Jupiter31
Contributor
Ya know, I considered it. Actually, I considered mentioning, just as I said in my original post, that I recalled having had a good experience at Blue Grotto and Devil's Den some years ago, and asking if Ginnie was similar, better, or worse. But I decided to just go ahead and give diving there a try, since the Scuba Diving mag article seemed to give Ginnie some credibility. Moreover, I have never gotten a clear concensus answer to ANY question I have posted on SB or seen others post. That's hardly unexpected, as everyone has an opinion. I figured that some people would say something along the lines of, "yes, it's a 5-1/2 hour drive for you, plus hotel, food, etc., but why not try it once and judge for yourself?" And people would have been very right to have said that. Driving distance, time and expense just has to be weighed against the potential for getting enjoyment out of it. We dive the Keys every once in a while and love it down there, but even with a good airfare deal and economical lodging a Keys trip is generally a few hundred more bucks than what we spent on the Ginnie weekend and really needs a 3-day weekend.
I don't feel too bad at all. We got to get wet and play with our gear (I have a new BC I wanted to test out) and feel ready for our big Indonesia trip next month.
While I agree w/ your comments/experience regarding Ginnie, you really can't complain about the answer to the question you did not ask.
As I previously posted, if the publication contains advertising, while it does not mean their info is worthless, just that there is a better than 50/50 chance you are not going to be presented with a bunch of negatives about the place they are writing about. If you posted "Ginnie for the OW diver" you might have gotten the straight scoop on the place.
Had you asked, and provided some personal background, you might have at least known what the story was with Ginnie - personally, not being a cavern or cave diver (and zero interest in becoming one), its not a place I'd visit again. (We did the springs years ago, during an AOW course - not my thing, but glad I can make these comments based on personal experience).
Yes, a lot of folks on SB have strong opinions but I have not found it difficult to figure out the info being offered - and many times the problem is with the original poster - How many times are we asked to "Name a good operator in the Keys - or Palm Beach County, or Ft Lauderdale, or Miami......" Or they mention they love "Ocean Divers" - while a competent op, they don't mention its a cattle boat operation. Or their point of view is based upon having completed 10 dives. You get the point, and I'm not suggesting you fall into any of these categories.
Often the OP gives little to no info about themselves, level of experience, non divers in the group, budget - nor does their profile contain this info (and if you are asking the question, asking for assistance, its a little unrealistic to have to look up someones profile to see how best to answer their question.
