Can you recomend a dive shop for PADI Open Water Referral on Grand Cayman?

[Mr. Schnitzer]

New to diving, got certified last year (PADI - Open Water Diver) with Dive Fair Helen in lovely St. Lucia. Had done a bunch of resort dives previously (St. John, USVI & Bora Bora) so I knew I liked it.

Getting married in June and going to Kauai & Maui. Fiance is finishing her classroom and pool work this week, and we're heading to Grand Cayman to finish her open water dives at the end of the month. Anyone can recommend a good dive shop with personal attention so that she completes her certification and is comfortable diving?


thanks!
Brent

[blawler1]

My wife had trouble completing the skills for the final two dives of her SSI referral a few years ago in Bonaire. She ended up completing these with an instuctor at Don Fosters in GC. They provided her one on one service and worked with her to help her get past a problem with taking her mask off under water. I understand that PADI openwater may not require the same skills as SSI, but Don Fosters covers all of the certifying agencies.

After her early troubles, she ended up getting certified up to PADI Master Diver.

I have not been there since they moved to their new shop location, but the old location downtown was a pretty cool shore dive. I understand the new location is south of downtown, which is also a cool area for shore diving.

[ScubaTexas]

You might check with Deanna or Giles at Wall to Wall Diving; I'm sure they can help you out. (www.walltowalldiving.com)

[Mr. Schnitzer]

Thanks very much guys... I will look into them!

[THX1138]

Hello: I dove with Dive Tech last summer at Cobalt Beach. From what I understand, they are back in business. If available, ask for Andy N. Kitchen, he is a good guy. John

[michaelaz]

I Would NEVER recomend Don Fosters. I found them to be a cattle shop operation and the customer service was lacking severly and the DM's bordered on being unsafe. I suggest you find a shop that is a little more smaller that can give the time you need to practice your skills should you need to.

FYI DF is the official dive shop for Carnival cruiselines in GC and they are always packed with cruise passangers.

[Nancy32]

Eden Rock is excellent. You can see reviews and get discounts for them here...

http://www.caymanactivityguide.com/forums

[SubMariner]

I Would NEVER recomend Don Fosters. I found them to be a cattle shop operation and the customer service was lacking severly and the DM's bordered on being unsafe. I suggest you find a shop that is a little more smaller that can give the time you need to practice your skills should you need to.

FYI DF is the official dive shop for Carnival cruiselines in GC and they are always packed with cruise passangers.


I dove with DF for the first and LAST time in Feb. There were 4 of us on this cattle boat. It got about a mile off shore and the engine died. It took them 5 hours to finally come & get us. There was no water or food aboard, no shelter; quite a few people were seasick as we kept drifting farther from shore in what eventually became 6' waves.

There was no explanation as to why it took them so long to come tow the boat back to the DF dock. I can only guess that whatever other charters were out there, THOSE customers were more important than us. When we arrived at DF there was no offer of refreshment or apology. They agreed to give us our money back for the trip and that was it.

Some customer service, eh?!

[Albie Dee]

Go with Neptunes Divers.8 divers max.Keith and Casey run this opperation and are THE BEST.i only dive with them.You want customer service? NEPTUNES DIVERS is the way to go!!!!!!!

[Damselfish]

OP presumably already did this last year.

[DaveG]

walltowall were great for my advanced.

[caymancase]

OP presumably already did this last year.
What do you mean by this, Damselfish?
Casey

[Drew Sailbum]

Check the date of the original post in the thread. It was April of last year.

[caymancase]

Aha! Thanks Drew.

[diveborg]

It is funny how sometimes these older threads get a new life.

[Mr. Schnitzer]

we wound up diving with Neptune's Divers and Cristina (my wife) received her certification with the guidance of Casey.

Couldn't have asked for a better dive shop for us... the personalized service really helped make her comfortable and the diving in the Caymans is truly amazing. We had an amazing experience on our dives with Neptune's... we got some pretty good shots (below are some from the trip, and please note these were the first underwater shots I had ever taken!) but we bought a video of a couple of our dives from Keith and Casey and boy was it a hit back home with all the non-divers we know (as well as our diver friends!)

Can't thank you enough Keith and Casey, you guys run a wonderful operation and it was a pleasure meeting and diving with you both. We'll see you soon, the next time we're in the Caymans!

http://photos.e46fanatics.com/data/500/1011UW0001.jpg

http://photos.e46fanatics.com/data/500/1011UW0017.jpg

http://photos.e46fanatics.com/data/500/1011UW0012.jpg

http://photos.e46fanatics.com/data/500/1011UW0011.jpg

http://photos.e46fanatics.com/data/500/1011UW0005.jpg

http://photos.e46fanatics.com/data/500/1011UW0009.jpg

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/data/500/medium/Grouper-Post_Actions.jpg

http://photos.e46fanatics.com/data/500/1011UW0027.jpg

http://photos.e46fanatics.com/data/500/1011UW0026.jpg

http://photos.e46fanatics.com/data/500/1011UW0020.jpg

http://photos.e46fanatics.com/data/500/1011UW0019.jpg

http://photos.e46fanatics.com/data/500/1011UW0002.jpg



THANKS AGAIN KEITH AND CASEY! Neptune's Divers is the best!!! :)

[THX1138]

We dove with their group a few years back, and had same experience. Congrats diving cert. John