FAQs.
You are more than welcome to bring and use your own dive computer and dive your own profile.
We only ask that you:
- Dive no deeper than 130'
- No decompresson diving (unless in a Tec class)
- Return to the boat with at least 500psi in your tank
To book space on any of our boats or classes we need:
- a $100 per person deposit if more than 30 days until diving or class. (The balance will be due 30 days out)
- full payment if diving and/or classes will be within the next 30 days.
Everything is fully refundable up to 24 hours in advance or if for some reason conditions (weather or mechanical) prevented the dive boat from going out.
Yes you can. We can provide a private Divemaster for up to 4 guests for an additional cost equivalent to one additional diver.
That doesn't happen a lot but we are dealing with Mother Nature.
We don't want to be out in bad weather any more than you do so our Captain will cancel a dive if s/he doesn't feel like it would be safe.
All dive charges are fully refundable if we cancel a trip.
Yes of course you can as long as you realize that it will be significantly more expensive if we reserve an entire boat for you and your group.
Call us to ask about charter rates.
Yes we welcome snorklers (we call them Bubble-Watchers) on a space available basis (meaning we'll take scuba divers before snorkelers).
Keep in mind that we're generally moored in water that is deeper (25'-50') than normal snorkeling depths so it won't be the up-close-snorkeling that you may be used to.
No we don't, in fact no one currently does.
To be honest every one of the dive sites we regularly visit is better for scuba diving than Buck Island.
Beginning snorkelers will be amazed, and there's a stuning white sand beach, but in terms of actual scuba diving, it's very mediocre.
Most of the diving around St. Croix requires a boat. On the northshore, several of our sites are along Long Reef which is the 2nd longest barrier reef in the Caribbean, and the dives are on the "other" side of the reef from shore meaning you can't shore dive over the reef to get to the good diving.
On the west shore, even though the dive sites are fairly close they're still a rather long swim out.
There is some shore diving available at Cane Bay and Davis Bay on the northshore. These sites are all about 35 minutes from either of the dive shops.
Last, but definitely not least, is the Frederiksted Pier which is a great dive by day and absolutley fantastic at night. Divers can dive the pier anytime there is no cruise ship in port (and we don't get that many ships).
It ranges between 77-78 degrees (F) in winter to as much as 85 in the summer.
In general:
January = 79°f
February = 78°f
March = 79°f
April = 80°f
May = 81°f
June = 82°f
July = 82°f
August = 83°f
September = 83°f
October = 83°f
November = 81°f
December = 80°f
We have rinse tanks set up at both dive shops for after-dive rinses BUT you don't have to worry with it.
We'll gladly rinse and store your gear for you. You're on vacation and that time is precious so let us do the work while you relax. If you prefer to rinse your own gear and/or set it up yourself that is, of course, perfectly acceptable.
We have two custom dive boats and are the only dive shop that dives ALL of the moored dive sites along St. Croix's north and west shores.
Our dive boat Reliance dives the walls (it's up to 13,200' deep) and reefs (the largest living reef of any Caribbean island and the second longest barrier reef in the Caribbean, from our dive shop in Christiansted.
Our dive boat Scuba Dos dives the wrecks (5 of them), reefs, and the famous Frederiksted Pier on the west shore of the island. The boat departs from directly off of the cruise ship pier making it extremely convenient for divers arriving by cruise ship.
If you own your own gear and wish to bring it along you are more than welcome to do so.
We'll rinse and store it for you and have it setup and ready for each day's diving.
We will provide any essential dive gear that you don't own or wish to travel with on a complimentary basis.
We are a ScubaPro Platinum dealer so we use their dive gear exclusively.
You are welcome to bring along:
- Any of your own dive gear that you brought with you (we'll provide any gear you didn't bring)
- Swimsuit
- Towel
- Snacks (we'll provide fresh fruit, normally pineapple, between dives)
- Drinks (we provide bottled water before and after dives and an ice cold local beer for after all dives)
- Sunscreen (always a good idea in our lattitudes)
Our northshore dive boat does have a working marine "head" (toilet).
Our westhshore dive boat does not as it's always just a few minutes from the dock.
Most of our daytime dive trips are scheduled as two-tank dives. The exception is afternoon westshore dives on a cruiseship day
You of course have the option of only doing a single tank when going out with us but you have to understand that the boat will normally be out for two-tanks so you can choose to just do one dive and work on your tan sitting on the boat during the second one.
While we have two of the largest dive boats on the island we greatly restrict the numbers that we take out on them to ensure that each guest receives the personalized service for which we've become known.
Our northshore dive boat is certificated to carry 24 passengers but we restrict it to 14.
Our westshore dive boat is certificated to carry 22 passengers but we restrict it to 10.
Normally when we have over 6 guests on a boat we'll add another Divemaster.
Our morning two-tank trip on the northshore is our longest travel time to the dive site.
Typically the morning northshore trip takes between 30-45 minutes to get to the first dive site. After a surface interval during which we move to a second dive site for the second dive, the return to the dock is only 10-15 minutes.
The afternoon northshore trips are normally only 10-20 minutes from the dock.
All dives on the west shore are only 10-15 minutes from the dock.
Northshore dive boat:
Morning two-tank dive trip departs at 8:30am from the Christiansted Boardwalk and returns around 12:30pm
(Note: on cruiseship days this boat will leave 1 hour later to allow guests to travel from the ship to Christiansted.
Afternoon two-tank dive trip departs at 1:30pm and returns around 4:30pm
Westshore dive boat:
Morning two-tank dive trip departs at 10:00am from the cruise ship pier and returns around 1:00pm
Afternoon two-tank dive trip departs at 2:00pm and returns around 5:00pm
Yes we give you a choice of boats which will determine whether you're doing a wall dive, reef dive, wreck dive, or Pier dive.
We try to accommodate any specific requests for sites by our guests however we can't guarantee a particular site for several reasons:
- Weather conditions
- Other dive boats already moored/anchored on that site
- We try not to repeat a dive site for a guest unless requested
We get asked this a LOT and there's not concrete answer.
We think ALL of our dives are pretty special. This is the only island in the Caribbean where you can dive:
If you only have one day for diving then you'll probably want to try a wall dive (it's a real claim to fame here).
If you have more than one day for diving then we highly suggest diving from both of our boats to experience the wide range of wonderful diving found here on St. Croix.
