Full service treatment - Is that normal?

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Father

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Messages
355
Reaction score
65
Location
Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands
# of dives
500 - 999
I'm reading reviews on TripAdvisor for some of the Grand Cayman operations (mostly the negative reviews because they're more entertaining).

I read a few where people complained that their gear wasn't carried to and from the boat.

It looks like a lot of the operations typically take your gear, load it on the boat, set it up for each dive as well as rinsing everything between dives.

I imagine part of this is great customer service for people on vacation looking to be pampered and part of it is (and I'm guessing) a liability thing. if their DMs do everything for you and you have a failure, they can say they did everything right and it up to the point of failure. Is that an accurate assumption?

Either way... I'm kind of weird about people doing anything for me in general, and definitely thrown by someone setting up my gear. I'm pretty methodical and would almost definitely miss a step or forget something if someone else did it for me.

Would it be rude to say "It's cool, I got this"? or would they welcome not having to hump one more person's kit up and down the dock?
 
No it is not normal or typical service, I wish that it was because we are older divers with some developing health issues and lugging the tanks and gear is becoming more challenging.

There are a very few dive operators in the Caymans and elsewhere that provide "full-service valet diving" but most don't, at least not in my experience. I suppose that some people like being pampered but for many of us, we could just use a little help with the heavy work before and after the dive.

On liveaboards, you set up your own gear the first time and disconnect the tank after each dive. The dive staff will hose everything down after dives and fill your tank in place, then you just hook-up when you are ready to dive again, so that's easy.

No divemaster will mind if you say that you would rather carry and maintain your own tanks and gear.

I don't think liability is the issue, you sign the waivers and you should know what you are doing.
 
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It's been my experience that a lot of tropical dive operations provide this type of service. My guess is that very occasional divers find managing their gear to be onerous -- they may not be facile with its assembly, and certainly they are not accustomed to carting the weight. As you see with the complaints, if that service is not provided, people are unhappy.

I have had dive operations not like having me handle my own gear. For example, on the Atlantis day boats, the rules are to take your gear off in the water and reboard, and then the crew has to haul the tanks up onto the boat. It was just as easy for me to climb the ladder and go to my station with my rig, but they did not like that, because they did not want the chance of a client falling. Where the operator has a well-honed procedure, I don't fight with it, although I do check all my gear before I get into it, to make sure it is assembled properly and adjusted the way I like it. And, of course, I do a gear check with my buddy before getting in the water.
 
On Cayman just about everybody charges the same. So they differentiate by offering various services.

Almost all of them offer free pickup anywhere along Seven Mile Beach. A couple have flat-bottom boats so they can pick you up right off the beach. The rest runs van shuttles - early morning there's a fleet of them running up and down West Bay road. Once we almost got into the wrong one - similar sounding operator name - had the bags loaded b4 it dawned on me to ask. One picks you up in an Escalade instead of a passenger van.

Most will store your gear at their facility/dock if you're not going to be using it anywhere else. And clean it.

One operator offers optional between dive massages. Another has convenient restaurant options if you're diving all day with them - accessed via boat. The shop we dove with once kept their boats at a condo resorts marina and if we did morning/afternoon dives with them they would take us to a nearby lunch spot first b4 returning the other divers back to their hotels. And pick us up an hour later.

One offers a free shuttle for the >1/4 mile ride between the cruise dock and their location.

They'll do as much or as little as you want. Some have carts on the dock so you drop your gear and they do the heavy lifting. That's not unique there though, that happens to us pretty regularly - esp. when the shop is off the water or maybe across the street.

All part of the service...and probably somewhat expected by Cayman visitors - it's not exactly a low-rent area...
 
On shore dives on Grand Cayman I had my tank (already attached to my BC) moved, my air turned off, and the tank strap on my BC rerouted - three seperate instances. None of which was asked for nor was I informed they were doing it. Maybe they thought they were being helpful.

My desire is "keep your effin' hands off my equipment - if I need help I'll ask - otherwise bugger off". I'm 68 and if I can't carry my gear then I shouldn't be diving. End of story.
 
...I'm 68 and if I can't carry my gear then I shouldn't be diving. End of story.

You are lucky. We are younger than you but I have back problems and my husband has rheumatoid arthritis, but he is still in the earlier stages of the illness. We want to keep diving as long as we are safely able to do so, and therefore we really appreciate a dive operation that is willing to help us with the heavy work pre- and post-dive. We are not looking for pampering or guided dives; just some help with the transport of tanks, weights, and equipment - and we are willing to pay or tip extra - but such services are rarely available in our experience. Some operators say "sure, we do that!" but when you actually ask for help it may not be available.

I guess by your standards, charitable organizations like DiveHeart that help disabled individuals to experience the freedom, weightlessness, and pure joy of diving, should just tell handicapped people "if you can't carry your gear then you shouldn't be diving. End of story!"

As I said, you are lucky, I hope that your luck continues.
 
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I personally enjoy having my gear assembled and weight pockets filled for me. Too often then not you end up on a boat and before you know it you are at the dive site and everybody scrambles to get things set up. With the operation doing it for you all that is left for you to do it a quick go over to make sure all is done well and put on a suit, defog your mask and jump in. We here at Scubatoys have strived for years to give every customer the best treatment as possible and people tend to appreciate it. Its not a wonder why more and more companies are picking up on it. Do well on to others and they will remember you forever.
 
I have a temperament that resonates with the "if you can't handle the gear, don't dive" philosophy. I have a body that is recognizing the reality of time passing. I spent a great deal of our last Mexico cave diving trip thinking about future trips, and whether I should just give this part of the sport up because moving the gear on land is becoming so painful. I'm fine in the water, which is where it matters, so who cares if I need help with the equipment on land? Dive gear is heavy, and boats are unstable. Injuries can be expensive at best and ruinous at worst (I have a friend who is permanently impaired from the results of a fall on a dive boat). The dive op staff can handle my gear. What can they possibly do that I can't detect in a good pre-dive check?
 
I guess by your standards, charitable organizations like DiveHeart that help disabled individuals to experience the freedom, weightlessness, and pure joy of diving, should just tell handicapped people "if you can't carry your gear then you shouldn't be diving. End of story!"

Way to turn it into a violin solo.

I seriously doubt Kharon meant it that way.

I'm an below knee amputee and I dive as much as I can. I'm limited more by marital/parental responsibilities than physical restrictions.
If I'm physically capable of doing it myself I don't expect someone to do it for me. The hardest part for me is walking out of the water in soft sand... but I'll crawl back onto shore before asking someone to hump my gear for me.
 

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