My wife and I dove with Stuart Cove's about 2 years ago and had a great experience on the south west side. We actually were staying on the north side of the island and decided to rent mopeds to cruise around and see the island. Took maybe 20 mins to get to the dive shop. Obviously wave height all depends on the weather, but Stuart Cove has nice big boats which mitigate some of the wave chop. Great vis, prob 60'-70'+. If your interested in seeing some of the island and getting some good dives in I would recommend going south side. If really time constrained just stay by your ship. In the end....your in the bahamas, the water is clear everywhere, there are various wrecks everywhere, and bottom line you'll be DIVING!! Enjoy.