Took the "Good Times" boat on a sunny Thursday afternoon. There were only 5 guests - my husband and a Mom with two teenage boys. The boat crew was initially attentive and eager and anxious to point out marine life as we ventured into the dive waters. The crew did a great job of fitting our masks and flippers and letting us know what to expect. The crew consisted of the captain, two dive consultants and a photographer. The dive itself was primo. We were able to go down to the restraints of the tethering cord to 20 ft below. We dove at Sand Key near the Lighthouse there. We were guided through some amazing coral reefs and saw lots of super amazing coral and fish species.
It was a let-down though once we ascended. I actually had a nose-bleed once I came to the boat. I was told that was "normal" and any attentiveness to that was disregarded. Our guide became disengaged. We were not offered (no one ever mentioned being able to use a shower-off feature) When we came aboard there was one 16 oz package of pretzels upon the counter. There was water and canned soft drinks. I was solely disappointed that there was not any attention to creature comfort once aboard again. The tour touts that there will be a bounty of treats. Once on our way back to the Key West docking spot, the photographer allowed us to see our photos. They were "cool" and I loved our underwater shots. He (Charles?) told us that as we were getting off the dive into the boat that he "spotted a nurse shark" and that "his boss" would not allow him to take videos (and not to tell) but it was beneath us as we boarded the boat after the Snuba. I felt strange being lied to as the photos he portrayed (we actually bought his photos of the real us) in there no way that this happened. The rest of the crew was not to anything else around - we saw turtles, dolphins, etc. It's a shame that Charles had to try and trick us into buying photos. It felt like we were not valued customers.
My main concern is this - I have a severe "swimmer's itch" condition that has lasted 6 days now. While the dive was extra primo, I did not have the option to shower immediately after exiting our dive. As I've read about dives in that area - the jelly fish larave are abundant. It's crazy that our dive guide didn't get us under a wash-off post dive. More about our dive guide and the end of our adventure. I had only paid the deposit and was ready to finalize payment. Our guide brought me a phone to pay and then went to be sick (vomit) off the end of the boat - while I had the device. The waters were calm - not sure what was going on. The trip was uncomfortable.
Caution here: I have a major - "Swimmer's itch" - hives all over my body - and this was my only dip into the Key's water. I am ill tonight after 6 days post Snuba. TgoogleI never have had any sensitivity to ocean water before. Now - 6 days post dive - I still have a severe rash that looks like chicken pox. I wore a bathing suit rather than using a dive suit or coverative protection. I was not given the opportunity to rinse my skin immediately after the dive as is precribed in best practice.
So to recap - the locale and equipment were awesome - all the rest? WEIRD I am miserable with Swimmers' Rash - A shower would have been primo before a drive homw...