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Dive Review of Nekton Cruises in
Virgin Islands/St. Croix

Nekton Cruises, Jul, 2009,

by Ronald Bailey, Va., usa (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 20 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 4998.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 3 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments First trip to St. Croix. At $600 off regular price it was a deal. Corals were healthy and there were plenty of sponges about. Saw turtles, squids, the usual tropical fish, a few octopi, seahorses, morays and rays. The pier diving at Frederiksted was the highlight for me. Juveniles on many of the pier supports made for good macro. Seahorses, flying ganards, jackknife fish and squid found there. Juvenile octopi were in the sand under the pier and even hiding in soda and beer bottles. Spent a day and a half there and it was well worth it. The wall diving was very good. Diving at the "junk yard" of the old pier was really only worth one dive. While diving the wrecks found a 3 inch long juvenile trumpetfish at a nearby coral head. First day of diving was only average and other sites could have been added for more variety. Food was good and fixed homestyle. Did miss not having any seafood during the whole week. There was a problem with members of the crew and several left during the week. Two new crew were hired to help replace them. Guests services did not suffer any. The only other issue was that many of the crew smoked all over the top deck and even on the dive deck. This was noticed and discussed by several of the guests. Owner said he would look into violation of their own policy of only smoking on the back of the top deck. Overall, the crew was attentive and friendly and I would go again, especially with new offerings of reduced prices on the off season.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Fiji, Bahamas, Palau, Hawaii, Roatan, Cozumel, Dominica, Florida Keys, Belize, Turks and Caicos
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy, dry Seas calm, choppy
Water Temp 83-85°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 50-90 Ft/ 15-27 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions 130 ft.
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Large camera tables and rinse buckets. If traveling by yourself and used to "solo" diving while doing photography, even on other Nekton cruises, that became an issue this time. Crew wanted to avoid liability by insisting on either diving with a buddy or diving with the crew member assigned as buddy diver. Other way to avoid this was to enter the water with someone or a group and then go do your own thing. Did speak to the owner of Nekton about this and while sympathetic to diving/photography issues, understandably had to go by insurance liability policies.
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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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