Wannabe Scuba Divers...

[sunseeker09]

Wow. I haven't been in this part of CC for awhile and I'm saddened to hear you've been having such a rough time. As a PADI instructor, I will say that given all you've mentioned, your instructor is a truly horrible teacher. I would never have treated you (or any student) that way. Before I was an instructor I worked quite a bit as a DM, and helping students with some fear issues was something I loved and found so rewarding when they overcame their fears.

The problem with teaching diving is that it often attracts divers who love it, are very good at it, but thats about all they have going for them. We all have to be pretty decent divers or we wouldn't have made it to instructor. However, some have maybe never had any fears or worries about being underwater, and some divers are certainly not the best at being a "people person" and have no patience or compassion. Those, IMO, are the most valuable attributes an instructor can have.

So I would absolutely have a chat with the owner of the dive shop after the course is over. Since you've mentioned that they've been great, perhaps it's time they have such a rude, unprofessional and incompetent instructor. If they shrug you off, go to PADI. You will likely get a survey to complete about your instructor in the mail to. Don't hold back. PADI wants to know that their staff are doing a good job.

I totally agree that you SHOULD not take another class with this person ever. He's just bad news all around.

All the best to you both for your open water dives. I hope all goes well. The worst is almost over. Once you're certified it's all about the fun stuff.

Oh and Scubadiver888 ...good job giving all that advice and tips. I can tell you're going to be a great instructor one day soon. You've got the all neccessary compassion as well as passion and knowledge of diving :)

[CaribQween]

Wow. I haven't been in this part of CC for awhile and I'm saddened to hear you've been having such a rough time. As a PADI instructor, I will say that given all you've mentioned, your instructor is a truly horrible teacher. I would never have treated you (or any student) that way. Before I was an instructor I worked quite a bit as a DM, and helping students with some fear issues was something I loved and found so rewarding when they overcame their fears.

 

The problem with teaching diving is that it often attracts divers who love it, are very good at it, but thats about all they have going for them. We all have to be pretty decent divers or we wouldn't have made it to instructor. However, some have maybe never had any fears or worries about being underwater, and some divers are certainly not the best at being a "people person" and have no patience or compassion. Those, IMO, are the most valuable attributes an instructor can have.

 

So I would absolutely have a chat with the owner of the dive shop after the course is over. Since you've mentioned that they've been great, perhaps it's time they have such a rude, unprofessional and incompetent instructor. If they shrug you off, go to PADI. You will likely get a survey to complete about your instructor in the mail to. Don't hold back. PADI wants to know that their staff are doing a good job.

 

I totally agree that you SHOULD not take another class with this person ever. He's just bad news all around.

 

All the best to you both for your open water dives. I hope all goes well. The worst is almost over. Once you're certified it's all about the fun stuff.

 

Oh and Scubadiver888 ...good job giving all that advice and tips. I can tell you're going to be a great instructor one day soon. You've got the all neccessary compassion as well as passion and knowledge of diving

 

Things have definitely taken a lot of turns since we first started thinking about taking scuba diving lessons. I never thought in a million years that it would all be so difficult. I can honestly say that if we make it through this weekend, it will be a huge accomplishment for me.

 

As for our instructor, I honestly think he has good intentions and loves scuba diving and wants to share that with others, but he really just doesn't have the qualities needed by a teacher. Obviously, he doesn't have patience which is a quality that any teacher needs because in every class, no matter what the subject, you are going to find that every student learns at a different pace. And with scuba diving, if someone doesn't learn the skills properly, it may cause them a very serious injury or even their lilfe someday. As for his remarks to women, they are completely inappropriate and shouldn't be tolerated. But, I don't think he means it in a degrading way, I think he is just joking around and doesn't truly realize how inappropriate it is. I think the day I made a comment, it made him realize that maybe it wasn't okay to make those sorts of remarks. Ever since that day, if he sort of "slips" and does makes that kind of comment, it's like he catches himself and sort of half-way apologizes and says he doesn't mean anything bad by it. I'm just not sure anyone has ever called him on it before. I'm just not one to accept that kind of "humor" and let people think it's okay to do that. It's no different than jokes or slurs that are racial, about sexual orientation, etc.. It's just NOT okay.

