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Dive Review of Ocean Frontiers/Compass Pointe in
Cayman Islands/East End Grand Cayman

Ocean Frontiers/Compass Pointe, Mar, 2011,

by Howard Kaiser, MO, US (Sr. Reviewer Sr. Reviewer 11 reports with 10 Helpful votes). Report 6015.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food N/A
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments New Compass Point Phase 2 accomodations are wonderful. One large bedroom with two baths can easily handle family of four with two Murphy beds and a fold out couch. Everything down to salt and pepper was provided, including coffee filters etc. Very thoughtful planning and Patti Nugent's done a great job designing the condos. Ocean Frontiers has been our favorite operator for years and they continue to provide fantastic service. On arrival, we dumped our gear into crates provided and left them outside our door. They were put on the proper boat , set up daily and rinsed and hung to dry...during the week, my new compass popped out of the console. I didn't bother to tell anyone since I wasn't sure when it fell out..The next morning, it had reappeared-one of the the staff had retrieved it during the dive and checked all the gear on board until they found my console and replaced it quietly. Very indicative , in my view, of a great operation. They consistently hire not just good dive masters but good people to the jobs. I am also pleased to see that absolutely no reference was made to tipping even though this staff certainly deserves it.
Jean and I have been diving for years with OF but somehow had not been diving in GC for four years. So I wasn't aware of the lionfish invasion. My first dive, I saw my first one, and was puzzled to get sort of a muted reaction when I pointed it out. They apparently have appeared about two years ago and they are like dandelions underwater! OF has organized lionfish hunts, there are ceviche recipes, grilled lionfish recipes etc and they are pervasive and HUGE ...our boat pulled out 44 lionfish on a two tank excursion and duplicated those numbers the next day. I hope all the operators are as proactive as OF because these creatures have clearly decimated the juvenile population. And they were as large as 13 inches long and roughly the size of a basketball....I was the bagman and it was tricky work dispatching these critters!
Babylon continues to be my favorite dive site! There are a few spots on the North Wall that I'd like to see Ocean Frontiers visit on their 3 tank excursions. I'd suggest, in fact, that 3 tank day trips without the StingRay City dive might be popular, especially if spots like Eagle Ray Pass are visited.
In the interest of full disclosure, we are fractional owners at Compass Point and have dived with them for years. However, we were so happy with the way things turned out that we bought some more. We gave it a lot of thought and realized that we wanted a place where our family could go diving in a great environment for years to come. Worth every penny.
Websites Ocean Frontiers   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Honduras, Florida Keys, Cozumel. BVI, Baja, Bahamas
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 79-80°F / 26-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 2
Water Visibility 80-100 Ft/ 24-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions 130 fsw, return with 500 psi
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 3 stars

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

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities 3 stars
UW Photo Comments Dedicated camera buckets were stressed on every dive briefing; crew was great handling camera rigs. Camera table was also pointed out but overrun with towels etc- crew needs to gently reinforce during dive trips, especially given consistently large number of photographers on board.
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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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