Sandals Bahamas

[tc_rain]

Sandals Jamaica (Negril) the dive op was on site and ran by Sandals. Due to the recent dive activity logged in my log book, I was not required to do any skill tests. The dives were all guided and short, somewhere around 30 mins or so. You could still have 1500 psi in your tank but when the time was reached, you surfaced. They only allow 2 dives a day, either two morning or 2 afternoon. The divemasters are attentive and I felt they were basically holding my hand throughout the dive. At the time I was still a realtively new diver and this didn't bother me as much as it would now, since I have a lot more dives under my belt. The dive crew also expected tips, which I had no problem with even though Sandals recommends against tipping. At the time I was only O/W certified and they hounded me and several others to take the advance course. One guy gave in and took the course but it was rather expensive compared to what you would have paid in my local area. They did the required PADI instruction. The best way to put it is with Sandals is you can dive on your vacation but it will not be a dive vacation.

[John Yaskowich]

Originally Posted by dawnvip

I haven't been to the Sandal's Bahamas, but my husband and I went to the Sandal's St Lucia for our honeymoon. Sandals is definitely high end compared to the other all inclusives I have stayed at. Excellent food, all premium liquor at the bar, gorgeous rooms, etc.

Which Sandals in St Lucia? My wife and I are booked for the Grand Principal in Feb. What sort of other activities were available? And how hard is it to book activies outside the resort? (ATV tours would be fun and maybe a dive with another operator.) We are really looking forward to this vacation. Charlene is willing to take the resort diver course so she can get a taste of what I am so excited about.

[dawnvip]

Originally Posted by John Yaskowich

Which Sandals in St Lucia? My wife and I are booked for the Grand Principal in Feb. What sort of other activities were available? And how hard is it to book activies outside the resort? (ATV tours would be fun and maybe a dive with another operator.) We are really looking forward to this vacation. Charlene is willing to take the resort diver course so she can get a taste of what I am so excited about.

We stayed at Sandals Regency, which is the largest one on St Lucia with a golf course (also included). There are actually 3 Sandals on St Lucia and it is pretty easy to go between the 3 as there is a shuttle leaving every 20 min or so from the front foyer. We saw all 3, ate at all 3 just to compare. The Grand is very nice, best beach of the 3, and there is a nice hike through an old fort just outside the Grand's gates. Halcyon is the smallest, very pretty with nice garden paths between buildings.

Sandals includes everything, so you can windsurf or sail a hobie cat (but the wind was pretty sporadic so we didn't). Lots of pool and beach activities are held in the big pool, but if you want to relax and enjoy the quiet, just mosy over to the smaller pool. We didn't do any of the outside activities because we dove every day, but St Lucia is not the place to go stomping around on your own outside of the resort (very poor). I suggest you book activities through the resort. We talked to people who booked and loved the canopy tour. When we were there, it was only 1/2 full, so always easy to find a lounge chair, lots of fresh towels and no problems getting reservations for scuba or dinner.

Speaking of dinner... The Halcyon and the Regency both have excellent Italian restaurants that I highly recommend. The only place I wouldn't push is Kimono's at the Regency. For an island, they sure don't know how to make fresh sushi!!

Hubby just reminded me that the Grand is probably the best place to be situated at for diving, as they are the only ones with a pier and boat onsite. We had to be shuttled over to the pier, but I have to say the diving was great, DM great, gear was in top shape, and the staff did everything but breathe for you!

Have a great trip! Be sure to let me know how it was when you get back.

[navyhmc]

Thanks for the report Dawn. Great info.

Strange though, I would have thought the Halcyon resort would have the best diving....

Was there a limit on the diving? i.e. 2 tank in the am or 2 tank in the pm?

[Tekdivr]

My wife and I got married in June '06 at the Sandals Grand Bahamas. We loved the resort and the diving wasn't bad either. Nice thing about the diving is that it's included in the price as is pretty much everything else. Our dives weren't as restricted as someone else's post. We made a couple of dives in the 95' range. All the staff were super nice and we had brought our own gear. The only downside was that we flooded our brand new digital camera

[dawnvip]

Originally Posted by navyhmc

Thanks for the report Dawn. Great info.

Strange though, I would have thought the Halcyon resort would have the best diving....

Was there a limit on the diving? i.e. 2 tank in the am or 2 tank in the pm?

You could do unlimited shore dives no problem. Boat dives left at 8AM for 2 tank dives (usually 80' first dive and 40' second) and you could also sign up for the afternoon 1 tank dive (30-40' for as long as the air lasts).

The only thing not included is the night dives. I think they were and extra $40 and you needed 4 people to sign up. This is harder than you think since all the food and drinks are free and once you saddle up to the pool bar, its pretty hard to step away!!!

[navyhmc]

Is the shore diving worth it?

[dawnvip]

To be honest, we didn't do any shore diving as there were much more important honeymoon activities to attend

All in all, Sandals are very nice resorts, high end food and booze, and they are a good deal if you dive and you don't have/bring your own equipment!

[Tekdivr]

Originally Posted by dawnvip

To be honest, we didn't do any shore diving as there were much more important honeymoon activities to attend

All in all, Sandals are very nice resorts, high end food and booze, and they are a good deal if you dive and you don't have/bring your own equipment!

In the ten days we were there, I've never had so many people say "Good monring" and Good afternoon" to me. Sandals has got to have the most friendliest staff on the planet.....not to mention the good food and booze!