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Dive Review of Dive St. Kitts/Marriott Resort & Vacation Club in
St. Kitts and Nevis/St. Kitts

Dive St. Kitts/Marriott Resort & Vacation Club, Jul, 2009,

by Jane Huessener, CA, USA (Reviewer Reviewer 3 reports). Report 5165.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 2 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 2 stars
Comments The object of our diving on this family vacation (including 4 adults and 3 children) was to get our 47 year-old daughter certified (at last) and get her several additional days of experience in diving. The first couple of days (during her open water certification dives) the water was choppy and murky, thanks to a rain storm they'd had the previous days. However, the last 2 days were excellent with smooth water and visibility up to 100 ft. Reefs were healthy, diving was comfortable and easy. There were more fish than I've seen in some more known Caribbean dive destinations. Lots of flamingo tongue sea snails. We never had more than 1 or 2 other divers with our group of 4. The most interesting dive was on a 144 ft freighter at about 40 ft--the MV River Tau--sunk as an artificial reef in 1985. The wreck was covered with colorful corals and sponges and lots of fish, some arrow crabs, etc. We were very impressed with Mike, who runs the dive operation owned by a local non-participating lawyer. He was patient, efficient, safety conscious, helpful and friendly. Although the boat was simple and required a back roll, Mike had it outfitted with descent and ascent lines and other safety equipment that often is not resident on the more sophisticated dive boats. Boat rides were 5-10 minutes from the dive shop dock. Driving the boat was Cap'n Crabby, a colorful guy who delights in trying to act crabby but was really a sweetie who insisted on carrying all of my gear to and from the boat each day. There are not a lot of dive sites and some are in the shallow range, but this is a great place for beginner divers and those more advanced who are just happy to be underwater while sharing a tropical vacation with beginner or non-diving family and friends. The 10-minute transfers to and from the resort were free and on time with a local taxi service. All in all, diving with Mike at St Kitts and the healthy reefs came as an unexpected surprise since the only reason we planned to dive on this trip was to get our daughter certified and hooked on diving!

Regarding the resort, we are part of the Marriott Vacation Club so traded into their resort at St. Kitts from our place in Hawaii. The resort itself is situated on the wrong side of the island and the wind was strong most of the 9 days we were there. We were unhappy with the attitude of many of the restaurant employees who consistently showed their lack of interest in providing any service. But the diving is on the other side of the island, so escapes the whipping wind that blew chairs and trash into the pools, etc. at the resort. The beach is lovely (tho windy) and there are a couple of areas where the little ones can learn to snorkel and see pretty fish in 2-3 feet of water. Get 'em while they're young, right?

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Many Caribbean islands, Cozumel, Honduras, Belize, Hawaii, Fiji, Palau, Yap, Chuuk, Bora Bora, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather windy Seas choppy
Water Temp 82-84°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Our group consisted of 4 family members, including several beginners, so we dove our own profile, which was conservative.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 2 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities 3 stars
UW Photo Comments Dive St. Kitts is a pretty small operation without the usual separate camera rinse tanks; however, as soon as they saw my camera there was a special rinse tank prepared just for me. Can't argue with that kind of service!
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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