Scuba Forum / Scuba Locations / September 2004
Eastern Caribbean Sites
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Joe English - 06 Sep 2004 03:33 GMT I am doing the Royal Caribbean to the easter caribbean next June. Stopping at San Juan, Charlotte Amalie (St. Thomas), Phillipsburg (St. Maarten) and Nassau. I have no knowledge of these areas, and will probably do all diving through the ship unless someone here has a much better method. Not sure if I want to dive in San Juan, and the stop in Nassau is from 1:00 through 7:00 PM.
Trying to figure out logistically where I want to dive and options to visit the Natural settings since I have never been there.
TIA
Rosalie B. - 06 Sep 2004 13:55 GMT >I am doing the Royal Caribbean to the easter caribbean next June. >Stopping at San Juan, Charlotte Amalie (St. Thomas), Phillipsburg (St. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >Trying to figure out logistically where I want to dive and options to >visit the Natural settings since I have never been there. If you have the option, from Nassau I'd want to visit Allen's Cay which is uninhabited but has an endangered iguana species there. I know there are trips from Nassau, but I don't know if it is an option given the time frame.
For St. Thomas, it is recommended by most people that you take a cab from the dock to Red Hook and take a ferry from there to St. John to enjoy the beaches and snorkeling. Although diving the Rhone is also nice.
grandma Rosalie
Reef Fish - 06 Sep 2004 21:25 GMT > >I am doing the Royal Caribbean to the easter caribbean next June. > >Stopping at San Juan, Charlotte Amalie (St. Thomas), Phillipsburg (St. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > know there are trips from Nassau, but I don't know if it is an option > given the time frame. RCCL leaves barely enough time to dive their own tour in Nassau, I don't believe there'll be enough time for such a side trip.
The South side of Nassau (Stuart Cove's, Dive Dive Dive, etc.) is about an hour ride (provided by the dive shop) each way from the town of Nassau. If you know how to book in advance and work out a suitable dive schudule between 1 and 7 pm, it's doable. Since you're new there, diving the dives scheduled by the ship is not that bad, and will give you the piece of mind not to be left behind in case something goes awry in the dive schedule.
> For St. Thomas, it is recommended by most people that you take a cab > from the dock to Red Hook and take a ferry from there to St. John to > enjoy the beaches and snorkeling. Why not scuba diving? St. John offers better dives than St. Thomas, and there are shops right off the Red Hook Ferry (about 30 minute ride).
> Although diving the Rhone is also nice. > > > grandma Rosalie The wreck of the Rhone is in BVI, nowhere CLOSE to St. John to be able to make the trip.
Been there. Done all of the above.
-- Bob.
Rosalie B. - 07 Sep 2004 01:48 GMT >> >I am doing the Royal Caribbean to the easter caribbean next June. >> >Stopping at San Juan, Charlotte Amalie (St. Thomas), Phillipsburg (St. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >> know there are trips from Nassau, but I don't know if it is an option >> given the time frame. That's what I was afraid of. Also I have heard that it is difficult to fight your way through the crowds at the dock in Nassau to do something on your own.
>RCCL leaves barely enough time to dive their own tour in Nassau, I >don't believe there'll be enough time for such a side trip. [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >Why not scuba diving? St. John offers better dives than St. Thomas, >and there are shops right off the Red Hook Ferry (about 30 minute ride). There were when I was there, but it's been awhile. So yes, diving is good.
>> Although diving the Rhone is also nice. > >The wreck of the Rhone is in BVI, nowhere CLOSE to St. John to be able >to make the trip. > >Been there. Done all of the above. I am somewhat geographically challenged WRT the Virgin Islands - We did the Rhone from a chartered sailboat early in the morning before leaving the late afternoon of the next day. We went to Red Hook and flew home and it didn't seem that far to me - it was a sailboat and most power boats I think would be faster and so maybe possible.
We did a dive off the Reef Bay side of St. John which was very nice, but most of the sites I know are in the BVI.
grandma Rosalie
Robert Dickson - 07 Sep 2004 03:02 GMT >>> For St. Thomas, it is recommended by most people that you take a cab >>> from the dock to Red Hook and take a ferry from there to St. John to [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >There were when I was there, but it's been awhile. So yes, diving is >good. Try the south side of St. Thomas and dive with Blue Island Divers http://www.blueislanddivers.com/divesite.htm. I've dived both sides of the island and have found many more interesting sites on the south side. I have also found Blue Island Divers to be my favorite dive operation, and I've dived with 6 operations on St. Thomas and 1 on St. John. Great people, lots of good sites and a new boat. And I'm going to be diving with them again in early October. Come join me.
Daniel Kessler - 07 Sep 2004 14:56 GMT Carl Roessler once said to me that the "Eastern" Caribbean was the weak part of the Caribbean to dive. Subsequently, I did visit many of these areas and he has been proven to be right.
