Dive Review of Sandals/Sandals Grande Riviera in
Jamaica/Ocho Rios

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Sandals/Sandals Grande Riviera, May, 2013, by Paul Quick, FL, US ( Sr. Reviewer 9 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 6986.
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	This is our second time to Sandals Grande Riviera (formerly Sandals Ocho Rios). The Sandals chain is an ultra all-inclusive resort network. I won't comment on the rooms, restaurants or other service, other than to say it is 6 star quality! Jamaica is not known for diving, but as I had done a resort course 20 years ago at Ocho Rios, I wanted to see what had changed in that time. As part of the price you pay for your Sandals package, you get 2, 1-tank boat dives a day. Dive times for certified divers were 9AM and 2PM, with classes diving at 11AM and private dives possible at 8AM. Things run on island time, so the schedule was a suggestion, more than a rule. Diving is normally done from a 46' Newton, but the Newton was on its way to dry dock, so we dove from a 36' single engine dive boat (unk make). This limited how far and to which dive sites we could go. As the schedule is driven by the need to get the boat back to the next dive time, Sandals enforces a 45 minute maximum dive time. Even with with the safety stop, none of our 10 dive times were more than 55 minutes. Boat briefing and dive site briefings were conducted on the boat prior to leaving the dock. The boats are equipped with all of the latest safety equipment. No ride to the dive site was more than 10 minutes, with most being less than 5 minutes. Once we arrived at the dive site, we all entered and descended as a group. The dive leader didn't point things out (even though he had gone over the signals for fish during the briefing) and just tended to keep pace for the group. Divers were allowed to spread out a bit, but if you got too far away from the group dive leader, you were summoned back with a rattle shaker. As the week went on and the dive leaders saw us more often, we were given a little more latitude. Dive sites were normally coral gardens or wall dives, with the exception of the wreck "Catherine". As the waters were mostly calm, dives were done in a circular route, coming back to the mooring point. Only one dive did open water pick up of divers and on that dive the dive leader pulled a surface float. Upon ascent, reentry to the boat was done with two rear ladders. A drift line was usually put into the water as well. Diver recount was done by air pressure check sheet. Overall the diving was only so-so, and mostly the same as 20 years earlier. Overfishing and runoff have played a big part in a decline of the size of fish on the reef. During most dives, fish were small, but plentiful, with a good mix of angelfish, butterfly fish and parrot fish. The biggest fish we saw was a school of approximately 50, 2-3' ocean triggers at the 90' range. We did see 6-8 hawksbill turtles. If you're a new diver, Sandals is a great way to add diving to your holiday, especially if travelling with a non-diver. If you're a more experienced diver, you may be disappointed, unless you're into macro. Nitrox is not available, even as a paid extra. Private dives and night dives are available at an extra cost, but are subject to the same time restrictions. I would recommend Sandals Grande Riveria and their dive shop if you plan to head to Ocho Rios.
Websites	Sandals
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Florida, Hawaii, Guam, Palau, Indonesia, Malaysia, Grand Cayman, Bonaire, Australia, Mexico, Maldives, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, surge
Water Temp	79-80°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-75 Ft/ 15-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	No deco diving. 45 minute time limit. Must dive as group with dive leader.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	No facilities at dive shop for UWP. Bucket on boat for cameras. Due to having to dive with the group, taking time for proper set up of photos was problematic. If you're shooting fish ID shots, it's not a problem, but if you're trying to do something more, you won't be happy.

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Dive Review of Sandals/Sandals Grande Riviera in Jamaica/Ocho Rios

Sandals/Sandals Grande Riviera, May, 2013,

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 Sandals/Sandals Grande Riviera in
Jamaica/Ocho Rios