Need Open Water Certification Dives

[AlwaysReady2Go]

Hubby and I are doing our bookwork and poolwork here at home in New England but cannot do the open water dives because its to cold now. We are hoping to get in our four dives during our cruise. Does anyone know how that works - it seems to me that I will only be able to get two one tank dives in per port - can you do two in one port and two in another and the second diveshop fill out your paperwork for certification? Sorry for the ignorance but I was hoping to do all this at home and then just enjoy dives on vacation but I waited to long. Our trip is at the end of February and the next course starts first week of January. We will be stopping in Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, Cozumel and Belize - thank you.

[sddiver]

In each port you will most likely be limited to 2 tanks unless you have some really long days in port or do short shallow shore type dives to get in your 4 dives that are required. You will need to find instructors associated with the certifying agency that matches that of your classroom and pool instructor. Most likely PADI. If you want to do your cert dives in ports you may have to coordinate with two different instructor in two ports to do two dives with each. Not impossible, but will take some effort on your part.

Suggestion- Most likely you will be sailing out of Ft Lauderdale or Miami or maybe Galveston. Fly down a couple days early if you can and find an instructor there to do your 4 dives with, then board the ship with it all completed and enjoy your dives on vacation without having to worry about it.

 

Good Luck

 

Rich

[sailingangel]

If you find the Dive Shops you need -- please tell me what islands you are going to and I can probably help you, they are happy to do your open waters -- two at one island and two at another and sign off. My boyfriend did it last year and it was no problem. Are you PADi or USSCUBA?

[AlwaysReady2Go]

We are doing a PADI course and will be stopping first in Grand Cayman, then Costa Maya Mexico, Cozumel and last to Belize. I thought of trying to get my cert done in Tampa beforehand but we unfortunately have all our plans in place to fly in the evening before the cruise. We will be escaping three children and cannot extend our vacation any more than the 8 days we have planned. Excellent thought though. Have you used any good dive operators in any of these ports?

[case]

What you can do is coordinate a 2 tank dive trip with 2 different operations on 2 different islands. Say, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. If you are going to Grand Cayman before Coz, then that GC operation's instructor will do your first 2 dives with skills completed and sign them off on your referral papers given to you by your original instructor in the NE. You would then complete your final 2 dives with skills completed in Coz with their operation's instructor and that would be the operation to sign you off as a certified diver. You cannot complete your 4 required dives in 1 day... sorry :)

And, believe me, even though you'll need to complete some skills on your dives on vacation, it'll be much more fun than doing your check outs in the North East! I did my check outs of the coast of Rhode Island in April! BRRRRR!!!!

This sounds harder to set up than it actually is. It's really quite easy. You can do a search on this board for dive operations on each island and send them an email with your request. And it sounds like sailingangel knows some folks to contact.

Have fun! Casey

[sailingangel]

Hi - go to http://www.scubaboard.com I did not dive in these locations but on that forum are recomendations for dive operators in all those locales. I trust them and they will usually give you websites so you can email the dive shops and set up your open water dives.

[AlwaysReady2Go]

Thanks for the link - I will continue with the research and was thinking along the lines of two dives in GC and two dives in Coz. Do you know if when the dives are signed off you immediately get your card or whatever it is that says you can dive or is paperwork filed and you get your card mailed to you at some point later. I am just wondering if I will be all set in Belize (my final port) to just book an excursion thinking that I WILL be able to get my card in Coz. I really wish I had taken care of this ahead of time - DH has dragged his feet - he just doesn't understand that these ports are some of the best in the world for diving and how cool its gonna be there.

[Porchbeers]

When my wife and I go through Cozumel we dive with Deep Blue ( http://www.deepbluecozumel.com ) She did her first open water dives with Pepe and he was fantastic. The person I deal with is Debbie. Ask her if they will do your check out dives and see if you can get Sergio or Pepe. The only reason I recommend those two is from personal experience and how they helped my wife feel as comfortable as possible.

 

While in Grand Cayman we dove with Eden Rock Diving Center ( http://www.edenrockdive.com ) and they do check out dives. My wife and I have experience with Sarah but I am unsure if she is still there. One thing that's nice about this outfit is that right off the shore is Devil's Grotto which I have heard great reviews about. We are actually doing this shore dive in April versus going on a boat dive again.

 

You could also consider going early (as suggested) and doing your dives out of Ft. Lauderdale.

 

I know both centers listed above are PADI. Regardless of who you use, I would contact the dive center, make sure they can accomodate you, and then contact the center that you are doing your book work through.

 

If you have any questions, post away.

[sportsterjohn]

As others have said, it can be done. I did my 1st 2 check out dives in Roatan and my last 2 in Cancun during a cruise. The shop that you do your last dives with should be able to get you a temp c-card until your card come in the mail.

[WesW]

AR2G, good advice above and operator referrals..just come back from a 10 day

cruise last tuesday...in Grand Cayman we used Don Fosters ($75 per OW referral

dive) and Coz, we used Eagle Ray Divers (www.eagleraydivers.com) and paid

$115 for OW dives 1 and 2...for 3 and 4 expect to pay about this and $20.00

more for your PADI paperwork (you will get a temp. Padi card good for 90 days)

you will have to mail your paperwork & passport photo to PADI to get your permanent card. We enjoyed both DF & ERD...ERD gets some of the best reviews on Cruise

Scuba excursions on this board. Good luck, Have a super cruise, and great diving..r/wes

[AlwaysReady2Go]

Thanks for the referrals - I was thinking that the Eden Rock shore dive might be a nice dive for us as newbies. Does it make any difference if it is a shore dive or boat dive as far as difficulty is concerned? Like when you started diving was it easier to do one vs. the other or is it pretty much the same. We have snorkled for years and the one thing that takes me a few minutes longer than most is just jumping off the boat -stupid I know - but if I can ease my way in it just seems less intimidating. I am hoping that over time it will become old hat.

