Reviews of Ocean Quest Adventures (Travel Agency)

YOUR STORY GUY

very professional and owner is nice person.... great experience watching whales

Bobbi Sooley

Absolutely horrible. 2 months before going on the "marine wildlife snorkeling" tour, I was in contact with John. I specifically told him I was coming from Ottawa to snorkel with Humpback whales. He did mention that this was a "marine wildlife" tour first and foremost and that whales can't be guaranteed. Completely understandable. When my friends and I went on the trip, we spent quite some time touring the coast ...looking for sea gulls. Apparently that's what they were starting us off with and wasting about half an hour of our time with. If I wanted to see seagulls, I'd go to my neighborhood Walmart's parking lot. We then spent more time checking out a bunch of caves and rocks, which frankly, we couldn't care less about. Total trip time: 3 hours Time snorkeling: about 10-15 min ..funny how that's the activity with the least amount of time..on a snorkeling trip. Number of marine animals: 0 Total time getting bruised by the sketchy zodiac's bench due to the captain's steering: Most of the trip The old wooden bench on the zodiac had a railing to hold onto which was probably minutes away from coming off. The railing had one screw missing and one loose. Now I would have had no problem if the team took the time to go looking for whales and actually tried spotting them and we couldn't find any..but not a second was spent doing that...even though the guy we spoke to at the office the day before kept calling it a "whale snorkel" just as we did. I should have suspected something with barely any reservations being made on other days ..as shown on the website. ...and while it's nice that you take care of the waters by picking up trash when possible, I'd rather you didn't waste our time and money doing so..especially when the team started spotting trash and steering towards it. We could have "snorkeled around the small floating pieces of ice" as the guide mentioned we would do, but didn't. We were literally next to hundreds of small pieces in a big group. Friendly staff as other reviews mention, but just a horrible trip. 100% not worth the price, the bruises, and the misleading info.

Off The Beaten Path Adventures and Travel (Adventu

Keith and the employees took good care of us. "Johny O" was an excellent underwater tour guide for two shore dives in the Conception Bay Area.

Tyler Mifflin

What's not to like

Russell Clark

Good service, friendly staff

Mahesh Reddy

Very helpful staff.

Bryan Jerrett

Diving has taken me to some cushy Caribbean resorts and some stunning cold water destinations across Canada - but Ocean Quest is by far the best, friendliest, safest, most accommodating and enjoyable crew and resort I've had the pleasure of diving with. While the wrecks themselves are world class (I mean it -- especially in early summer with clearer water), the service is what puts Ocean Quest over the top in my books. The boat crew are largely expert divers themselves who know exactly how to help divers on the boat (recreational and technical alike). They are super knowledgable of the history of the wrecks of Bell Island, local wildlife and - of course - the history of Conception Bay and Bell Island itself. Not to mention they are as friendly as can be and go out of their way to make sure you have a great time. What dive trip is complete without a bunch of gear problems? When inflator hoses went, drysuits leaked, or wrist seals tore, the crew went out of their way to supply replacements or arrange repairs (or rentals) with the shop so the diving could continue. Nobody missed happy hour at the lodge or a single dive due to unresolved gear problems. ;) The accommodations at the resort are fantastic. Again, owners Rick and Debbie Stanley go out of their way to make guests feel at home. They took us shopping for food and "supplies" and offered whatever tools we needed to cook meals (including a kitchenmaid mixer - haha). The kitchen is fully stocked with dishes, pots and pans and there are two large BBQs. The dining room table accommodates 12 people, the lounge even more, and there are two outdoor decks with beautiful views of the bay. Private and semi-private bedrooms and ample bathrooms included, plus laundry facilities and ample places to dry out wet gear. A compressor, O2 and booster are all on site, and the crew will mix virtually any kind of nitrox you ask for each night. They have all sizes of tanks to meet your needs - singles or doubles. The fills were always on point. A full bottle of O2 and doubles were ready every day for sign-out and load-up. Aside from the four main wrecks of Bell Island, there are lots of shore diving opportunities within an hour's drive (Hollyrood, Harbour Main, etc), if you have your own car. Ocean Quest is happy to send you out with tanks and directions. The shore diving was phenomenal too. All in all, if you love cold water diving and love ship wrecks, then you absolutely must dive Conception Bay with Ocean Quest. The conditions and the dive outfits don't come any better than this, in my experience.

