Jupiter Dive Center

[sharpenu]

I thought the boat there was a separate operation. I also had a bad time with the boat there. When we were on the way out for a three tank trip, we ran aground. All divers had to move to the bow and 10 mins later, we were off the sand bar and on our way.

Our first dive was supposed to be a wreck at 150'. Mis-drop. We saw the great Sand Reef, at 130', the dive lasted 8 min. Second dive was to be the hole in the wall, had to blow it off, other boats reported bad viz. So we did a wreck at 90' instead. I dont remember the wreck, but I do remember tearing my BC hose on a jagged edge. I was able to surface with no air left in my BC and not dump my weights. On the SI, the boat broke down and we drifted for 2 hours until the crew was finally able to fix it. They got us 2 other dives, so they didnt have to refund our fees, but it was a terrible trip and I won't be on THAT boat for awhile.

 

[Orlando Eric]

At least they did not leave you at sea to be eaten by sharks...

Your boat was not boarded and captured by the Butt Pirates of the carribean.

A confused, missing Navy Dolphin did not accidently swim up with a magnetic underwater mine strapped to it's head and plant it to the bottom of the boat.

No one killed an Albatross.

The Krackken was not released.

See it could have been worse... well barely but still worse.

Eric

 

[blueaway]

I've been on about 20 trips with JDC in the past year. Nitrox each trip and never more than 1% off. Other than getting out of dock a little late one time, I have no complaints. And that was waiting on late customers! I enjoy the fact that they have a relaxed attitude and I have always seen them give an adequate briefing. Anyone who has ever voiced any concern about their abilities has been closely escorted by the DM.

I'd be interested in learning how they "run their dive ops like idiots". If you're looking for a shop to carry your gear and tanks they are not it. There is one in Riviera Beach that will. But then JDC also doesn't charge you for a tank boot scuffing their deck like another local shop. And a check of the yellow pages will show you others.

So far it seems the only legit complaint in this thread is a 30 mix instead of 34. As he admitted, something that would have been easily corrected if proper time was allowed to check it.

As for the three dive day referenced in one of the links. Their Friday trips including the Hole in the Wall are advertised on their website as well as a sign in the shop. And since the diver seems to have been unknowledgable about Nitrox, I'm guessing she forgot to change her computer to the 28% they use for this dive, not 33. The Hole in the Wall is 140 sitting in the sand with the top of the ledge 20+ higher.

While I'm sure they are not for everyone, neither are all others. And I'm sure their boat is not the first to miss a drop.

As often as they are fully booked, there are obviously others who enjoy diving with them. Just my 2 bubbles.

 

[baitedstorm]

As for the three dive day referenced in one of the links. Their Friday trips including the Hole in the Wall are advertised on their website as well as a sign in the shop. And since the diver seems to have been unknowledgable about Nitrox, I'm guessing she forgot to change her computer to the 28% they use for this dive, not 33. The Hole in the Wall is 140 sitting in the sand with the top of the ledge 20+ higher.

hrmmmmmm :33: imagine that

 

[Dive4Life]

hrmmmmmm :33: imagine that

I also have some experience diving with them. I must say that I don't particularly like their operation. They are very nice when it comes to booking and the people there are helpful but the horror stories I hear about are almost unbelievable. I would try to dive Blue Tang over diving JDC any day of the week. The worst story I ever heard of was someone who was getting certified through JDC. I will post the email I received so you all can decide. Once again my experiences with them haven't been that bad and the people have been courteous. Randy is the owner and he is a pretty nice guy himself. I think the word that describes that shop is "complacency."

hi to everyone.
i've a problem/question/something. . .can anyone help me? I learned
to dive with FIU, and then got my Adv. with John and John last
year .. .or was it year before. .. . (hi guyz!), and recently
decided to start picking back up the sport.
However I spend a lot of time up in Palm Beach now, and seeing that
a lot of the dives are now further south decided to drag my bf,
cousin, and a buddy into it. They started training with a dive
center in Jupiter (is it ok to say the name?), and now 4 months
later (over a 4 dive and 3 hr pool session) still have yet to get
their certification started (we orig. signed up so we could dive in
Mexico, but even though we told them this, they kept on giving
excuses like "the vis'll be horrible next week and a half", or would
call up late the night before saying they didn't have room again for
us, we eventually went on vacation, came back with no diving done,
and of course seeing that we already paid them, are kind of stuck)
Their dives are really not that great, and I've been "left behind"
on all but 1 of the dives I've done with them, and even my cousin on
her 1st dive was left behind and ended up surfacing on her own as
they swam too far ahead and "forgot to look behind". . . ..LoL. I
really took for granted that FIU spoils you on dives!! My question
is this. .. can anyone recommend a good place up in the Jupiter
area? Also, I'd like to do my Dive Masters in the near future.. .
any recommendations? Do you guys still do that kinda
stuff?

This is the email I was talking about. I responded to her and just guessed it was Jupiter Dive Center and I was correct. Professionalism just isn't there. I can't blame this directly on Randy, but every shop owner I know here in Miami treats their students like gold and would never allow over booking when it came to check out dives. Complacency is definitely the word to describe this stuff. They just don't care enough. This is just another horror story from the JDC.
I

 

[baitedstorm]

I just found an AMAZING dive shop in Jupiter to do business with (thanks to Orlando Eric). Anyone wanting that info please feel free to PM me..


Cheers,
Vickie

 

[BDog]

Regarding Dive4Life's message, I feel like I could have written the email from your friend myself. I'm a brand new diver still trying to get my certification from JDC after my husband signed me up as a gift last June. I've been stood up by instructors 3 times even after "managing" the process myself with routine confirmation calls sometimes 3 times the week pior to ensure my class was still on.

I appreciate you all sharing your stories, especially for us novices, so I'll be sure to trust my instincts, as you all say, especially dealing with Nitrox (which they've already mentioned to me as a selling point). Sadly there's also some solice in knowing I'm not alone in my troubles.

I will say their shop has been extremely friendly and helpful I'm just having a ton of trouble with follow through. Wish me luck...

 

[Orlando Eric]

OMG!- that is almost unbelievable! It is well known throughout the industry that the student is a MAJOR source of the the shops future income! The shops can ONLY offer SERVICE to help us poor consumers swallow the price differences between online sales and the LDS. To offer crappy service to a student is unfathomable.

Students represent a huge chunk of thier market demographic and to treat a student poorly is really poor buisness sense.

Flee is you still can! Sounds really bad to me.

These stories sound like a person who loves to dive but knows squat about customer service or the keyword of "Honor" when it comes to "honoring your word." Not having a class, cancelling a class and just not following through on your commitments are the types of things you'd expect to hear from a buisness owned by a teenage surfer/tweaker not a SCUBA shop.... WOW.

Eric