Trip report - Beaches Boscobel (stay away)

[Ken abucs]

We just got back from Jamaica last week. I wanted to post sooner, but I was so upset I needed to cool down a little first. The boat is great, it can carry 34 divers for a 2 tank trip, after that it’s all down hill.

We did manage to have some good dives, but due to the bad weather we only got in 6 dives in an 9 day stay. The problem is all the dive sites are close to land, so when it rains, the silt from the rivers drops the visibility to zero. There are very few fish left, I assume this is because of all the fish traps we saw while diving.

o The brochure highlights “unlimited scuba”. It also states that “everyone can dive twice daily”. The limits to scuba are numerous:
- There is no diving on Sunday.
- Divers who take the resort course can only dive once a day.
- They only take 15 divers at the 9:00 dive and 8 divers for the 11:00 dive.
- The 11:00 dive is primarily a training dive for the resort course students, it barely counts as a dive for certified divers.
o When I asked about better dive sites I was told you had to purchase a private dive to get there.
o Scheduling golf and scuba was a major hassle. The water sports schedule is not compatible with the golf bus schedule You need to be at water sports at 8:30 to sign up for scuba the next day, but the last early morning bus for golf leaves at 8:00 so if you want to golf today, and dive tomorrow, you are SOL.
o The regulators are not in acceptable condition.
- Some had evidence of salt water in the 1st stage.
- Most of the hoses had cracks on the outer covering. While this in and of itself does not indicate imminent failure, it exposes the core to sea water. If it were my gear the hoses would be replaced.
- The seats on some of the regulators were so beat up that some couldn’t make a leak free seal with the tank.
o Some of the tank valves leaked, again indicating poor maintenance.
o The tanks were improperly filled from 2800 to 3500 PSI. At least 1 tank only had 1500 PSI this could create an out of air situation for an inattentive diver.
o The dive staff didn’t use a sign in/out system, just a very informal head count.
o The dive staff didn’t enforce or even encourage dive buddies, They said we’re all diving as a group, so every one is your buddy!?!?

 

[DeputyDan]

Sorry, your trip was not up to par.

I would never "and have never" stayed at a Beaches or Sandals. To me they are just a Pod people place on land.

I have a problem with things like "Scuba" as an add on to a vacation. Not that its wrong, it just that it alsways has given me an uncomfortable feeling.

Alot, like some folk's issues with cattle boats.

 

[Jamdiver]

We just got back from Jamaica last week. I wanted to post sooner, but I was so upset I needed to cool down a little first. The boat is great, it can carry 34 divers for a 2 tank trip, after that it’s all down hill.
http://www.scubaboard.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=30561&stc=1&d=1142083763

We did manage to have some good dives, but due to the bad weather we only got in 6 dives in an 9 day stay. The problem is all the dive sites are close to land, so when it rains, the silt from the rivers drops the visibility to zero. There are very few fish left, I assume this is because of all the fish traps we saw while diving.
http://www.scubaboard.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=30562&stc=1&d=1142084322


o The brochure highlights “unlimited scuba”. It also states that “everyone can dive twice daily”. The limits to scuba are numerous:
- There is no diving on Sunday.
- Divers who take the resort course can only dive once a day.
- They only take 15 divers at the 9:00 dive and 8 divers for the 11:00 dive.
- The 11:00 dive is primarily a training dive for the resort course students, it barely counts as a dive for certified divers.
o When I asked about better dive sites I was told you had to purchase a private dive to get there.
o Scheduling golf and scuba was a major hassle. The water sports schedule is not compatible with the golf bus schedule You need to be at water sports at 8:30 to sign up for scuba the next day, but the last early morning bus for golf leaves at 8:00 so if you want to golf today, and dive tomorrow, you are SOL.
o The regulators are not in acceptable condition.
- Some had evidence of salt water in the 1st stage.
- Most of the hoses had cracks on the outer covering. While this in and of itself does not indicate imminent failure, it exposes the core to sea water. If it were my gear the hoses would be replaced.
- The seats on some of the regulators were so beat up that some couldn’t make a leak free seal with the tank.
o Some of the tank valves leaked, again indicating poor maintenance.
o The tanks were improperly filled from 2800 to 3500 PSI. At least 1 tank only had 1500 PSI this could create an out of air situation for an inattentive diver.
o The dive staff didn’t use a sign in/out system, just a very informal head count.
o The dive staff didn’t enforce or even encourage dive buddies, They said we’re all diving as a group, so every one is your buddy!?!?

