Just a quick recap of our trip. First of all, thank you all for the advice. I ended up diving with the husband and we ended up doing 1 dive in St Croix and 1 in St Lucia.
We went with Cane Bay Dive Shop in St Croix and were sorely disappointed. Their customer service is non existent and the dive was just ok. They weren't thrilled we wanted to do our own thing (kept mentioning to other divers that we were lucky they were letting us do our own dive....this is a shore dive, we are certified, there's no rule we need a guide)
...and had we done the dive with the group, we would have been with DSDs with a max depth of 40 ft. We are experienced and it is an easy dive to navigate. But What really got me was the young lady who was stationed at the Cane Bay Dive Shop located in Cane Bay.
I have my PADI e-card on my phone but I need internet access to bring it up, she said they had no Internet (there's free wifi right next door which she failed to mention), said it didn't matter to see my card because I already signed my life away (in the liability release). Wow ....
After our mediocre dive, she made a huge deal of the fact we wanted to rinse our gear and ourselves (30 seconds max! We understand about conserving water). She glared (and I mean, evil eye glare that could melt you) at us the entire time and made us uncomfortable. There really wasn't anywhere to hang our stuff to dry. Then we had to wait in Cane Bay (where there isn't too much to do) for hours for the taxi (that we paid for) to take us back. We couldn't leave fast enough. It was just not fun. Guess I should have stuck with SCUBA whom I have used prior and know they are good.
In St Lucia, we dove with Dive Fair Helen and had the absolute opposite, absolutely loved it. We did "Superman's Flight" which was phenomenal, the sheer face dropping down to the abyss. That's a real wall dive to me. We even got to see a sea horse! The divemaster was so friendly and knowledgeable! The owner, Andre, truly enjoys what he does and is so passionate about conservation, it was refreshing to see. Boat was very comfortable and dive gear was in good shape. Had a hose onboard to rinse yourself and belongings.
Overall, I will be recommending Dive Fair Helen for my customers going to St Lucia and SCUBA in St Croix for those going to St Croix which happens fairly regularly since we are only the next island over!
