Divi Resort in Nassau (Bahamas)
Carolyn Osmond
(single
>s,
>families, etc.) ?
>
>Is the food there expensive and do you have to eat at the resort or are there
>other alternatives?
>
>Any info would be greatly appreciated.
I have just booked a 4 night package at the Divi Bahamas -- they are
offering a special rate of buy the 3 night plan and get the 4th night
free. I was quoted a price of $401/person for the 4-night dive package
which includes room, airport transfers, taxes and three two-tank morning
dives. Equipment is $10/item/day (plus tax -- I can't remember the %)
if you rent. A breakfast/dinner meal package is an additonal $45/person
(plus 15%) -- no beverages, not even those served with dinner! I have
been looking at several packages and this one seems pretty good. An
all-inclusive package which would include 3 meals a day, all beverages,
and the 3 days of diving would cost $737/person -- quite a bit more if
you add lunch and those beverages. I'm not sure yet which of these
meal/beverage packages we're going to do yet. Food is very expensive in
the Caribbean. By the way, the room you get with the dive package is an
ocean-front room, not the standard room. The airfare from Pittsburgh
(on a special plane owned by Carnival Cruise/Crystal Palace Hotel) is
only $232 on a Sunday/Thursday flight. Pretty good compared to other
fares to the Caribbean right now.
Anyway, we have been to Divi in Cayman Brac and were perfectly satisfied
with everything -- the room, the diving and the food. We knew exactly
what we were getting because I talked with Divi myself before we went.
By the way, the Divi 800 phone number is 800-367-3484. When I spoke
with them today at Divi about the Bahamas, I made sure I asked about all
the prices, taxes, service charges, etc. Ask about any additional costs
-- they'll be happy to tell you if you ask. Better to know ahead!
I'm not going until the end of July -- I'll post a report about the Divi
operation when I get back. Would love to hear from anyone else who's
been there, though. I still have a week to change my mind before I'm
committed in case there are some real horror stories I should know
about. Thanks.
Carolyn
George Owen
In spite of my rather, er ... harsh, things to say about the people I
won my Divi Bahamas trip from , the Divi resort itself was very
pleasant. I'm kinda busy at work right now , so I'll give my
observations in point form.
DIVI BAHAMAS RESORT
- 40 minutes bus ride from Nassau on the south-western part of New-
Providence Island. ( get the "WHATS-ON" guide at the desk for times )
- clean , air conditioned rooms with little safety deposit boxes.
( I left my diving equipment with no problem - seems VERY safe )
- 300 yards from beach ; golf cart shuttle service if you hate walking
- great , all-u-can-gorge-on breakfast - even if you don't eat the
$9 bucks worth, it's still good quality food & fruit
- main dining room in hotel is only open once or twice a week; you
should plan to eat out accordingly
( an expensive dining hall is 10 minutes away at the golf pro shop )
- small gift/convience/corner shop there has lots of stuff ; film,
shampoo,soap,post cards,t-shirts,munchies, pop, etc )
- 2 nice swimming pools; one at the resort, one at the beach by the bar.
( go to the sea for a midnight swim - it's heaven ! )
- the bar at the beach has VERY expensive food & drink
( EX $ 8 for burger, $ 2.30 for coke !!! ) BRING YOU OWN STUFF !!!
WEATHER
- right now seems to be the rainy season, so it's very moist and humid
( expect an hours worth of rain in the afternoon - kinda nice thou )
- we found that the humidity made the room very uncomfortable so we
left the air-conditioning on when we were out - helped dry things.
SPORTS
- tennis, golf, windsurfing & jet-skis ( when available ) , and diving
- free weight room with ping/pong table
- EVERYTHING costs a buck so if you want to do a lot of sports be ready
for the bill adding up ! ( you lucky TOURIST you !!! ) :-)
- if you go diving bring as much of you own gear as possible (per above)
$$$
- as I said above EVERYTHING COSTS A BUCK. Tourism is the Bahamas main
business - And boy , do they mean business !! Pretend you are a five
foot dollar bill. ha-ha-ha ! I found the people generally friendly
and kind, just as long as you are the same way. They can become
pretty nasty quite quickly if treated rudely ; no doubt a result of
the large tourist trade. SIR / MISS , PLEASE & THANK YOU are magic
words there. ( as they should be everywhere )
- we went shopping at a couple of grocery stores and saved a bundle.
Buy a styrofoam cooler ($3) from a liquor store & fill it with ice.
Stick with simple stuff - breat,cold-cuts,mayo,pop,milk,cookies,etc
THE DIVI BEACH
- great, great, great ..... well , I thought it was ok :-)
- far away from the beaten track - great to relax at
- bar & swimming pool 5 yards from the water
- sandy and shallow ; great for new snorkelers , but there isn't
much to see after 2 or 3 times cause there really isn't much of
a reef there. Still great if you want to relax & tan.
- watch the sun kiddies. ( almost got burnt ! )
- bring food & drink ; bar is expensive
DIVING
- outfit seems reasonably professional
- be on time for afternoon dives ! They leave on the button. Heh ....
Morning dive seems a little more casual , around 9:30.
- I noticed that some people said a t-shirt was enough; I dive in
fairly cold water ( 45 F ) and I found I needed a shorty.
- standard intro course for beginners , my friend took it and
really enjoyed it.
- this was my first trip south, and although the fish & colors
were abundant I couldn't help noticing that in some areas the
reefs we dove looked a little beaten up; it was still very
pleasant but now I know what people mean when they refer to
an area being over dove. (sp ? )
- saw some neat critters ; barracuda,eels,big spider-lobster
- dove the 'James-Bond wrecks' ; the Thunderball Vulcan is just
a bunch of framework now, but the wreck from 'Never Say Never'
is still in great condition. Seemed bigger in the movie thou.
- visibility was good ; 90 ft and it seemed you could touch the
surface ! Kinda made the wall dives even more tempting ...
Kept saying "I'm just going to go a little deeper ..... !!! "
... thats all the time I've got. Hope this helps !
:-) - G -
--
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* George Owen (gwo...@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca) [ 416-978-1506 ] *
* *
* University of Toronto - Computing Services - Toronto , Canada *