JoeTPhilly
Contributor
I see there is a Scubaboard trip scheduled for Anthony's Key Resort. I was just there this month and figured I would do a report. Mainly of how they do everything because it appears they follow the same script week in and week out.
This was a group trip so I purchased travel insurance for the cost of the package. I used points for the airfare for myself and my girlfriend. Airfare is ridiculous these days so luckily I had points I could use. Travel insurance seems like such a scam but I purchased it anyway. You never know when Covid will strike, so it was good to have some peace of mind.
Speaking of Covid, there is no entry testing for those who are fully vaccinated. You need to show your physical vaccination card at the airport so make sure you have it. I think I even had to upload it on their Immigration Precheck website. You must set up an account and do this or you won't even be allowed to board the plane to go to Roatan. Here is the link to the entry requirements Honduras COVID-19 Entry Requirements | Anthony's Key Resort | Roatan. Here is the link to the recheck INM - Prechequeo Migratorio. I am sure your group leader will send these out as it gets closer to the Scubaboard trip. Also, Anthony's Key Resort has their own registration and waiver forms that need to be filled out Registration and Waiver | Arrival Forms | Anthony's Key Resort. You will need to upload your certification card too.
At the airport, immigration was quite extensive with fingerprinting and photos along with the check of vaccination cards. After clearing immigration and getting your bags there was a representative from Anthony's with a sign. You leave your bags with him as they will get trucked over to the resort and delivered to your room. I kept my backpack with my passport, electronics and regulators.
Registration was easy and they attach a colored wristband denoting what package you purchased. It was blue for diving. Snorkel package people have another color as do non-divers. Your room key is on a bungee wrist band. They had sandwiches brought into registration for lunch since the kitchen was closed at the time. Divers were told to go check in at the dive shop after registration.
We went down to the dive shop and I checked in. I purchased the Nitrox package. It came out to $161 for the week and I just signed to have it billed to my room. You really never need to carry cash as everything can be signed to your room. The had my certification card I uploaded but not my nitrox card. I asked if they wanted me to get it to show them but they didn't want to see it. I found that a bit interesting... They use 30.5% Nitrox and was told the orientation was at 7:15am. I was given my locker key and attached it to the room key ring on the bungee. Note, your boat assignment is for the entire week. It was/is set by the group organizer so people wishing to dive together are on the same boat. The locker assignment method is kind of dumb in that everybody on the same boat was in the same row and was bumping into each other when stowing gear while other rows were empty. I picked up my weights and then went to check out my locker to stow the weights. The BC hanger was broken so I went back and they provided a plastic BC hanger. There were a couple of plastic clothes hangers in the locker and I had a travel wetsuit hanger in my luggage so I used that too. It was nice to have the locker to store your gear after rinsing. I only brought my dive computer and wet notes back to the room to download my dive information.
After getting the diving squared away, we took the boat over to our room. Our luggage wasn't there yet so we took the boat over to the Bailey's Key to check out the dolphins. There is a snorkel area on Bailey's Key but it looked like a pain to get in and out of the water and I don't think my girlfriend ever ended up snorkeling there. We headed back over to our room to unpack and I prepared my gear for the following morning. We showered and took the boat over to the Fish ID presentation. It was okay. We then walked over to the restaurant for dinner.
For meals, they have assigned hours. I think they serve dinner from 6-9pm. I am sure there is a schedule somewhere on their website. Also, the tables are assigned. For example, our group had three tables at which we could sit. We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. The menu has 5 or 6 options for each meal. There are also a couple of paid selections which can be charged to your room. The drinks are all paid options. The restaurant and service was great but I found charging for soft drinks very annoying. $3 for a can of soda? I can understand charging for alcohol but for soft drinks? Come on. After dinner we took the boat back to the room to get to sleep as it was a long travel day.
I woke up early Sunday morning to bring my gear to the boat and go to the Nitrox orientation. You will be in the same seat on the boat each day. The Nitrox orientation is fairly swift. There are 3 analyzers mounted on a table each with a yoke regulator set attached to an air tank for calibration. Analyze your tanks, fill out log and masking tape to attach to tank. You then place your tank in the row for your assigned boat. They will cart over the tanks and put them in the wells of your seat. Several things to mention. This first day was a mess with so many people needing to analyze their tanks. It gets better during the week as some would analyze the night before or early in the morning while some didn't even analyze their gas. DIN regulators. If diving DIN, it requires some extra work. Prior to analyzing your tank you have to track down the correct Allen wrench to make sure the tank insert can be loosened. You don't want to analyze only to realize on the boat the insert is stuck and can't be budged. I have an adapter, but I don't like that it places the regulator close to the back of my head. I left a yoke 1st stage at home. If I had brought it I probably would have switched over everything.
