Dive Review of Stuart Cove's/Sandy Port Beach Resort in
Bahamas

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Stuart Cove's/Sandy Port Beach Resort: "Dive Shop Mayhem", Jul, 2023, by Jeffrey Marselis, SC, US ( 2 reports). Report 12475.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Hi everyone. We are reporting our experience focused more on the local dive shop than other facilities or attractions in Nassau, Bahamas. We had a short trip June 29th - July 4th 2023 booked for some diving and relaxation. Sandy Port Beach resort and Baha Mar water park were 2 highlights of our trip as their location kept us away from the cruise ports and Atlantis Resort. That's just our preference, not a knock on Paradise Island. We booked 2 days of 2 Tank dives for my wife, daughter, and I with STURAT COVE'S DIVE SHOP. You should know that Stuart Cove's dive shop is the most expensive diving we've seen in the Caribbean. A 1 person, 2 tank, boat dive will run you at least $185 + tax. Not including BCD or Regulator rentals. We found out from a local bus driver that Stuart's is the only dive shop left on the island and apparently, they are not shy about taking advantage of that fact with their pricing. First, our experience with Stuart Cove's communication pre-arrival and regarding pick up from our resort on dive day was difficult. Phone calls went thru U.S. phones, then transferred to the on-island shop but were never answered. Email could take days for a response, if any at all. I tried to phone the dive shop on-island to confirm their shuttle pick-up time and never got an answer. I emailed the night before pickup, and finally got a response just an hour before scheduled pickup. Next, our arrival at the dive shop was nothing short of mayhem. People everywhere in the dive shop, on the dock, in line for rental gear and no one giving clear directions of where to go. Rental BCD's and weights were in short supply. All of us settled for BCD sizes that were not our preferred size. No 1 or 2 lb weights are offered by this dive shop so you may have to compromise on your normal buoyancy amount. Multiple boats were scheduled to depart at the same time so there were no less than 50 people plus on-shore staff, and boat personnel trying to prep boats, check in, get gear, and load up on their boat. Check in staff and rental personnel were indifferent and did not seem to care about their customers. I can say for my wife and I, we've never had a worse pre-departure dive shop experience in 20 years of diving. Finally on the boat, the dive staff on our first day of diving didn't have much enthusiasm for their customers or their job. The 2nd day had a much friendlier staff on the boat and the experience left a sharp contrast between the two crews. Gonna be hit and miss if you come out to dive with this dive shop. We did afternoon dives on both days and both dive days were tightly regulated on dive time. About 40 minutes before we were rounded up or heard a ladder bang, and told to surface. Neither crew did the typical white board dive profile diagram, just gave a general direction for the dive and "follow us" type of briefing. By the way, space was tight on these boats and storing gear, prepping for a dive, getting in and out of gear, and jumping in the water was always a challenge Our last comments are the saddest. The water temperature at a depth of 50 feet was 85-86 degrees. That's coral killing water and the evidence of coral death was everywhere on all the dives we took in Nassau. Overall , we rate Stuart Cove's Nassau dive shop our worst experience ever. Considering Stuart's background and love of diving (check their web site for his story), I'm sure he'd be shocked if he saw this operation in person.
Websites	Stuart Cove's Sandy Port Beach Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Grand Cayman, Hawaiian Islands, St. Croix, Turks & Caicos, Florida Keys
Closest Airport	NAS	Getting There	Easy connections from US
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	85-87°F / 29-31°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	30-40 Ft/ 9-12 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Stuart Cove's/Sandy Port Beach Resort in Bahamas

Stuart Cove's/Sandy Port Beach Resort: "Dive Shop Mayhem", Jul, 2023,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Stuart Cove's/Sandy Port Beach Resort in
Bahamas