Dive Review of Mermaid Divers/Renaissance Beach Resort & Casino in
Aruba

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Mermaid Divers/Renaissance Beach Resort & Casino, Aug, 2002, by Barry S. Yoss, NY, USA . Report 85.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Hotel used to be the Sonesta Beach Hotel until bought by Marriott in June, 2002. Well maintained, comfortable rooms. Small terraces. We had room overlooking the pool, with afternoon sun, convenient for drying dive gear. Downtown location across from marina, convenient for shopping for non-divers. Two casinos within 3 blocks.. Many excellent restaurants nearby. Inexpensive taxi ride to Palm beach for other dining choices. Three pools available between hotel Marina Tower and Suite (timeshare) buildings nearby. Beach available at Suite building and larger beach on private island reached by complimentary shuttle boat (10 minutes one way.) Small dive operation. Boat moored across from Hotel (very convenient.) Office at Manchebo Beach Hotel. Free pick at hotels. Dive boat is 38 foot Mermaid II, equipped with DAN oxygen, radios, cell phones, and marine head. We had 8-16 divers per day. Students were segregated from certified divers. Dive packages begin with three dives and average out to $25/dive with tank and wt. belt. Other equipment available for rental. Boat captain (Tito) very helpful with equipment, espec. for my buddy with recent back surgery. Divemasters were safety conscious, and made an effort to find critters. Green morays seen on almost all dives. Reasonable numbers of typical caribbean reef fish. Antilla wreck was excellent with many areas to swim into and through. Lack of shore diving was a disappointment for one of our group who gets seasick on dive boats (Bonaire would be a better choice.) Aruba is a reasonable choice for a group of mixed divers and non-divers.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Grand Cayman; Cozumel; Hawaii
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	80-81°F / 27-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	25-75 Ft/ 8-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	100 feet (most dives were 50-90 feet)
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	No camera bucket on board. Divemasters did point out critters to photographers. Interesting wrecks, especially Antilla and airplane.

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Dive Review of Mermaid Divers/Renaissance Beach Resort & Casino in Aruba

Mermaid Divers/Renaissance Beach Resort & Casino, Aug, 2002,

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 Mermaid Divers/Renaissance Beach Resort & Casino in
Aruba