> >>> For St. Thomas, it is recommended by most people that you take a cab > >>> from the dock to Red Hook and take a ferry from there to St. John to [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > John. Great people, lots of good sites and a new boat. And I'm going > to be diving with them again in early October. Come join me. greatviz - 07 Sep 2004 20:35 GMT > Carl Roessler once said to me that the "Eastern" Caribbean was the weak part > of the Caribbean to dive. Subsequently, I did visit many of these areas and > he has been proven to be right. If "Eastern" means St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and San Juan P.R., I agree. Personally, I would like to dive more of the Bahamas and check out Saba.
Ramone Cila - 07 Sep 2004 21:13 GMT > Carl Roessler once said to me that the "Eastern" Caribbean was the weak part > of the Caribbean to dive. Subsequently, I did visit many of these areas and > he has been proven to be right. I once believed what Carl Roessler said to me. Never will again though. And I think you know what I'm talking about.
Dan Bracuk - 08 Sep 2004 02:47 GMT "Ramone Cila" <dontw@nt.spam> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in:
:I once believed what Carl Roessler said to me. Never will again though. And :I think you know what I'm talking about. Actually, I don't. Feel free to tell us though. Also, who is Carl Roessler?
Dan Bracuk Is it my imagination, or do Buffalo Wings taste like chicken? The Best of rec.scuba http://www.pathcom.com/~bracuk/RecScuba/
Ramone Cila - 08 Sep 2004 15:12 GMT > "Ramone Cila" <dontw@nt.spam> pounded away at his keyboard resulting > in: [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Feel free to tell us though. > Also, who is Carl Roessler? It's unlikely a long term liveaboard diver like yourself doesn't know, or know about, Carl.
Dan Bracuk - 08 Sep 2004 22:55 GMT "Ramone Cila" <dontw@nt.spam> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in:
:It's unlikely a long term liveaboard diver like yourself doesn't know, or :know about, Carl. Well the name rings a bell and a quick google indicates that he is a professional underwater photographer. Maybe I have seen "Photo by Carl Roessler" a few times in various magazines.
That's about it. Don't recall ever meeting the guy. Only professional photog I have ever met was on the Sun Dancer in Sep 2004, and I forget his name. Coulda been him, coulda been somewhere else.
But what did Carl tell you that turned out to be untrue?
Dan Bracuk Is it my imagination, or do Buffalo Wings taste like chicken? The Best of rec.scuba http://www.pathcom.com/~bracuk/RecScuba/
Reef Fish - 09 Sep 2004 06:01 GMT > > "Ramone Cila" <dontw@nt.spam> pounded away at his keyboard resulting > > in: [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > It's unlikely a long term liveaboard diver like yourself doesn't know, or > know about, Carl. Dan, I think Ramone is referring to some travel agency scandal of which Carl was the owner. I vaguely recall it wasn't a clearcut case of Carl's fault, as much as someone was mismanaging his travel agency. This was a long time ago.
In any case, there is no point in all this innuendo and back-stabbing on Carl when he is not here and doesn't have the chance to defend himself.
I knew Carl LONG before he got into scuba diving or UW photography. In fact I know NOTHING about his UW photog and travel business.
Carl Roessler was the Head of the Yale University Computing Center in the 1960s. Those were the days before IBM or anyone else had a reputable Terminal Operating System to do interactive computing on the mainframe.
Carl led a team of Yale Computer Center personnel in developing the CYTOS (Conversational Yale Terminal Operating System) from scratch. It was not something embraced by everyone, nor was it considered a success. As a result, heads had to roll, and that was the last I heard of Carl -- who quit (or was fired from) his career as a computer center director cold turkey and went into UW photography, apparently with much better success than his computing career.
-- Bob.
Robert Dickson - 08 Sep 2004 00:37 GMT I can't speak for any place in the Caribbean; my step-daughter lives on STT and we take advantage of the free lodging and the chance to visit her. The sites may be the best in the world, but they are worlds better than the quarries in Pennsylvania.
>Carl Roessler once said to me that the "Eastern" Caribbean was the weak part >of the Caribbean to dive. Subsequently, I did visit many of these areas and [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >> John. Great people, lots of good sites and a new boat. And I'm going >> to be diving with them again in early October. Come join me. Robert Dickson - 08 Sep 2004 00:38 GMT Should have been "any place else..." not "any place..."
>I can't speak for any place in the Caribbean; my step-daughter lives >on STT and we take advantage of the free lodging and the chance to [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] >>> John. Great people, lots of good sites and a new boat. And I'm going >>> to be diving with them again in early October. Come join me. greatviz - 06 Sep 2004 18:13 GMT > I am doing the Royal Caribbean to the easter caribbean next June. > Stopping at San Juan, Charlotte Amalie (St. Thomas), Phillipsburg (St. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > TIA All hard docks and no tenders, so that's nice. Try this site for port info: http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/area.cfm?area=8
You don't want to dive San Juan, and you can't get to any decent spots, dive, and back to the ship in that time span. You can walk around Old Town (no tax on purchases is nice) and see the Fort easily enough on your own. Don't bother with the rum factory tour, no one I know thought it was worth it. El Yunque tour is nice if you'd like to see a rain forest, but is alot of time on a bus with alot of other people, much better if you can arrange another way of seeing it because you will have more opportunity to get off on a trail. Luquillo beach is conveniently near the entrance to the rain forest (about a 45" drive east from San Juan) Don't do the snorkel/kayak trip to the Fajardo area, it isn't worth it.
