South Miami area

The scenario:
I'm planning a June trip with a friend of mine, our non-diving spouses, and my daughter (also diving). So far we are diving 3 days in Marathon with Tilden's (3x 2 tank, and 1 night) and then heading up to Weston and diving 4 days with Capt. Conrad on Miss Conduct (2x 2tank, & 2x 3tank). I've left a few days open in case we need to reschedule due Mother Nature not cooperating. I think we may do tank rental through Fill Expresswhile in the Ft. Lauderdale area. My friend has alot of experience compared to us and is AOW certified. He's traveling to the states from overseas and is leaving the planning to me; his only request for the plan was to spend as much time as possible under water--I like his way of thinking. My daughter and I are both OW, nitrox and night/limited vis. We dove with Tilden's last year and enjoyed them alot so chose to stick with what we know in Marathon. We went with Miss Conduct based on some of the reviews here (we just got back from Cozumel and the suggestions people gave were spot on in my opinion--tons of fun!). No real strong preference on boat size, but I lean towards the logic of:
small boat=less divers=less chance a rude fin hits you in the head

The question:
Assuming Mother nature cooperates and we can squeeze in an extra day (or four) of diving, we would be making our reservations on short notice. If we head south towards Miami/Miami Beach/Biscayne area so the lady's can look around, who would you recommend for dive ops that could possibly get us in us on a couple of days notice?

Also, any suggestions on things I need to think about are welcome!

TLB2:

The question:
Assuming Mother nature cooperates and we can squeeze in an extra day (or four) of diving, we would be making our reservations on short notice. If we head south towards Miami/Miami Beach/Biscayne area so the lady's can look around, who would you recommend for dive ops that could possibly get us in us on a couple of days notice?

Also, any suggestions on things I need to think about are welcome!

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In Miami, I would definitely consider RJ Diving Ventures (RJ Diving Ventures - The Best Wreck and Reef Diving in Miami). They've been in business for a LONG time and are good at what they do. Unfortunately, they are not a small 6-pack boat like the Miss Conduct, but they have a nice custom boat rigged exclusively for diving and run a nice operation. They also make their schedule available in advance. If you go to their website, you can sign up for their list and they will email you their schedule in advance. Their boat departs from Miami Beach Marina at the southern end of famous South Beach, within walking distance of everything, so I'm sure "the lady's" can find lots to do in that area, as it's a very popular place to beach, browse, dine, shop, etc.

SFLDiver3445:

If you go to their website, you can sign up for their list and they will email you their schedule in advance. Their boat departs from Miami Beach Marina at the southern end of famous South Beach, within walking distance of everything, so I'm sure "the lady's" can find lots to do in that area, as it's a very popular place to beach, browse, dine, shop, etc.

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Thanks! I just signed up for their e-mail so I'll be able to keep up with their schedules.
Hopefully we won't go broke with the lady's out shopping:11:. Oh well, we will be in blissful ignorance under water--no sticker shock so its all good. I may schedule a day that I had available before we go out with Miss Conduct with them and leave one day in the middle and the last two days of the trip open for whatever comes up.

Any idea if they typically have space available on just a day or two of notice? I was thinking I would put the numbers of the dive ops we are diving with along with a couple of backups in my cell so I could check with them in case we decide to dive those last few days (or maybe toss in a couple night dives).

TLB2:

Any idea if they typically have space available on just a day or two of notice? I was thinking I would put the numbers of the dive ops we are diving with along with a couple of backups in my cell so I could check with them in case we decide to dive those last few days (or maybe toss in a couple night dives).

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Generally speaking, you shouldn't have too much difficulty finding spots on shorter notice during the week, but there's a much higher probability of finding the boat booked on the weekends.

Spot on advice from SFLDiver

Two things:

1. FillExpress doesn't have VIP stickers on their tanks so you can only refill them there (just in case you were thinking that).
2. Keep the girls away from a place called Bal Harbor Shops (it's only a 15 minute taxi ride away from SoBe).

deepstops:

Spot on advice from SFLDiver

Two things:

1. FillExpress doesn't have VIP stickers on their tanks so you can only refill them there (just in case you were thinking that).
2. Keep the girls away from a place called Bal Harbor Shops (it's only a 15 minute taxi ride away from SoBe).

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I was planning on just filling them there if I can work it out. My biggest concerns are just some minor logistics issues like: Do you need to wait for it to be filled or do you swap the empty tank for one that has already been filled? Can you drop off the tank and pick it up the next morning? How long does it take to fill the tank? If I'm not able to get there before they close after an afternoon dive, will I be able to get a tank filled in time for a morning dive the next day?

Minor issues I'll be able to figure out with a phone call once I get a little better idea of the times of our dive trips. Worst case we will just rent directly from the boats on any of the days that look like they could be a problem.

No good can come of the ladies making a trip to Bal Harbour - got it .