My first time will be in St Thomas

[oconnor69]

I will be cruising on Royal Caribbean Feb next year and plan to dive with Admiralty in St Thomas. This will be my first holiday dive and so I've got a few questions;
I currently only dive UK waters in a drysuit and will not have the opportunity to do any kind of weight check before the holiday. Is this likely to be an issue?
I e-mailed Admiralty saying I'd be on my own and would they be able to hook me up with a buddy. They replied that they dive as a group and so this would not be a problem. Again, only diving UK waters with generally low vis, I've always dived as a buddy team. Is this group diving the norm in such places? Should I try and pair up with someone on the dive?
Has anyone dive with Admiralty and have an opinion and/or comments on them as a dive company?

Many thanks for your comments,
John

 

[mike_s]

in a lot of "cruise boat destinations" the dive is "group diving" by means of a divemaster leading the dive like a tour guide and everyone following. You still have people diving in buddies/pairs. The divemaster doesn't keep you in a "straight line" so much that you can't explore off on your own, but the group does tend to stay somewhat close so he can "keep you in a general area".

As for wetsuit, they'll be able to help you with suggested weighting. most folks dive the USVI in wetsuits as the water there is warm all year. I dove it in November with no wetsuit for example. I can't see you needing more than a 3mm or 5mm in Feb.

One more thing, since you're in Europe, you most likely have a DIN regulator. most rental tanks in the US and Caribbean (which gets their tanks from the US) typically have a YOKE valve on it. So if you have DIN, you'll want a DIN to yoke converter (under $40 US) or check with the dive shop in USVI to see if they've got DIN tanks available. Just something to check into.

mike

 

[oconnor69]

Thanks Mike. Yes, I do have DIN and have seen adapters over here pretty cheap so I'll pick one up before I go.
I've e-mailed Admiralty a couple of times and they seem to be very friendly and helpfull.

 

[all4scuba05]

I dove with them last year in May. They were definitely friendly and helpful. It's a group dive but seek out the single diver in the group and ask him/her if they don't mind buddying up. After the dive, they insisted on rinsing my gear and hanging it to dry for me to pickup later. Enjoy

 

[billeelou]

i'll be diving withthem, i'll let u know how it goes, full trip report

 

[rhyz]

I just got back from diving St Thomas and I wore a 3mm. I chartered with Blue Island and that was the only charter that didn't go as a group tour. But have only heard good things about Admiralty, as 6 others dove with them from my cruise that day as well. All the other islands charter did. And as a previous poster said your buddied up but following a DM. St Thomas was beautiful, both the WIT Concrete and Cay reefs were thiving with life. You should have a great dive there. I would suggest if you have the time to hit one of the beaches afterwards and do some snorkling, you find alot of life on doing that as well.

 

[oconnor69]

Thanks folks, looks like I should have a good time.
Look forward to your trip report billeelou.
Rhy, I think we're going to be hitting the beach in St Maarten after a spot of shopping.

 

[PNW Dive Girl]

I dove with them for 9 dives last year. They were great and I'd definitely dive with them again. I usually wear a 3/2 suite in the Caribbean, but have been diving with people there who don't wear wetsuits. I am a drysuit diver and LOVE diving with such little weight! If you still want more diving in the afternoon. There's shore diving at Coki Beach. There's a dive shop trailer there where you can rent tanks/weights. It's right next to the aquarium.

 

[oconnor69]

Hi Dive Girl,

I've been chatting with them and it looks like I'll get 2 dives in with them and they assure me no customer of theirs has ever missed their ship!

I too am a drysuit diver. I've just finished hosing mine down after a trip to the coast and a couple of dives under the pier.

John

 

[tech_diver]

I got back from St. Thomas a few weeks ago. I dove with Blue Island and they were great. The diving is relaxed and easy. It's great for new divers.

If your interested, I have some short videos from the trip on my movie page. The three St. Thom videos are the last listed.

http://www.advancedundersea.com/My Diving Videos








http://www.advancedundersea.com/My Diving Videos