March Cruise Dive Recommendations

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My advise would be to stay away from the dive shops serving the cruise ship. Do some research on the internet and find a dive shop on each island that you visit. Going independent (from the cruise ship) has some risks but you will get better dives with smaller groups. Most (if not all) cruise ship operations are cattle boats.

Call the dive shops you are thinking of using and ask what they can do for you, pick the one(s) that offer what you are looking for.

Of course I am assuming that by cruising you mean that you are on a cruise ship. If you are cruising on a small boat (with less than two thousand passengers) then it is a completely different scenario.
 
In Antigua, the good diving is in the south. We booked a van to take us (30min) to English Harbour, for diving/snorkeling there. Then followed with land tour of the island. Actually, at all the islands, we dove/snorkeled first, then went for land tour for the rest of the afternoon. It was very good arrangement. But you and daughter might want to relax a bit in some ports.


Hi, Torontonian,

Your post was very informative, just had a quick question..We are doing a similar itinerary, but had chosen to do dives in 2 ports so that we could do other things. I really like the idea of doing the dives in the am and the land tours in the pm. Would you like to share how you did that - were thse private cars you hired for the private tours? did you just take cabs from on place to another?

What all places did you choose to visit in the land tours?

We are doing the dives with (tentative) Admiralty in st thomas and dive st helen in St Lucia, but have heard such great things about Dominica and then read here about st kitts, so want to see if we can get dives here too..maybe a 1 tank in st kitts, since we fly out at noon the next day?

Thanks!!
~Rae
 
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Hi, Torontonian,

Your post was very informative, just had a quick question..We are doing a similar itinerary, but had chosen to do dives in 2 ports so that we could do other things. I really like the idea of doing the dives in the am and the land tours in the pm. Would you like to share how you did that - were thse private cars you hired for the private tours? did you just take cabs from on place to another?

What all places did you choose to visit in the land tours?

We are doing the dives with (tentative) Admiralty in st thomas and dive st helen in St Lucia, but have heard such great things about Dominica and then read here about st kitts, so want to see if we can get dives here too..maybe a 1 tank in st kitts, since we fly out at noon the next day?

Thanks!!
~Rae

I pre-arranged all the diving/snorkeling, and all the land tours privately, beforehand. Was on Cruise Critic forum and learned a lot of info there regarding private tour ops. Got good tours so far in our trips.
 
I pre-arranged all the diving/snorkeling, and all the land tours privately, beforehand. Was on Cruise Critic forum and learned a lot of info there regarding private tour ops. Got good tours so far in our trips.

Yes, we looked on that board too..we got some tour recommndations (Dominica and Barbados beach recs) but we did nt see anyone do diving and land co mbos like you did...Were you guys in a big group? Its just the two of us, so we are really looking for some recommendations of must-see places for the land part, post-dives. Since you did these same islands, would you mind sharing your tour information with us?

Thanks!
Rae
 
We cruising Southern Caribbean on Carnival Victory. Departing Puerto Rico for St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua and St. Kitts.

My daughter will be performing her open water cert dives in Puerto Rico and St. Thomas.

Please recommend, in your opinion, the best 1 or 2 dives from the remaining islands (Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua and St. Kitts).

Thanx in advance.

Come and dive with us in St Kitts. Ideal diving for a new diver. Hey i will probably be on the boat.
Dive op of choice is Pro Divers (not the "official" cruise operator)
All you need to know at http://www.mystkittsdivebuddy.com

T
 
LUCKY YOU!!! We are very involved in the Save Lindbergh Bay Project to make sure we see Leatherbacks again next year. They want to dredge the cruiseship port and dumb the sludge in this same bay. On Aug. 29, Admiralty Dive Center is taking one of the USVI Senators on a Discover Scuba to show him what they will be ruining. Wish us luck! SAVE OUR TURTLES!
 
IMHO I would go for St. Kitts you will find smaller operations and more personable service. A little extra attention from the staff will not be a bad thing with your daughter's launch of her new found passion/hobby (I hope).

I would be happy to recommend someone I have worked with in the past.

Jason
St Maarten Scuba Dive St Maarten with the best dive package and scuba dive shops - Home
I am also in the water in early March, on a cruise ship and want a good operator, with personalized service and small groups on St. Lucia, Tortola, Antigua, Barbados, Grenada and Dominica. I think I have good dive op suggestions for Aruba and St Thomas.
 

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