USVI-On-Line

Can anyone comment on experience with these shops? 6PAQ has some unique packages, but they are very pricey compared to Low Key. I will be diving and my girlfriend just snorkeling. However, 6PAQ quoted the same price for each person regardless of if they were diving or not, which to me seems odd. Low Key only charges 40 bucks I believe to ride along and snorkel...

Thanks as always!

T

Hubby has gone with both on past trips.

Low Key is very consistent and I have heard few complaints about their equipment or the experience my friends and family have had with them.

As for 6Paq this is a tale of two dives. Flip Flop who was very nervous about diving and wanted to give it a try & had a great first time experience trial dive with Colette. She found her to be patient and encouraging. Hse had nothing but good things to say about Colette.

My hubby, Flip Flops hubby and our friends who were VERY experienced divers had serious issues with her equipment and her judgment regarding location selection and her attitude for a night dive they went on with her.

The equipment was in bad shape and as a result some didn't get their second dive. They were sent back to shore alone and were not reimbursed for the lost dive even though her equipment was at fault. They were on a night dive so this is also poor judgment on her part.

She was also very short and defensive with folks who asked her questions and viewed it as a challenge rather than a request for assistance.

One of my friends who was a 7 year resident on STT and has been on daytime and nighttime dives all over the VI's with just about every outfit, proclaimed his experience with 6paq the worst experience he had ever had. He tried his best to be nice about the whole thing but he was clear about bad the experience was.

I've gone along on the low key dive as a snorkeler and enjoyed myself throughly. Worth the $$ IMHO.

I'd be interested to read what other folks have to say about the two outfits.

But based upon the experience my friends and family had with 6PAQ, I could not in good concsience recommend them.

I can on the other hand recommend Low Key.

My husband and my friend's husband dove with Low Key in Dec. '07 and said the crew was great. My husband is an experienced diver, but our friend had to complete his open-water certification, which he did with Low Key. Then they both dove the wreck of the Rhone and loved it. Both men commented that the crew was courteous, helpful and professional.

We're all headed back in January and both men have signed up for an advanced diving course with Low Key.

Colette - 6paq - is great if you are a new or very inexperienced diver. I REALLY want to love diving but I hyperventilate every time I put my face in the water. Lowkey was no good with me. Colette got me down 40 feet. I really, really loved her.

That said, my husband, an experienced diver with advanced open water certification, won't ever dive with her again. His inflatable vest (there is an acronym for it that I can't remember) kept inflating while he was trying to descend on a night dive. At first he thought it he had miscalculated and wasn’t carrying enough weight (He usually sinks like a rock, with or without weight) and was mad at himself. When he got back to shore and realized his vest was malfunctioning he was PO’d to say the least and he’s a very easy going guy.

He is also not a huge fan of Cruz Bay Watersports or Lowkey. They are ok, but not great.

He will only dive with Chris Sawyer (the dives depart from Caneel) from here on. He went on a night dive with them last November and came back beaming. According to him they were top notch and really had their stuff together and blew away all competition.

Yo...been there with them all...Chris Sawyer is the man with the right show...God bless...Bill

My friend from STT also recommended Chris Sawyer, but since you only asked about Low Key or 6Paq I assumed you had your reasons.

I forgot about Chris Sawyer. I sent them an email, but do they also offer a package where a snorkeler can join?

LK charges 50 additional for the snorkeler. 6PAQ wanted the same amount that I would pay for the dive trip, which was over 200!

Thanks as always to everyone for the input!

Yet another reason to avoid 6Paq. That's pretty ridiculous to charge additional folks the same price as a diver.

My guess as to why you are paying more for the non-diver with 6paq is because of the smaller capacity of her boat. (On her site it does say nondivers pay $20 less, so I'd double check that with her).

With Lowkey or CruzBay you are going to have many more divers/snorkelers on the boat, thus the cost per diver/snorkeler goes down. I think Colette's max is 6 people. I am pretty sure the other outfits take out much larger groups.

jigzmom wrote:My husband and my friend's husband dove with Low Key in Dec. '07 and said the crew was great. My husband is an experienced diver, but our friend had to complete his open-water certification, which he did with Low Key. Then they both dove the wreck of the Rhone and loved it. Both men commented that the crew was courteous, helpful and professional.

We're all headed back in January and both men have signed up for an advanced diving course with Low Key.