 

On the other hand I do think that the gentleman that was assisting him the first couple of weeks who is in training to be a DM, will make a great teacher some day. He was very patient with me and he was watching out for me even when I didn't realize it. He had told me that if I were to start feeling scared under the water to just take his hand or grab onto his arm, if need be. When I told him that I felt bad that I was taking up the vast majority of his time and didn't feel it was fair to everybody else, he continually said not to worry about it because he was watching all of them too. When I had some trouble doing the alternate air source exercise, he held my husband and I back to work with us while the others were just taking a lap around the pool. He said he wanted to make sure we got it right because it is a safety skill that could save one of our lives someday. He gave me some tips on how to attach the alternate second stage so when I grab it, I will make sure to have it in the correct position for my buddy to take it without having to fiddle with it to get it right side up. Something else that I felt was really great was right after the first week, when I sent him and the instructor an email to explain about my medical condition so they understood my situation a little better. He wrote back saying, "You had no issues that other students without your limitations didn't have and did not feel you held the class up in any manor. I also want to add, you are our favorite type of student. We as a team take great pride in making everyone a safe diver and cherish even more those that have to overcome even greater limitations. I have confidence that if you endure you will be a great diver." I just thought that was a really great way to make a student feel that they don't have to be emabarrassed about limitations and that they belong in the class as much as anyone else. I think it really shows the point you were trying to make that not everybody has the qualities needed to be a great teacher and it takes more than just the love of the subject.

 

We're heading over to Gilboa tonight. We have our first 3 open water dives tomorrow and then the 4th will be on Sunday. We'll let everyone know how we do. But I can say right now, if I don't pass this weekend, it won't be the end. There are a lot of other weekends to come. I'll pass it eventually.

 

Thanks to everyone for all of the encouragement and support. I probably wouldn't have made it this far without it.

[CaribKng]

We finished three of our four open water dives today. Aside from a slight ear problem, my wife (CaribQween), compeleted each without any problems what-so-ever....Way to go baby :D!!!!

 

We will complete our fourth dive tomorrow and will be certified, and will become part of the awsome diving community.

 

I must say, I was completely surprised by the conditions of this quarry. Visibility was great about 40 ft. The fish here were huge :eek:. We saw catfish at least 3 ft long. There is a submerged plane, bus, helicopter and many other things. They have training platforms every 20 ft and it is a great place to complete the open water dives.

 

I can honestly say that this is so much more than I expected when we started. I know that the diving in the Carribean is going to be a blast. I think it is going to make our cruise so much more special. We are hoping to get some more dives in before the cruise and may take some additional classes.

 

We will post another update when we are complete.

[CaribQween]

We BOTH did it!!!:D:D. We passed our Open Water Diver Certification with flying colors. What a sense of accomplishment. It is beyond believeable, how great it feels. The instructor and the assistants all said we were the Superstars of the class :o. They told us at the very end today that they saw such an extreme progression in both of us throughout the course and that we were just great in all of our skills over the weekend. I think they were just so surprised at the change and frankly, so was I. On the way to the quarry yesterday, I truly wondered if I would be able to pass and get certified over the weekend. I think I learned an incredible amount during the course of the class, and honestly, I think our instructor did too. It's amazing how you never stop learning and there is always somethiing for everyone to learn or "figure out".

