We just returned from Nassau, Bahamas after a week long trip in Arpil 2008 We did the Sub dive at Stuart Cove's.

There were a total of 8 folks being helped by 4 divers at a depth of 15 feet under sea. My husband and I took turns to go underneath since we needed one of us to stay on the boat and watch our kids.

Both my husband and I do not know how to swim. My husband had a wonderful time and the staff were very helpful the entire time he was underneath.

I had a mixed experience. When we went underneath, the first few had to wait until everyone was down. All 8 were then instructed to follow the divers who showed where to 'drive' the subs while underwater.

When I started the power on my 'sub' , I noticed the gas cylinder on my sub was showing about 10 minutes (normally it shows around 25 -30 minutes or more) and falling fast. Unfortunately no divers noticed me giving the hand signals to indicate I felt something was wrong and wanted to go up. The entire group started following the divers who were upfront. I turned my sub to follow them and the next thing I know, the power died on the sub. I was underwater with very little oxygen, no power to manuover and no one to notice I wasnt with the group. For a while, I was sure I was going to be unconcious if not dead in a few minutes.

After more than 7 minutes like that, with the oxygen tank completely stopping to pump any more after 4 minutes or so ( the bubbles stopped and my glass slowly started to fog up) , I saw a diver come towards me. I was so relieved. Next thing I know, there were 2 divers, changing the O2 tank, but since the sub would not move at all, they manually pushed it around the reef for me to see it. Needless to say even though I totally appreciated the divers help and effort to show me around, the place lost its charm for me. I couldnt wait to get back on the boat.

Of course, at all times, the guys on the boat know where the visitors are underground since there is a big 'bubble' like stucture floating on the water surface to indicate the exact location of each sub underwater so I probably wasnt in any real danger.

That said, out of 16 folks who went down, I was the only one who had this problem. My suggestion would be to check everything before you start going down to avoid something like this. Also, I wish the folks would come up with some kind of voice or light transmission method underwater to give some added sense of security to folks going down. Inspite of my strange exerpience, I would totally try this again in a couple of years or so after my initial shock has worn out.

Hope this helps. My intention is not to give a bad name to the guys there who actually were very very helpful but to give a true account of what happened.

I recently did the snorkel trip at Stuart Cove. First, I have to say our Captain was GREAT! His name was Tavaz (I am not sure if I am spelling that right?). He really added alot to the trip and made it very interactive and fun!

Our first snorkel stop was awsome. the coral reef was amazing. This was my first time snorkeling... so I had some trouble at first but quickly got used to it. Our second stop was furthur out... a little colder water and deeper. It was also great... some very neat fish!

Our third stop was going in with Reef Sharks!!!!! I did go in... but only for a short time ;-) Tavaz provided some great information about the sharks and finished it off by feeding them and bringing them all up to the surface for some great pictures!

VERY FUN TIME.... thank you Tavaz!

We went diving with Stuart Cove. Great locations and diving – fairly professional crew and high quality rental equipment. Prices were fair and the operations were smooth. Best part was the wreck dives and the freedom in which divers were given to explore. They pick you right up from the hotel and it is about a 30 minute ride to the other side of the hotel. No pestering for tips and gratuities.

Would definately dive with them again

Stuart's Cove Dive Bahamas is a large operation offering diving, snorkelling and "subs" (which are one-person submersibles). The snorkel tour we experienced was a pleasant afternoon outing on a well-equipped boat with a knowledgable crew. The experience will vary according to the mix of people snorkelling with you. If you are a more experienced snorkeller, you will probably want to swim off to be a bit removed from the crowd excitedly splashing and watching the fish swarm in to get the fish food thrown in by the crew. There were three stops on the tour we were on. The first stop was by far the better location for seeing reef fish. Water clarity was good and the assemblage of species was very good. The second stop, unfortunately, was an example of the pollution now occurring in all too many reef locations - the most common species was "Garbageum plasticus" - i.e., floating pieces of plastic. There were large numbers of small jellyfish at the second location - no problem from a stinger point of view, but the numbers were so great that visibility was an issue at times. The main attraction at the second stop was a submersed airplane wreck. We didn't spend much time at the wreck - again because of the crowd. The final stop was a reef shark viewing arranged via the placement of bait boxes about 20-30 feet down. We were able to float above the sharks and watch them circle about. The sharks knew the drill - all they had to do was put on a a bit of a show for the tourists and then once all of the humans were back on board the boat, lunch was served as the crew threw fish bits into the water. Much screaming and shouting and oohs and aahs as the feeding frenzy of sharks ensued. It was entertaining.

On the whole, the afternoon was good value. There are better quality snorkelling sites at other islands, but if you are based in Nassau, this is a good bet for a family outing.