HELP: Ambassador Divers or Neptune Divers??

[BullSharkGator]

Spending a week in GC in late June / early July . . .

I see a lot of positives to Ambassador and Neptune . . . .

Can anyone offer up any negatives or concerns about either dive shop knowing this info:

-we are 7-8 divers with different experience levels (4 divers with OW certs and less than 50 dives and 4 divers with 200+ dives & further up the cert chart),
-we heard that a few operators on GC may try to use smaller tanks (less than 80s) to control bottom time,
-boat size (cramped or comfy for 7-8 divers),
-boat platform for a giant stride or easy exit,
-what time do these two operators start their 2-tank morn: 7:30am, 8am, 8:30am, 9am (b/c I've heard some operators start later than others.),
etc.

If anyone could share any experiences or info, it would be much appreciated.....


thanks in advanced and happy diving :cool2:

 

[Byte Me]

We were on GC 4/17 - 24 and dove three days with Neptune. They picked us up at Grandview Condos each day at 8:15 for our 9:00 dives, then picked up other divers on the way to the boat. They have two boats and can accomodate a variety of experience. The boat we were on was full of experienced divers, the other boat had a group doing their OW checkout dives. They were really good about letting you dive your own profile, going your own way too if you wanted to. They would lead a dive for you as well if you wanted. Our fills were always 2700-2900psi in AL80s (for reference we dove w/ Ocean Frontiers one day on the east end and fills were always over 3000) so plenty of air. We did 6 dives with them and got in 36, 53, 35, 43, 41, 57 of bottom time. All were on the north side, we ended up doing Blue Peter twice, but it's a GREAT site! Something different every time. Boat was busy - on the last day we had 12 people on board including the captain and the DM. It was a bit crowded but no biggie, not cramped but not comfy. Giant stride off the back, easy reentry via ladder.

I would HEARTILY recommend spending a day on the east end diving with Ocean Frontiers. Top notch crew, boat, staff, sites, everything was spectacular. Including the best reefs I've been on in the Caribbean. I'm SO glad we decided to do 4 dives with them, they were the highlight of the trip. The drive isn't that bad, especially since you're going the opposite way traffic is both directions. I can't say enough good things about them!

Good luck, have fun! Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[BullSharkGator]

does anyone else have any info that they can share on Neptune or Ambassador????

does anyone else concur that the East End / Ocean Frontiers is a must??

how long of a drive is it from SMB to Ocean Frontiers to make a morn 2-tank???


thx

 

[Alex777]

Many who have dived with one or the other will probably chime in. I have dived with both and I would say this: you can't go wrong with either one. Neptune seems a bit more oriented towards beginners, but it could be my imagination.

Yes, EE / OF is a must.

About 50 minutes.

 

[Alex777]

Spending a week in GC in late June / early July . . .

I see a lot of positives to Ambassador and Neptune . . . .

Can anyone offer up any negatives or concerns about either dive shop knowing this info:

-we are 7-8 divers with different experience levels (4 divers with OW certs and less than 50 dives and 4 divers with 200+ dives & further up the cert chart),
-we heard that a few operators on GC may try to use smaller tanks (less than 80s) to control bottom time,
-boat size (cramped or comfy for 7-8 divers),
-boat platform for a giant stride or easy exit,
-what time do these two operators start their 2-tank morn: 7:30am, 8am, 8:30am, 9am (b/c I've heard some operators start later than others.),
etc.

If anyone could share any experiences or info, it would be much appreciated.....


thanks in advanced and happy diving :cool2:

I don't recall either of them using 72s.

Both boats are reasonably spacious; I recall Neptune's as slightly larger.

An "easy exit" can be achieved in various ways, including a back roll, etc. Divers should not be dependent on just one. I think both boats have stern platforms, though.

 

[BullSharkGator]

Yes, EE / OF is a must.

Alex777,

can you give me your "50 cents" as to why EE/OF is a must.

Thanks,
BullSharkGator

:shark2:

 

[EastEndDiver]

Ambassador is a good operation,but I have had issues with them.One of their Captains/Instructors thought nothing of lighting up a cigarette in the middle of the divers on board.This is a small 26 foot (I believe) boat with not much room .When I mentioned that I could not tolerate the second hand smoke because of Asthma he reluctantly stood at the back of the boat and finished his cigarette.He did smoke several others during the day.This is the only issue I have had with them.I have dove several times with them.I think Jason ,the owner, might have done something about this situation.They run a good operation and are fun to dive with.

 

[Byte Me]

does anyone else have any info that they can share on Neptune or Ambassador????

does anyone else concur that the East End / Ocean Frontiers is a must??

how long of a drive is it from SMB to Ocean Frontiers to make a morn 2-tank???


thx

50-60 minutes should get you there, its an easy drive, no map needed, just keep going east! There is pretty much one road going there and once you make it through the giant roundabouts southeast of Georgetown it's a straight shot.

There were 5 of us that made the trip, three don't dive so they head up to Rum Point and hung out at that beach all day, came back and met us for lunch then went over to the hotel / resort NE of OF.

What made OF so special was their attitude, philosophy and little touches. Their attitude is - we're supposed to be having FUN diving. The DMs were having fun, the captain was having fun and that translated to the rest of us on the boat. The philosophy is, we're adults, watch the VERY detailed dive briefing, follow the DM if you want but if not, that's OK too, be back on the boat with ~500 or so PSI. The little touches, lemonade AND water in coolers on the boat, hard candy, orange slices, valet diving service, they hung a couple lines with bars off the back of the boat for safety stops, they had two regs hanging over the side at about 20-25' in case someone had an air issue. For our first service interval the motored over to a wreck that is normally pounded by waves, but the day we were there it was dead calm - so they putted over there so we could snorkel the wreck rather than sitting on the boat!

On the next SI the two staff that stayed on the boat found a Man o War, the maneuvered it into a bucket so they could keep it away from the divers. When the scooped it up they also grabbed a family of 3 Man O War fish - one of the most unique, beautiful fish I've ever seen! We all got some pictures of them, then they motored out well past the dive mooring balls and let them all go.

They're very ocean, conservation, reef conscience and its more than just lip service, they really do care and that comes across and impacts you as well, just like the fun part!!

In addition to the Dive Op, visibility was better (on our first dive we could see fish on the bottom at 70' from the boat) and the reefs are in much better shape with more life on them.

I would recommend the 4 tank dive package they offer, two in the AM, two in the afternoon. That's what we did and I'd have liked to do two days of that! Oh, and you may want to do the OF East End trip on your last day, otherwise you won't want to go back to the West side!

 

[Alex777]

Alex777,

can you give me your "50 cents" as to why EE/OF is a must.

Thanks,
BullSharkGator

:shark2:

Variety. The North Wall deep sites have the most marine life but the East End deep sites have the most dramatic u/w landscape: deep ravines which wind in and out of a sheer wall and provide great swim-thrus. The East End shallow sites have lots of swim-thrus also, plus some coral formations not typically seen elsewhere. You can do the odd drift dive in EE. That is also your best location for spotting Caribbean Reef Sharks.

There are only 2 dive ops in EE: Ocean Frontiers and Red Sail Sports (Tortuga Divers). OF is somewhat more oriented towards experienced divers than Red Sail.

 

[dive ladder]

We have always used Ambassador Divers. I cant say anything about Neptunes...never dived with them. Ambassador uses AL80's and our fills were always at 3k. Great operation. I highly recommend!