 

As my husband said above, the Gilboa Quarry (near Ottawa, Ohio) is just fabulous. We were so impressed with everything about the place. I have to admit, I was very leary about doing my open water dives in a quarry, but I absolutely loved it. The minute we got in and I went down and started seeing the aquatic life and all of the stuff they've submerged down below, it was like my fears just started fading away. I had some moments of feeling anxious the first day, but I can honestly say that by our fourth dive which was today, I had absolutely no fear whatsoever. I had no bolting to the surface or feeling the need to do so. I could look up and see how far we were from the top and it just didn't bother me. I really enjoyed everything about the experience. We talked all weekend about wanting to go back there and just explore it by ourselves to really see everything they have there. It is just so cool being down there and seeing these huge fish swim up and just stare into your mask. Or they would swim in between us while we were doing our skills and stop and watch us like it was natural for us to be down there with them. It was very, very cool.

 

Also, as my husband mentioned, they have platforms every 20 feet that are for divers to go out and perform their skills. It's great because you're not on the bottom stirring up everything and with us just learning, of course, not everybody is able to achieve and maintain neutral buoyancy so the platforms are really great all around. We had a lot of time to practice our skills on the platforms while the instructor was "testing" everyone in the class. I really worked on my buoyancy just using breathing and was able to figure it out really quickly. We're definitely going to take the Peak Performance Buoyance class as so many have advised, or since it is part of the Advanced Open Water course, we may just do it as part of that ;):D. I tried so hard to not touch anything while down under, and when my fins just barely touched the top of the school bus, I felt so bad and realized that if I did that somewhere like on a coral reef, it would just be horrible and I really don't ever want to be in a position to hurt or disturb anything.

 

We're already thinking about going to one of the closer quarries this coming weekend just to practice, practice, practice. It's just amazing how much we enjoyed the quarry and are looking forward to diving others. I think once we get to the Caribbean it will be just completely overwhelming. We just can't wait. My husband has really developed a passion for diving and I must say I'm really getting there too. We're both even thinking about joining the local dive club. We're certainly not going to be once-a-year divers.

 

So, thank you so much to everyone that helped us go through this whole experience. It has turned out to be so much more spectacular than we ever expected it to be. I'm so glad that I kept with it and didn't give up. It is such as a great feeling right now knowing that we had to work so hard and I had to literally conquer a fear and I was able to do it. Once again, thank you all :).

[MPM]

Congratulations! Way to Go!!! I know it was tough, but I am glad you stuck it out, and got extra help when you needed it. Peak Performance Buoyancy is probably the best extra class my wife and I have taken thus far. We also have a rock quarry / dive site near our house, but visibility is usually less than 15 feet. I can say that diving in the Caribbean is way better and easier!

 

We have about 20 dives under our belt now, and just completed our Advanced Open Water dives a few weeks ago. My wife still gets really nervous on just about every first dive of the day, but once she is in the water, she settles right down, and loves it. Keep practicing, keep learning, and enjoy!

 

~Mike

[BuzzF117]

We BOTH did it!!!:D:D. We passed our Open Water Diver Certification with flying colors. What a sense of accomplishment. It is beyond believeable, how great it feels. The instructor and the assistants all said we were the Superstars of the class :o. They told us at the very end today that they saw such an extreme progression in both of us throughout the course and that we were just great in all of our skills over the weekend. I think they were just so surprised at the change and frankly, so was I. On the way to the quarry yesterday, I truly wondered if I would be able to pass and get certified over the weekend. I think I learned an incredible amount during the course of the class, and honestly, I think our instructor did too. It's amazing how you never stop learning and there is always somethiing for everyone to learn or "figure out".

 

As my husband said above, the Gilboa Quarry (near Ottawa, Ohio) is just fabulous. We were so impressed with everything about the place. I have to admit, I was very leary about doing my open water dives in a quarry, but I absolutely loved it. The minute we got in and I went down and started seeing the aquatic life and all of the stuff they've submerged down below, it was like my fears just started fading away. I had some moments of feeling anxious the first day, but I can honestly say that by our fourth dive which was today, I had absolutely no fear whatsoever. I had no bolting to the surface or feeling the need to do so. I could look up and see how far we were from the top and it just didn't bother me. I really enjoyed everything about the experience. We talked all weekend about wanting to go back there and just explore it by ourselves to really see everything they have there. It is just so cool being down there and seeing these huge fish swim up and just stare into your mask. Or they would swim in between us while we were doing our skills and stop and watch us like it was natural for us to be down there with them. It was very, very cool.

