We assumed the DM was coming back but after 10 minutes the group decided to ascend to the safety stop and then boarded the boat. Once onboard they offered a beer to those that wanted it. It was a short 10 minute ride back to the dock. They have larger rinse buckets and a hose back at the shop.
Overall I was happy with the experience and would probably use SCUBA again, especially if coming back to St. Croix on a cruise ship.
