I feel like i'm starting a campfire in a hayfield, But.. has there been any reports of Break-ins at the Divi? There was a mention of it in a post elsewhere..Anybody have something concrete?

Jane, there have been no first hand reports on the boards, only speculation and hearsay. If someone has had first hand knowledge of something, I think that is what you should be concerned about.

Cynde,
I agree, that is why I was reluctant to put out the feeler. But sometimes where there is smoke there's fire.

I think Gregg Brewer is still down there...maybe he can give us the skinny on what's up at the Divi, if anything. Don't want to start rumors without cause. Gregg....have you heard anything that can be substantiated at all?? Might not want to comment here, tho...Ayo. Carole

PS How's the hammock doing at the new Beach Bar?? I'll bet it is perfect during the sunsets. cb

Carole,

yes I am still on the island...I have no first hand info on break ins in the rooms at Divi...however, a divi employee implied a "series of problems" forced the resort to lock the gates on both ends..you can no longer walk down the waterway toward town from the north gate (diveshop)...you have to walk around thru the casino to the street and around the block..

I can report first hand items stolen from our truck in the parking area on the street near the casino...if you drive to dinner in the evening, you may find the casino parking lot full when you get back so you are forced to park on the street...I figure the thieves patrol that area heavily

not much hammock time...construction at Divi makes relaxing in the timeshare area impossible...jack hammers breaking up concrete doesn't make for a peaceful day

What a shame, Gregg. I guess you will now be "forced" over to the tanning pier with the KLM crews sunbathing topless....what a way to suffer. LOL. Seriously, tho....that is not nice when you are on vacation and jackhammers are going all day long. Talk about stress. Had that happen in Aruba when they were building the huge monsterous building "C" at Divi Village...we have the top end unit of the "B" wing overlooking the ocean and pool AND the major construction.

Hang in there, buddy.

The break-ins the staff "hinted" upon might have been some while we were there in June this year. Two young fellas from Utah told us at the beach that two rooms on either side of them on the hotel side had been hit. One of their Dads was hit at an apartment somewhere on the island too, the same nite with photo and computer equipment taken along passports and credit cards, airline tickets and the like.

We had no confirmation of the Divi rooms being hit, but only what they told us. They had just spent the day with the authorities lining up how to get them off the island the next morning without papers and tickets.

It sounds like the additional "security" might have slowed down the passage/entry of folks who don't really belong there, now. Let's hope so.

Do you know if "they" are referring to the same incidents or are there different, more recent ones since June 2004?

Either way, use the safe in the rooms and lock up and keep things in the closets and out of sight when not in the room, folks. It does help.

Thanks again, Gregg! CArole

In reference to the question about break-in at the Divi. My wife and I were at the Divi from Aug 28 thru Sept 14-2004. We were supposed to leave on Sept 08, but Hurricane IVAN had other ideas. We were "forced" to spend an additional 5 nites at the Divi. Not a bad place to be marooned at. But back to the initial subject. In preparation to leave on Sept 08 - my wife and I had our dive gear out in the screened porch in room 720 - first floor near the casino parking lot. Our bcds and dive skins were drying out to be packed. The door to the porch was locked. Sometime between midnight Sept 7th and 6:30 am on Sept 8 - someone slit open the screen on the side by the parking lot and crawled in and stole my wife's bcd. Luckily my bcd was hooked to a chair or it might have been taken also. We notified the Divi Office. A Incident report was written up. The police were notified and they came and took our statement. Of course - the bcd was never found. Hopefully our trip insurance will cover part of the loss. We expect to come back next May. Our daughter graduates from college and wants to dive Bonaire. Hopefully the next trip will be less eventful. You can be sure that we will not leave any gear outside the room. It will always be locked up inside.

Carl,

tks for the first first hand report I've heard about thefts from rooms at Divi....I usually leave my dive gear out on the porch...unfortunately, the presence of the casino allows any transient person (thieves) free access to the time share rooms

Hi, Carl, sorry to hear about the theft. Someone really wanted to gain access to your equipment, obviously. Not a nice feeling.

720 is our "contracted" room at the Divi but ever since they made the tennis courts into the casino parking lot we find it to be too noisy and pay the extra fee to stay in a different unit. The traffic up and down Kaya Industria was getting to us, as well. Has it quieted down over there in the corner now?

Truly sorry to hear about the theft. Carole

Thanks Gregg - Carole. Carole - the noise never bothered us during our stay. We live a highway in NJ and are used to the traffic noise. Except for the occasional loud motorcyle - Bonaire was relatively quiet. Like I said - we will be back - next May with our daughter and son and hopefully another 5 or 6 people. We like the Divi - its location to town and other restaurants in the area. The studios make it easy to eat in or we can eat locally or walk into town. Hopefully by then the casino work will be done and the dive pier replaced. It was so easy to just grab a tank - suit up and spend an hour in the water. Always get to see something new.

Hi, Carl...small world...we live off a noisy freeway here in Northern NJ! We are in Morris County near Interstate 287 and hate the noise, too! LOL. I either have the a/c going and the windows shut or a fan going for "white noise" in the background to drown out the sound of the cars/trucks...trucks mostly. Blah.

I guess it was exceptionally noisy when we first used 720 as it was Regatta week on Bonaire and the partying and traffic went on 24/7.

Glad to see you are returning to the Divi...we just love it there, too! Ayo. Carole

Just returned from the Divi. Had no problems in the timeshare. The gates are keeping people out, especially the kids. The deck is great. Once you're in the hammock chairs, you don't want to get out! Sue

Yeah, it was really awful that the north pier was down while we were there in mid-September. That forced me to use the middle dock for sunbathing along side the KLM "double-breasted, rubby- lipped, mattress thrashers" that someone has already mentioned. However, someone has to do the tough duty stuff!

Not quite as tough duty as when I had to volunteer to suck Sea Wasp poison out of the hip of one of the girls after a night dive.

Good thing we had good training. SCUBA divers have to be prepared for anything!!!!