St. Thomas advice needed

[chivasdrinker]

Hi SCUBABOARD,
I am trying to plan a diving excursion while visiting St. Thomas via the RCCL Freedom of the Seas stop on 7/15/09. I have both cert. divers and non cert. divers aboard. The non-certified divers want to do a discovery dive, and I want to do 2-3 tank dives on that stop. I am looking for a dive shop that can do both, but allow us to dive together on the discovery dive, and then separately for the certified divers. Can someone recommend a reputable but reasonable dive shop to help me? If we have to separate, so be it (still looking for advice). I also would like to understand what the best dive sites are in St. Thomas. Thanks in advance.

 

[Jim Ernst]

Contact Brian Laforce.

916-519-2347.

He is an IDC Staff instructor and is there now and teaching there, Brian is one of the finest Instructors I know and he is doing both private instruction and also helping one of the shops there as well.

You can't go wrong through Brian!

 

[diversteve]

Try Admiralty, they'll pick you up off the Cruise Ship dock with their boat and also do Discover Dives.
Diving St. Thomas Virgin Islands - Admiralty Dive Center

Blue Island is another option, not sure if they do Discover Dives though. They also pickup off the cruise dock.
http://www.blueislanddivers.com/index.htm

Most likely the Cruise dive is at Coki Beach, it's not great...would be OK for a Discover Dive, it's sandy, shallow and a fairly nice beach.
I think they bus you out there as it's about 20-30mins. from Charlotte Amalie to the East End.

moved this thread to the Lesser Antilles forum for more exposure to St. Thomas related resources...

 

[Jim Ernst]

Try Admiralty, they'll pick you up off the Cruise Ship dock with their boat and also do Discover Dives.
Diving St. Thomas Virgin Islands - Admiralty Dive Center

Blue Island is another option, not sure if they do Discover Dives though. They also pickup off the cruise dock.
St. Thomas scuba diving

Most likely the Cruise dive is at Coki Beach, it's not great...would be OK for a Discover Dive, it's sandy, shallow and a fairly nice beach.
I think they bus you out there as it's about 20-30mins. from Charlotte Amalie in the East End.

moved this thread to the Lesser Antilles forum for more exposure to St. Thomas related resources...

Thanks Steve, Now I remember who Brian is helping out!

Admiralty!!

 

[chivasdrinker]

Thanks guys, looks like I need a geography lesson! -

 

[Rhone Man]

Another vote for Admiralty. The owner, Duane, looks like an escapee from a Grateful Dead roadie's convention, but they will make sure you have a safe and fun experience.

 

[wjbrandt]

You can also check Red Hook Dive Center. They do a free pool lesson in the morning at the Wyndham and then an afternoon dive for the discover divers. You could do a two tank dive in the morning with them while your friends do the lesson and then dive with the discover divers in the afternoon.
Enjoy the diving.