Sorry to hear that Ken, can't say that i'm terribly suprised to hear of their diving procedures, rarely do I ever dive with hotels or dive ops here.
But just inquiring over the phone, I get the distinct impression that they couldn't care less about diving for serious divers.
Diving for most resorts here seems to just be something to add to their brochures as another activity.

I've actually been on that boat, although not with tourists as we had rented out the boat privately through our local dive club.
As to the site selection, again not suprised, scuba diving is not a priority for most of these hotels so they go to the same nearby sites.
When were you here??
I ask because it hasn't really rained in the past 3-4 weeks and the vis has been exceptional.

There's pretty good diving around Port antoino and blue hole it really depends on where you go, visiting sites near the mouths of rivers should be an automatic no no if it rains.
The sites closer to land are fished out actually, which is usually why I dive in marine preserves or sites way out to sea...

Anyway really sorry to hear about your experience, but all inclusive hotels suck somewhat if you want to do multiple dives a day.

 

[Ken abucs]

When were you here??
I ask because it hasn't really rained in the past 3-4 weeks and the vis has been exceptional.

I was there 24Feb - 4 Mar. It rained Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Quite heavily at times. When the rain stopped, you could see what had been turqoise seas had turned brown with silt.

I wasn't expecting Belize or Cozumel, but I was at least expecting decent weather and a safe dive operation. Oh well, toght lesson learned. I hope I can prevent others from making the same mistake.

Ken

 

[del_mo]

Pretty much the same thing at Breezes in Runaway Bay except no more than 8 divers and we dove Sunday. Run off or rough seas did prevent a number of dives. While a DM guided us, and we enjoyed the DM's quite a bit, it was a race from point A to point B. If you lagged behind to actually look at something, you were left behind. After each dive, I came back with at least 1500 psi.

However, we still had fun and plan to return again this year. Great diving? Maybe not. Lot's of fun overall? You bet.

 

[caymaniac]

Jamaica is not associated with great dive trips, it is mostly fished out. And then, your second sentence is about, poor dive saftey, poor attitude, and general negligence. If you have read the reports and dicussions off the SB, you would have been alerted to the problems that you've encountered. Possibly, your next dive trip will be more successful. I hope you have many more dive trips, just keep a look-out for your destination on the SB, and ask question about the concerns that you might have.

DSDO

 

[HowardE]

It sounds to me like those all inclusive resorts, like beaches and sandals or whatever would be like a cruise ship, that didn't leave port. I would expect the dive activities to be the same at one of those all inclusive. Geared toward tourists, not serious divers, and as an activity to list on their brochure or to put on a TV commercial. I suspect that if you had sought out more serious dive shops geared towards serious diving, rather than the hotel's deal, you may have possibly had a better time?

 

[Missdirected]

I was there 24Feb - 4 Mar. It rained Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Quite heavily at times. When the rain stopped, you could see what had been turqoise seas had turned brown with silt.

I wasn't expecting Belize or Cozumel, but I was at least expecting decent weather and a safe dive operation. Oh well, toght lesson learned. I hope I can prevent others from making the same mistake.

Ken

I understand you are upset but you can't blame the whole island for that. Defifnitly should have checked here first, perhaps you could have avoided all your frustration. As for the weather....I think your on your own there. Even a good resort can't control that

 

[Jamdiver]

Just to clarify, Ken is quite right to be upset and disgusted with Beaches Boscobel level of service or rather lack of service.

The only point that i'd like to make is don't think that all the diving here is like of that because of the sites they took you to.
I however take issue with sweeping generalizations, inaccurate and offensive remarks about Jamaicans stated by other poster(s).

Ken how long did it take them to get to the sites from shore?
I've been on that boat a few months ago.

 

[alcina]

I understand you are upset but you can't blame the whole island for that. ... As for the weather....I think your on your own there. Even a good resort can't control that

Absolutely. And always check with your dive operator/resort for an exact schedule before you go. Brochures are neat, but they are meant to impress AND they are brief - there's no way an operator's/resort's full information should be in there.

Dive times, locations, make up of likely clientelle, dive schedules (and golf schedules), restrictions on resort divers are all things we as consumers should check out before arriving. No good complaining about it on arrival. It's up to us to do some homework and ask questions - not every visitor has the same expectations or "norms".

Regardless of what the dive staff did or didn't do, each diver has a personal responsibility to have a plan, know the plan and dive the plan.

I guess I don't understand why you kept diving with them - just because it was "free"? First day out with that kind of service, badly maintained gear and unsafe practices would have had me lounging by the pool or on the phone finding a real dive op, regardless the price.