As a newly certified diver, this was my first ever open water ocean dive--I certified in a quarry and did one contained water "try scuba" dive in ocean before certification. This was a two tank dive near Buck Island off St. Thomas, one dive at Wye Reef and one dive at Cartanza Wreck which is actually three spots that are close together. Captain David took us out in the Tropic Diver II and Shelby was our dive master. The boat was clean, the equipment seemed well taken care of, and both Shelby and Captain David were extremely friendly and helpful. There was another dive master who had four non-certified divers on the other end of the boat. I had no interaction with them. This was an excursion booked through Carnival. This company goes by Underwater Adventure and Adventure Scuba and School. I mention this because the only way I found them to review since Carnival does not provide the name of the company was to do a search for the boat!!! There were four certified divers, an excellent number for a newly certified diver because both Shelby and my dive buddy took extra care to watch after me. During my two dives, I saw the nice reef, the wreck sites, a shark, an eel, a turtle, a lobster, several white sea urchins, one large black sea urchin, and lots of fish. Because it was my first dive I did not want to be distracted with a camera, therefore I'm not able to share what I saw. The attached photos came off the web. I highly recommend this company. I was nervous for my first dive but Shelby was reassuring and made sure I did everything safely. I can not say enough good about the experience!!!! read more

Underwater Adventure - white sea urchin - Scuba Diving Near Me - St Thomas, Virgin Islands

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On this Holland America ship excursion, the diving was OK, but I was very surprised to see Aluminum 72cf scuba tanks being used instead of Aluminum 80cf tanks, which required adjusting my preset tank straps on my BCD. Although it was not a problem, I was just surprised to find these tanks on a Caribbean dive. In fact, this was the only dive operator I have used anywhere in the world that uses these tanks, but I doubt many of the divers had a clue at to what size tank they had. Although the air quantity was ultimately sufficient for the shallow, low dive time profiles (33.5 and 37 minute dives), I would have preferred to have Aluminum 80s, and longer dive times. In all fairness to the dive operator, this was a ship excursion with a lot of low experience divers on a very large dive boat, and they no doubt had a tight schedule to maintain. The crew did a nice job dealing with, and keeping safe, so many low experience divers. I would have rated this dive operator higher had they split the divers into compatible experienced divers to provide a better dive experience for everyone. read more

We had a dive excursion with underwater adventures while in St. Thomas during our cruise. This is by far the best dive trip we've experienced while cruising. I highly recommend this business, the crew are an outstanding bunch with great personalities that make you feel welcome and comfortable no matter what your experience level. I would like to personally thank, captain Kyle, Mike , Tim , and Ian for a great day. It was my first time seeing a wreck and it sits in about 40 feet of water, and a reef shark. If you're in St Thomas go out with underwater adventures you will not be disappointed read more

Underwater Adventure - Us after our last dive. - Scuba Diving Near Me - St Thomas, Virgin Islands

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Had a great time during my first ever scuba dive w/ these guys (and lady). She was very nice picking up us from the dock @ our Norwegian cruise ship, short walk over to their boat. The jump on (and off) their boat was an adventure in itself. The guys giving pre arrival / pre scuba instructions were very knowledgeable and explained everything as if none of us had ever tried to breath under water, kudos to them most of us hadn't. I'll be honest The first jump off the boat into the sea with all the weights and gear on was terrifying, but they had explained how the vest would inflate to help keep you afloat when needed. The initial test dive at the front of the boat on the line straight down to make sure you could clear your mask of water, and depressurize your ears was stressful, but remember this is the first time I had ever tried to breath under water, and I'm in the middle of the damn ocean near Epstein island, not a pool. After they verified who was going to move forward safely we were under way. We went over / into a ship wreck , saw all sorts of beautiful sea life, a giant lobster, and bonus my girlfriend got stuck on the ocean floor. The hose that inflates her vest came unhooked and .. I think his name was Charlie ? The main captain / owner? Swam down, jammed it back into place and made sure to give her a "NO MAAM NO TOUCHY" hand gesture on the sea floor. I got a kick out of that. We had a great time; the staff was funny, knowledgeable, and understanding. Remember to tip the staff! And I highly recommend buying one of their t shirts. We've wore ours a couple dozen times since our dive at the end of May. It's got a neat little crab holding a dive marker flag on it, and it's held up without fading or losing any of the graphics in 12+ washes (the neon yellow shirt matches my running shoes). read more