Michel Bourdages

Excellent, there is really no other way to describe our tour. The crew is professional and knowledgable, but also treat you like family and make sure you have an amazing time. You are in great hands when adventuring with Ocean Quest.

Trisha Stovel

I have been hearing about this place for years. I have had business partners, friends, clients and family talk about it for at least 20 years. I was in there for the first time recently and I never realized how much this place provides. They provide diving, tours, accommodations (for users), training, repairs and more. The gallery and pictures are simply amazing! Such a truly surprising place.

Glen Dietz

Ocean Quest are one of the best dive operators I've had the pleasure of giving my money too! Their resort is fantastic - lovely rooms, a huge kitchen with everything you could possibly require, on site dive facilities, lots of storage room, washer and dryer, a beautiful lounge, and two decks with great views. They even have a full on spa, so you can book a post dive massage! Oh my! Their dive boat, Mermaid, is one of the best. A huge heated cabin, massive top deck, and a large dive deck with an elevator - getting back onto a boat has never been easier. The best thing however are the crew. From owners Rick and Debbie, to skipper Bill, and the amazing Johhny O - possible the best DM in the business. It's tough to find fault with anything Ocean Quest do. Their attitude is infectious, their services fined tuned from years of success and experience, and their passion for local diving and adventure is in abundance. Fantastic diving, a fantastic operation, and fantastic people.

Bill Ryan

Great place

Patrick Martin

Best times of my life

mike bryant

Leaky lol

Tyler Caughill

Incredible operation! Rick, Deb, Jimmy and Johnny O really went out of their way to make our group feel welcome and delivered an awesome week of diving on some incredible wrecks. The lodge was comfortable and suited our group perfectly! We will be back!!! Almost forgot Skipper Bill… thanks for taking care of us!

Brendan Dellandrea

Nice staff, very competent and friendly. Prices are very variable, some are great, others not so much.

René Enguehard

It’s about time I wrote a review for Ocean Quest Adventures. This will be a long review, but will answer most of your questions about whether you should go with Ocean Quest Adventures. If you want the short answer, you should go with them without a doubt. You will not regret it. You will leave with a lifetime of great memories. The main reason I wanted to go was in order to dive the icebergs. Even though my wife and I came in the middle of the night, Rick Stanley, the owner, came and picked us up. He was way nice to us. He treated us like family, even though it was 1:00am in the morning. Even the airport personnel were really nice. They found Rick’s number for us, which we had misplaced. When we came the first time, they had us stay in a nice room called the Rose Castle. The room had a hot tub (the diving is cold, so it made life nice), and it was very nice. Every morning a lady would make us breakfast. I’m talking about bacon, moose sausage, bread, or whatever we asked for. She spoiled us rotten with her amazing food. If we had to leave early, breakfast would be there. The owners invited over for dinner at least three times with amazing food on our first visit. On my second trip there, they converted the lodge for another business venture and provided lodging at their house. My room was great. I could see the sights. Debby made me a great breakfast each morning. One dinner, I showed up with a TV dinner. That very night they made steaks and invited me to eat with them because of my pathetic dinner. I’ve never been full eating steaks till that trip. I ate scallions with them, spaghetti, and other great meals that second trip. I felt so much at home, I felt I should do the dishes! (but I didn’t). Rick even drove me to town to see the sights and picked me up. When we came the first time, the icebergs did not show up. Because he knew I was really disappointed about that, Rick took my wife and me on a snorkeling tour for free. It felt that they did everything to make the trip amazing. People in Newfoundland are amazing. We went to a local church, and the members had us over playing Doctor Mario and eating salmon. Another member took us on a tour of Signal Hill and took us to the best place to get fish and chips. We dove several different dives in Newfoundland. You really can’t miss. On my second trip to Newfoundland, I did dive the icebergs. The shipwrecks are amazing. Don’t miss out on the non-wreck dives like the whale bones, old whaling ship, shore dives, Bell Island, and the clapper. On those dives, you can see a lot of flounder and stingrays. The visibility is incredible for the ship wrecks and they are well intact. You can see old Marconi radios to bullets to an anchor that flew on the deck of one of the ships. The icebergs are the star of the show. It’s like seeing a skyscraper worth of ice in the water. You can watch the saltwater and freshwater mix. Ocean Quest also took pictures for me on all of my dives. The crew is professional and nice. The people are the nicest people on earth. The scenery is amazing. How often can you say that you saw a whale, dove the whale bones, dove icebergs, and dove World War 2 wrecks all in one trip? Plus, Mountain Dew (which I now call “Mountain Berg”) tastes better when you use iceberg chunks as ice. You’ll leave with a lifetime of great memories.

