St. Maarten afternoon dive

[heydn62]

Will be in St Maarten in April 2010 for an afternoon on a cruise. Does anyone have any suggestions on a good way to get some diving in while there? We'll be in port from 1:00 PM - 7:00 PM.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[John Yaskowich]

I just returned from a cruise (Celebrity Solstice) with a stop in St Maarten. I did a 2 tank dive with Scuba Fun (Caribean Dive Center - Diving on St Martin - Scubafun) . I was impressed with them and would dive with them again if I go back. Their shop is across the small bay from the cruise port - easy 5 min walk (out the gate, turn left down the road and look for the Dock Maarten sign) but you could also take the water taxi which drops you off quite close (~$6). I booked through Shore Trips but you could book direct with them. I did a morning dive but I'm sure they have afternoon dives. We dove the "Carib Ghost" wreck and "Maze" Be warned: this is the dive shop that Celebrity uses for their excursions (more money than booking on your own but they got a bus ride to/from the shop). The boat is large enough to accomodate a fair sized group and they divided us up into 3 groups of about 5 plus the DM. We saw lots of lobsters, a huge crab and a number of barracuda along with the normal assortment of fish, large and small. I enjoyed my dives with them.

[heydn62]

Originally Posted by John Yaskowich

I just returned from a cruise (Celebrity Solstice) with a stop in St Maarten. I did a 2 tank dive with Scuba Fun (Caribean Dive Center - Diving on St Martin - Scubafun) . I was impressed with them and would dive with them again if I go back. Their shop is across the small bay from the cruise port - easy 5 min walk (out the gate, turn left down the road and look for the Dock Maarten sign) but you could also take the water taxi which drops you off quite close (~$6). I booked through Shore Trips but you could book direct with them. I did a morning dive but I'm sure they have afternoon dives. We dove the "Carib Ghost" wreck and "Maze" Be warned: this is the dive shop that Celebrity uses for their excursions (more money than booking on your own but they got a bus ride to/from the shop). The boat is large enough to accomodate a fair sized group and they divided us up into 3 groups of about 5 plus the DM. We saw lots of lobsters, a huge crab and a number of barracuda along with the normal assortment of fish, large and small. I enjoyed my dives with them.

Thanks John.

I sent them a message to ask about afternoon dives. I've been to St. Maarten 3 times, but this will be the first time since I got certified to dive. Wasn't impressed with the snorkling, and many people don't recommend St. Maarten as a dive destination, but I've seen some good reports and some good photos. Glad to here you had a good time.

I'm land locked in North Georgia, so ANYWHERE in the Caribbean is a dive destination for me.

[heydn62]

Got an e-mail back saying they may start working with this cruiseline (MSC) to organize dives. Being over a year out at this point, they didn't have any definitive plans yet. Looks like it may be an option, though. Thanks for the tip.

Originally Posted by heydn62

Thanks John.

I sent them a message to ask about afternoon dives. I've been to St. Maarten 3 times, but this will be the first time since I got certified to dive. Wasn't impressed with the snorkling, and many people don't recommend St. Maarten as a dive destination, but I've seen some good reports and some good photos. Glad to here you had a good time.

I'm land locked in North Georgia, so ANYWHERE in the Caribbean is a dive destination for me.

[JCAT]

My wife is booking a week long trip here in June, will be staying on Dawn Beach.

We'll take a day trip to Saba on one of those days to dive. Was wondering a couple of things, hope someone can help.

In your opinion what is the must do dive while on SM, not including Saba. Looking for shallow, healthy reefs for photography. Not too terribly interested in wrecks, unless huge amount of life on them. Which is better for this, Dutch or French side? Macro or WA?

thanks

[navyhmc]

How is the diving there in January? I will be on a Celebrity Cruise then and thinking of a dive package at St. Maarten. Will I need a wet suit?

[John Yaskowich]

Originally Posted by navyhmc

How is the diving there in January? I will be on a Celebrity Cruise then and thinking of a dive package at St. Maarten. Will I need a wet suit?

I don't know about January but when I dove there 26 Feb the minimum temp recorded by my computer was 77F. I would think that Jan temps would be fairly close. I dove with Scuba Fun and highly recommend them.

Which ship? We were on Celebrity Solstice. Loved it!

[navyhmc]

Originally Posted by John Yaskowich

I don't know about January but when I dove there 26 Feb the minimum temp recorded by my computer was 77F. I would think that Jan temps would be fairly close. I dove with Scuba Fun and highly recommend them.

Which ship? We were on Celebrity Solstice. Loved it!

That's the one we're going to be on. Any problems getting back to the ship? That's my main concern for booking through the ship and not free-lancing. At least if you book thorugh the ship, they will wait on you.

[John Yaskowich]

Originally Posted by navyhmc

That's the one we're going to be on. Any problems getting back to the ship? That's my main concern for booking through the ship and not free-lancing. At least if you book thorugh the ship, they will wait on you.

It is a great ship. It was our second Celebrity cruise (Millenium in 2005) and was even more fun that our first. Check out the reviews at Cruise Ship Reviews - Cruise Lines Ratings - Cruise Critic and the forums at Cruise Critic Message Boards There are both Scuba and Celebrtiy sub-forums and lots of good information there. If you post on the sub-forums for your trip in the "Roll Call" section and the Scuba one you might be able to hook up with other divers on your trip.

We got into port about 6am (about an hour early from the posted time) and left port at 11pm. Lots of time for diving and shopping, supper back on the ship and out to the clubs before we even left port. The dive check-in started at ~8:30. We were back in port after 2 dives by 12:30.

I see that you will be in port either 8am to 11pm or 7am to 6pm. Lots of time.
If you check Cruise TT : Your Cruise Ship And Port Timetable you can find out cruise ships and number of passengers in port when you are. This will give you an idea of how crowded the dive operations will be.

[navyhmc]

Thanks for the info!