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Booked from a Carnival cruise. Very pleased. Checkin on time, equipment was plentiful and well kept. I use my own Regs, and theirs as a backup. DM Shelby very personal and competent. Crew nailed safety issues without being overbearing. Both dives went seamless. We had 9 OW and there was a group of 10 Discovery Divers separate. Plenty of room on the boat and never slowed us OW down a bit. If we return, def will use UA again. kudos to Capt and crew. RickRobFL from Florida .... read more

Underwater Adventure - Scuba Diving Near Me - St Thomas, Virgin Islands

Dove with them last week, amazing crew!! My son, my daughter, and myself enjoyed a two-tank on a reef and a wreck. What I appreciated the most was the pre-dive briefing on both sites, especially the history given on the second site (wreck). Our DM (Casey) was that perfect balance of leading us through the sites without micromanaging us as divers. He was pretty hands-off yet checked on us consistently. We're already looking forward to our next visit to the island as we will definitely dive with them again! Here's a photo of a turtle my daughter snapped on our second dive, the wreck. read more

Underwater Adventure - Sea Turtle - Scuba Diving Near Me - St Thomas, Virgin Islands

Scuba Jesus was so patient and a fantastic dive instructor for my first dive!!! I'm plus size and quite buoyant but he was great in getting me weighted down enough to not keep popping back to the surface. The snorkeling was super fun too - highly recommend this crew and Excursion. (We booked it on our NCL cruise) read more

Underwater Adventure - Captain Luke and wife - and wife(sorry, did not get her name) were so great in making us feel welcome and safe!!! We loved our time!! - Scuba Diving Near Me - St Thomas, Virgin Islands

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Wonderful experience off the Disney Fantasy! This excursion and it's crew were outstanding. The Discover scuba event was well worth the cost. After a short boat ride with some on board introductions to simple scuba requirements, hand signals, and the equipment, we ended up at a beautiful dive spot. The crew ensured we understood the basics and then took us on a short but wonderful dive. This introduction has now made my family want to get certified. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to experience scuba to see if they would enjoy paying for certification later. read more

Underwater Adventure - Typical boat set up. - Scuba Diving Near Me - St Thomas, Virgin Islands

BUCKET LIST RECOMMENDED!!! As a child, were you the Tomboy in your neighborhood? Did you ride dirt bikes and ATV's all day, swim, climb trees, drive tractors and jump off rooftops? Well, if you answered, "Yes," to the above questions, you're probably my long lost twin! Yes, believe it or not, but, I did those exact things and loved every crazy moment of my childhood! So...to revive those feelings once more...I agreed to start Scuba Diving with my husband! We were introduced to this company through the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. While sailing through the Caribbean, our first port stop was in St. Thomas. We booked our excursion on the ship and couldn't have made a better choice. My husband had been diving for over 10 years at depths of over 100 feet. I was the novice, with this dive being only my second. This dive however, was the absolute best! Our beautiful morning started off with a boat ride to Buck Island, a short 20-minute ride just alongside Charlotte Amalie. Pre-dive, there was a span of a 30-minute snorkeling jaunt which gave us some time to play in the warm waters. The high salt content made floating on the surface much easier. In fact, so easy that my hubby could not swim deeper than a foot without popping back up to the surface! It was time for our dive. Fitted with our gear and weights, we jumped off the edge of the boat, feet first into the water! Once in, Hunter, my awesome diving instructor, checked my buoyancy and reviewed safety procedures. Once I passed these, it was time to descend. Hunter, is well versed at reading facial expressions and hand signals. Since speaking underwater is impossible, these nonverbal forms of communication are essential! He helped to ease any worries and had an amazing, calming personality. We saw a number of fish and coral. I even had the opportunity to have a sea urchin's tentacles grip my palm as it floated weightlessly in the waters. An amazing sight and feel! What made this experience PERFECT was the fabulous crew: Captain Ryan & Hunter! I cannot express enough, how wonderful they all are. First, consider how heart-pounding scuba diving can be. Being submerged underwater, breathing in an environment unnatural to humans, all while being surrounded by fish and sea urchins, can be alarming, heart pounding, nerve-racking, of course fun, and most of all...an experience one should not miss! So, the moral of my review is that at some point in life, we all exit childhood, grow up, and find ourselves living more cautiously. But why on Earth would we want that for ourselves? Go out and expand your adventures by adding Scuba Diving with Underwater Safaris to your Bucket List; you won't regret it! read more

