Neal Watson's Bimini Scuba Center — Attraction in Bimini

Really wanted to like this place and even gave management multiple opportunities to address our concerns but the only response was silence despite some major issues!! It is clear they have a captive audience (professional film crews and cruise boat people) and don't really care about customer satisfaction for regular customers!

Make sure you don't go during shark week because you will be treated as bad as possible and ignored when possible.

I'll take a few minutes to provide some feedback which was all shared with management but since nothing was done I decided to share all with others via this review.

The first day we arrived, we went to the dive shop to confirm our dive the next morning but no one showed us around or told us what the protocols are. 1st day of diving we had to wait in this long line to confirm our attendance and were told they wanted our payment each day (there for a week)! Never heard of this and it meant we had to carry our credit card on the dives which I had no interest in doing. Someone pointed out Neal (the manager) as we were leaving and I said I wanted to meet to go over some logistics re the dives, payment and photo shoots. He said we could pay at the end and we would meet later that day. I messaged him in the afternoon but he only replied at 630 and we were out for dinner.

The next day was captain's choice dives which were not worth the time or money, very mediocre dives sites with very little of anything to see. The captain was rude, argumentative and when i asked for an "insert" (not sure of the technical term) for the tank as it did not fit my regulator, he handed me some piece and I said I had no idea what I am supposed to do with that. He complained when we asked if we could shoot with the mermaid tail and continued to ramble on about the same subject even after we said no problem, then he complained we left late which was mostly due to him. The boat was awful, slow, very smoky and he had to keep it running to charge the battery because he said they hardly ever use it.

On the morning of the shark dive we had to wait 1.5 hours for the dive to start because one of the production crews was filming with the hammerheads. Yes the Hammerhead shark dive was excellent. BUT: I normally dive with between 4 and 6 pounds, on the shark dive i had 29 pounds as suggested by the crew. I asked if we are supposed to let all our air out as we enter the water as I have never dove with this quantity of weight; the answer "you're a diver, what do you think". This was rude and disrespectful! I decided to let it slide and figure it out on my own which I did very well. But these type of behavior is completely out of line and dangerous!

Overall, it was a very unpleasant experience with most of the staff having poor attitudes, sometimes rude, and even disrespectful and extremely poor communication.

The one bright star was Bella who was the opposite, a wonderful kind person who was very helpful!

If you do go, be forewarned about these service issues and do not do any dives that are regular reef dives as they are very very lame, the wildlife and Sapona dives are much more...

🚨🚨 BEWARE!!! DO NOT BOOK TIGER BEACH WITH NEIL WATSON 🚨🚨 They are unprofessional, negligent and crooks!! We booked through our resort in Grand Bahamas with Neil Watson on 12/5/22. We were told to meet at the West End marina at 8am for a departure of no later than 8:30am. The crew was 2hrs 45 mins late. We didn’t leave the dock until after 11:15am. The crew was unapologetic and rude!!! No extra O rings nor tanks on board. 6 out of 16 tanks were leaking from the valve and we were forced to use leaking tanks or not dive the 2nd dive. 4 tanks were under 2200 PSI. We were rushed to go back in for our 2nd dive with only 10 mins on the surface (all divers had been diving all week with multiple dives per day). Box lunches were served after our 2nd dive now it’s after 5pm. On our way back boat broke down twice and didn’t start back up on the 2nd time. We were drifting for over 10 minutes until they finally anchored (very unsafe). Neil Watson was on the phone with Captain Kev instructing him on what to do to the engine. During that time he said loud and clear on speaker to the entire crew and divers, he apologized and would give a full refund to the divers. Everyone heard it on the boat. Even the captain said “You guys heard that!” We all said YES! We all finally made it back to the dock around 8:30pm. So the next day we called about our refund and to no surprise Neil Watson denied ever saying he would give a refund to all the divers. You could only imagine how upset everyone was to hear that he clearly lied to all of us. We are currently disputing the charge with our bank as I have the video saved from him stating the refund while providing light to the captain inside the engine compartment. I will spread the word to the diving community about his disgusting, unprofessional & unethical ways of operating his charter. DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY OR TIME WITH...

Neal Watson's Bimini Scuba Center provided me with perhaps the most scenic and diverse natural experience of my life. In such a relaxed atmosphere like South Bimini, you cannot help but to enjoy yourself while lounging under sunny skies overlooking a crystal clear blue ocean. As Bimini Sands Beach Club & Marina is located next door, a cold beer and a hot meal compliment the experience that much more.

As this was my first time scuba diving, I was admittedly a bit apprehensive. Would I be able to remain calm in the ocean just like the pool?, What happens if I see a shark?, What happens if my breathing apparatus comes out underwater?, etc, etc. After getting fitted for my Scuba gear and passing my training inside the pool, we headed out.

All my anxiety was quickly put to rest; Neal makes you feel so comfortable and safe underneath the water that I quickly forgot my doubts and became so engrossed with the breath-taking sights all around me: Southern Stingrays flapping their wings in the sand, fluorescent schools of fish swimming by, spiny lobsters taking refuge in the rock piles, corals swaying in the gentle current, Christmas tree worms fanning out, reef sharks minding their business but quenching their curiosity as they cruise by, sea turtles paddling by overhead.

Along with the Scuba diving, I also had the opportunity to snorkel some of the coral reefs and feed the Southern Stingrays. Using small pieces of squid, I held the squid in between my toes; moments later the first stingray arrived and gently slurped up the squid. Soon there were 10-20 rays all around waiting their turn in the feeding frenzy.

Thank you for introducing me to Bimini's underwater world, and I cannot wait to go back and see more of what Bimini...