Dive Review of Admiralty Dive Center/Bluebeard's Castle, Pirates Pension in
Virgin Islands/St Thomas

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Admiralty Dive Center/Bluebeard's Castle, Pirates Pension: "great divemaster, mediocre diving", Jun, 2015, by John E. Keith, UT, US ( Top Contributor 32 reports with 9 Helpful votes). Report 8275.
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	My wife and I dove 4 days with Admiralty. We chose them after reading reviews on TripAdvisor, Undercurrents, and ScubaBoard, and because they were the only dive shop that answered our questions in detail. We had an RCI exchange burning a hole in our pockets, and Bluebeard's Castle, St. Thomas came up. I wouldn't call St. Thomas a super dive destination - it has mediocre Caribbean diving, although the corals appeared to be in pretty good shape. Visibility varied from pretty good to lousy(25 ft or so), depending on rain and wind. However, Duane and the Admiralty Dive Center were outstanding. They limit the number of divers they take (our trips were with 2, 2, 4, and 5). Besides being a very safe and conscientious dive master/operator, Duane has an encyclopedic knowledge of the local corals, fish, and critters, and he shares that both above and below the water. His crew - Brent and Jerry - are fun and very competent, but Duane is pretty outstanding in our mind. He noted the endangered corals and fish for us, as well as nudis, shrimps, etc. We dove two (really three) wrecks - the Kennedy and the two Navy Barges. Saw a few octopi, nurse sharks, a turtle or two, and several eels, but the stars of the show were the corals that Duane pointed out. I'd say Duane is one the best DMs we've been with. I'm giving the diving a high rating because of him. We stayed at one of the Pirates Pensions in a penthouse, which was very comfortable, well appointed, well-maintained, and clean, if a little old. Lots of stairs to climb and descend, though. Staff were helpful and cheerful. On-site restaurants (Banana Tree in particular) were quite good, if a little pricey. Ate at the Green House in town several times - very tasty. Rented a car and for divers, I think that is a necessity.
Websites	Admiralty Dive Center
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Egypt, Florida, California, Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Australia
Closest Airport	St Thomas	Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	82-82°F / 28-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	1
Water Visibility	25-75 Ft/ 8-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Surface with 500 lb or more
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	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	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	no rinse bucket on board for cameras but the crew took care of the cameras to prevent any problems.

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Dive Review of Admiralty Dive Center/Bluebeard's Castle, Pirates Pension in Virgin Islands/St Thomas

Admiralty Dive Center/Bluebeard's Castle, Pirates Pension: "great divemaster, mediocre diving", Jun, 2015,

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 Admiralty Dive Center/Bluebeard's Castle, Pirates Pension in
Virgin Islands/St Thomas