 

Also, as my husband mentioned, they have platforms every 20 feet that are for divers to go out and perform their skills. It's great because you're not on the bottom stirring up everything and with us just learning, of course, not everybody is able to achieve and maintain neutral buoyancy so the platforms are really great all around. We had a lot of time to practice our skills on the platforms while the instructor was "testing" everyone in the class. I really worked on my buoyancy just using breathing and was able to figure it out really quickly. We're definitely going to take the Peak Performance Buoyance class as so many have advised, or since it is part of the Advanced Open Water course, we may just do it as part of that ;):D. I tried so hard to not touch anything while down under, and when my fins just barely touched the top of the school bus, I felt so bad and realized that if I did that somewhere like on a coral reef, it would just be horrible and I really don't ever want to be in a position to hurt or disturb anything.

 

We're already thinking about going to one of the closer quarries this coming weekend just to practice, practice, practice. It's just amazing how much we enjoyed the quarry and are looking forward to diving others. I think once we get to the Caribbean it will be just completely overwhelming. We just can't wait. My husband has really developed a passion for diving and I must say I'm really getting there too. We're both even thinking about joining the local dive club. We're certainly not going to be once-a-year divers.

 

So, thank you so much to everyone that helped us go through this whole experience. It has turned out to be so much more spectacular than we ever expected it to be. I'm so glad that I kept with it and didn't give up. It is such as a great feeling right now knowing that we had to work so hard and I had to literally conquer a fear and I was able to do it. Once again, thank you all :).

 

 

Yes if you like Gilboa your gonna really LOVE diving the Caribbean. I personally dive the lakes around N Indiana knowing my skills are staying sharp for the times I get to vactation and dive in the clear warm waters of the Caribbean. I would recommend diving in Whitestar Quarry as well www.whitestarquarry.com there isn't as much eye candy (no plane or chopper) but there is still alot to see and I think the viz is even better then Gilboa. Now you need to find others to dive with and try and dive as often as possilble. FYI im headed to Gilboa with a group this next weekend to feed the fish.

[topspot]

Congratulations!!!!!!!!! Hopefully I'll be successful too.:D

[CaribQween]

Congratulations!!!!!!!!! Hopefully I'll be successful too.:D

 

Thank you!! It feels so awesome. I just can't explain it. It's really true what they say about getting more satisfaction out of something if you have to try harder to get it. And, you can absolutely do it. But just remember you're not doing this for anyone but you. So you have to just keep trying until you do get it because there will be a lifelong reward if you do. You'll be able to experience the wonders of the deep that so many will never know. I was so amazed with just a simple cat fish looking me in the face. I just can't imagine a stingray or a dolphin swimming past me in it's own natural environment. I spent my lunch hour today looking at all of the quarries in the surrounding areas that we could go to in a day and then those that we could take a weekend trip to visit. Honestly, when we were leaving Gilboa on Sunday, we both had the feeling you get when your vacation is ending and you're just not ready for it to end yet. We really did have a great, great time there.

 

But, just hang in there and don't be afraid to take as many tries as it takes. You don't have to prove anything to anyone. This is all about you and just have faith in yourself. And if you need a little extra support, you know where to find us ;).

[sunseeker09]

Congratulations! :D

I can hear it in your tone how excited you are. So you should be. Good for you for sticking it out when times got tough. It's makes it all that much more of an accomplishment.

Now, on to the FUN diving. The best is yet to come. If you're that excited about your quarry, just wait until you get into warm clear waters.

I'm so happy and excited you.

People like you are the reason I wanted to become an instructor!

