Blue Water Divers & Watersports, Somerset Bridge, Bermuda
Situated near the world’s smallest drawbridge, Blue Water Divers’ Somerset Bridge facility is 30 minutes from Hamilton, 10 minutes from Royal Naval Dockyard and 15 minutes from most South Shore Hotels. It is on both ferry and bus routes (#7 or 8) and is well known to Bermuda’s taxi drivers. Blue Water Divers offer a comprehensive diving service that has been in operation for over 30 years. Join them aboard their boats Rumline or Tsunami for a two-tank morning dive or one-tank afternoon dive.
Rumline & Tsunami are both 36 ft custom built Newton dive specials, with covered cabin, bridge, showers, head, large platform and ladder making your experience both comfortable and fun. Both boats carry drinking water and an ice chest, are Marine Board Certified and carry a full array of safety equipment including oxygen.
Check-in for the morning dive is at 8:15 am daily, with return at approximately 1:00 pm. They try to visit one wreck and one reef site on the morning two-tank dive. They try to honour requests but are unable to promise any sites in advance as all dives are weather dependent. All dive sites are chosen by the Captain at the time of the excursion. Check out their website for details of the reef and wreck dive sites.
In the afternoon they offer a single tank dive. This can be a shallow wreck or a reef. Many of Bermuda's finest sites can be found in 30ft of water! Check-in for this dive trip is 12:45 pm and return at approximately 4:00 pm. A resort course is also offered on this trip for those that are not certified but would love give scuba diving a try. The lesson is taught by one of their experienced PADI Instructors en route to the site. The instructors control the descent and guide the participants on a dive to a maximum depth of 30 ft for up to one hour bottom time. Should you complete the resort course discounts are available for further dives throughout your stay. This is the perfect trip for all level of diver and works well for those that have been dry for sometime.
Camera rental is available on all trips.
Snorkellers and passengers are welcome on all trips. Both boats are available for private charter with many options possible. Guides are available on most dives, as are buddies for the lone diver.
Blue Water Divers also offer PADI courses ranging from Scuba Diver to Instructor.
Complete your diving course in Bermuda with Blue Water Divers (who needs a quarry!). Referral dives are available and are completed on two morning trips. Participants are advised to bring their referral forms along with the medical statement. Should you have answered yes to any of the medical questions a physician’s signed permission to dive will be required. They are able to offer referral service for the following agencies: PADI, SSI, NAUI, PDIC and YMCA.
Blue Water Divers and Watersports are also able to offer dive/accommodation and air packages at many of Bermuda's hotels, guesthouses and self-catering facilities. Details can be found on their website or by contacting Dive Deals .
Save money by doing a multi-dive package. These are available for multiple two tank morning dives only and offer discounts on both dives and equipment rental.
Check their website for the latest rates, further details and booking information.
They also have another facility at Elbow Beach where you can rent kayaks, snorkel equipment or arrange guided snorkel/kayak tours as well as arrange guided or unguided shore dives to the picturesque surrounding reefs and the 1915 wreck of the Pollack Shields. They also offer DPV (Diver propulsion Vehicle) tours, underwater scooter tours for certified divers.
Reviews / Comments / Additional Information
I was extremely disappointed with my dive experience in Bermuda. I am especially upset at the lack of safety practised by this establishment. Next time I visit Bermuda, it will be with another facility.
On another note they had poor poor service, they limit the dives to 50 minutes with a 15 minute surface interval. They rush your diving and it makes it tough to enjoy. They seem to just want to get you on and off the boat and could care less about you having an enjoyable dive. I do 80-100 dives a year and have dealt with many different charters and by far they are the worst people I have ever dealt with.
The first day the dives 2 wrecks with not much fish or reef life. Although the second day we did do 2 nice dives, I will have to give them credit on that. But, the boat captain was pushing people on the time limit. For example, there was 1 family that had not surface at the exact time yet and he proceeded to start the engine threatening to leave them there. That is just horrible. There is much more to say but, I am just tired of typing and I think i got my point across.
DON'T DIVE WITH THIS COMPANY!!
READ BEFORE GIVING THEM YOUR CREDIT CARD.
I made an online reservation and checked in the day before inquiring on the conditions. Andre at the location stated Monday would be the better of the two days and showed on a map where we were going. The boat was too small for the conditions. Could barely set up my gear. When we reached the site I told Andre I did not want to go tomorrow if today is the better of the two days.
This was at 9:30 am. I had to say this at 8:30 to be valid and get a refund.
I was told "No Worries", Andre's favourite line, the next site would be better for the second dive. Long story short, it was not. I knew I would be better if I could get under the water but could not even make it to my gear, the boat was being thrown so violently and I felt so ill.
Andre also does the minimum possible. Complained no one was listening about taking off your fins before climbing back on board. If someone was there to help make sure they did not fly back into the water, taking them off is common sense for any certified diver.
He was polite as a positive. He was very misleading about conditions.
There were also three snorkellers. Two never touched the water and one make it in for less than 5 minutes. They paid $50 each.
Everyone has their own experiences and am sure many people have had good dives with the charter.
MY BEST ADVICE AND AM SURE THE OTHER POSTER WOULD AGREE!
Do not give them your credit card.
Do not book ahead of time.
The appintment book was pretty empty. You are better off risking having to find another place to go through.
Pay only in cash, one day at a time. DO not make any reservations for the following day or days,
Do not let Andre tell you it makes the check in process easier to pay today.
I plan to share this story for people to make an informed decision, on as many cruise, travel, and dive boards until they resolve my issue and refund my $230. This is definitely worth my time to protect other fellow divers from getting ripped off by misleading details and crappy customer service.
I decided to ignore this, and after their very tentative suggestion that I might be credited for a subsequent dive, I made a reservation to go another day (again with no written confirmation). Unfortunately, I developed a slight medical problem which required me to cancel or at least postpone. When I called, they informed me that because I had missed their 24 hour cancellation deadline by two hours, they would charge my credit card (in full) again, whether I showed up to dive or not. I never did dive with them. They were so argumentative on the telephone that I finally gave up in disgust.
To be fair, they did credit back what they charged to my card the first time. The rest is still unclear. This all may have been a misunderstanding--but whether these people were within their rights or not, they are rude and play hardball, and nobody needs that when on vacation.