Hey cbuck1962. We just got back from Taveuni, Fiji a week ago. Stayed at Maravu Resort and dived with Jewel Bubble Divers. Good reports for the resort, loved it. Bad reviews for the dive company though. The reasons are as follows:
1. It was agreed upon after discussion with the Dive company (Jewel Bubble Divers) we would dive some of the 12 renowned sites on the Rainbow Reef (specifically the great white wall and fish factory, which was the purpose of our trip). However -
a. We trusted Jewel Bubble Divers in their explanation as to why we couldn’t dive these sites, or any other on the rainbow reef for the first three days. However we lost our faith after speaking with other divers also staying at Maravu Resort (diving with Nakia divers) , who were currently day to day diving all of the sites we had requested. On the last day of five days of diving and knowing other divers were diving the White Wall and Fish Factory that day (even our RECEPTIONIST at Maravu Resort said that the conditions were perfect to dive these sites), Jewel Bubble Divers were still resistant. We almost cancelled our last dive day in protest, as out of eight dives we dived only one of our specified dives on the Rainbow Reef. Finally with the support of all other divers who had experienced and protested with us over the last five days, we finally got to dive the Rainbow Reef’s great white wall and fish factory. After much discussion with other divers we could only surmise that their resistance was due to costs. Even the staff at the resort we’re extremely surprised at our experience.
b. We were told that we were diving the Rainbow Reef on the first three days but according to other divers and our locality maps, we weren’t. We felt like we were treated like tourists who had no idea where we were diving and wouldn’t know any better.
2. Poor quality equipment. We had numerous encounters with faulty and unsafe equipment. Two non-functional BC’s – the first had a large leaking inflator hose that needed to be replaced. The second we were fascinated to watch them say it was okay for a fellow diver to commence diving with a continuously self inflating BC, an impossible and dangerous task. We were again amazed despite all other divers in the boat protesting, that they okayed a diver to dive with a weight belt that was far too small for the diver, just dangerous. This should not occur for an organisation that is affiliated with PADI (and has been reported to PADI). We brought our own regs, dive computers, fins and mask.
3. All fellow divers we dived with over those five days were extremely dissatisfied with the dives and that we were not formally diving the Rainbow Reef sites and again, some have written into PADI forums regarding their dissatisfaction with this company.
So would suggest you find another dive company (eg Nakia Resort and Dive - they did do a pickup for a crew at the Maravu Resort each day). And bring what gear you have of your own (though I cant comment on other dive operators in the area). Most people we met had their own gear. Hope that all helps.