[BuzzF117]

Thank you!! It feels so awesome. I just can't explain it. It's really true what they say about getting more satisfaction out of something if you have to try harder to get it. And, you can absolutely do it. But just remember you're not doing this for anyone but you. So you have to just keep trying until you do get it because there will be a lifelong reward if you do. You'll be able to experience the wonders of the deep that so many will never know. I was so amazed with just a simple cat fish looking me in the face. I just can't imagine a stingray or a dolphin swimming past me in it's own natural environment. I spent my lunch hour today looking at all of the quarries in the surrounding areas that we could go to in a day and then those that we could take a weekend trip to visit. Honestly, when we were leaving Gilboa on Sunday, we both had the feeling you get when your vacation is ending and you're just not ready for it to end yet. We really did have a great, great time there.

 

But, just hang in there and don't be afraid to take as many tries as it takes. You don't have to prove anything to anyone. This is all about you and just have faith in yourself. And if you need a little extra support, you know where to find us ;).

 

If your located in INDY then you have a bunch of places around the area to dive. I would recommend you find a dive shop that dives together on a frequent basis so you can get to know other divers and you will be amazed by the number of divers that you can gain tons of knowledge from. You may even want to check out the Bloomington area for dive sites.

[CaribKng]

If your located in INDY then you have a bunch of places around the area to dive. I would recommend you find a dive shop that dives together on a frequent basis so you can get to know other divers and you will be amazed by the number of divers that you can gain tons of knowledge from. You may even want to check out the Bloomington area for dive sites.

 

Thanks for the tip. We are thinking about doing our first solo dive together this weekend. Do you have any recommendations for the Bloomington area? That really is pretty close to us, and we are looking for something nice that would be close to home.

 

The dive shop that we have been working with actually has a dive club. They do numerous dives in many different areas, both local and out of state. We are thinking about joining next year, since they only have one dive planned for the rest of this year. It's fifty dollars to join, but that would be for both of us, and they will give us an air fill card saving us money on each air fill, so basically you will make your money back.

 

We have already checked in to the advanced open water class, and we will probably take it before our cruise in February. We want to really focus on improving our skills and gaining as much experience and knowledge as we can so we can be really comfortable in the carribean.

[CaribQween]

Congratulations! :D

I can hear it in your tone how excited you are. So you should be. Good for you for sticking it out when times got tough. It's makes it all that much more of an accomplishment.

Now, on to the FUN diving. The best is yet to come. If you're that excited about your quarry, just wait until you get into warm clear waters.

I'm so happy and excited you.

People like you are the reason I wanted to become an instructor!

 

 

Thank you!!! I really am just so excited and very, very proud of myself :D. And I'm extremely grateful to the people that worked with me to get me through my fears so that I didn't give up. I'm especially thankful to my husband who believed in me the whole time even when I didn't believe I could do it myself. I truly feel that I've been given a gift just being able to go on now and experience this whole new world and to be able to do it with my husband makes it even more special. It was just amazing to me how the minute I got into the quarry, the fears just started fading. When I went down and started seeing everything, my mind was so occupied and I just didn't have time to sit around and, well, freak out. My husband and I just can't wait to go to a local quarry this weekend and try it on our own. We're so confident that we will be doing this often that we have already been in the dive shop looking at buying all of our own equipment (BCD, Regulator/Octo, Computer). I have to admit, I'm feeling slightly anxious about trying this without having an instructor with us, but I'm confident that we learned what we need in order to do it safely and we will probably over compensate for the fact that we don't have an experienced diver with us

[BuzzF117]

Thanks for the tip. We are thinking about doing our first solo dive together this weekend. Do you have any recommendations for the Bloomington area? That really is pretty close to us, and we are looking for something nice that would be close to home.

 

The dive shop that we have been working with actually has a dive club. They do numerous dives in many different areas, both local and out of state. We are thinking about joining next year, since they only have one dive planned for the rest of this year. It's fifty dollars to join, but that would be for both of us, and they will give us an air fill card saving us money on each air fill, so basically you will make your money back.

 

We have already checked in to the advanced open water class, and we will probably take it before our cruise in February. We want to really focus on improving our skills and gaining as much experience and knowledge as we can so we can be really comfortable in the carribean.

