Stuart Cove's Dive Bahamas
I've dove with Stuart Coves in Nassau twice, the first time in December 2011, and I visited again in 2013.
Stuart Coves is a dive operator, not a resort so there aren't room accommodations. They do have a large, well stocked main lobby, which houses the diver registration, cashiers, gift/dive gear shop, and they have some cold drinks. Outside there's a grill where you can purchase things like fresh grilled burgers, hotdogs, chicken or fish sandwiches for lunch. I highly recommend the cheeseburger!
They are very well established in the area, and will arrange pick up and drop off of you/your party all around the island for your diving. They also handle many of the water excursions for cruise lines and hotels, like snorkeling, snuba etc. Considering how high volume they are, I was impressed at how well organized they were, and registration went quickly.
They are not inexpensive, though frankly everything in the Bahamas feels more expensive than it should be, so it's not just the price of diving. I opted to do 3 days of diving on this trip: the 2 tank AM reef/wreck dives, and PM 2 tank shark dives and also the nitrox package. It's a better value if you can book a multi day package, or do all day dives.
They will group you onto different boats by experience, so have your logs/dive counts handy. If you have divers of diff experience in your party, you'll have to go with the boat going to sites appropriate for the least experienced diver in your group.
Most boats had a range of 14 to 26 divers on board. They typically do the first dive fully guided, and the second dive it's optional if you want to dive with the instructor/DM. They will also have a photographer and/or videographer come on the trips as well, so you can mug for the camera if that's what you're into, and they post the photos and video in their lobby/shop within minutes of the dive completion.
For reef and wreck dive quality, the sites were solid. You will likely spot a Caribbean Reef shark or two even on these dives.
Really the signature dive is their shark feeding dives. They do these as 2 dive experiences. Both dives take place in the same areas, either their 'arena' in the sand, or sometimes they do it up on a wreck if there's a smaller group. The first dive allows every one to check their weights, and to get used to seeing sharks in the water with us. The resident group of sharks will be nearby, even with no bait in the water.
Dive 2 is the feeding. They have all divers enter the water and kneel in a larger circle around assigned 'rocks' to keep people from moving too much around. Once everyone is down, the feeder comes in with the bait box, and the sharks swarm to follow. The feeder is wearing full chainmail, and some wear helmets as well. Their will also be a photographer and a videographer on staff in the water. The feeder will move around the circle with the photographer and videographer flanking them so that there are maximum sharks around you during photo ops. Sometimes the feeder will also demonstrate putting a shark into tonic immobility. There were anywhere from 30-40 Caribbean reef sharks surrounding us during the height of the feeding activity.
The sharks are very active, so be aware that at certain times, they will bump into you. This is a very exciting dive if you want to see sharks up close. The Stuart Coves staff does an excellent job of making you feel safe, and preparing you during the briefing for what is to come.
From a photography standpoint, if you are looking for feeding/frenzied shots, the feeding is where you'll get your maximum output.
On this trip, I was aiming to get cleaner shots, so I focused more of my time shooting before bait was in the water. The sharks won't come nearly as close, but it's much easier to get a photo of shark and blue water vs. having a lot of divers in the photo in the background.
I brought all of my own dive gear, and they have a rinse station and storage hanging area if you are doing multiple dives and want to store your gear there. Otherwise, they offer full rental equipment as well. There is also a set of outdoor freshwater showers and indoor showers/changing rooms on site.
I recognized many of the instructor/guides and photograhy/video staff from my last visit there, and they were very friendly. Since I was doing so many dives over multiple days (most divers there are morning or afternoon, 2 dives only), they really let me have a lot of freedom in my dives since they knew I had my gear dialed in, and just wanted to be shooting photos.
I would definitely recommend Stuart Coves if you are in Nassau and want to get in some diving. They were solid and well organized. Just be aware that they are a high volume operator, vs. a small 6-pack mom and pop operation.
