Dive Review of Ocean Encounters/Breezes in
Curaçao

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Ocean Encounters/Breezes, Mar, 2005, by Tracy Ruttan, ONT, CANADA . Report 1618.
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	Ocean Encounters staff are amazing. Family run, super friendly. They remember your name after your first dive. Breezes includes one daily outfitted shore dive, can go with a buddy, or at 2:30pm with the group. They are the 'cadillac' of dive shops on the island, a National Geographic recognized outfit, and the most expensive, but worth it, I reckon. After a week of diving with them, I was invited to a BBQ at their main shop at Lions Dive, down the beach. They even picked a bunch of us up in their boat. The boat dives were great, though when I booked the Klein Curacao trip (2 hour ride to an uninhabited island), I didn't know we went on the tourist boat 'The Mermaid'. Big old boat, people hurling over the side the whole way:) Diving was done out of a Zodiac, roll out, pulled back in. Turtles 'guaranteed' here. HUGE green moray followed the group - was as long or longer than any diver! The Mushroom Forest/Watamula (awesome corals!!!!) dive was done on another companies dive boat(All West). Great boat, informative captain. Saw lobster, baracuda and something I think is called a lizardfish. Didn't do a night dive - was a little pricy without my own gear. ($35 from shore, $47 from boat if the group was more than 5 +$25 for gear), but the Car Pile (100's of old cars, a crane at 100', etc) would be cool at night. Couldn't do Superior Producer, as it is 100' and I had sinus problems, but it's supposed to be one of the best in the Caribbean, as long as the current co-operates, and a cruise ship isn't parked above it. I researched a lot before going, knew to request Flamingo or Pelican wing of resort. WAY quieter than the Tower, and all rooms are oceanview. They are working on upgrades (Superclubs took it over 3 years ago), some rooms run down. Definitley look for Norma at the bar. Heavy rain for 10 minutes the first day, and a light rain for 10 min. the day we left. Tradewinds help against the heat, so nice to be able to wear shorts at night! Duty free at the airport not as cheap as I'd hoped. I've been to Dominican, St.Maarten and St.Lucia, this place is by far the most upscale - St.Lucia is only better for the rainforest/lushness.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	51-100 dives
Where else diving	Ontario, Australia (east and west coasts), St.Lucia
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	noCurrents
Water Temp	22-25°C / 72-77°F	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	40-100 Ft/ 12-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Suggested staying above 100', 60' on second dive. If following group, let them know when you're at half tank, so they can head back towards boat. Most divers lasted the whole dive.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
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
UW Photo Comments	Camera rinse bucket ended up being used for masks, as there were only 2 people with cameras on boat :( Rinse hose for shore dives. Divemaster would call me over for any interesting fish/critters, other divers were pretty good at letting me in. Oc.Enc. have photographer on staff who will take pics for you/of you. So many fish and corals it's easy to snap off a roll of 36 without realizing!!

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Dive Review of Ocean Encounters/Breezes in Curaçao

Ocean Encounters/Breezes, Mar, 2005,

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 Encounters/Breezes in
Curaçao