 

I have never dove with them before but http://www.southernindianascuba.com/ could give you some good info on Bloomington diving, Also there is Haigh quarry in Kankakee IL which wouldn't be to bad a drive for you. If you want to find divers go to http://www.scubatoys.com/forum.asp and join the forums there are tons of divers with tons of wisdom you can learn from plus if your looking for other like minded divers that would be a good place to start. There is a place East of Inday thats an old quarry and is a dive destination now but I can't think of the name of it right off hand,

[CaribQween]

I have never dove with them before but http://www.southernindianascuba.com/ could give you some good info on Bloomington diving, Also there is Haigh quarry in Kankakee IL which wouldn't be to bad a drive for you. If you want to find divers go to http://www.scubatoys.com/forum.asp and join the forums there are tons of divers with tons of wisdom you can learn from plus if your looking for other like minded divers that would be a good place to start. There is a place East of Inday thats an old quarry and is a dive destination now but I can't think of the name of it right off hand,

 

Are you possibly thinking of Blue Springs in Waldron (near Shelbyville)? It is an old quarry and used quite a bit for dive training. Our dive shop recommended it as something good for just a day trip. There is Dream Lake that is in Saint Paul which is just a few minutes further (or it least that's how it looks) but it also has a campground and has swimming, kayaking, canoeing, etc. in the same water. We're thinking about trying Blue Springs this weekend for our first time on our own. Thanks for the suggestions :).

[CaribKng]

Are you possibly thinking of Blue Springs in Waldron (near Shelbyville)? It is an old quarry and used quite a bit for dive training. Our dive shop recommended it as something good for just a day trip. There is Dream Lake that is in Saint Paul which is just a few minutes further (or it least that's how it looks) but it also has a campground and has swimming, kayaking, canoeing, etc. in the same water. We're thinking about trying Blue Springs this weekend for our first time on our own. Thanks for the suggestions :).

 

We tried Blue Springs today. I must say, I now understand what everyone is saying about quarries. The visibility was about 5 feet :confused:. We would be under the water swimming, and before you know it, you almost run into these huge jagged rocks sticking out from the bottom. If we would have done our open water dives here, they would definately have been a challenge. We are looking around to see if we can find something a little better. We hit a thermocline around 20 feet and the water was very cold. But overall we still had fun....after all we were diving :D.

[Choozin Croozin]

Caribqwn and kng..... I am reviving this thread with hopes of getting some information from you. I really enjoyed reading all your posts regarding your certification process. My dh and I are thinking about getting certified this summer but I really am leary about doing my open water dives at home before our cruise as I do believe they are done in Lake Michigan:(. The thought of diving in that murky water doesn't thrill me. I have no fear of seeing the marine life in the caribbean but the thought of viewing wreckage gives me the total creeps. Anyway.....my ds and gf also want to get certified before our cruise next March and they live in Indy. One of his friends got certified there and said the place that he had his open water dives was also very murky. SO after reading of your experiences I was wondering if you would email me and I could ask you some questions for them. My email address is dhshrum at gmail dot com. I hope you see this as it would be most helpful.

[CaribQween]

Caribqwn and kng..... I am reviving this thread with hopes of getting some information from you. I really enjoyed reading all your posts regarding your certification process. My dh and I are thinking about getting certified this summer but I really am leary about doing my open water dives at home before our cruise as I do believe they are done in Lake Michigan:(. The thought of diving in that murky water doesn't thrill me. I have no fear of seeing the marine life in the caribbean but the thought of viewing wreckage gives me the total creeps. Anyway.....my ds and gf also want to get certified before our cruise next March and they live in Indy. One of his friends got certified there and said the place that he had his open water dives was also very murky. SO after reading of your experiences I was wondering if you would email me and I could ask you some questions for them. My email address is dhshrum at gmail dot com. I hope you see this as it would be most helpful.

