The snorkel trip to Sandbar should be cheaper, but for divers I think there's a lot
to be said for the 3-D experience. On a trip arranged by the cruise line it probably
won't be an option, but if there's space snorkelers can usually go along with the
divers, allowing a group to go together and let each get what they want. Since
Stingray City is about 14' deep the snorkelers may be somewhat separated from the
real action unless the divers bring the rays up to them. At least that's how it went
whenmy wife was just a snorkeler. While I think diving is a slightly better option,
there's no problem feeding them while standing in 3 or 4 feet of water. If you don't
want to get below the surface they'll be happy to climb up on you a bit and you can
always reach down a bit.

I've had them grab my hand a couple of times but never enough to be painful. If they
just taste you a little bit it's actually kind of cool.

That's the likely explanation.  It may have left a bruise, but it could have been a
lot worse. It could have happened a few minutes later while visiting the big green
moray.

Do you have any more information on this?  I thought that except for
the dive dock, everything was back to normal there.

-HW "Skip" Weldon
Columbia, SC

Except for the cruise ship people, most tourist things are running, but at a
diminished capacity it seems to one who has been there many times in the
past, and  exactly  only one year ago. Many first timers might not notice a
reduction at all in the services they require.

Agreed. I just included it as a part of the total picture, and because that
is where I was based.

They seemed to be full the Friday night I was there for the shore diving -
at least the bar was jammed with locals and guests. I only saw one boat
moored during the night dive I made. There is a whole new staff at the dive
shop, didn't recognize anyone from previous trips. They told me there was an
almost complete turnover with the dive staff since the hurricane. An
improvement from my perspective, since I didn't get along well with some of
the previous people. YMMV.

I heard no such thing while there. Everyone is lined up to get containers
for the debris - one woman who has a house right next to Compass Point has
been waiting since October for the container to come. As far as I know, they
are using local land fill spots for most of it. Earth Day was observed while
I was there. I took part in the U/W cleanup of Turtle Reef and saw lots of
activity on the beaches. I don't think any trashing of the reef is occuring.
I also took part in a Reef Watch survey, which gave me some objective way of
judging the fall off of marine life on the East End versus my logs from last
year.

They are almost totally depending on the cruise ship business to bring
capital back to the island. They get $12.50 US for each person who comes
ashore. 6 ships a day, 5 days a week for an average - 400 people onshore
from each - it is quite a piece of change. In the short run, it is helpful
for them. In the long run, it may hurt. For example, the viz at Sunset House
and some of the Georgetown shore dives comparatively sucks. East and North
viz doesn't seem to be affected beyond daily variables.

I hesitated to say anything previously to the question of diving from a
cruise ship, but were it I, I would get off the boat as soon as possible,
grab a cab to the Turtle Farm, and do two or more shore dives from Dive
Tech. They were the most enjoyable and interesting dives I did all week,
given the viz, biodiversity, ease of entry, exit and navigation, on site
restaurant, friendliness of staff, and economy (air $8 US per tank, nitrox 1
$13 US per tank; BC, reg, etc. rentable at one price for the whole day.)
Doing the dives with Tom Shropshire who is employed in the industry on the
island and is well versed with the subtleties of the dive made them all the
better. But no dive guide is necessary since the site is well marked.

In fact, the tanks were free on Sunday for Earth Day cleanup if you agreed
to bring up any trash that you found and turned it in - your tank rental was
then rebated. They also (unlike Sunset House) will give you more than one
tank at a time - I rented three, used them all and turned them in after the
shop closed at the drop off with no questions asked. I was even present for
a turtle release just before my 4 PM dive.

I also noticed from the dive briefings that there is no longer mention of
things like diving without gloves, 100' limit, required buddy teams, etc.
They still talk about respect for the reef, not to touch or bring anything
up, etc. But there seems to be a relaxation in "policing" divers that had
begun to creep in there over recent years.

If one has their land package together (e.g., not counting on a time share
or some such that is not up and running), I would not hesitate to recommend
returning even now to GC. Just be prepared to see a lot of mess still not
cleaned up and to put up with Georgetown crowed while the ships are in.