Nassau, dive for sure. RCCL hooked us up with Nassau Scuba Centre http://www.nassau-scuba-centre.com/ last year, the guys that booked it on their own paid 5 bucks less than we did at the time and we all shared the same van out to the opposite end of the island for the dives. Might have to watch your time frame here. Nice op overall, had fun. First dive was to Sea Viking at 80fsw for 40 min. and doing a safety stop is mandatory or else you won't be doing the second dive, as one person on our boat soon discovered. SI was 40 min. #2 was to Bahama Mama wreck/sharks at 53fsw and 50 min. BT. If you have time, which I doubt, grab a 7 minute cab ride to the huge Atlantis Resort from the ship's hard dock and take a stroll around the massive resort/casino/aquarium complex. You have to pay for a real tour, but we saw enough without doing so.
St. Thomas, 4 years ago, Underwater World. 16 divers in 2 groups and 2 40 minute dives to 74fsw and 60fsw. #1 Buck Island-Snapper Valley, this must be where they take you to see if you crash into the reef or something, didn't see much. #2 Andre's Reef (they must have decided we were ok), dive site better all around for soft corals, sea life and viz. SI was 35 min. I could have done better on my own since it was an early arrival, and the ship may be using someone else now. I've taken the ferry to St. Johns where there was a nice secluded beach, but there's plenty to do on St. Thomas since it's your first visit. Just the ride around the island can be an adventure, keep appendages you want to keep in the vehicle ;)
St. Maarten, everyone told me to skip it or go to Saba. So of course, last year I dove it anyway since Saba required a short flight over and there were time constraints. Dive Safaris was the op and this was the same trip that we went to Nassau. #1 Fish Bowl at 59fsw for 47 min. #2 Maze was 52fsw and 52" BT. It was enjoyable, not as nice as Coz or Cayman, but I'd dive with the op again. Unfortunately I still had enough time to spend $$$ on Dutch side for electronics. Easy to catch a cab/van to the French side for the beach on your own.
Have fun planning it, you have alot of time.
chilly - 06 Sep 2004 19:25 GMT > Nassau, dive for sure. RCCL hooked us up with Nassau Scuba Centre > http://www.nassau-scuba-centre.com/ last year, the guys that booked it [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > complex. You have to pay for a real tour, but we saw enough without > doing so. You were lucky. There were only two people diving when we went and they took us out with the snorkellers. Never got below 12'. It was a lovely site but I could have snorkled it for considerably less. On the other hand, I was left with plenty of time to run around Nassau town.
> St. Thomas, 4 years ago, Underwater World. 16 divers in 2 groups and 2 > 40 minute dives to 74fsw and 60fsw. #1 Buck Island-Snapper Valley, this [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > ride around the island can be an adventure, keep appendages you want to > keep in the vehicle ;) I chose not to dive at St. Thomas and I'm very glad of that. Took the tour bus around the island. While they took us to all the usual tourist traps, we still saw a fair amount of the island beauty and when we returned to port, 4 of us got the tour guy to take us over to Megan's Bay for a couple of hours of swimming and sunning. He picked us up at the appointed time and took us back to the dock. We still had time left over to do some shopping. It was a wonderful day.
> St. Maarten, everyone told me to skip it or go to Saba. So of course, > last year I dove it anyway since Saba required a short flight over and [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > enough time to spend $$$ on Dutch side for electronics. Easy to catch a > cab/van to the French side for the beach on your own. The dives were not too far from shore and weren't all that. We were left with lots of time to wander all about the front streets and have a drink at one of the small beachfront hotels. I regretted that I'd gone diving there instead of taking the time to go over to the French side.
> Have fun planning it, you have alot of time. greatviz - 07 Sep 2004 20:32 GMT > You were lucky. There were only two people diving when we went and they > took us out with the snorkellers. Never got below 12'. It was a lovely > site but I could have snorkled it for considerably less. On the other hand, > I was left with plenty of time to run around Nassau town. I could have easily spent a couple of weeks in the Bahamas. Nice people, fun activities, and a variety of dive sites.
> I chose not to dive at St. Thomas and I'm very glad of that. Took the tour > bus around the island. While they took us to all the usual tourist traps, [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > took us back to the dock. We still had time left over to do some shopping. > It was a wonderful day. That's what vacations are all about, doing as you choose.
> The dives were not too far from shore and weren't all that. We were left > with lots of time to wander all about the front streets and have a drink at > one of the small beachfront hotels. I regretted that I'd gone diving there > instead of taking the time to go over to the French side. Well, you missed Orient Beach, me too. I did get to a cafe in Marigot for a drink, however. The dives weren't the best the caribbean has to offer, but better than I expected after hearing so many negatives.
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