Scuba Diving on St. Croix from a Cruise Ship
Congratulations! Since you are looking at this page you have just proved that you are smarter than the average cruise ship passenger.
You know that by arranging your scuba diving independently of the ship you will save money, you won’t be herded around with the gaggle of other cruise ship passengers, and you will get a much better dive on your St Croix stopover.
You have two great options for diving on St. Croix from your cruise ship.
- By far the easiest is to take our west end dive boat which is located right on the cruise ship pier. This boat dives the shipwrecks and reefs along the west shore of St. Croix. All of the dive sites are 15 minutes or less from the cruise ship pier and you’ll be in sight of the pier at all times. Two-tank dive trips depart at 9:30am returning around noon, and at 1:00pm returning around 4:00p.
- For those who want to dive our “wall” you’ll want to take our north shore dive boat. Take one of the shopping shuttles or taxi vans from the cruiseship pier to Christiansted (about 35 minutes). All will drop you off right in front of our shop. The boat leaves at 8:30am (though we hold it till 9:00am or so on cruise ship days) returning around 1:00p. The two-tank dive trip starts with a wall dive followed by a coral garden dive.
Andrew,
Thank you for your inquiry about diving with SCUBA during your upcoming cruise ship stopover on St. Croix. Our award winning dive staff would be delighted to have the opportunity to show you the largest living reef of any Caribbean island and the “ultimate” wall.
You are smart to book your diving independently of the ship as you’ll save money and have much better diving.
We have two custom dive boats available for you. Both are fully U.S. Coast Guard inspected vessels.
Our west end dive boat Scuba Dos departs for directly off of the cruise ship pier at 9:30am and 1:00pm for two tank dives along the west end wrecks and reefs.
Our north shore dive boat Reliance departs the Christiansted Boardwalk (about 30 minutes from the Pier) every morning at 8:30am and every afternoon at 1:30pm for two-tank dive trips along the walls and reefs. For divers coming from the ship we can delay the morning departure time by up to 30 minutes if needed. Shuttles to Christiansted from the ship typically run around $16.
If you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to let me know. We want to do whatever we can to help you plan a wonderful day of diving on St. Croix. When you’re ready to secure your space with us just give us a toll free phone call (877-567-1367) with your credit card number and we’ll get everything set up for you.
I look forward to hearing from you and seeing you soon, here in paradise.
Rachelle,
It’s great to hear that you’re coming back to St. Croix and will be diving with us again, even if for only a day.
You are smart to book your diving independently of the ship as you’ll save money and have much better diving.
As you know we have two custom dive boats available for you. Both are fully U.S. Coast Guard inspected vessels.
Our west end dive boat Scuba Dos departs for directly off of the cruise ship pier at 9:30am and 1:00pm for two tank dives along the west end wrecks and reefs.
Our north shore dive boat Reliance departs the Christiansted Boardwalk (about 30 minutes from the Pier) every morning at 8:30am and every afternoon at 1:30pm for two-tank dive trips along the walls and reefs. For divers coming from the ship we can delay the morning departure time by up to 30 minutes if needed. Shuttles to Christiansted from the ship typically run around $16.
If you choose the west end dive boat we would have plenty of time to help you Dad Discover Scuba Diving with us. We would him for about an hour and a half in the swimming pool at Sand Castle on the Beach Hotel and he would be able to join you on an afternoon two-tank dive. The afternoon boat returns in plenty of time to be back aboard the ship as it now departs and arrives back to the cruise ship pier. If you wanted to do a LOT of diving during your day on St. Croix you could actually be on the morning trip while he’s in the pool and join him for two dives on the afternoon trip as well. (You don’t get that many vacation days a year you might as well make the most of it……)
If you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to let me know. We want to do whatever we can to help you plan a wonderful day of diving for you ad your Dad on St. Croix. When you’re ready to secure your space with us just give us a toll free phone call (877-567-1367) with your credit card number and we’ll get everything set up for you.
I look forward to hearing from you and seeing you soon, here in paradise.
Hello, I’m arriving on sunday 25th of March with a cruise ship and a love to do the dive at 8:30. Can you tell what the costs are? I’, rescue certified. I’d like to rent a BCD (M), regulator set and a M wetsuite. Do you also have nitrox?
My girlfriend loves to come for snorkling is this nice and possible?
Thanks for your reply!
Greetings
Sjors van den Heuvel
Sjors,
Thank you for your inquiry about diving with SCUBA during your upcoming cruise ship stopover on St. Croix. Our award winning dive staff would be delighted to have the opportunity to show you the largest living reef of any Caribbean island and the “ultimate” wall.
You are smart to book your diving independently of the ship as you’ll save money and have much better diving.
We have two custom dive boats available for you. Both are fully U.S. Coast Guard inspected vessels.
Our west end dive boat Scuba Dos departs for directly off of the cruise ship pier at 9:30am and 1:00pm for two tank dives along the west end wrecks and reefs.
