Nassau Dive Ops

[Pillpusher]

I read through a couple of older threads discussing the two main dive ops there, but I'm posting again PRAYING something has changed since. I'll be there in November and was planning on doing 4 days of as much diving as I can. But from what I'm reading the reviews on SC and BD, I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole. They seem to hit every single pet peeve I have with poorly run dive shops (VERY short bottom times, overcrowded boats, mixing cruise ship/inexperienced divers with experienced ones, high diver/guide ratios, "guides" who just carelessly swim along rather than actually guide and point stuff out, constantly running late, the staff apparently just being total jackasses, etc).

Somebody PLEASE tell me there's another option...

 

[rongoodman]

Expand your diving a couple of days and hook up the the Aggressor liveaboard.

 

[Pillpusher]

Expand your diving a couple of days and hook up the the Aggressor liveaboard.

Ehhh.... If I'm going to spend $3K for a 7 night liveaboard stuffed into a tiny room with 3 strangers, I'd prefer it to be diving somewhere better than the Bahamas...lol. From what I've seen, Aggressor is always WAY overpriced, though, so maybe there's some other options out there.

I definitely prefer land accommodations to have some fun at night, if I'm able to. It just amazes me that two crappy shops have a complete oligopoly over the market there, and nobody has decided to open up shop and offer an actual quality dive experience there. Dirty politics involved to keep competition out, perhaps?

 

[Damselfish]

It just amazes me that two crappy shops have a complete oligopoly over the market there, and nobody has decided to open up shop and offer an actual quality dive experience there. Dirty politics involved to keep competition out, perhaps?

you said yourself if you were going to spend money on a liveaboard you'd rather go someplace with better diving. My theory has always been the diving around there just isn't good enough to attract the kind of divers and op that you want.

 

[Pillpusher]

you said yourself if you were going to spend money on a liveaboard you'd rather go someplace with better diving. My theory has always been the diving around there just isn't good enough to attract the kind of divers and op that you want.

I’m only going there because I won a sales incentive trip through work, so I’m taking my paid flight a bit early to do some diving before the company portion of the trip starts. You may be right, though. But I’d still think there would be enough volume for a well run competitor to do well.

 

[miked]

20+ years ago, there were at least 2 other ops near SCs. "Dive Dive Dive" and "Nassau Scuba Center". Both were smaller than SC, and both are, sadly, long out of business . IIRC, DDD was gone by '04, NSC a few years later. One of the locals told be it was a case of "Big fish eats little fish.

 

[Pillpusher]

20+ years ago, there were at least 2 other ops near SCs. "Dive Dive Dive" and "Nassau Scuba Center". Both were smaller than SC, and both are, sadly, long out of business . IIRC, DDD was gone by '04, NSC a few years later. One of the locals told be it was a case of "Big fish eats little fish.

Yeesh. That's too bad. I'm beginning to wonder if the diving is even worth spending the vacation days and lodging expenses to head down there 5 days early. If both ops are as bad as the reviews I've read, I'm worried I would just spend the rest of my trip pissed off about it. Maybe I'll just head down a couple days early and drink the whole time...lol.

 

[Hoag]

Even though they are very close, IMHO, the diving in the Turks & Caicos is much better than in the Bahamas. Do you have the flexibility to fly into Provo before "the company portion" of your trip begins and then catch a hop over to Nassau or, alternatively, to fly from Nassau to Provo after the "company portion" has come to its end?

Dive Provo is a class act and may present a viable option.

 

[Pillpusher]

Even though they are very close, IMHO, the diving in the Turks & Caicos is much better than in the Bahamas. Do you have the flexibility to fly into Provo before "the company portion" of your trip begins and then catch a hop over to Nassau or, alternatively, to fly from Nassau to Provo after the "company portion" has come to its end?

Dive Provo is a class act and may present a viable option.

They’d probably allow it if an open-jaw booking was done on the same ticket for a comparable price, but that’s not happening. Otherwise, it would be on my dime.

 

[Hoag]

They’d probably allow it if an open-jaw booking was done on the same ticket for a comparable price, but that’s not happening. Otherwise, it would be on my dime.

Just trying to offer options and a possible alternative.