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I had a blast with Casey and his team on the Tropic Diver II (what happened to 1?) I had booked directly with them as I prefer to support local businesses and not have their cut taken by a cruise ship. Booking directly with them gave our uncertified friends the advantage of diving at the second location, something not given through the cruise. There were a lot of jealous people when my girlfriend (discover scuba) put on a second tank and they did not. Casey and his gang were full of spirit and jokes. Safety was their number one priority and you can tell. I felt absolutely comfortable with them even though I hadn't dove for over 2 years. They created one of the most memorable experiences of the cruise and especially of St. Thomas. Thank you Casey and gang for giving us the experience of a lifetime. Do yourself a favor and book directly through them, not only might it be cheaper, but you support local a business who was hit by 2 major hurricanes, and you get perks which are not given onboard. read more

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Freaking awesome! Dove instructors were patient and very knowledgeable. Chandler is a very welcoming and fun person that put me at ease. My family took the Discovering Dive course, water was somewhat clear but this was my second dove in Saint Thomas and I can never get that perfect clarity dove lol!! Guess I need to come back! Seriously, this is worth the experience. We did this through our excursion with Norwegian Cruise lines on the Encore. read more

Had an amazing day of diving with my ! Thanks so much to Casey and the crew. They brought energy and fun to our dives, but more importantly went above and beyond to make sure everyone had a safe dive. The whole crew worked together to make sure each person had all gear, followed protocol and had all of the necessary information needed! If in St Thomas and looking to dive this is the crew to do it with! read more

Underwater Adventure - Scuba Diving Near Me - St Thomas, Virgin Islands

Absolutely the best way to dive in St Thomas! Family owned and operated so you know that safety and divers happiness is the top priority. We definitely recommend for experienced divers and beginners too! read more

Kim and her husband have been running this place in their new location for the last 3 years, and I have to say they were the friendliest people we met on the island! Kim was super responsive right from the first time I called her (she was driving and got back to me as soon as she could). Their boat is large enough to hold 40 people, so they were one of the few who could accommodate all 14 of us--10 divers, 2 snorkelers and 2 grandparents who just wanted to be part of it. Their dive masters were excellent below and above water. And they took great care of my friend who was a bit anxious since this was her first non-certification dive. We had a wonderful time and cannot recommend them enough! read more

I spent a week in St. Thomas and after asking around about diving I was referred to Underwater Safari's. Very helpful and friendly scuba team here. Chad was great to work with. Greg helped me get my gear up to date and showed us some great dive spots. Nice rental equipment. Saw plenty of sea life and creatures. Couple turtles, couple rays, lemon shark, nurse shark, crabs, lobster and too many fish to count. Swing by and see the shop or better yet go on a few dives. It's a must do on St Thomas. read more

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I did my first SCUBA dive with Underwater Adventures and loved it! The instructors were friendly and knowledgeable and kept everyone safe and having fun! read more

Underwater Safaris has great dive spots in St. Thomas, newer equipment, and great staff that are very friendly and helpful. As a diver that goes once or twice a year to different locations this place is great to go diving with. read more

