Underwater Safari ---AVOID this dive shop in St.Thomas ---

[flots am]

The management/owners(Michelle) are just flat out rude and COMPLETELY disrespectful. This "cattle boat" operation needs to be shut down.

I'm shocked that respectable cruise lines like Carnival and RCCL would do business with such people.

The cruise lines are concerned with: (in order)

• Nobody being hurt
• Making money
• You having a good time and telling all your friends

If you booked though a cruise ship, complain to your cruise company.

If not, I'm a little mystified as to why you went back for three days of diving if it was so horrible. The island is full of places that would be thrilled to take you diving.

Would you eat at the same restaurant for three days than complain that the food sucked?

We were on a 10 day trip to St.Thomas with some friends who booked dives with Underwater Safari. Little did we know that we would be railroaded to the SAME dive site for 3 straight days (Buck Island) and treated like cattle. When we asked if their were other dive sites to see, we were promptly told no, and if we didnt like it then we should have done more research before booking our dives. Our friends who where traveling with us booked the dives and were unaware of this as well.

If you learn to be still and watch carefully, it shouldn't matter that you were there for three days or a month. There's always cool stuff to see if you know how to observe.

flots.

 

[Steve_C]

If you learn to be still and watch carefully, it shouldn't matter that you were there for three days or a month. There's always cool stuff to see if you know how to observe.

flots.

There are sites I have dived a number of times. Still fun and still see some new stuff. You don't even have to be that still although still is good. Just move slow and watch carefully.

 

[luscioman]

I have dove with them on 3 separate occasions the last in December 2013. Every dive was booked through NCL or Princess Cruise lines. Almost every dive has been on Buck Island and the Navy Barges. They use alum 72 tanks for all of the divers. They seem to cater to cruise ship divers that dive once every few years. You dive in a group of 15 or so with a divemaster and instructor. Most of the time people enjoy the dive. I have never felt unsafe or worried about anything with them. I will say that going forward I will dive with someone else to do different dives.

 

[yardpro]

i dive a lot from cruise ships, several places per year.

I have had mixed experiences. i sometimes meet like minded people from the boat and we hang out during the rest of the crusie.... sometimes i learn who to avoid....

I now usually try and avoid the cruise line trip. i will call and schedule with another operator and let them know that i am on a ship, but am a more advanced diver and want something more than the easy cookie cutter dive than the cruise ship offers
i am usually successful.

 

[Father]

I did a Discover dive with this DS a couple years before I got my OW.

I didn't have any reservations made ahead of time. It was a total spur of the moment thing. We walked in, asked if they had any room for one diver and one snorkeler, which they did.

We did the Rhone Wreck, which seems to be the standard fare by what I'm reading. For a non-certified diver who had only done one other Discover dive prior, this was great. Looking back I'm surprised they didn't keep people on a shorter leash, because I remember being allowed to check things out pretty freely, which was nice, but knowing what I know now it's a little surprising.

I remember there being a pretty large group on the boat but I don't remember it really being a drawback.

I'd say they almost definitely cater to people coming off the cruise lines, and it's pretty likely the majority of those people don't dive very often. So this is a pretty easy dive for that crowd. If you're looking for a more technical dive, you'd probably be very disappointed. Odds are any DS that caters to cruise line passengers is not going to be the kind of dive some people here would ever walk away from with a smile. The one DS dive trip I took I found it mildly entertaining seeing people a lot less experiences than me... it was a nice ego boost to look at other divers and think "Man, I've actually come a long way".

Since I'm considerably more experienced now, I'd say it would be disappointing if I booked with them for multiple dives and it was the same location every time. Especially if they limit you on time so much that you can't really wander too far from the group(s). I don't remember it being so mind blowing an experience that I'd be able to find enough there to fill 10 days worth of dives. I'm not a macro diver and I don't know what, if anything, is there for that crowd.

I don't remember anything negative about the service but, again, I didn't have much to compare it to then.

Give what little I remember about the place, I'd have no issues diving with them again for one trip just to revisit what I had seen before as a "real" diver.

 

[diversteve]

I did a Discover dive with this DS a couple years before I got my OW.

I didn't have any reservations made ahead of time. It was a total spur of the moment thing. We walked in, asked if they had any room for one diver and one snorkeler, which they did.

We did the Rhone Wreck, which seems to be the standard fare by what I'm reading. For a non-certified diver who had only done one other Discover dive prior, this was great. Looking back I'm surprised they didn't keep people on a shorter leash, because I remember being allowed to check things out pretty freely, which was nice, but knowing what I know now it's a little surprising.

Are you sure it was the Rhone? That's off Salt Island in the BVI's - you would remember it because you would have been on the boat all day to get there and back plus you would've had to bring your passport to clear customs to enter the BVI's - and on returning to the USVI's. Also the Rhone is mostly deeper than is allowed on a Discover Dive. The only shops I know of that go out there from the USVI's are the ones on St. John since it puts them an hour closer.

There's a bunch of wrecks of St. Thomas's south side. I suspect you were taken to one of them.

 

[Rhone Man]

It may also be that there is confusion about which Underwater Safaris you are referring to.

There used to be a dive op in Road Town, British Virgin Islands as well called Underwater Safaris who used to dive the RMS Rhone on a daily basis (I used to work for them). But they went bust a few years back.

 

[Father]

Are you sure it was the Rhone? That's off Salt Island in the BVI's - you would remember it because you would have been on the boat all day to get there and back plus you would've had to bring your passport to clear customs to enter the BVI's - and on returning to the USVI's. Also the Rhone is mostly deeper than is allowed on a Discover Dive. The only shops I know of that go out there from the USVI's are the ones on St. John since it puts them an hour closer.

There's a bunch of wrecks of St. Thomas's south side. I suspect you were taken to one of them.

I think you're right. I don't remember the ride being very long and after a second Google search of the Rhone it was definitely not that wreck. I don't think the one I dove was even a boat... it looked more like a big metal box. Not very interesting at all. The dive sight was kind of a cove.

It was in 2011. Not sure if that place is still in business or not. It was a brief walk from the pier.

 

[diversteve]

It could've been the Navy Barges, they're just a little east of the cruise port in 40'. There's 4 of them though - never dove it so I don't know how close they are to each other.

 

[crzyfish]

I just dove with Underwater Safari last week in St. Thomas, USVI. This was booked with the Regal Princess Cruise Ship. I found the 3-man crew (Captain, DM, and Rescue Diver) extremely friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. We dove Buck Island (Cartanza Wreck) and Wye Reef. The wreck and reef was not super health or abundant with sea life. I think the area is over visited and the fish and coral are feeling the impact. We had a group of eight plus our DM. The boat was fully equipped (including spare fins and shorties) but I don't like the AL72. I'm not an airhog, but extra capacity would be nice. I saw a nice BIG lobster and a beautiful, black, Lionfish.