Dive Review of Ocean Frontiers/Compass Point Dive Resort in
Cayman Islands/East End, Grand Cayman

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Ocean Frontiers/Compass Point Dive Resort: "Top Notch Resort and Dive Center", Jun, 2017, by Emmette Murkett, AL, US ( Reviewer 6 reports with 10 Helpful votes). Report 9643 has 1 Helpful vote.
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	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The Compass Point Resort has really nice condos w/ ocean view balconies. Ocean Frontiers, the onsite dive center, is definitely the premier dive shop in the area. The dive shop was close enough to my 3rd floor unit that I got my favorite wake-up call every morning- the clanging of tanks being loaded! The restaurant is directly above the dive shop and excellent food. Made to order breakfast was included and there is real milk for the coffee. Foster's Express IGA and the liquor store are about a mile past the resort. The condos have a full kitchen, so you can cook your meals if you want. Because of a steady wind out of the east, conditions at the nearest dive sites were too rough to dive until my last day of diving. All but three of the dive sites were around the corner on the north side of the island. The wall is closer to the shore on the north side and the diving was good. The last day was a full moon and the west-to-east current was pretty strong. Take a close look at the extra dives that are scheduled during your stay and book them as soon as you can. The wreck dive on the USS Kittiwake requires you to make your own way to the opposite end of the island and was full before I could get signed up. The standard dive schedule is 2 morning dives, returning to the resort for lunch. Most days have 1 and/or 2 dive afternoon trips as well. The one "drift dive" scheduled during my 9 day stay was actually a dive between mooring buoys with the boat tied up at beginning and the end. The night dive was done inside the reef at a shallow site. I opted for the "Glow Dive". The center supplies a standard light and an ultraviolet light. With the standard light off, many things on the reef stood out like fluorescent paint under a black light. Especially cool are the anemones. The dive center has four dive boats including a new Newton. Although they were really busy the entire time, I never felt crowded on the boat. The dive staff is top-notch and the center is a PADI 5-star IDC. The only time they mixed a class with certified divers, the class was led off after everyone else entered the water. I opted to buddy-up with the class instructor a couple of times so that I could linger and do macro work without the group leaving me behind. If you want to dive Grand Cayman and stay as far away from the cruise ship tourists as you can, this is the place to go. I only got to dive the sites nearest to the dive shop twice because of the wind, but the coral formations are incredible! Naturally, the seas were dead calm on the day that I flew home.
Websites	Ocean Frontiers Compass Point Dive Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Caymans, Cozumel, Xcalak, Banco Chinchorro, Bimini, Southern Bahamas, Red Sea, Gulf of Mexico, US rivers and springs, Florida Keys, Belize
Closest Airport	GCM	Getting There	I rented a car from Budget for $2/day instead of taking the dive package that includes a rental car. Even though most of the taxes and fees were disclosed ($72 for 8 days), I had to pay an additional couple of mystery fees of about $20 and had to get a CI driver's permit for another $20. The little elf car that I got was fine for 2 people and their bags, but rent something bigger if you have more than 2. Gas is over $4.00CI per imperial gallon, but the elf car only used about 4 gallons.
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy	Seas	choppy, surge, currents
Water Temp	25-28°C / 77-82°F	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	75-100 Ft/ 23-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	They don't allow solo diving but don't make any effort to pair up the single divers. Buddy pairs can do their own thing but singles have to stay with the guide, who sometimes takes off at a rapid clip.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Pay attention to the back side of dead sea fans. I found plenty of flamingo tongues, including a fairly rare fingerprint flamingo tongue. Make sure you pair up with a buddy that is content to linger so that you can take the time to set your shots up without worrying about being left behind. I had one guide swim almost through me to point out something that I was already trying to get a good shot of. Sometimes the guide would get too close to something that he wanted to point out and stay there until everyone in the group had the opportunity to swim close to it, stir up the water or scare it back into its hole.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Ocean Frontiers/Compass Point Dive Resort in Cayman Islands/East End, Grand Cayman

Ocean Frontiers/Compass Point Dive Resort: "Top Notch Resort and Dive Center", Jun, 2017,

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 Ocean Frontiers/Compass Point Dive Resort in
Cayman Islands/East End, Grand Cayman