Hi there. Absolutely' date=' I will email you shortly. But just in case anyone else sees this, I thought I would post a little update. My husband and I got our Open Water Diver Certification in September of last year and then we went back and got our Advanced Open Water Diver Ceritifcation shortly after that. We did all of this getting prepared for our Western Caribbean cruise this past February. Our itinerary originally was Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Roatan and Belize. We were scheduled to dive in Grand Cayman, Roatan and Belize. However, due to mechanical problems with our ship, our itinerary got changed and we did not go to Grand Cayman but did Costa Maya instead and were unable to dive there because the excursion filled up so quickly. But, nevertheless, we still went diving in Roatan and Belize and had the time of our lives. It was AWESOME!!! I would recommend it to everyone.

 

We scheduled our Roatan dives as an excursion through Carnival, specifically because the local dive company they use is Anthony's Keys Resort. We had heard so many good things about them on Cruise Critic and from our local dive shop so we specifically booked with Carnival just so we could dive with Anthony's Keys Resort. They certainly lived up to their reputation. They picked us up right at the cruise pier and we boarded a shuttle bus for a 20 minute ride to the resort. We immediately boarded the boat and suited up. We had about 16 divers on the boat (which was huge and not overcrowded at all). We had 3 crew members of which 2 were divermasters and one was the boat captain which stayed on the boat as we dove. The waters were very rough that day, but that didn't have any affect on our dives. It was a beautiful, beautiful boat ride out to the dive site. The first dive was about 70 feet and it was so calm and peaceful below the surface that you would have never known how rough it was up above. We had a little trouble with our weighting because it was our first time in saltwater. We had each added an additional 4 pounds of weight and neither of us could get down. We ended up both adding another 10 pounds for a total of an extra 14 pounds and then we had no trouble whatsoever after that. The guys from AKR thought it was an awful lot of weight we were using but it was our first time and we were anxious. After our first dive, since they had so many filled tanks on the boat, we didn't even need to go back to the dock. Everyone just switched tanks on the boat while we made our way around to the other side of the island. Our second dive was at a depth of about 60 feet and it was spectacular too. We saw a lot of beautiful, colorful, sealife. We even saw a sea turtle which was awesome. Once we boarded the boat again, they took us right back to the pier where the ship was and unloaded us there so there was no need for a shuttle ride back to the ship.

 

The next day we went to Belize and did the dive we originally had planned through an independent dive operator. It was actually not on Belize. Belize is a tender port so after we arrived at the pier, we grabbed a taxi over to the Municipal airport and took a flight on a small Cessna over to the island of Ambergris Caye. The flight was just spectacular. The taxi driver asked us what time we would be flying back into the airport and once we told him, he said he would be waiting for us to take us back to catch our tender back to the ship. We gave him a nice tip to sort of ensure that he would come back, but I don't think he would have left out in the cold if we hadn't done that either. He was right there standing outside waiting for us when we came off the plane just as he promised. So, anyway, once we took our flight over to Ambergris Caye, we just went across the street to Ramon's Village Resort where we had already booked our dives. It was an absolutely gorgeous resort. We absolutely felt as if we were in paradise. This time, it was just our divemaster, our boat captain, and me and my husband. It was really cool. And I have to say, to our amazement, the boat captain grabbed all of our gear (we took all of our own dive gear) and started unpacking it and setting everything up for us while we got dressed in our wetsuits. The dive package we scheduled was a one tank scuba dive at the Hol Chan Marine Reserve and then a snorkel at Shark-Ray Alley. I can't even start to express the amazement we felt on this trip out. First we did the dive where the dive master pointed out so much marine life to us. We saw nurse sharks, sting rays, green moray eels, barracuda, Grouper, and so much more. We were absolutely awestruck. And our divemaster was very, very helpful. We had told him right up front that we were new to this and that our only experience in the ocean was the previous day. We explained how much weight we had needed and he thought it was a lot too but said as we progressed and became more comfortable that would change. He sat with us and gave us some pointers prior to us getting in the water. He didn't have to do that, but it was like being out there with our instructors again. Once we went over to Shark Ray Alley, we just snorkeled becuase it was so shallow (not more than about 8 feet). We saw tons and tons of stingrays swimming all around us and there were several nurse sharks out there also. When my huband and I got back onto the boat, he just looked at me and said "now this is why I wanted to take up scuba diving". It was very cool. I also have to say, it was really nice having the boat captain who helped us with all of our gear. He had us just take off our BC and tank in the water and he pulled it up and then we got out of the water without having all of that heavy gear on our backs. When we got back to the dock, there was a place where we hosed off and changed our clothes and packed up the rest of our gear after rinsing it all off. Then we went right up to the resort's restaurant which had a beautiful porch to sit out on while eating. Afterwards, we just headed back across the street to the airport, took our flight back, had our taxi waiting, and hopped on our tender back to the ship. It was absolutely one of the very best days of our lives.

