Resort dive cert question

[jakeanderic]

HI- I wasn't sure where to post this..... where would you recommend my husband and 12 yr old son to go to get resort dive certified near Marriott's Surf club in Aruba? Thanks!

[RJP]

HI- I wasn't sure where to post this..... where would you recommend my husband and 12 yr old son to go to get resort dive certified near Marriott's Surf club in Aruba? Thanks!

Red Sail is the on-site water sports/dive operator right at the Marriott...

Aruba Red Sail Sports for Scuba Diving - Sailing - Watersports Vacation (http://www.aruba-redsail.com/)

The quality of instruction for a resort course is in a fairly narrow/predictable range at just about any dive operation. Accordingly, I'd recommend just using Red Sail if only for the convenience factor.

[kvp]

HI- I wasn't sure where to post this..... where would you recommend my husband and 12 yr old son to go to get resort dive certified near Marriott's Surf club in Aruba? Thanks!
Unique Sports of Aruba will pick you up at the Marriott and return you after your diving. You can also walk to their shop down the beach. Only about a 10 minute walk.

They have very good instructors and are very safety conscious. They will make sure that you have a very good and enjoyable experience.

Ken

[onefastpony]

Since you are leaving at the end of August why don't you just fully certified? It will be about the same as a resort course, you get better instruction, and you can dive whenever you want. The resort course is only good for a year and the training is usually a little lackluster. Just my 2psi.
I went on vacation last year to Jamaica and was going to take the resort course but did decide to get fully certified before I went, so much more enjoyable.
Also, you want to try to not post the same thread in separate forums.

[allistoy]

I would be very careful with Red Sail as I have witnessed so bad experiences with them in the past with resort course students. I would suggest Clive at Dive Aruba as he will do an axcellent job and it will be 1 on 1 with him.

[fisheater]

No. I don't recommend that ANYONE get certified on vacation. The vast majority of those folks NEVER dive once they come home, or only dive again once or twice on next year's vacation.

Dive skills are perishable. Only diving once a year ensures that you'll never get good or comfortable (or all that safe).

Find a place local. Learn to dive. Then, enjoy the heck out of your warm tropical dive vacation.

[spectrum]

jakeanderic

I don't want to be piling up on you but I agree with many of the above posters.

First though, I have no experience with Red Sail.

Leaning to dive is an adaptive experience and you never know who will find it challenging. Trying to pack this into a vacation can quickly become a frustrating trip.

Also as others have mentioned the conditions are quite ideal and that just can't lead to a well rounded diver. If at all possible get it done locally before the trip.

As a fall back get the academic and pool work done at home. Then on vacation it will be all bubbles while they do their checkout dives on a referral. Once home they will be in good time to do a local water orientation keep right on diving. IMO that is the only predictable way to become a safe & competent diver.

Pete

PS, when you have a second consider adding some meat to your profile, like where home is and your dive experience. You may be all that is needed to ease them into local diving once home.

[Bonairetrip]

OP:

1) You also might try posting your question in ABC Islands - ScubaBoard (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/abc-islands/)
2) Resort course? Or full certification?

In terms of (2), it depends on what your goals are and how much time you have available. If you think diving will be the center/focus of future regular diving trips (at least annual) or if this is something that might be pursued at home, then you might consider a full cretification. If that is what you decide, I would try and and do as much before the trip as possible (you can do the pool/book work at home and the dives in AUA or you could do it all at home). Otherwise, the resort course can be a nice option...

[RJP]

PS, when you have a second consider adding some meat to your profile, like where home is and your dive experience. You may be all that is needed to ease them into local diving once home.



Given a join date of today and this as their first post, I'm assuming the OP is the non-diving spouse/parent of the non-diving husband/son, and that they found SB while looking for info on resort courses.

If so, and hubby/son haven't ever tried diving before and are just looking to give it a whirl, a resort course is a great low-pressure, try-it-out option. Additionally, vacation in August doesn't give much time to do cert if you're just thinking about doing it on a whim, considering the need to ID and instructor/shop, dedicate to academics, schedule pool work, etc, etc.

Go to Aruba, give it a go, and if they like it, follow-up with full cert at home and look into local diving opportunities as well. Diving isn't just for vacation. I assumed it was for 40 or so years so never tried it. Had I known I could dive at home virtually year round I would have gotten certified a L-O-N-G time ago!

[String]

What IS a resort course? Is it a normal course taught at a holiday resort or what? It's a term ive only ever heard used in america and even after several years don't know what they mean by it.

[friscuba]

"Resort course" is a wierd term. I've found some people use it to describe the intro dives resorts do, some use it as a derrogatory term to describe practically any training done at a resort destination. Is there any agency that officially has the term "resort course" as one of their offerings? I sure have met a lot of mainland instructors that have used that term in a negative sense.

