Dive Review of Scubaqua/The Old Gin House in
St. Eustatius

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Scubaqua/The Old Gin House: "Fantastic Dive Staff", May, 2023, by JDK, NV, US ( 2 reports). Report 12641.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Getting there was a nightmare. On American, it took four flights and two days to get there from PDX. It was supposed to be PDX-LAX-MIA-STX-EUX. I had purposefully scheduled an 18-hour layover to get a hotel in Miami then catch the 10:30 a.m. flight from MIA-STX-EUX. Two of the four flights were cancelled, so it was a logistical disaster. Winair is the only airline that flies to Statia. This cockamamie airline is run like a circus show. Round trip from SXM to EUX was about $250, which included one 50-pound bag each way, for a 20-minute flight, but the whole ordeal from checking in at the airport to getting to baggage claim took about 3 hours. They have a “schedule,” but nothing is on time, and there’s no one around to ask questions. It’s a cramped 16-seater Twin Otter plane and very hot. If you have a personal item larger than a small backpack, you will be charged. They visually inspect your carry-on and personal item and have a scale to weigh your items at the gate if they think it's overweight. On the return flight, thankfully I had 5 hours of layover in SXM, because the flight was delayed over an hour. There’s no airport monitors, no gate agents, no Winair app, and the FlightAware app was not accurately updating. The only way to know the plane was coming was to look out to the horizon out of the lobby window. I debated using the Makena ferry from St. Maarten to Statia, but their schedule is so unreliable so as to cancel service at the last minute. They’ve also raised their prices post-COVID to almost the cost of the flight--$100 each way. I also talked with some European divers who were on holiday in St. Maarten and came by the ferry and they regretted it. The seas were very rough for the entire crossing of two hours. I stayed at the Old Gin House, which is an older property and needs some updating. The ou ... Subscribe to get the full story. Active subscribers continue reading here
Websites	Scubaqua
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Hawaii, Mexico, St. Kitts, Barbados, Turkey, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, St. Croix, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Grand Cayman, Bahamas, Florida, Grenada, St.Lucia, Belize, Honduras
Closest Airport	St. Eustatius	Getting There	Anywhere USA to Miami to St. Maarten to St. Eustatius. Took 2 days from the West Coast, USA.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy	Seas	calm, choppy, surge
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	- Ft/ - M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No gloves. No taking of the wreck artifacts. Licensed guide only, no independent diving.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals	N/A	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	This is not a camera-friendly dive boat. There's no camera bucket on the boat, and there's not enough room for a camera. ... Subscribe to get the full story. Active subscribers continue reading here

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Dive Review of Scubaqua/The Old Gin House in St. Eustatius

Scubaqua/The Old Gin House: "Fantastic Dive Staff", May, 2023,

Photos Submitted with this Report

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 Scubaqua/The Old Gin House in
St. Eustatius