3 of us also did our open water certification with Low Key in February '08 and had no complaints at all. In fact, we had a blast! Staff in the shop were friendly and helpful and the dive crew were the best. We had more fun with Andy, Jeremy and Guy (from NC) and even passed our certification. The Hey Now is a great dive boat and everything worked fine for us. We also dove on the Rhone and it was amazing (but I'm sure all the operators will take you there).

Sorry, but I have no experience with 6Paq so can't comment.

We used Low Key in May for our initial certification and the first dives the next day. We were completely satisfied. I will admit that we had one problem. As soon as I brought it to their attention the problem was fixed.

The STOB II took two trips with 6pac recently. They would be the best ones to comment on that.

JIM

I have used Lowkey many times with no complaints plus the Beach Bar is right there when you get back to shore as an added benefit. I have no experience with 6Paq, sorry. I have also used Cruz Bay Watersports but they seem to cater more to the Westin divers since they are set up there.

I dove with LK twice. Picked them for price. Was new diver 1st time. Very disapointed. Tried again years later, again disapointed. tried Cris Sawyer 2 years ago and found what a professional op sould be . You get what u pay for.
just my 2 cents

I'll weigh in.

We did two dive days on our most recent trip - one with Chris Sawyer and one with 6PAQ.

Very different experiences, but as long time divers, we've seen a lot of different operations, and no two of them are the same. And it's interesting when Leslie and I compare notes at the end of the day, because although we were on the same boat, at the same sites, withthe same people, etc., our perspectives are sometimes quite different.

We dove with Sawyer's operation first. Nice dive shop at Caneel, very nice people, everything was very clean and well maintained, from the shop to the boat to the rental gear (we usually bring our own with us, but it can be a pain to haul, and since we were only diving two days we opted for convenience over thrift and comfort).

The boat was big enough to take 20 or so divers, but since there were only seven there was a lot of room to move around without getting into each other's way.

Overall, very well organized, and someone I'd dive with again with no hesitation.

PROS: Professional, well equipped, and very comfortable.

CONS: I believe the choice of dive sites was greatly influenced by their desire to not go a long way, possibly due to the small number of divers on the boat compared to what it could carry. Bottom times seemed to be predetermined, and appeared to be for their schedule's sake as much as anything else - I boarded the boat with well over a half of a tank of air left on both dives.

Two days later we dove with 6PAQ. Obviously a smaller operation. We met at the National Park dock, where everyone's gear was loaded on the boat, then we left as to not violate the 15 minute courtesy docking rule. All of the paperwork was filled out in the boat while we drifted in the harbour. Colette, the owner/operator, was also our in water divemaster and did the dive briefings. The mate for the day was Celia, who was still learning her way around the boat and operation. Colette's briefing was very detailed and it took us quite a bit longer to get into the water than it had on the Sawyer trip.

PROS: The site selection was obviously geared toward giving the divers the best dive experience possible given restrictions due to experience levels and weather condiidtions. Colette did a weight check on everyone at the end of the first dive to try and ensure all were properly weighted for the more challenging second dive we did.

CONS: Not as well organized or equipped as Sawyer's. Our gear worked fine, but Leslie's tank only showed 2100 PSI when we descended at the start of the second dive, and she swears that it read 3000 on the boat. Colette and Leslie swapped gear underwater, and Colette "borrowed" some breaths off of my octopus a few times during the dive since she now had a short tank. I felt that the briefing was longer than it needed to be. Leslie appreciated the thoroughness of it.

I felt that the creature comforts and organization made Sawyer a better choice. Leslie felt that the personal attention made 6PAQ her favorite of the two.

So it comes down to what's important to you, and what you feel comfortable with.

We've seen the spectrum as far as diveoperations go, neither one of these two were near the limits of either end. Remember all that you learned in training - be ultimately responsible for your own safety and enjoyment, and have fun - that's what you're here (there) for!

nomorelurking wrote:Can anyone comment on experience with these shops? 6PAQ has some unique packages, but they are very pricey compared to Low Key. I will be diving and my girlfriend just snorkeling. However, 6PAQ quoted the same price for each person regardless of if they were diving or not, which to me seems odd. Low Key only charges 40 bucks I believe to ride along and snorkel...

Thanks as always!

T

If diving SST, use this dive operator: http://www.downunderstjohn.com/ Dove with these guys back in June and July.The best dive boat hands down..