Personal Experience with Casa del Mar Dive Center in El Conquistador in Fajardo, PR

[S_mendez]

Since I first dive W.I.T. Shoal in St Thomas I always wanted to return since I did not have the experience to stay longer underwater, so I wanted to return. Eventhough my first experience with this dive center (Casa del Mar) was not the best, I decided to give it a second shot, boy was I wrong.

The dive master in Coral Scuba Shop arrange the trip to St Thomas for us (my husband and I) and other 3 people, he also accompanied us in the trip. The first day we all arrive on time at 9 am eventhough they first said 7 am, they change departure time on us. The team of the boat was not prepared to leave by the time they mention we were supposed to. The people (there was 3 diving stores in total that made arrangements for this trip, around 25 people in total including us) had to wait around 10 am to get onboard, and we got on board because people got restless of waiting under the sun. Then, they gave the order to gear up since on our way to St Thomas we were going to dive there. The people on the trip started to realized that the tanks were not filled, and we counted around 30 tanks that were not filled to the 3,000 lbs that they are supposed to have. I personally measure some and found two that had almost zero air left on it, so we finally left around 11 am to go through a tropical storm that was on our way to get there. They also, did not prepared food for us only some chips, fruit and sodas.

The two dives went ok, but the day was not over. Since we got to St Thomas late that friday, the tanks could not be filled that day so our second day was also out of schedule. When we finally got in touch with the people of the boat we were told to wait in front Holiday Inn, we were left to wait another 45 min for them. The trash from the day before was still there. Then we were on the boat all afternoon until night since we were going to have the last dive at night, and still the same menu from the day before. During the night dive my husband and I were the last ones to stay under taking pictures and they turn off the light on us without explaining before the dive what they meant when they turn off the light. Later, we found out that they were getting ready to leave because they believed everyone was on the boat already.

The last day was not any better, we left St Thomas at 2:00 pm (same deal with the tanks) after the first dive was over they told us that it was better to abort the second dive since we were going to take longer to get to Puerto Rico since one of the turbine engine was not working. So after 3 and a half hours we finally touch land and no apologies for the inconvenience.

The recommendations are to think very hard before arranging any diving trips with these people. The lack of interest to repay us for the inconveniences that we suffered throughout this trip is deplorable. I really do not know what kind of experiences other people might had have with this dive center but that was my experience with the boat Pura Vida of the Casita del Mar located in the El Conquistador Hotel in Fajardo Puerto Rico. Thanks for reading and good luck.....

 

[Viajeenbarco]

I cannot disagree more with you, about La Casa del Mar Dive center. I have done more than 100 group trips with this Dive shop and in all of them, the service, the professionalism and the experience that they offer is outstanding.
They have (2) amazing 46' Newton custom dive boats perfectly maintained and their staff members are very professional and very service oriented. They might or you may had a bad day on that specific St. Thomas trip, but hey, a bad day can happen to anybody, but I am still, very skeptical about what you say since I did not have any problems with them in 100 + trips.
They have the largest variety of trips on the island: Culebra, Vieques, Fajardo and Virgin Islands! They go to wrecks, walls, coral reef gardens, drift dives…..They provide services to many hotels on the island and many dive shops. It is the only dive operation which goes out with 2 boats every day, sometimes 4 trips a day: that is a lot of divers, thousands of divers / year and a lot them are very happy.
Again, for one unsatisfied diver I bet you there are thousands satisfied divers out there from La Casa del Mar in fajardo, Puerto rico

 

[pdelannoy]

Sorry for your experience. Sign on with West Divers next time.

PD

 

[S_mendez]

I am happy that you have good experiences with them. Like I said, is my experience with them and if you are ever on the scuba shop of Arecibo you can ask the dive master of that store how was that diving trip that weekend, and there were a couple of other scuba shop from the west of the island on that trip also.

 

[pershing]

I was on that trip and it was a nightmare. What I can say is that this happened after the new administration took over. The previous administration was pretty good, I had gone before the bad trip and it was excellent. Once the new one took over it was horrible. I have heard they asked the old owner to come back and take it over cause they were loosing major business. If he did or not I dont know or if is back to old standards I dont know either. All I know is we never got a refund for the missing dive, never got a comp dive and I will never forget how crappie that trip was. Oh and btw, even their boat captain got tired of their shinanigans and left them to pilot the hotels huge catamarans. So consider yourself lucky you went during the good times...

 

[joyceschur]

I just returned from Fajardo. I stayed at the El Conquistador Hotel and spent 5 consecutive days diving with Casa Del Mar Dive Shop. My experiences there were excellent. I'm a divemaster and have logged dives all over the world. I felt Casa Del Mar ran a very good operation.

This was my first time in Puerto Rico and I wasn't expecting much regarding the diving based on research and other reviews. It's true, the diving out of Fajardo isn't always as impressive as other spots in the Carribean (lower visibility, mini walls around 50-60', smaller fish), still the reefs are in excellent condition and the currents aren't that strong, so it's perfect for micro diving.

I recommend the Casa Del Mar Dive Shop, their service was superb. They never cancelled a dive for lack of the requisite minimum (whereas Sea Ventures didn't always come through). They were always on time, had a great staff and high quality rental gear. The boat was clean and never overcrowded (except on the full day trips when snorkelers came along). They supplied towels, fresh fruit, fantastic peach-mango salsa, a variety of drinks and complimentary beer after the last dive; they offered a 2-tank morning dive and a 1-tank afternoon dive.

There are humpback whales in the area, so that was quite a thrill! We spotted several and the captain took an extra 15 minutes to maneuver the boat as close as possible so we could watch them. Even if you don't see them, you often hear them singing during the dive.

