Rarotonga/Papeete/Raiatea/Bora Bora dive operators

[deepstops]

I'm doing a one-way reconnaissance trip from Sydney to Honolulu on Rhapsody of the Seas in April 2009 and would appreciate any "must know" information or suggestions on dive operators in the following ports. (I already have the info for Lahaina on Maui.)

1. 18-Apr-09 Rarotonga, Cook Islands
2. 20-Apr-09 Papeete, Tahiti French Polynesia
3. 21-Apr-09 Raiatea, French Polynesia
4. 22-Apr-09 Bora Bora, French Polynesia

 

[James Bond boat entry]

Lucky you!!!

Check out Dive Rarotonga, Kat and Ed run a safe dive operation.

 

[SharkMonkey]

Go to Top Dive.com they have everything you're looking for!

 

[budaman]

As mentioned, you can check with Top Dive as they have facilities on Bora Bora & Tahiti. You might also check with Bathy's Club as they have recently opened up shop on those two islands also. On Raiatea, we have used Hemisphere Sub and really liked the operation.....same with Pacific Divers on Rarotonga.

Our first cruise was on the Rhapsody when she was based in Galveston....she's a very nice ship.....not too big, not too small.

Mike

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[deepstops]

The Vision class ships are my favorites of the line and Legend and Rhapsody are running all the "cool" trips now in the Pacific

I just got back on Saturday from the Radiance OTS 15 days San Diego/HI/San Diego and we ran through 30' seas on the return leg and I was amazed at how well that class handled it.

Thank you all for all the leads so far.

 

[budaman]

A friend of a friend was on that cruise & said they were getting water on Deck 9:shocked2: Must have been a heck of a ride!

We returned from French Polynesia in August after doing the Star Flyer cruise...that is the way to see the islands......don't think I would want to cross the Pacific on that ship though.

Mike

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[TSandM]

We had very good experiences with Top Dive in Bora Bora and in Papeete (and even better in Rangiroa). Among other nice things, their business model appears to involve a relationship with a high-end hotel (where possible) so you have a dunk tank and often a shower and swimming pool available to you between or after dives. We did three dives with Top Dive in Papeete -- The first was a shark feeding dive, and in general, through the whole trip, those didn't thrill me. But the second day, we asked NOT to do a shark feeding dive, and saw a really beautiful wall, healthy corals, and a couple of simple but interesting wrecks (including a stone fish on one of them!)

They run fairly small boats (but not RIBs) and go back to the dive shop between dives. The Papeete operation DOES dive off unattended boats, but they were on moorings. Nitrox is available (and I heard a rumor that there is no extra charge for it, but I don't know that for sure). I'm a little mixed up, with all the different operators we dove with, but I believe that Bora Bora uses Al100s. Papeete uses 80s.

Should you end up there, I would NOT recommend the Top Dive operation in Moorea, for a number of reasons.

 

[Diver Lori]

I highly recommend Top Dive on Rangiroa with Marco & Katie. But unlike TSM, I found Top Dive on Bora Bora to be inconsistent from day to day, decent staff first day, totally annoying staff the second. We only dived one day on Moorea and found them adequate, nothing remarkable either way.

On Bora Bora we were picked up at our resort by boat. On Moorea we were picked up by van, and dropped off by boat.

On Rangiroa, we walked back and forth to the dive op as it was only a short walk down the beach from the Kia Ora. On the days we were schlepping gear, they picked us up/dropped us off.

Overall, the diving on Rangiroa is not to be missed. Bora Bora and Moorea were mediocre to average, much better diving elsewhere.

 

[TSandM]

Overall, the diving on Rangiroa is not to be missed. Bora Bora and Moorea were mediocre to average, much better diving elsewhere.

Agreed. I don't think I would dive Moorea again.

 

[deepstops]

I highly recommend Top Dive on Rangiroa with Marco & Katie. But unlike TSM, I found Top Dive on Bora Bora to be inconsistent from day to day, decent staff first day, totally annoying staff the second. We only dived one day on Moorea and found them adequate, nothing remarkable either way.

On Bora Bora we were picked up at our resort by boat. On Moorea we were picked up by van, and dropped off by boat.
On Rangiroa, we walked back and forth to the dive op as it was only a short walk down the beach from the Kia Ora. On the days we were schlepping gear, they picked us up/dropped us off.

Overall, the diving on Rangiroa is not to be missed. Bora Bora and Moorea were mediocre to average, much better diving elsewhere.

Agreed. I don't think I would dive Moorea again.

I appreciate all the solid information everyone's giving, I know it'll help me make the right choices on who to dive with.

I've already got a response from Dive Rarotonga with all the information I'll need so I think that one is basically a done deal.

Just to clarify, these dives will be done from a cruise ship so itinerary changes aren't really my option to make. The ports of call in FP are Papeete, Raiatea, and Bora Bora. It's looking like TopDive should be good for Papeete and Bora Bora and I'll be emailing them along with Hemisphere Sub in Raiatea tonight.