Dive Review of Ocean Encounters Diving/Sunscapes Resort in
Curaçao/n/a

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Ocean Encounters Diving/Sunscapes Resort: "Great Diveshop, Great Crew", Jul, 2015, by Terri Feinblum, MD, US ( Reviewer 4 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 8476.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I had checked out Ocean Encounters website prior to making final reservations at the resort, and it looked good. I sent an e-mail and got a prompt response with information tailored to my requests, and other options they had. I made my reservation online. I completed my paperwork the day before my first dive. I used my own equipment, and thus had a discount. I still took a look at their rental gear which was top line and in excellent condition. Cressi buoyancy vests looked almost new and there were plenty of wetsuits and fins. The only thing lacking was 2 lb. lead, which is important for those of us who use trim pockets. Angeles found a pair of those and held them for me; for some reason, most dive shops start with 3# lead, which does not fit my trim balance. Angeles, Charli, Danni and Benjo were all friendly and helpful. The boats were in great shape and moved quickly through the seas to our locations. They had a big camera bucket, separate from the mask bucket, which is a great feature. There were two morning boats, so neither one was crowded. The 8:30 a.m. time was convenient for me; we were back around noon. The captain and divemaster were pleasant. The diving is more for someone with experience The house reef is pretty and a giant stride gets you in easily. You must swim with a dive float on this reef. A ladder provides easy access out of the water. The currents and drift are very interesting. The direction of the currents can change momentarily, and are different at various depth, even in the same direction. Even on a drift dive, the currents can twist around. It didn't bother us at almost 400 dives, and people who were under 10 dives had a difficult time. Please do not use a camera here unless you have had at least 50 dives. Just my opinion. If you can take the day trip to Klein Curacao, we enjoyed it very much. There were a great variety of soft and hard corals, which were in pristine condition. We ate the lunch they supplied when we arrived at the island.Then we swam onto the shore and checked out the old lighthouse and wrecks. I took one Dramamine orange an hour before we left, and another a half-hour before we left, and was fine with the rolling seas.
Websites	Ocean Encounters Diving
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Fiji, Bonaire, Florida, Cozumel, Cancun, Mexican Riviera, Barbados, Dominican Republic
Closest Airport	Curacao	Getting There	InsulAir 30 minute flight from Bonaire
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy, cloudy	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	76-78°F / 24-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-60 Ft/ 15-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Just a request to keep the divemaster in sight throughout all dives, and to go to the divemaster in the rear if air was low, and he would swim with you closer to the surface (during drift dive).
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Separate tanks for cameras on the boat and on land. No masks were dipped into the camera bucket; other bucket was provided for that. They handed me my camera once I was in the water, and put it in the bucket before I climbed onto the boat. Everything at this shop was kept meticulously clean. I saw more eels and shrimp than anything else; there was a big Southern Ray under a ledge that allowed me to photograph it.We saw lobsters, arrow crabs, artichokes and a couple of turtles. We were not rushed, as long as we kept an eye on the divemasters. They did notice that compliance and expressed appreciation.

Subscriber's Comments

By report author: Terri Feinblum in MD, US at Nov 26, 2015 14:18 EST

I am surprised I didn't give an overall rating for 4 stars for advanced divers. The currents were a little rough for novices. The dive shop at the resort was top notch. The prices were fine for what was supplied. The only negative is that to get to this beautiful location from the airport, you pass all the petroleum processing plants. Still worth a visit.

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Dive Review of Ocean Encounters Diving/Sunscapes Resort in Curaçao/n/a

Ocean Encounters Diving/Sunscapes Resort: "Great Diveshop, Great Crew", Jul, 2015,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Ocean Encounters Diving/Sunscapes Resort in
Curaçao/n/a