Our north shore dive boat Reliance departs the Christiansted Boardwalk (about 30 minutes from the Pier) every morning at 8:30am and every afternoon at 1:30pm for two-tank dive trips along the walls and reefs. For divers coming from the ship we can delay the morning departure time by up to 30 minutes if needed. Shuttles to Christiansted from the ship typically run around $16.
A two-tank dive is $105. Tanks and weights are, of course, included with all of our dive packages. We have Scubapro regulators and BCs for rent along with wetsuits, mask/snorkels, and fins all for $5 each. Dive lights and dive computers are available for $10. All the rates are per dive trip (day or night).
Hi Captain Ed,
My extended family is going on a one week cruise, including a one day stop at St Croix on Dec 17, 2012, scheduled to arrive at 8am. Six or seven of us are open water certified, but some have limited experience beyond that. Some have some equipment (mask/snorkel, wetsuits, fins, computer) and some have none at all. Do I understand correctly that you have all equipment available for those who need it (do you need to know sizes)? Would we need reservations for the wall? Any package deal available for 6 divers? Is there a guide for the group? Others in our group are interested in snorkeling.
Thanks,
Valerie,
Thank you for your inquiry about diving with SCUBA during your upcoming cruise ship stopover on St. Croix. Our award winning dive staff would be delighted to have the opportunity to show you the largest living reef of any Caribbean island and the “ultimate” wall.
You are smart to book your diving independently of the ship as you’ll save money and have much better diving.
We have two custom dive boats available for you. Both are fully U.S. Coast Guard inspected vessels.
Our west end dive boat Scuba Dos departs for directly off of the cruise ship pier at 9:30am and 1:00pm for two tank dives along the west end wrecks and reefs.
Our north shore dive boat Reliance departs the Christiansted Boardwalk (about 30 minutes from the Pier) every morning at 8:30am and every afternoon at 1:30pm for two-tank dive trips along the walls and reefs. For divers coming from the ship we can delay the morning departure time by up to 30 minutes if needed. Shuttles to Christiansted from the ship typically run around $16.
Do I understand correctly that you have all equipment available for those who need it (do you need to know sizes)?
Yes we can provide any equipment needed. Tanks and weights are, of course, included. Additional gear can be rented for $5 per piece however check one of my answers below as we’ll waive that fee for you.
Would we need reservations for the wall?
Yes it’s a good idea to make reservations at least a week or two in advance.
Any package deal available for 6 divers?
As I mentioned above we normally charge for gear usage but I’ll waive that for your family.
Is there a guide for the group?
Yes our dive staff is always first into and last out of the water and conduct fully guided tours. They’ll also set your gear up for you and change it over between dives.
Others in our group are interested in snorkeling.
In all honesty the snorkelers will like the west shore dive boat much more as the sites are shallower and the water tends to be calmer. We do accept snorkelers (we call them Bubble Watchers) on a space available basis for $25 each.
If you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to let me know. We want to do whatever we can to help you plan a wonderful day of diving here on St. Croix. I look forward to hearing from you and seeing you soon here in paradise.
Hello,
We just booked your 2 tank morning dive for the day we are in port (1/20/2013). I’m a fairly new diver and I was wondering if the wreck and reef dive was a easy dive or more advanced? I am just building skills and don’t know if strong current and deeper then 60′ dives are good for me just yet. Where will be be going and what can I expect for my skill level?
Thanks,
Joel
The dives you’ve chosen for cruiseship stopover dives with us are perfect. There are five different wrecks that we tend to do on two different dives (though usually on different days so everyone gets a wreck and a reef dive on the same boat trip). The two deeper dives range from about 50′ down to a maximum depth of 108′. The three shallow dives range from a normal maximum of about 70′ up to 20′. This particular set also has a portion of an old NOAA hydrolab which operated in Salt River prior to Hurricane Hugo in 1989. We’ve made note that we want to dive the shallow wrecks on 1/20/13 and that’s something we probably would have done anyway.
There are seldom currents here though the wrecks are one place there can rarely be one. All of the sites on the west end of the island (where you’ll be diving and where the ship will be docked) are on the leeward side so it’s almost always flat calm conditions.
Keep in mind that our Dive Staff is always first into and last out of the water so they’re always with you.
The second dive will be on one of the gorgeous reefs along the west shore, like the Swirling Reef of Death! It’s not a name you’d forget but it’s actually a shallow set of patch reefs that are very pretty and loaded with lots of tropical fish. Some 13 years olds diving the dive site, “Dan’s Reef” said it was a lame name that no one would remember. They were challenged to come up with a better more memorable name and before the boat was back at the Pier it had become SROD.
So you’ve chosen your dives well. Our boat leaves right off the cruise ship pier and you’ll be within site of the ship all morning. You’re smart to have booked your dives directly yourself. You probably paid less and won’t get herded around with the masses.
Have a safe trip down, and great first part of your cruise and we’ll look forward to meeting you and diving with you soon, here in paradise.