The dives I did off Culebra were spectacular (Casa Del Mar usually goes to Culebra on Friday and takes snorkelers along, it's a full day trip 9-5). A full hot lunch was served. From a diver's perspective, I would not repeat any of the full day trips simply because it's 8 hours for the sake of two dives.

Two other activities to consider while in the area: El Yunque Rain Forest and the BioBay kayak tour (there are only 5 bioluminescent bays in the world that glow all year round and one of the brightest is within a 10 minute walking distance of the El Con Hotel - I used Pure Adventures and highly recommend them).

 

[Lennon1971]

]
Best Dive Shop: La Casa Del Mar at El Conquistador -- Fajardo, Puerto Rico”
El Conquistador Resort, The Waldorf Astoria Collection
We communicated with Carlos (by phone and email -- easy to get in contact with), who owns La Casa Del Mar, the dive shop that is part of the El Conquistador hotel. BEST DIVE SHOP and CREW (Antonio, Roberto, Tyrone, and Mariela). What makes them different from other Caribbean dive shops we've used in Bonaire, Caymans, Curacao, and Cozumel? A glass of ice cold water as soon as you board the boat, great/new rental gear, a large cooler full of assorted sodas (and beer for after diving), set-up (and rinsing and storage) or our scuba gear, cut watermelon/kiwi/cantelope/pineapple, large bath towels to dry off with, a hose with fresh water to rinse off with, a bathroom on the boat, chips and mango/peach salsa. The crew was helpful, personable, deferential, funny, and very service-oriented (including to kids). Too many times we see such indifference from the DMs. Briefings were informative, and DMs did their best to point out marine life to our group. Crew was bilingual -- communicated with ease. If you want diving in the East, seek out La Casa Del Mar. Boats are great , large and comfortable Newton 46'. Arrange dive plans early, and the owner might permit a discount: (787) 860 3484

 

[shedive]

Its no the worts dive shop there is, I could be better thought, the bad thing about them its that they have been liying about their PADI level, they sell themselfes as if they were a 5 STAR PADI RESORT whe the barely have one star. This does no show profesionalism at all.

 

[rjdiegel]

I was intending to get my two daughters certified with a trip to PR this year. I corresponded several times with the Casa Del Mar staff to schedule the dives and point out clearly that this would be required certification dives for my daughter.

Upon arrival the front desk staff were very confused about the reservation and purpose and began to blame me for their confusion... Once we cleared up this confusion (which cost me $225), they told me that we were unable to dive on Saturday (although all written communicaiton clearly had Saturday indicated). This pushed us to schedule two dives on Sunday.

Well, Hurricane Irene had other plans on Sunday, so we were unable to make our dive schedule work. We returned to the US without sufficient dive time and no certifications (the whol purpose).

The Diver Master and staff were good, but the adminstrative staff ruined the scheduled part of our vacation. BEWARE!!!

Bob D

 

[jordanmk23]

I just get back from Puerto Rico and I have a blast. I do not recommend it for hard core divers since the majority of the dives sites are nice, but not comparable to Bonaire or Asia. However, Puerto Rico offers something that others destinations cannot offer: many family activities, luxury hotels and numerous outdoor activities.

We visit the rainforest, a must do activity, beautiful hiking and waterfalls, we visit the Bioluminescent Bay in Fajardo, it was okay, but too crowded , we went zip lining and of course visited Old san Juan and many white sand beaches in Luquillo and Vieques. It was a great trip for my whole family

Now, let’s talk about diving: I dove with several dive operators since we stayed there for two weeks. La Casa del Mar and Sea ventures in Fajardo and Island Scuba Puerto Rico in Guanica.

Island Scuba is a small operation well organized with a small boat and nice dive sites, but nothing special to mention above any other dive operator in the Caribbean. The divemaster was paying more attention about taking pictures than taking care of the divers.

Sea ventures, they have two shops, one in Fajardo and one in Humacao. The boats were not well maintained plus the service is average to poor. We were not able to dive in Fajardo since they did not have enough people and they canceled the trip. We were told the same day….We dove in Humacao even that weather was not very good and seas were very rough, the boat was a jet boat so, the ride was not fun but the sites are not too far. The sites were nice with enough sea life to enjoy but very bad visibility. Service onboard was not really good, just average.

La Casa del Mar, they are located on a luxury hotel, a Waldorf Astoria, so that give us, some expectations about the service and we were not wrong. The service that these guys provide is remarkable; they really go the extra mile to make the divers feel comfortable. They provide a clean towel after diving, offer water and refreshments during all the trip, chips, salsa and great fruit salads platter.

We went out 3 days with them. We dove Culebra, one hour ride on a very clean Newton 46’. The dives were nice, typically Caribbean sea life and decent visibility. Onboard we have a great lunch, refreshments, fruits, bread and even free beer after the last dive. After the dives, we did make a stop in Luis Pena, a beautiful white and beach and we were the only ones there. A beautiful day and so relaxing. It is so great to find people that they really enjoy making customers feel happy.

Second day we dove Diablo and it was great since a very short ride from the Hotel and the dive was good enough, clear water and large amount of small creatures but what really make our day it was a manatee who join us the whole dive . Service onboard was as great as the day before.

Third day, Saturday, we dove in St Thomas, we left casa del mar at 7:00 am and the fast Newton 46’ take us to the first site in 2 hours. I will say that this site, sail rock is a world class diving, 100’ + visibility, 150’ deep pinnacles , large fish, nurse sharks and many turtles keep you busy the whole dive. Second dive was even better , we dove a wreck WIT Shoal, a 360’ long wreck with a lot of selife and good areas to penetrate. It was an amazing dive. Back onboard the same first class services and we did a 2 hours stop in St Thomas for tax free shopping and lunch. It was great.