CJ King

The family at Ocean Quest always goes above and beyond to ensure your trip was an incredible experience. Fantastic diving, fantastic service, can't wait for next time.

Gerald Coombs

My first trip to Newfoundland and I had such an amazing time with Ocean Quest Adventures diving and staying at their resort. We dove the Bell Island wrecks and also went for a tour of the mine and Grebes Nest. Rick and Debbie are wonderful hosts. Always smiling and making sure everyone is having fun and have what they need. The resort is perfect for groups of divers with a shared kitchen and large dining and living area. Their dive boat is excellent with loads of room, a warm cabin with tasty soup from Captain Bill, and an elevator to bring you back up to the deck! John was with us on the boat each day going above and beyond for all of the divers. Everyone was friendlier and more helpful than anywhere I've been before! I love Newfoundland and can't wait to return to see everyone at Ocean Quest Adventures again!

Ben Ruzzer

Best adventure ever on a boat

damon adul

My wife and I went on our first ever sea kayaking adventure with Ocean Quest (guided by Dan) and cannot recommend them enough! Dan was extremely professional, knowledgeable and safety-oriented and even took the time the educate us on the history of the surrounding area (even though we were all locals), which we greatly appreciated! We went on the 3 House Shoreline Paddle, which is incredibly family and novice friendly! Againt, it was our first time sea kayaking PERIOD and it was in open water with a fair amount of sea traffic (it was during the recreational cod fishery on a beautiful sunny day) and I felt safe the entire time. Again, can't recommend enough!

tim wade

I went diving with Ocean Quest to the four fantastic shipwrecks at Bell Island. I had problems during my first dive because I had only few experience with dry suits. After I told this to them, they let me practice in the pool for free. The dives after this extra training were amazing. When you come out of the cold water, they have hot drinks and delicious soup waiting for you to get warm again.

Alfie Kelly

John was incredibly helpful and informative.

Joanna Gillen Mahoney

Great customer service.

Omar Abdulrahman

I did my PADI Dry Suit certification and the PADI Advanced Open Water course with Ocean Quest Adventure and I highly recommend this company for anyone looking to dive or purchase diving equipment, they have a full time service technician on site too! Their staff and instructors are kind, knowledgeable and very helpful! They steered me on to the right path to becoming a Commercial Diver and I can't thank them enough for all their help and sincerity! I can't wait to see the shipwrecks off Bell Island Newfoundland with this top notch dive shop!! ????????????

Peter Norton

Fabulous Dive Shop This is one of the best stocked dive shops I have visited. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable and willing to help.For divers visiting the area, this is a stop worth including on your itinerary.