The diving is 3 dives a day Sunday to Friday with night dives on Tuesday and Thursday nights. The first dive is usually at 8:30am but sometimes it is earlier if going to a wreck or something. You return to the dock after each dive with the exception of Monday when you go to Maya Key. The second dive is at 10:30am. The third dive is after lunch at 2:30pm. For the night dives you usually leave around 5:30pm. On Monday, you do the first dive, return to dock and head out for the second dive. After the second dive the boat goes to Maya Key for lunch and other activities. Non-divers get bussed over. After Maya Key, you get back on the boat and do the 3rd dive before returning to the dock. All the sites are a quick boat ride and the captain of our boat was always driving fast. It made it difficult to set up so I would recommend doing so before leaving the dock. These are pretty much all moored dive sites where the dive master leads you around and back to the boat. I was not a fan of our dive master but all in all it was good diving.
Snorkeling. I went snorkeling on Maya Key with my girlfriend and it was good. She went snorkeling at the shore diving area and said it was good too.
Dolphins. My girlfriend did the dolphin snorkel package. First half hour is a dolphin encounter where you meet and they give you a kiss etc. The second half hour you snorkel where the dolphins are. She liked it a lot.
Spa. Girlfriend also went for a massage at the spa and said it was good.
I was worried she would be bored with not much to do there but she said she wasn't. Just wanted to let others know that there isn't a whole lot for a non-diver to do so you can plan accordingly.
Miscellaneous:
I wore a 3mm full for two main reasons; mosquitos and banging up of shins on the dive ladder. My girlfriend had a lot of bites even while using a repellent with deet.
You need to bring a water bottle. The boats don't have any snacks or bottled water. They have a cooler but no cups. On the key and also on the dock there are ice and water dispensers. We had water bottles with charcoal filters as I wasn't taking any chances with their water.
Towels. The rooms have blue towels you can bring on the boat, to the pool or beach etc.
Rooms are simple but nice. We had a king sized bed and there was also a small bed in the room. Beds are comically high off the ground. Also, mattress could be replaced as it was deeply indented. We had a private deck over the water with hammocks, chairs and a table. AC was good but we ended up turning it off and just opening the window. Plenty of hot water in the shower. Saw some ants around the sink outside the bathroom so we made sure to put any snacks in the refrigerator. You might want to get some snacks because everything is pretty much shut down by 9pm
Shark dive. If you do the shark dive it replaces one of the morning dives. It was $115. It was on the other side of island. They bussed us over after we loaded gear on the boat. Dive was in rough seas but they had lines to get down. It was a fun dive. We took the boat back and it was kind of rough but not too bad.
Tipping. It is done at the end. I used envelopes for the Captain and DM. The restaurant staff wants you to tip by name. We got their names and just wrote out envelopes which you can get from the reservation desk. Housekeeping got an envelope you leave in a safe at reservations. I tipped the boat shuttle guys too. Kind of a pain with all the separate tipping but that is how they do it there.
Covid. I ended up testing positive Sunday morning on return so I caught it while in Roatan. Be careful.
If you have any questions I will try and help.
This was a group trip so I purchased travel insurance for the cost of the package. I used points for the airfare for myself and my girlfriend. Airfare is ridiculous these days so luckily I had points I could use. Travel insurance seems like such a scam but I purchased it anyway. You never know when Covid will strike, so it was good to have some peace of mind.
Speaking of Covid, there is no entry testing for those who are fully vaccinated. You need to show your physical vaccination card at the airport so make sure you have it. I think I even had to upload it on their Immigration Precheck website. You must set up an account and do this or you won't even be allowed to board the plane to go to Roatan. Here is the link to the entry requirements Honduras COVID-19 Entry Requirements | Anthony's Key Resort | Roatan. Here is the link to the recheck INM - Prechequeo Migratorio. I am sure your group leader will send these out as it gets closer to the Scubaboard trip. Also, Anthony's Key Resort has their own registration and waiver forms that need to be filled out Registration and Waiver | Arrival Forms | Anthony's Key Resort. You will need to upload your certification card too.
At the airport, immigration was quite extensive with fingerprinting and photos along with the check of vaccination cards. After clearing immigration and getting your bags there was a representative from Anthony's with a sign. You leave your bags with him as they will get trucked over to the resort and delivered to your room. I kept my backpack with my passport, electronics and regulators.
Registration was easy and they attach a colored wristband denoting what package you purchased. It was blue for diving. Snorkel package people have another color as do non-divers. Your room key is on a bungee wrist band. They had sandwiches brought into registration for lunch since the kitchen was closed at the time. Divers were told to go check in at the dive shop after registration.
We went down to the dive shop and I checked in. I purchased the Nitrox package. It came out to $161 for the week and I just signed to have it billed to my room. You really never need to carry cash as everything can be signed to your room. The had my certification card I uploaded but not my nitrox card. I asked if they wanted me to get it to show them but they didn't want to see it. I found that a bit interesting... They use 30.5% Nitrox and was told the orientation was at 7:15am. I was given my locker key and attached it to the room key ring on the bungee. Note, your boat assignment is for the entire week. It was/is set by the group organizer so people wishing to dive together are on the same boat. The locker assignment method is kind of dumb in that everybody on the same boat was in the same row and was bumping into each other when stowing gear while other rows were empty. I picked up my weights and then went to check out my locker to stow the weights. The BC hanger was broken so I went back and they provided a plastic BC hanger. There were a couple of plastic clothes hangers in the locker and I had a travel wetsuit hanger in my luggage so I used that too. It was nice to have the locker to store your gear after rinsing. I only brought my dive computer and wet notes back to the room to download my dive information.
