Question about Discover Scuba

[debfife]

My husband and I are certified but will be on a cruise this fall with another couple that is not certified. They would like to do a discover scuba course at one of our stops.

I know if you do a discover course while staying at one destination you can dive again through out your stay.

If they do the course at the first stop the cruise makes will they be able to dive again at other stops? Or do you have to be with the same operator?


Thanks!!!
Debbie

 

[spectrum]

My husband and I are certified but will be on a cruise this fall with another couple that is not certified. They would like to do a discover scuba course at one of our stops.

I know if you do a discover course while staying at one destination you can dive again through out your stay.

If they do the course at the first stop the cruise makes will they be able to dive again at other stops? Or do you have to be with the same operator?


Thanks!!!
Debbie

I doubt it

Depending on location a discover dive may be quite confined though in the right place that can still be a great time. For A slightly trained diver to go hopping to different instructors sound like trouble and the risk of a fiasco probably increases expnentially when you try this with a couple.

A resort dive will have a tad more instruction but will take them on something closer to a real dive.

Are they up to it? It almost sounds like they will be trying to live the life of a diver without being one. It's not always like falling off a log. For the money they will spend on supervised dives they can get certified at home and be ready to experience the vacatiion with you and your husband. They will be new divers so keep that in mind.

Those are my thoughts for what they're worth.

Pete

 

[Marek K]

Hi Debbie, and welcome!

A Discover Scuba session doesn't give you any documentation at all. Remember that's not a certification of any kind; and even with the same operator, your friends would still need the same sort of direct supervision on any subsequent DS dives. Serial DS dives can certainly be done, but I doubt the cost would be any less per dive.

Similarly, with different operators one after the other, it would have to be deja vu all over again each time. Could definitely be done, but your friends would be paying about the same each time.

Might be worth doing it that way in any case, if they're not sure they'll like diving. Otherwise, there's plenty of time to get them certified beforehand.

Or even do just the classroom and pool sessions now; and figure out some way for them to do their open-water certification dives on the trip, on a referral basis. You'd have to be somewhere long enough for four dives, though...

--Marek

 

[debfife]

They have no idea if they are going to like it which is why they only want to do a discover course. We were just wondering about this if they DO like it after the 1st time and want to do it again.

 

[Marek K]

They have no idea if they are going to like it which is why they only want to do a discover course. We were just wondering about this if they DO like it after the 1st time and want to do it again.

Yeah, that's what I figured. Then as far as I know, there wouldn't be any problem. They'd just have to do -- and pay -- substantially the same each time. Having done it once wouldn't give them any advantage the next time. But I'm pretty sure there are no limitations on how many times you can do a Discover Scuba session in a row. Might get expensive, but be the best plan.

If you guys are planning on going along on these dives, they might get kind of boring for you. Plus, the instructor(s) might not want qualified divers/friends along on the same dive.

--Marek

 

[Damselfish]

You might want to research what operators the cruise line sets this up with or any that you pick on your own. Maybe you can find someone here that has seen or experienced one of their resort classes. All resort classes are not the same. Some are well run and safe, but you will often hear of people that had lousy experiences that turned them off diving completely. That happened to someone I know.

 

[BrianS]

If they have a Sport Chalet near them that offers Scuba training and have a Pool, they can actually try it out for Free.

 

[justleesa]

If they do their dsd with a PADI shop and are successful they will get a small paper card stating that. Some ops have honored this card if it was within a reasonable period of time. Your friends will still only be able to do a shallow dive, but they might not have to do the short intro class/video. BUT, in most cases and to be on the safe side the op will do it again. Different day, different conditions, different location, different instructor....it's all about safty.
We once had the case where a couple did their dsd with us and then went on to another island and wanted to do it again - they "talked" the op into letting the intro class slide because they had done it here and then the couple went on to sue th op for not telling them something prior to the dive that concerned local conditions (which would have been handled in the intro class).
If your friends wish to do it at multiple places, the 30 what ever minutes the class and skills takes won't hurt.

 

[justleesa]

there are no limitations on how many times you can do a Discover Scuba session in a row. k

lol, we have people coming in that are pro DSD divers, doing it everywhere they go on vacation....you would think that at one point they would invest in a class.

 

[Dion]

I was introduced to scuba diving via "Discover Scuba" in the Grenadines (97) and the card (a simple perforated punch out card) that they gave me was good for 2 weeks, but I had to have an instructor present on the dives and I believe the max depth was either 40 or 60 feet. I ended up doing 3 dives, all at different islands. We just radioed ahead from our boat to a dive shop and paid for an instructor to accompany us on our dives. The other diver was already certified.

I was fortunate to be very comfortable in the water, having grown up in So. Cal., and also being a good swimmer and used to the ocean. But having since seen how difficult it can be for some people to be comfortable under the water, so I wouldn't really recommend it if they have any kind of water phobia. But if they are comfortable in the water, it is a great experience.

Dion