Looking for reviews of Blue Water Divers

[etoile]

My spouse and I have reservations for the "Resort Course" with Blue Water Divers. Has anybody done this with them before, or had any other experience with BWD? We have no scuba experience at all, and we are planning on going to their Wyndham facility when we are docked in Hamilton.

[kathy7558]

This dive center is listed as a Gold Palm Resort on the PADI site. They describe that level as: PADI Gold Palm Resorts

Quality accommodations, superior service and excellent dive opportunities make PADI Gold Palm Resorts stand out from the rest. Resorts of this caliber focus on memorable dive experiences, customer satisfaction, diver safety and environmental awareness by going the extra mile to provide professional and outstanding service – from beginning scuba programs to wreck diving and shark dives.

 

We used another shop while in Bermuda in July and I wish I'd done more research first. It didn't turn out to be as good as I'd expected. I hope yours turns out great!

[etoile]

Unfortunately I have very bad news to report about them now that I am back.

 

If you have never scuba dived before, do NOT go with Blue Water Divers.

 

The "lesson" they teach you is about 20 minutes long while you are on your way out to the dive site. Everyone I have talked to since I got home is appalled that the lesson was so short, including the friends I know who are divers themselves.

 

As a result of their inadequate training, I suffered two ruptured eardrums. I realize that I signed a waiver, so I am not looking for compensation, but my ears were BADLY damaged - not good, because I am an interpreter for the deaf. It is going to take a couple of months before I am healed. They did not spend enough time explaining how to avoid this happening. Like I said, everybody I have talked to at home said that there should have been much more time spent explaining everything. :mad:

 

Additionally, my spouse did not get to dive at all. She needed a prescription mask, and nobody from Blue Water Divers checked to see that it fit her face. As a result, when she got in the water, her mask filled up. The guide told her how to empty it, but it filled repeatedly because it didn't fit her face. She returned to the boat and got another mask, but they told her it was too late now for her to start over. They didn't even give her a snorkel so she could swim around while I was on the dive. When we returned to Robinson Marina (in Somerset Bridge) she asked for her money back since she did not get to dive at all and did not even get to snorkel. The kid behind the counter said there was no chance we would get money back for my spouse's failed dive. The worst part though...is that he was rude. He could have said "gee, I am really sorry, but I'm not allowed to do that because..." but instead he said "no, no way, you had a chance with the mask I gave you in the first place." Of course, that mask had not been fitted to her face and so she should have been given a different one! But he still refused to refund the money and he continued to be rude, so we walked out of there very unhappy...I am planning to talk to my credit card company. :(

 

To summarize: The lesson provided by Blue Water Divers is not adequate and can result in injury to the guest. Additionally, certain members of their staff are rude to guests. If you do not know how to scuba dive, do not go with them. (If you do know how, it's probably fine.)

[Budget Queen]

Unfortunately I have very bad news to report about them now that I am back.

 

If you have never scuba dived before, do NOT go with Blue Water Divers.

 

The "lesson" they teach you is about 20 minutes long while you are on your way out to the dive site. Everyone I have talked to since I got home is appalled that the lesson was so short, including the friends I know who are divers themselves.

 

As a result of their inadequate training, I suffered two ruptured eardrums. I .7.......realize that I signed a waiver, so I am not looking for compensation, but my ears were BADLY damaged - not good, because I am an interpreter for the deaf. It is going to take a couple of months before I am healed. They did not spend enough time explaining how to avoid this happening. Like I said, everybody I have talked to at home said that there should have been much more time spent explaining everything. :mad:

 

Additionally, my spouse did not get to dive at all. She needed a prescription mask, and nobody from Blue Water Divers checked to see that it fit her face. As a result, when she got in the water, her mask filled up. The guide told her how to empty it, but it filled repeatedly because it didn't fit her face. She returned to the boat and got another mask, but they told her it was too late now for her to start over. They didn't even give her a snorkel so she could swim around while I was on the dive. When we returned to Robinson Marina (in Somerset Bridge) she asked for her money back since she did not get to dive at all and did not even get to snorkel. The kid behind the counter said there was no chance we would get money back for my spouse's failed dive. The worst part though...is that he was rude. He could have said "gee, I am really sorry, but I'm not allowed to do that because..." but instead he said "no, no way, you had a chance with the mask I gave you in the first place." Of course, that mask had not been fitted to her face and so she should have been given a different one! But he still refused to refund the money and he continued to be rude, so we walked out of there very unhappy...I am planning to talk to my credit card company. :(

 

To summarize: The lesson provided by Blue Water Divers is not adequate and can result in injury to the guest. Additionally, certain members of their staff are rude to guests. If you do not know how to scuba dive, do not go with them. (If you do know how, it's probably fine.)

 

 

Sorry- but did you expect to be trained to scuba dive with this single "tour". Frankly- it would have been far wiser if you had at least had some dive experience prior. Did you have contact with them prior to this trip and did they know you had absolutely no experience?? My son is a suba diver who got his certification after about 4 months of weekly dive lessons. It's shocking they did not have snorkle equiptment, thanks for your review and warning on this company.

[etoile]

Sorry- but did you expect to be trained to scuba dive with this single "tour". Frankly- it would have been far wiser if you had at least had some dive experience prior. Did you have contact with them prior to this trip and did they know you had absolutely no experience?? My son is a suba diver who got his certification after about 4 months of weekly dive lessons. It's shocking they did not have snorkle equiptment, thanks for your review and warning on this company.

No, I certainly wouldn't expect that they were going to give me full training - I know scuba certification takes MUCH longer than that. Here is what they say on their Lesson and Dive Course page:

 

Prerequisite: None! This is a beginner course designed to teach you the basics, just enough to experience diving for the first time in a safe and comfortable manner.

 

And yes, when I filled out the reservation form I put down that neither of us had any experience. I also talked to them a couple of times on the phone after we were in Bermuda, and I confirmed both times that we did not have any experience.

 

I thought it would be fun to try scuba diving and see if I liked it, then if I did I was going to try to do more lessons back home. But this was not the group to try it with, unfortunately.

[neverdonethat]

I have my certification and went diving in Nassau recently. It had been several years since my last dive and I got put on a boat with newbies. I was amazed at the 10 minute "training" they gave to people who had no prior experience. Amazing how little is required to do something which can be very dangerous, even at shallow depths of 20-30'.

 

It's too bad you had such a bad experience because diving in good locations (with the proper trainng) is as much fun as you can have with your clothes on.