After getting the diving squared away, we took the boat over to our room. Our luggage wasn't there yet so we took the boat over to the Bailey's Key to check out the dolphins. There is a snorkel area on Bailey's Key but it looked like a pain to get in and out of the water and I don't think my girlfriend ever ended up snorkeling there. We headed back over to our room to unpack and I prepared my gear for the following morning. We showered and took the boat over to the Fish ID presentation. It was okay. We then walked over to the restaurant for dinner.
For meals, they have assigned hours. I think they serve dinner from 6-9pm. I am sure there is a schedule somewhere on their website. Also, the tables are assigned. For example, our group had three tables at which we could sit. We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. The menu has 5 or 6 options for each meal. There are also a couple of paid selections which can be charged to your room. The drinks are all paid options. The restaurant and service was great but I found charging for soft drinks very annoying. $3 for a can of soda? I can understand charging for alcohol but for soft drinks? Come on. After dinner we took the boat back to the room to get to sleep as it was a long travel day.
I woke up early Sunday morning to bring my gear to the boat and go to the Nitrox orientation. You will be in the same seat on the boat each day. The Nitrox orientation is fairly swift. There are 3 analyzers mounted on a table each with a yoke regulator set attached to an air tank for calibration. Analyze your tanks, fill out log and masking tape to attach to tank. You then place your tank in the row for your assigned boat. They will cart over the tanks and put them in the wells of your seat. Several things to mention. This first day was a mess with so many people needing to analyze their tanks. It gets better during the week as some would analyze the night before or early in the morning while some didn't even analyze their gas. DIN regulators. If diving DIN, it requires some extra work. Prior to analyzing your tank you have to track down the correct Allen wrench to make sure the tank insert can be loosened. You don't want to analyze only to realize on the boat the insert is stuck and can't be budged. I have an adapter, but I don't like that it places the regulator close to the back of my head. I left a yoke 1st stage at home. If I had brought it I probably would have switched over everything.
The diving is 3 dives a day Sunday to Friday with night dives on Tuesday and Thursday nights. The first dive is usually at 8:30am but sometimes it is earlier if going to a wreck or something. You return to the dock after each dive with the exception of Monday when you go to Maya Key. The second dive is at 10:30am. The third dive is after lunch at 2:30pm. For the night dives you usually leave around 5:30pm. On Monday, you do the first dive, return to dock and head out for the second dive. After the second dive the boat goes to Maya Key for lunch and other activities. Non-divers get bussed over. After Maya Key, you get back on the boat and do the 3rd dive before returning to the dock. All the sites are a quick boat ride and the captain of our boat was always driving fast. It made it difficult to set up so I would recommend doing so before leaving the dock. These are pretty much all moored dive sites where the dive master leads you around and back to the boat. I was not a fan of our dive master but all in all it was good diving.
Snorkeling. I went snorkeling on Maya Key with my girlfriend and it was good. She went snorkeling at the shore diving area and said it was good too.
Dolphins. My girlfriend did the dolphin snorkel package. First half hour is a dolphin encounter where you meet and they give you a kiss etc. The second half hour you snorkel where the dolphins are. She liked it a lot.
Spa. Girlfriend also went for a massage at the spa and said it was good.
I was worried she would be bored with not much to do there but she said she wasn't. Just wanted to let others know that there isn't a whole lot for a non-diver to do so you can plan accordingly.
Miscellaneous:
I wore a 3mm full for two main reasons; mosquitos and banging up of shins on the dive ladder. My girlfriend had a lot of bites even while using a repellent with deet.
You need to bring a water bottle. The boats don't have any snacks or bottled water. They have a cooler but no cups. On the key and also on the dock there are ice and water dispensers. We had water bottles with charcoal filters as I wasn't taking any chances with their water.
Towels. The rooms have blue towels you can bring on the boat, to the pool or beach etc.
Rooms are simple but nice. We had a king sized bed and there was also a small bed in the room. Beds are comically high off the ground. Also, mattress could be replaced as it was deeply indented. We had a private deck over the water with hammocks, chairs and a table. AC was good but we ended up turning it off and just opening the window. Plenty of hot water in the shower. Saw some ants around the sink outside the bathroom so we made sure to put any snacks in the refrigerator. You might want to get some snacks because everything is pretty much shut down by 9pm
Shark dive. If you do the shark dive it replaces one of the morning dives. It was $115. It was on the other side of island. They bussed us over after we loaded gear on the boat. Dive was in rough seas but they had lines to get down. It was a fun dive. We took the boat back and it was kind of rough but not too bad.
Tipping. It is done at the end. I used envelopes for the Captain and DM. The restaurant staff wants you to tip by name. We got their names and just wrote out envelopes which you can get from the reservation desk. Housekeeping got an envelope you leave in a safe at reservations. I tipped the boat shuttle guys too. Kind of a pain with all the separate tipping but that is how they do it there.
Covid. I ended up testing positive Sunday morning on return so I caught it while in Roatan. Be careful.
If you have any questions I will try and help.