To the OP, if you're looking for intro dives for your family, nearly any Instructor can do it. If you're looking for the full certification, you'll need to be a bit more choosy, whereever you have it done.

If you are looking to dive at home, get trained at home. If you're looking at a full certification but intend to dive only on vacation, I'd recommend looking into a referral situation where you take the academic and pool work at home, and then do the diving end of it at your destination. I see a mention above that "resort course" divers rarely dive when they come home.... well, that happens just about anywhere, unless the instructor that does the course has such a magnetic/electric/perseverant personality that people want to be around him and he makes the opportunity for that to happen, the majority of people are out of local diving quite fast. It's been my observations that many mainland instructors do a fabulous job on the front end of the course, and that conditions on the open water portion (depending on location) can make it to where the open water portion of the dives is not what many people hope for. On the other hand, in many resort locations, the front end is rushed, but the Open Water dives are great. Most agencies set it up to where you can split your training between your home and the resort, and if you pick the right people on both ends you can have a very good experience. I read somewhere that 40-50 percent of divers never dive again after their open water course, my feeling is they probably didn't have a good experience that made them want to try it again, with the referral situation you can potentially get the best of both worlds.... thourough skills and academic training AND a pleasant open water experience.

RJP's suggestion of giving an intro a try is a good one. A person can always get certified later.

[pedo]

Go to Aruba, give it a go, and if they like it, follow-up with full cert at home and look into local diving opportunities as well. Diving isn't just for vacation. I assumed it was for 40 or so years so never tried it. Had I known I could dive at home virtually year round I would have gotten certified a L-O-N-G time ago!

This almost exactly my experience.

[The Kraken]

Keep in mind that a "resort certification" is not a recognized diving certification in the US.

Don't be under the misconception that taking a resort cert will allow you to go diving when you get back home.

That is unless the certification is an actual PADI, NAUI, SSI or some other recognized full certification course.

the K

[catskill diver]

contact J.P @ JADS on baby beach - The best service we found. Ask if Walter is available -

They do the typical pick up and return. Sign them up for the O W and get the book work done before they go !!

[halocline]

Keep in mind that a "resort certification" is not a recognized diving certification in the US.

Don't be under the misconception that taking a resort cert will allow you to go diving when you get back home.

That is unless the certification is an actual PADI, NAUI, SSI or some other recognized full certification course.

the K

A PADI course is PADI, regardless of where you take it. I have no idea what the "resort certification" is, I have a feeling its a term with no actual meaning.

Common dive courses taken at resorts include something like PADI's discover scuba, which is a one-day non-certifying class, and regular OW certification just like the one at a local dive shop. If you get a PADI OW cert in Aruba, Bonaire, Cozumel, or Dearborn Michigan in January, it's the same course standards and the card will have exactly the same recognition.

The quality of the course is dependent on the instructor, of course, and that varies from resort to resort just like it does at local dive shops. The quality of course instruction and OW dive experience at a Caribbean resort like Coconut tree in Roatan is high quality, I'd recommend it to anyone. I am sure there are MANY excellent scuba instructors on Bonaire and Cozumel; these places are worldwide dive centers.

Regarding the often held opinion that students certified in warm clear Caribbean water are not then qualified to dive in cold dark lakes, that's true but hardly a reason to avoid OW instruction in the Caribbean. In fact, it makes much more sense for most people to initially learn in the easiest, most forgiving environment possible, then move on to more demanding dive situations. Maybe OW in the Caribbean, some experience and confidence-building down there, then AOW in cold water at home, something like that.

In general, skills are taught in the easiest environment possible to begin with. You'd never hear of a ski instructor recommending initial training on an expert slope, with the justification that "if you don't learn on the hard slope, you won't be able to ski anywhere you want."

[Scubadaddy]

I have no experience with resort certifications, but thought I would add my thoughts.

Why burden your vacation with the task of having to get certified? Why not do it prior to your vacation? That way you would be able to 'jump right in' on your vacation and enjoy your time there instead of having to worry about droning through theory/skills/certification dives etc.

There is no mention in the OP if the people have tried diving. If not, perhaps it would be worthwhile to do so before planning some vacation time & $$ on it.

Just my 2 cents, best of luck and have fun!

[The Kraken]

By no means take what I posted as a reason not to do a resort course.

If the course is well planned, executed and the divers are properly supervised then the resort course is an excellent way of helping people know if they want to pursue further education and training in the hobby.

Whatever your decision, we hope you have a wonderful experience, become a diver and come back here to join us as an honest to goodness scoober-diver!!!

the K

[idocsteve]

"Resort Dive Certification"

That's an oxymoron if there ever was one.