 

So, the moral of this long story is that diving in the Caribbean is everything we had hoped it would be and much, much more. I don't think we ever really considered that it would be as awesome as it really was. It's not something you can even explain to someone that hasn't done it. You have to experience it for yourself to understand. And I can say that both my husband and I are 100% positive that it was so much better for us that we got certified at home before going on our cruise. I wouldn't have wanted to waste one minute, one second, of our time in the Caribbean being certified. It was so much better getting certified and then having the opportunity to go diving on our own ahead of time to practice up on our diving skills (especially buoyancy control). I would recommend to everyone that you go ahead and get certified ahead of time. Then get to the Caribbean and enjoy yourself to the fullest. We loved it so much that we have scheduled another cruise to the Western Caribbean for October that will allow us to go back and do Grand Cayman (we were pretty disappointed that we had missed diving in Grand Cayman). And we have scheduled a 14 night cruise for April 2011 which covers Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, Curacao, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Maarten. We just can't wait.

 

However, as much as we love diving in the Caribbean, we are actually really looking forward to going back and diving the local quarries. We got certified for our Open Diver course at Gilboa Quarry in Ohio. We did our certifications for the Advance Open Water Diver at France Park in Logans port Indiana and Haigh Quarry in Illinois. We really loved all three places and the visibility wasn't bad in any of them. It's just so very different that it makes is a completely different kind of experience than you get in the Caribbean. And we loved seeing the wrecks and other things they have submerged. It is really not spooky at all. It's just really all a very cool experience.

 

Anyone with questions can feel free to email me at mwoods0313@comcast.net.

[CaribQween]

I just wanted to add a little final note on the instructor we had for our Open Water Diver course. I truly believe what happened with him made me stronger and pushed me even more to want to get through the course and become certified. But more than anything, I think he and I learned a heck of a lot from each other. And truthfully, I asked for him when signing up for our Advanced Open Water Diver course. We were both different people by then. And the last day of class when we were saying goodbye to each other, he grabbed me and hugged me and he had tears in his eyes. Of course, I did too. I hope that somehow this thread encourages people to go out there and try things they've always thought they could never do.

[bdklein]

I just stumbled across this thread/post. Welcome to the Underwater world. It's awesome!! How good do you feel!!

[CaribKng]

I just stumbled across this thread/post. Welcome to the Underwater world. It's awesome!! How good do you feel!!

 

We both feel great. It is such an awsome experience to be under the water and seeing a world that we never could before. The wildlife and coral are just amazing. We did our first ocean dives in February and we are hooked.

 

We are planning smoe more dives for our cruise in October, however will need to settle for local quarries until then.

[CaribQween]

I just stumbled across this thread/post. Welcome to the Underwater world. It's awesome!! How good do you feel!!

 

Thank you!! My husband and I both love diving so much. I mean it has really turned out to be something we both have a real passion for doing. It is everything we thought it would be and so much more. After diving, we feel so invigorated and we just can't wait to go do it all over again. We just need it to warm up enough here in Indiana so we can stand to get in the water.