About
The uber-popular St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventure (SCUBA) certainly deserves its reputation as the “Friendliest Dive Shop on Earth.” They opened nearly 25 years ago, in
1998. Starting with just a minimum of diving gear and no boat, the owners built up their business to encompass two boats and diving services on each end of St. Croix. I want to mention right now that the experience you have in Frederiksted will be entirely different than the one you have in Christiansted. In other words, it’s totally worth it to book both experiences during your stay on St Croix, especially if you’re a scuba enthusiast. Now in full transparency, I had never gone scuba diving before. My previous experience was only snorkeling and dive snorkeling, where you dive underwater for a while with your snorkel until your breath runs out and you have to surface. So coming from this perspective, I can tell you that if you’ve ever been curious about scuba diving, St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventure is the best place to learn. I say this both because the instructors are so patient, knowledgeable and trustworthy, but also because St. Croix is just a tremendous place to scuba. St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventure is owned by Ed and Mollie, who offer scuba training from introductory level to instructor level. They have two custom boats, Reliance in Christiansted and Scuba Dos, off of Frederiksted. Reliance dives the walls and reefs and Scuba Dos dives reefs, five wrecks and the Frederiksted Pier. On Wednesdays, they offer scuba excursions to Buck Island National Monument, in collaboration with Caribbean Sea Adventures. You’ll be on the CSA boat and Captain and Crew, but with your own dive crew from St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventure.
Locations & Getting There
In Frederiksted, you access Scuba Dos from the cruise ship pier. In Christiansted, you access Reliance from the Christiansted Boardwalk, directly in front of Rum Runners restaurant. One especially interesting thing that I learned from the dive shop in Christiansted is that St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventure is the only dive outfit on the island with two boats. So it’s the only way for you to access all the dive locations (and they are many!) around St. Croix.
Weddings by Captain Ed
Another special note is that Captain Ed also performs weddings. He’s an ordained Minister in the Universal Life Church, and fully licensed USGG Captain. He can even arrange for you to have an underwater wedding! If you’d like to be married by Captain Ed in his dress whites (very handsome!), you can choose a boat wedding, a beach wedding, a wedding at the Botanical Gardens, a scenic overlook or even at your St. Croix vacation rental.
Diving Lessons & Rental
The diving package is all inclusive, so the fee has everything for training and diving, including gear, weights and tanks. I really appreciated that safety is of utmost priority. All the gear is carefully maintained and nothing is rented out until it’s passed inspection. Even the boats that St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventure has have each been Coast Guard inspected and certified. The crew is incredibly professional; they are friendly and fun when it’s appropriate, but incredibly serious when it comes to everything else. And, they’re all about making sure that you have the best diving experience of your life, even for beginners like me. At St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventure, you can get diving lessons for beginners all the way up to instructor certification level. Their dive packages are between $140 and $200, depending on when and where you want to dive. And, they even offer night diving. I could kick myself for not trying a nighttime dive, but don’t let that stop you from taking advantage of such a unique experience in the capable hands of the St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventure crew!
Diving in St. Croix
St. Croix is famous among scuba divers for its exceptional underwater environments. Divers visit from all over the globe to dive Cane Bay, The Wall, Salt River Canyon and the Frederiksted Pier. The Wall alone is a fantastical experience that is incredibly surreal. Yes, I was nervous to be diving so far down, but I felt incredibly comfortable and safe. I also was under zero pressure to push myself beyond my comfort zone or to do anything just because other members of the group were doing it. Not only does St. Croix have some of the best diving locations in the Caribbean, but the water is warm, the visibility is excellent, and there is a wide variety of marine life to see. St. Croix is a fantastic place for experienced divers to hone their craft or advance their certificate levels.