Whodat26
Registered
I did a lot of research about scuba diving in Jamaica. Almost everything I read about it said "don't bother with it and just go to Dunn's River Falls". Then I found the dive op, Jamaica Scuba Divers, on Trip Advisor with overwhelming good reviews. I called and spoke with Christian who answered some questions for me in a timely manner. We paid our deposit on PayPal and it was booked very easily. We arrived in Ocho Rios, Jamaica by the Carnival Freedom. Since the Carnival Freedom departs from Fort Lauderdal, FL ships time was an hour ahead of Jamaica. Christian was able to accommodate our early arrival and picked up my party of five outside the gates of the cruise ship pier and we were on our way to Runaway Bay, Jamaica. After about a thirty min drive we arrived at FDR resort where Scuba Jamaica is the resort's dive ops. Upon our arrival my party was given their rental gear (which was in great condition). They already had it set up with the right sizes since we sent that info in an e-mail. The reef is close to shore which means short boat rides from the boat Captain JR and getting to do our surface interval on land at the resort. Marcia was our Dive Master who was great. She was very thorough and gave a great pre-dive briefing and review of safety measures.
Our first dive was a wall dive at a site they called the Canyon. It was one of the best sites I have ever dove. On our second dive we were joined by a diver from the resort who we quizzed about the FDR. He had nothing but positive reviews for the resort and their staff. The second dive was Paradise reef.
On both dive sites we were amazed by the marine life. I could not believe the coral and fish we saw. We did a three tank dive in Grand Cayman the day before this dive and Runaway Bay, Jamaica was just as good (my wife even preferred it). Total surprise for us considering all of the negativity concerning Jamaican Scuba diving. We snorkeled in Montego Bay a few years ago and it was disappointing. Dead coral and no fish. It's a shame that the rest of Jamaica isn't as passionate about protecting its reefs as Christian and his team.
We were so impressed with the facility's attention to details and the ease of scuba diving with Scuba Jamaica that after our dives we asked Christian for a tour of the resort. He found a staff member to give the tour, which was very nice and very kid friendly.
Christian gave us a ride back to the cruise ship pier in Ocho Rios with ample time for us to shop and get back on the ship.
In all, I would say that Scuba Jamaica is talented, fun, and above all safe. They gave my family experiences together that we'll treasure (for instance, my daughters got to see a sea turtle at Paradise). The sea life was abundant. And the coral reef did not disappoint. Christian and his gang have a great thing going on in Runaway Bay and I look forward to visiting again.
Our first dive was a wall dive at a site they called the Canyon. It was one of the best sites I have ever dove. On our second dive we were joined by a diver from the resort who we quizzed about the FDR. He had nothing but positive reviews for the resort and their staff. The second dive was Paradise reef.
On both dive sites we were amazed by the marine life. I could not believe the coral and fish we saw. We did a three tank dive in Grand Cayman the day before this dive and Runaway Bay, Jamaica was just as good (my wife even preferred it). Total surprise for us considering all of the negativity concerning Jamaican Scuba diving. We snorkeled in Montego Bay a few years ago and it was disappointing. Dead coral and no fish. It's a shame that the rest of Jamaica isn't as passionate about protecting its reefs as Christian and his team.
We were so impressed with the facility's attention to details and the ease of scuba diving with Scuba Jamaica that after our dives we asked Christian for a tour of the resort. He found a staff member to give the tour, which was very nice and very kid friendly.
Christian gave us a ride back to the cruise ship pier in Ocho Rios with ample time for us to shop and get back on the ship.
In all, I would say that Scuba Jamaica is talented, fun, and above all safe. They gave my family experiences together that we'll treasure (for instance, my daughters got to see a sea turtle at Paradise). The sea life was abundant. And the coral reef did not disappoint. Christian and his gang have a great thing going on in Runaway Bay and I look forward to visiting again.