[halocline]

"Resort Dive Certification"

That's an oxymoron if there ever was one.

Really, that's interesting, the best scuba instructor I ever met teaches at a resort.

There are PLENTY of excellent instructors working at dive resorts. Where do you think they'd work? Do you have any idea how competitive it is to teach in top destinations like Cozumel, Bonaire, etc...

I have a feeling a big part of why people on this board like to trash the 'resort certification' is because they are confusing the Discover Scuba class with an actual OW certification course. It's easy to confuse them because the discover scuba classes are very popular at big resorts, and they are basically one day very basic classes designed to get a student breathing underwater as quickly as possible. It is NOT the intent of the class to poorly certify divers.

[idocsteve]

Really, that's interesting, the best scuba instructor I ever met teaches at a resort.

There are PLENTY of excellent instructors working at dive resorts. Where do you think they'd work? Do you have any idea how competitive it is to teach in top destinations like Cozumel, Bonaire, etc...

I have a feeling a big part of why people on this board like to trash the 'resort certification' is because they are confusing the Discover Scuba class with an actual OW certification course. It's easy to confuse them because the discover scuba classes are very popular at big resorts, and they are basically one day very basic classes designed to get a student breathing underwater as quickly as possible. It is NOT the intent of the class to poorly certify divers.

Matt my point was that a person who has taken a resort dive class is not certified. A "resort certification" is no more useful than a "discover diving" certification, which is about as useful as the toilet paper roll hanging in my bathroom. In fact the toilet paper is probably more useful 'cause it's softer and will get a better grip where it's needed most.

[stargazer61]

Matt my point was that a person who has taken a resort dive class is not certified. A "resort certification" is no more useful than a "discover diving" certification, which is about as useful as the toilet paper roll hanging in my bathroom. In fact the toilet paper is probably more useful 'cause it's softer and will get a better grip where it's needed most.

Depends what you consider useful. It's not meant to be an equivalent to open water. It's just a safe entry point for someone wanting to do some supervised dives. That's what got me started - I still remember the dives I did on my "discover scuba" in Thailand. From the point of view of getting me into diving it was very useful.

[halocline]

Matt my point was that a person who has taken a resort dive class is not certified. A "resort certification" is no more useful than a "discover diving" certification,...

I don't think there is something called a "resort certification." The resort classes are in fact either PADI Discover Scuba, or an equivalent course from another agency. There is no certification implied or intended.

Now, it is fairly common for a resort to recruit discover scuba participants to continue into OW certification classes, and they do get some class credit for the discover scuba. But that's exactly the same as a similar scenario at a dive shop in the U.S.; it's PADI curriculum.

One thing that I like a lot about the classes at the resort where I did my DM is that they are not using the class as a loss leader to sell gear. They also loan students basic gear (mask/fins/snorkel) rather than requiring them to buy. Separating the gear sales and the training would go a long way towards improving dive instruction in general, IMO.

[rk288]

My son and I did a discover diving excursion on a cruise. That was in 2007. We haven't even thought about another cruise since then. It seems every dive shop I've seen has a few ways to get you in the water. We don't know how long you're going to be there? I'd have to say go, check it out, come back and get your full certifications locally. Enjoy!

[Willar]

PADI Discover Scuba = "resort certification" = short class along with a shallow dive(s) closely supervised by an instructor. Frequently used by travelers to experience scuba diving for the first time. A good way to discover whether one likes scuba diving and wants to continue their scuba diving education.

Don't blow their simple question into a drawn out battle on who/where/how/why/when to get certified, just help them decide where to experience scuba diving for the first time. Just maybe they'll turn into long-term dive nuts and end up tech divers, or worse.

[k ellis]

What IS a resort course? Is it a normal course taught at a holiday resort or what? It's a term ive only ever heard used in america and even after several years don't know what they mean by it.

A resort course is basicly a glorified name for a discover scuba course. They use the term resort course simply because the course is typicaly taught at high end resorts as a way to get people into scuba diving.

Its a one time use temporary way to dive with a divemaster at a maximum depth of about 30 feet. And there are no limits on how many you can do. You can do 1000 resort scuba dives in your life time if you chose that option (And yes I already know why do that when you can get certified)

[twitterfox]

I personally did not take a resort course. I believe my course took about 6 weeks to complete and included several long pool sessions and 4 check out dives. Despite this, I barely felt competent enough to be in the water afterwards. It took quite a few dives with excellent tips from guides and DMs before I considered myself to be the least bit "safe" in the water. Maybe I'm a little slow?? but I really wouldn't recommend such a short course. I believe it is dangerous because you just don't know enough to be concerned about the potential hazards of diving. I spoke with a few people in Jamaica recently who were totally turned off of diving after a scary diving experience following a resort course.