Dive Review of Dive Dominica/Fort Young Hotel in
Dominica/Roseau

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Dive Dominica/Fort Young Hotel, Mar, 2009, by David Bader, NC, USA ( Sr. Contributor 21 reports with 6 Helpful votes). Report 4663.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We flew US Air from CLT to San Juan where we changed to LIAT airways for the trip to Dominica. We didn't know LIAT stopped in Antigua where we had to deplane, get new boarding passes, and go through security for a third time. LIAT max bag limit is one 50 lb bag and one 15 lb carry-on. Although we saw numerous people boarding with multiple carry-on bags. Once in DOM, it's an hour plus ride to Roseau. There is diving in the North and South of DOM. If you want to dive the Northern sites, you need to stay in Portsmouth. If you want the Southern sites, you stay in Roseau. Fort Young Hotel sits right in front of the cruise ship dock. The towns markets are unfortunately geared towards the cruise ship economy. Once a ship leaves, many stores close. If several ships are in at the same time, it can be difficult getting any variety of food at restaurants. We went most of the week not being able to buy any diet drinks so we drank water. Service can also be an issue. We went to "The Garage" cafe in town and sat at two tables of four. One table received their food after about a 45 minute wait. The other table complained after an hour and was told that some of their order was not available so they had to reorder their meals. After another half hour, they asked about their meals and were told the cook was just starting to cook their food. At that point the four unserved people asked for their bill and left to go elsewhere. We could not ride the arial tram because no cruise ships were in port the only day we were not diving. The tram is only open if a cruise ship is in port and divers are not allowed to ride the tram on a day on which they dove. Fort Young rooms were spacious and had good air and A/C. We had a couple of mechanical issues but they were fixed in quick order. The rooms do not have windows which can be an issue with noise. The hotel hosts several buffets during the week with load/load music. Also when the Carnival ship was in port, they rudely blasted their music all day long. Most other cruise ships were quiet while docked. Divers are picked up daily at 0830 for a two tank dive. We had 12-15 divers on board a boat that could easily handle 20 or more so it was fairly roomy. I can't speak highly enough of our divemaster Brad and the captain Francis. They were very friendly and went out of their way to make sure everyone was happy. Entry and exits from the boat were easy. The dives went smooth with current encountered on only one day. The reef is not the most colorful I've seen but their was always things to see. Turtles, seahorses, frogfish, cudas, and eels. The southern sites are said to be better than the north but no shore diving at the Fort Young Hotel. Lots of topside activities for non-divers. Hiking, spas, waterfalls, rainforest, whale watching, and a native village. We used a private tour guide, Helen Alcendor, who I would highly recommend if you want to see the island. I do not recommend trying renting a car. It's left side driving and the roads can be very narrow with sharp turns. Better to use a tour service. Helen took five of us out all day for $200 ($40 each) and we saw much more that the hotel tour service offered for twice the price. Trafalger falls and Carib Village should not be missed. Double any posted hiking times unless you are truly fit. All in all, it was a very good trip. One of the most beautiful islands I've visited. I really enjoyed myself. If I were to go back, I'd opt for one of the hotels near Dive Dominica to allow for some shore diving and less noise.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	[Unspecified]
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy	Seas	calm, no currents
Water Temp	79-°F / 26-°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	75-100 Ft/ 23-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	100 ft - first dive, 50 ft - second dive, max 60 minutes for computer divers, 45 minutes for table divers.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	> 2
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Dive Dominica/Fort Young Hotel in Dominica/Roseau

Dive Dominica/Fort Young Hotel, Mar, 2009,

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 Dive Dominica/Fort Young Hotel in
Dominica/Roseau