Scuba Diving

[skyhawk]

Going on the Magic in August - Western. Always wanted to learn to SCUBA, but living in cold New York never thought I would get much use out of it. Anyone have any experience on SCUBAing (is that a word?) in the Western Ports? Would it be worth it to invest in lessons and get certified? Any input would be appreciated.

By the way - new to this forum - it's alot of fun!

 

[Skuba2]

It is worth it. My dh went on a resort course on our first cruise and got hooked. He came home to CT and we both enrolled in Open Water 1. After doing our classes and pool time, he started second-guessing doing the resort course. Not to scare you away from them--it is up to you. But you learn all the dynamics of diving through a full course and can get a real sense at how easily something can go wrong--to you or your environment. In my opinion, you can spend more time enjoying yourself in the warm water if you take a course first. And there is a lot of diving to do up east here. My dh went on to do nitrox and tech diving. He did the ultimate dive a few years back on the Andrea Doria. I stick with the warmer waters--like Cayman and it's many live-aboard dive boats.

Anyway, good luck with whatever you choose and welcome to the world of scuba.

 

[hydster]

We live in LAND LOCKED Utah and we are certified and diving the W. Carrib or pretty much anywhere tropical is awesome! If you've snorkeled take that and multiply it by 100! The nice thing about scuba is you only have to pay to get certified once so it will last your whole life but you only have to go to class and dive class until you get your PADI card! They do suggest if it's been awhile since you dove to take a refresher course but it's like riding a bike..it all comes back! We got certified for a cruise that we took to Belize and have almost 60 dives under our belt since. It gets addicting! The only out of pocket expense you probably really SHOULD do is to buy a decent mask, snorkel and fins. Everything else you can rent. It is a very easy certification and we did the "Fast track" certification and it took 2 weeks start to finish going 3 nights a week with 2 dive tests in there as well. The difference in scuba and snorkeling is amazing! It's all whether or not you can afford to put the $$$ upfront to get certified but honestly after you get that card you dont have anything else you have to do in order to dive the rest of your life. Also if your Significant other loves to dive you may just possibly get a lot more vacations!

HTH
Heidi

 

[Queenofthecastle]

Does anyone know of any places we can take a refresher course in Grand Cayman or Cozumel? Does it make a difference if one has a PADI certification or NAUI certification?

Q

 

[hydster]

I'd try to find somewhere near your home to take the refresher course before you leave on your cruise. Refresher courses generally take about 1-2 hours and usually when you are on a cruise you wouldnt have enough time to take the refresher and go on a dive.

As for the difference in Padi or naui I dont think it would really matter to dive but if you want a refresher course you'd probably need to go to whatever certification of the card you hold. You can probably get some really good answers however if you go to this message board from experienced divers...they've helped me out a lot with different places to dive, who's the best to dive with, all that kind of stuff..

Here is their webpage
http://dive.scubadiving.com/talk/list.php?f=1

HTH
Heidi

 

[disny4ever]

Contact your local dive shop and they can get you re-certified. it should only involve a pool dive somewhere so they can recheck all the skills you have learned.

 

[Wavegirl]

There is a place in Grand Cayman were you can do a resort course, a discover diving course for beginners and the dive a wreck site and also do a stingray city dive too.

We looked at it but our youngest wasn't old enough yet. You might want to have a look though as it would be a great way to try it for the first time.


Discover Diving in Grand Cayman

 

[Scott H]

I would highly recommend doing a Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) experience at your local dive shop or Rec Center. The experience can be credited towards the first Module (class) of an Open Water Course. This will give you a chance to check out SCUBA diving and see if you wish to continue on to becoming and Open Water Diver or beyond.

Should you wait to do your DSD and discover that diving is not for you, you might waist a lot of money and have a bad experience. By doing it beforehand you will have an idea of what to expect before you plunge into that big blue wet thing ( the ocean).

SOOO..... With that said. Should you get to Jackson, Wyoming before your cruise I would be more than glad to provide you such an experience as I am President of Soggy Moose Diving and a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer. Sorry for the shameless business plug.

Check out www.PADI.com