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Wrote a thorough review only to have Yelp say it was too long so here's a brief summary; Good: - Crew was very friendly - Short trip to dive - Saw some sharks, turtle, an eel. - Shipwreck was cool. Bad: - Divemaster is nothing more than another diver familiar with the area. Tank was leaking, divemaster said "little bubbles are ok, big bubbles are bad". We were new, we went with it. Could hear it hissing underwater. - Dive buddy got certified with only weights in BC and found out after forgot to put weight belt on. No double checking of anything by crew. - I signaled half air with fist into forearm instead of with hands like a timeout in sports, but divemaster gave me the OK sign like he understood. Got to 800 and told him and he got a little pissy saying why didnt you tell me you were at half. Started back, air got to 500 and we still had not yet started up from 63'. Finally ascended and did a crappy 90 second safety stop. - Second dive is not at a different location. One dive is to the left, next is to the right You are truly on your own here. They will guide you but don't expect much in the form of oversight. We were new, I accept responsibility for poor hand signals, the divemaster should however accept responsibility for giving me the OK sign if he didnt understand me, for not fixing my leaking tank, and the unsafe safety stop. Would not use this company again and I feel bad because they were all nice. Please don't get defensive, just try to learn from this review. read more

My husband and I checked around and Underwater Safaris was highly recommended. We had a great morning with them. We did a double tank dive off Rye Reef. The first was a reef and the second was a wreck dive. The vis was great. Will was an excellent dive master. He pointed out a different sea life and was very attentive without being in your face. They had a discover scuba group on the boat but we never saw them once we were anchored. We had plenty of room to set up our gear. They even offered to switch our tanks for us. The boat has nets up high to keep things from getting wet as well as a dry box. The entire crew was very helpful and informative. Definitely recommend Will and Underwater Safaris. read more

My husband & I cruised into the island with Celebrity, and did the Discover Scuba Diving shore excursion with Underwater Adventures. We had Casey, Spencer, & Kaylyn (spl?) that made our experience one of the best experiences ever! We had never done scuba diving before, but just wanted to experience what it was like without committing to the certification. It was a blast & the spots we dove had so many beautiful fish, turtles, and we even saw one shark! It was a great trip and one of the best excursions we have ever done! Thanks for a fabulous time! read more

Awesome experience for my first dive. Casey & Katie are amazing!! I was amazed by how wonderful the experience was. They took it nice and slow and made sure I was comfortable. read more

We had an amazing first experience - the crew was awesome! Parker was a great instructor and super patient with us. We would absolutely do it again! read more

Great day of diving! Our first dives since open water certification- felt very safe with the crew and dive masters.

My family went scuba diving for the first time on this excursion and everyone agrees that it was a blast. I was a bit nervous coming into the excursion but the staff was excellent and really made things easy to learn. If something was even feeling a bit wrong they really made an effort to help. As a beginner we went down about 40 feet - we saw a barracuda, sea turtle, and string ray. The downside of the experience was that since we had never gone before we couldn't be down in the water long, only about 15 minutes. The rest of the time was spent jumping on the boat and snorkeling around the reef, still a fun time. I think it's totally worth it for those looking for first time experience, you can also count it as your first dive for certifications. read more

I dove with these guys on a Carnival Cruise in May 2015 and had a great time. We did a two tank dive to around 75 feet,good visibility and lots of fish. Coral was my favorite as it was so colorful and different. Guys where helpful and concerned about safety. Beginning scuba group came with us but I wouldn't recommend going into the ocean on you first dive. I took a full semester of scuba back in 1977 at Arizona State University and I just think this is to dangerous for first timers. We dove off a Island about 2-3 miles of shore and during our second dive in same location we saw a ship wreck. I would go with this outfit again. I do think wet suits should be offered free(Charge $10) as part of the fee. read more

My husband and I were on a cruise and did this as one of our excursions in St.Thomas. We had so much fun! Chris and Ryan were very friendly and experienced! They took us on a couple of great sites! We will definetly be back! read more

If you have the chance I recommend diving with Underwater Safaris! Great price, great dive sites and a friendly crew! I set up my discover scuba dive with Chad and he was extremely helpful! read more

Had an absolutely great time today with Nora can't say enough good things about the tour. The instructor was very very patient and friendly and took her time showing us new people how to scuba dive. The two tank discovery was worth absolutely every penny. So happy that I'm gonna go look at certifications at home. Can't say enough good things you should defiantly check them out! read more

I had five years of consistent experience with Underwater Safaris, I bought all my dive gear with great help and this year even bought my sister in law a complete set up as well. I cannot tell you the beauty they showed me at the market site. I will be back as I go to USVI every year and recommend to anyone. Note: I am an experienced diver. read more