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When i was in Negril i stayed at Sandals, diving was included and shop on site. I did not think the diving in Negril was that good, but neither was Sandals as a hotel and real dive operation. Try trip advisor forums if you dnt find what your looking for here
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Jamaica just is not the best place to dive, but there are a few nice wall dives, and drifts.
Negril has the best beach in Jamaica,
As for Sandals, I love their dive ops. They are always getting panned for being too conservative and such.
I guess going out and drowning is better then being conservative. I have dived with Sandals/Beaches in three or four of their Jamaica resorts, The Bahamas, and Antigua. Once the figure out you’re not an idiot you get to do pretty much what you want within the limits of a guided dive. Advanced deep and drift dives in the morning and resort diver dives in the afternoon.
I have always enjoyed diving with them.
As for the hotels, they have always treated us like gold. On our 25th anniversary they gave us a free upgrade to a two room suit. By the third day I approached the manager to say "please stop! you are embarrassing us with how well you are treating us"
But that’s just my personal experience.
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Drowning?? Irresponsible people drown, thats what i have a scuba tank (WITH AIR) on my back for.. If you call conservative a max depth of 42’, in 5 days of 2 tank am dives idk.. Rescue certified at the time too. Never consumed more then 1750psi all week, but then again bottom time was usually 40-45 min. Not a fan of hotel chains that groups u in a class: honeymooners, concierge, butler etc which enables ur reservation of palapas and dinners to be reserved over regular guest, i find that chain to be a travel agents best friend. New travelers, esp honeymooners. Bahamas was better as a dive shop, same feeling on hotel though. Confirmed by others we met who we’re travelers/vacationers as well. Just never liked Jamaica for diving its for sure a beach island as well as party island. When there I ran the line of I’m gonna propose to my girlfriend too bypass full restaurant lines with reservations etc. Had a friends sister who worked there, she told us what to do, price was right, it just never met the expectation. Thats just me
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Thanks for the advice all. Looks as though I will not be doing much diving. Scouring the the internet I dkd not find a whole lot of interesting dives. Other than the Trone room sounds good. Heard about a wall wall dive just have to wait and see. No worthwhile wrecks 2 cesna planes and a striped tug boat hardly worth the air! No one seems to have nitrox or steel tanks to rent. Probably just dive 1 day or 1/2 of a day? Looking at reviews Sun diver seems to be the best dive op. Dream Team Divers has good reviews but they only offer shore dives. Guess the majority of my time will be enjoying the Island and snokel with the wife since sh3 cannot dive. Wanted to rent some tanks but apparently they do not allow that in Jamaica WTF? Only allowed to dive with a Jamaican dive op. As for diving my expectations are low! Regardless I expect to have a great time!!!
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BLAH BLAH BLAH,
I have done 100’ drift and walls with Sandals, I enjoy taking afternoon dives with the resort divers there are more fish @ 30’ any way. I always get 3200 going in and never get out with more than 500. Anyone with less air quits early good breather stay longer.
Yes they kiss our es because we pay for concierge service (what a surprise you get what you pay for). My wife doesn’t dive and she enjoys good service.
Granted, there have been plenty of bad reviews for Sandals as for diving and the hotel, it’s just not my experience. If I had a hard core diving spouse I might stay at some rough dive resort, until she trades me in Sandals will work just fine. I can do deep cold REAL MAN dives off New Jersey.
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Could not find much on the internet about drift and or wall dives. Hopefully they can hook me up when I get there?
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100’ drift and wall dives with Sandals, blah blah blah , I’m calling bullshit!! Id have to be there next to you to believe it. Back to the original post which was diving Jamaica. I just stated the diving i did with Sandals to be almost boring, but id rather be diving then listening to my non diver wife. Just saying for the service class segregating sandals does i dnt think there worth it. Palace resorts does a great all inclusive (every rm has a hot tub in it) and they dnt treat u based on whether u got the ass wipe package plan. u do ur own thing and book ur own stuff. For what they charge and since ur a step up in the service class, to have cheap keg beer and outdated cheesy Caribbean rooms i find to be a joke. When u talk to couples in there mid 20’s on there honeymoon who paid 10k through a travel agent i wonder. But then again they make ur dinner reservation every night for u while the people who only paid 450 a night are told at an empty 9am reservation line that no times are available at the specialty restaurants because the butler and butt wipers booked dinner for them. I know you get what u pay for but i just dont get whats so great about there. I travel to Caribbean 3-4 times a year, never to a dive resort since wife isnt a diver, Im from New York so i dnt eat nor stay in shit holes, i just feel u can do way better than there. How much REAL MAN deep diving off jersey do u do see ur only advanced certified? Doubles, Deco dives? Took intro to tech class and, side mount class awhiles back, side mounts more comfortable once u get used to it.
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I have heard from many that have a great time at Sandals! Looking at the price’s it seems to be a good value if a all inclusive is what you enjoy. They were never bored at Sandals with many positive reviews on tripadvisor. I have a wonderfull wife that encourages my diving even though she is not able to dive due to ear problem’s. She loves the beaches and the water making it a plus for both of us! After a day of diving we have a wonderfull time listening to each other on the good times we had that day. For us we decided together to stay at Xtabi a non inclusive on the clliffs at a cottage on the water. You pay extra for all inclusive good for some but we can take the money saved and put it towards exactly what we want to do not what the resort offers. Did not see much about Palace resorts but after deciding to do our own planning I did not do any comparison between all inclusive. My mission was to find the best resort with good reviews and value for us. The above price’s are way more than we worked out on our final cost. Value alot of times is a matter of perception as for we all have different values and expectations. Does not matter to me about divers certification or how good you think you are! Just have a good time and dive within your training and skill level. Going to have a great time in Jamaica! Doug
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