Bonaire Resort?

[Zenagirl]

Originally Posted by Darth Fishhead

Divi was great. I have heard good things about the Plaza Resort. (one of my LDS goes to the Plaza every year.) Through personal experience, I can say good luck with Continental. Carry on every thing possible!

Would you mind elaborating about Continental? Is this your general experience with them, or specifically a Bonaire problem? Thanks.

[Zamfir]

I've stayed at the Belmar, and enjoyed it immensely. It has a dive shop (satellite operation of BuddyDive) on site. Time from waking up to being in the water was ~10 minutes...tanks (air) kept on the dock.

I've scheduled a trip in October during Regatta week, and Belmar was booked, so I'll be staying at Den Laman for the first time.

--Z

[Ted S]

I've heard many good things about Plaza Resort and their reps are amazingly friendly. I'd recommend giving them a call.

[Texas Girl]

Originally Posted by Zenagirl

Would you mind elaborating about Continental? Is this your general experience with them, or specifically a Bonaire problem? Thanks.

I am not the original poster, but I will tell you of my experience this past March. We checked 5 bags for a family of 4 with 3 divers. One of our bags we picked up when we went back through Houston. Yes, that bag never made it to Bonaire. And the KLM people, who you have to deal with as Continental doesn't have an office in Bonaire, never could tell us where our bag was. We just decided to check with the baggage claim in the terminal when we arrived in Houston, then had to go over to another terminal to pick it up. On the bag was our original tags, ID, plus a print-out of the contacts made by the KLM people, all clearly stating exactly where the bag was supposed to have gone.

In the missing bag was all of my son's snorkling gear (mask, fins, booties, wetsuit) so the dive shop at the Plaza loaned that gear to him. The biggest problem was that they only had full-foot fins and no booties, so my son would wade into the water with his sandals on, take them off and throw them on shore. Then at the end of the dive, my husband or I would get out quickly so that we could throw the shoes back to him so that he could walk on the ironshore.

On our flight there were 4 other families who were missing bags, one family was missing all of theirs. I live near Houston and I have flown on Continental many times and have never had this problem. The most frustrating part was that it felt like no one cared that we were missing a bag. In my letter to Continental, I recommended that they improve communication with the KLM people and perhaps they should have their own staff there. The guy at the American Eagle desk at the Bonaire airport said that they frequently have to bring Continental luggage in from San Juan.

[tedtim]

Originally Posted by Texas Girl

I am not the original poster, but I will tell you of my experience this past March. We checked 5 bags for a family of 4 with 3 divers. One of our bags we picked up when we went back through Houston. Yes, that bag never made it to Bonaire. And the KLM people, who you have to deal with as Continental doesn't have an office in Bonaire, never could tell us where our bag was.

Well, I hope it is not the same travelling through Newark!

On our first trip to Bonaire we flew Air Canada Ottawa-Toronto-Aruba, then DAE to Bonaire. None of our bags made it as far as Toronto. We had to use someone else as the representative in Aruba. They were kind enough to fill out the forms with us, but when we called Air Canada they had no record. BTW, the call centre is in India. Every time I called they confirmed that we were staying at a resort in Bonaire, Netherlands. NOT Netherlands Antilles. I had visions of our bags going off to Amsterdam.

They did manage to get our bags to Bonaire four days later, but they never did call us to let us know the arrival time. The best we could do was during one phone call when the call centre folks said "good news, we have located your luggage!" When I asked where the bags were they responded "I don't know, the file just says that we have located your luggage."

We used borrowed gear for a couple of days, but after the first two dives could not handle the full foot fins, so we went out an bought new ones.

The insurance through our credit card paid for clothes and some dive gear before we received the claim form from Air Canada.

Oops, off topic. [\rant]

[Texas Girl]

Originally Posted by tedtim

The insurance through our credit card paid for clothes and some dive gear before we received the claim form from Air Canada.

Oops, off topic. [\rant]

That, I believe, is the key. Before you go, know what everyone (airlines, credit card insurance, baggage insurance, home insurance) will pay for in this situation. For example, the airline will only pay for clothes and shoes, nothing else.

[CaribbeanDiver]

I have a question about shore diving in Bonaire. Apparently, shore diving is a big thing since almost all resorts offer only a 6 day 1 tank boat dive package or 6 day 2 tank boat dive package and ALL resorts offer unlimited shore diving.
Also the resorts suggest the rental truck allows for you to get to the many shore diving sites.
Now my question. What about current? Suppose I do a shore dive and the current is coming in when I start and going out when I try to return? I know firsthand that swimming and kicking against a current is a very very difficult task.
Did anyone who has done shore diving in Bonaire have any problem with currents, tides, etc?
Thank you, in advance, for all who are gracious in reply.

[Texas Girl]

Some of the sites, in the extreme south and north for example, are more prone to having currents than others. Avoid those sites until you are comfortable doing shore dives. I have done the southern sites many times without experiencing much of a current, but that doesn't mean that they don't occur. If you get in and the current is more than you want to deal with, get out and find another site. The currents run parallel to shore, so at most you have to hike to find your truck; you won't be swept out to sea.

[Buc Chick]

I got back from Bonaire about 3 weeks ago. It was hell getting there and back. My trip report(s) are on BonaireTalk and Scubaboard.
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=197402
But it was all worth it. Loved Den Laman. Did not care at all about The Plaza.
Biggest lessons learned. If you are going to connect in San Juan, make sure you have at least 2+ hours in between connections. And pay your departure tax as soon as you get to Bonaire and not wait until the day you leave--and get to the airport early!
Texas Girl is exactly correct about the extreme north and south sites. I ordered the book "Shore Diving Made Easy" online before going. Here is a map of the dive sites, similar to what you'd find in Bonaire:
http://www.bonairediveguide.com/

I am a fairly new diver and loved the shorediving that Bonaire offers. You dive at leisure. Can't wait to return.

[Buc Chick]

I got back from Bonaire about 3 weeks ago. It was hell getting there and back. My trip report(s) are on BonaireTalk and Scubaboard.
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=197402
But it was all worth it. Loved Den Laman. Did not care at all about The Plaza.
Biggest lessons learned. If you are going to connect in San Juan, make sure you have at least 2+ hours in between connections. And pay your departure tax as soon as you get to Bonaire and not wait until the day you leave--and get to the airport early!
Texas Girl is exactly correct about the extreme north and south sites. I ordered the book "Shore Diving Made Easy" online before going. Here is a map of the dive sites, similar to what you'd find in Bonaire:
http://www.bonairediveguide.com/

I am a fairly new diver and loved the shorediving that Bonaire offers. You dive at leisure. Can't wait to return.