Getting Certified

[expericd]

Hi all-

 

I'll be on RC's Serenade of the Seas in January and my girlfriend and I were looking into doing a Discover Scuba Dive in St. Thomas. We are pretty much booked up at the other ports. (St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, and Barbados)

 

However, after looking into it we're really considering just getting certified before we go on our trip...so we can do some more exciting boat dives and not have to deal with instruction on our trip.

 

We both live in the Chicagoland area and are looking for any advise on where to get certified, how much it might cost, what's involved, and how long it will take, etc...

 

Could anyone suggest what we should do?

 

Thanks...

[Jimmers]

My wife and I were PADI scuba diver certified on RCCL Navigator in April of this year. It was $250 each. We did our two certification dives in St. Marten. That gave us basic scuba diver cert. (40ft with an instructor) We also did the classroom/pool work for the open water certification (60ft w/o instructor and can purchase air).

This was an additional $100 each. To complete the open water cert. we needed 2 more check out dives which we did in Grand Cayman this past August at $150 each. Other than that the only additional expense was our masks and snorkle which are not supplied. We bought them on the ship.

 

Although we're glad we got the certification I'm not sure if we had it to do again we would do it on the ship. We missed alot of the cruise. Didn't get to see much of St. Thomas or St. Marten. And the open water diver check out dives took another day in Grand Cayman.

 

It's a very skill intensive course with alot of new things to learn. If you like learning new things and doing things together this is a great way to do it. Not being a strong swimmer, my biggest challenge was the 200 yd ocean swim which is part of the open water check out dives. Thought I was going to drown in Grand Cayman.

 

We hope to get to the Caribbean at least once a year to use the skills we learned.

 

BTW, If you're going to get certified, do both parts at the same time. Just the few months between our course work and the last two check out dives was enough to allow us to forget some important things. As the dive master in Grand Cayman told us, these were check out dive, he wasn't supposed to be teaching us what to do at that stage. So if you think you're going to want more than the basic scuba diver certification do all four dives during the same course.

 

Good Luck

Jimmers

[sassmofi]

If you are wanting to get certified before you go....time is counting down. There are not too many places around to do your open water dives plus the water is turning cold....unless you can take a long weekend trip to do it in Florida or something. You could do the classroom here and then get a referral to do your dives where it is warmer.

 

I live in the north suburbs. The shop I go through has one more open water session coming up before Pearl Lake closes. I bet the water will be in the 50's by then.

[CFDAlden]

My wife and I were PADI scuba diver certified on RCCL Navigator in April of this year. It was $250 each. We did our two certification dives in St. Marten. That gave us basic scuba diver cert. (40ft with an instructor) We also did the classroom/pool work for the open water certification (60ft w/o instructor and can purchase air).

This was an additional $100 each. To complete the open water cert. we needed 2 more check out dives which we did in Grand Cayman this past August at $150 each. Other than that the only additional expense was our masks and snorkle which are not supplied. We bought them on the ship.

<<snip>>

Good Luck

Jimmers

 

 

$500 each without equipment to get certified on a cruise is a tad steep, for my area. A local shop certified my wife and I for $300 each, full PADI OW. Add another $100 for personal gear.

 

Most shops have a schedule to fit you, just shop around! :)

[Jimmers]

$500 each without equipment to get certified on a cruise is a tad steep, for my area. A local shop certified my wife and I for $300 each, full PADI OW. Add another $100 for personal gear.

 

Most shops have a schedule to fit you, just shop around! :)

 

You're right, it is steep. And if you count the time it takes from the cruise that you paid big $ for, it's even steeper.

Jimmers

[cmdchiefthom]

I received my certification in 1962 at West Pullman park in Chicago, but I doubt if the Chicago Parks Dept. still offer it. Check the yellow pages under "Diving Instruction" , look for a PADI or NAUI facility near you, and enroll in an open water course. The course work and pool work (confined water) can be done in a a week or so, however, your problem is time. It's October, and to get any local open water dives in would probably be cold, prohibitive. Cost would probably be in the range of $300.00 PP, plus any equipment you would need to purchase, including mask, fins, and snorkel. The heavy gear is normally provided.

 

The referral program might be the best bet, given the time. Get the pool and course work out of the way, do two open water dives locally, and then be referred by your local instructor to an affiliated facility, probably PADI, in St. Thomas for final certification. It is doable in the time you have.;)

[Middleager]

I also recommend getting the course work out of the way before the cruise. If you can do 2 check out dives before that's the best. But if not, then do all 4 checkout dives while in cruise ports. Or get to your starting port a couple of days early, and do some check out dives there.

[booth22]

Check http://www.scubaboard.com There is a midwest forum which will guide you towards a good shop in your area. Not sure where you're at, but Dive Right In Scuba is out in the Plainfield area -Mike is a class act. Good luck!