[bruce-r]

Does it make any difference if it is a shore dive or boat dive as far as difficulty is concerned?.

 

For training dives, it doesn't matter if it is shore or boat dives. It usually is done from shore because it is cheaper and you can walk in and stop in shallow water to get comfortable. Whether they are shore or boat dives, they are usually done where there is a flat, sandy bottom because you do spend time kneeling in on the bottom.

 

There are 2 dive shops very closed to Eden Rock, Abanks diving and Eden Rock divings. There are also other dive shops very close to where the tenders dock in Georgetown.

 

www.divecayman.ky has an excellent listing in the dive shops on Grand Cayman.

 

Cozumel will probably be the other stop for certification dives, but if you could arrange to do the second 2 dives at Costa Maya, then you could do some dives for fun in Cozumel.

[coiran]

If you are on a Princess cruise they have a program whereby you can do the four required dives whle on a 7 day carib. cruise - either with or without the preliminary pool instruction - $359 full - $189 if you have your prelim done - it is done in conjunction with http://www.newwaves.com

[AlwaysReady2Go]

I think I will go ahead and book my first two with Eden Rock Divers as Shore Dives in GC - the second two boat dives I am setting up with BlueXT Sea Diving in Cozumel. I don't think I will book anything in Costa Maya so we can have a day off and explore there (haven't been to that port yet) and then dive again in Belize hopefully with a temp c-card in hand! LOL - thanks for all your help everyone!

[waterrats]

Since you will be in town the morning of your cruise, try and find a place to do the first two cert dives before the cruise. You should be done by noon with plenty of time to get to the ship.

 

Since your first stop is Grand Cayman, go to Eden Rock Dive shop just a short walk from the pier to the right (looking at shore from the ship). Its a blue building in the port area. Have them finish your certs and then you can enjoy a nice drift dive in Cozumel.

[drew sailbum]

Instructors in both ports will need copies of the referral paperwork from home. Make enough copies before you leave.

 

Be prepared to complete all that laborious paperwork in both ports. If you needed a doctor's medical clearance to dive, be certain that you have copies of that for the dive centres in both ports.

 

Shore diving will be much easier to schedule. MUCH easier, since there is no need to coordinate with a dive boat schedule.

 

Your first two open water training dives are limited to 40ft of depth according to dive industry standards. Please don't ask the instructor to take you deeper.

[cruzegirl]

Make sure you bring the info. from your classroom work.. Many dive shops will need to see proof that you've done that pool work and are checked off.. Bring any medical clearances.. And of those shops should be able to do your check off dives...Email or call them first...And remember, you can't go more than 40 feet.

Beach diving will be easier than trying to schedule a boat for a couple of dives. Now I live in California and for me, beach diving is harder.. In the caribbean though the ocean is usually a little calmer.. Meaning you have to learn how to beach dive.... You don't just "walk in".. But it's a good thing to learn... For me the boat is much easier.. You don't have to tackle the waves of the shore.. But it's cheaper for more diving.... It is too bad you can't go to Florida even 2 day early to get those dives done.... You'll get a temp. C card that you can use in the other ports... But you'll get them done and have fun diving in the Caribbean.. Good luck....:p

[Smilin_Bob]

I took my PADI course FEB at the Manchester YMCA. I made arrangements and reservations on the web to do the four required open water dives. I did two dives in Grenada and two in St Lucia while on a ten day cruise. As long as you have all you paper work completed and signed locally you should have no problem.

My two dives in Grenada were one on one with a dive master. They went really well and I was able to have some time to enjoy the area\ after we finished all the skills required. My second set of dives was a day later in St. Lucia. These two dives were incredible. My only regret is that I never got certified much earlier. My second set of dives here were also one on one. I managed to complete all of the required skills on the first dive. The second dive I was allow to dive with the main group of experienced divers. The dive master told that I did very well and was amazed at how relaxed\I was in the water. My last certification dive was the to observe the main group and enjoy the wonders of another world. It was awesome.

Do some research, make your reservations, confirm them. Try to find some dives buddies on your roll call. The most important part. relax and enjoy. It will be one of the best experiences of your life.

[Middleager]

By now you'll have most of the answers.

 

Most dive shops will be happy to do the "referral" dives. Most shops will be happy to have your business. The referral dives costs a little bit more just because they have to do more paperwork, but that's understandable.

 

Regarding the suggestion to try doing some dives when you just get to Florida, do take into account of travel fatigue and time difference. You may be in great condition and can dive right away if the timing fits. But it's more likely you'll be tired and not in the best of condition to be doing your first two certification dives.

 

Relax and enjoy. There'll be several ports where you can dive. Even if it doesn't work out in one port (sometimes the cruise ship won't make certain ports, or could have delays), you have more ports to do. So in your 3rd or 4th ports where you set up diving, do let them know that you might be completing your certification dives with them.

 

Diving is wonderful. You'll enjoy it that much more in warm waters. (I did my AOW and Nitrox this past summer in Hawaii, it was great)