A Few trips with Silent World

[John_B]

Did Silent World advertise they they will do all of this? my experience is that most ops do not do everthing for you. I am also very dubious of a person with only 3 posts that writes such a bad review.

'Zactly.

Specifically, they advertise a 5 trip package (10 dives) including tanks and weights for $275; that works out to $27.50/tank or $55/trip.

I've been on most of the boats out of Key Largo (and more than a few farther down the Keys all the way down to Key West) and Silent World does as good a job of running a safe operation as anyone else, and for less money. Not only would I go back to Silent World, I am going back again later this year (I was just there a month ago). I may be a biased, but I put my money where my mouth is. These guys have taken really great care of me where it counts!

If anyone has a safety concern with Silent World, it would only be fair to let Chris or the captain an opportunity to address it vs. throwing out innuendo. OTOH, if the problem is that Key Largo diving doesn't trip your trigger, you can't really pin that on any one op.

 

[Capt Scotty]

Silent World is one of the best operations in the upper keys. Being in the Dive industry I am around them everyday. If I was going to pay for a dive trip in the keys they would be at the top of my list to go out with. I would trust them to take my children out. I'm sorry they did not live up to your expectations. But I see boat loads of happy customers get off their boats everyday.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I was a very new diver. I made a mistake. I was trying to say that I appreciated the help of the boat. Because the captain was on top of things, I learned an important lesson. Because I had a great OW instructor I could have turned the air on once in the water. I know few on this forum has every made a mistake, but I did and am not afraid to admit it.

I know my limits as a diver, and I should know my limits as a member of this forum. Shame on me for forgetting to turn on my air.

 

[Capt Scotty]

I was a very new diver. I made a mistake. I was trying to say that I appreciated the help of the boat. Because the captain was on top of things, I learned an important lesson. Because I had a great OW instructor I could have turned the air on once in the water. I know few on this forum has every made a mistake, but I did and am not afraid to admit it.

I know my limits as a diver, and I should know my limits as a member of this forum. Shame on me for forgetting to turn on my air.

lol....any diver who says they have never forgot to turn on their air eather is not telling the truth or doesn't have any dives under their belt, thats why your instructor showed you that....he knew it would happen sooner of latter.

 

[John_B]

I know my limits as a diver, and I should know my limits as a member of this forum. Shame on me for forgetting to turn on my air.

Au contraire! I've made LOTS of mistakes including forgetting to turn on my air. That's why I have a standard checklist and its why I always follow it.

What I don't want to do is to have my safety reliant on what someone else does or doesn't do. I won't dive solo, but I do believe in being self-sufficient. I guess that makes me an enigma, wrapped in a paradox, inside a jelly donut.

 

[Big G]

I dive with Silent World nearly every weekend, and it should go without saying that I wouldn't if I didn't think they were beyond worthy. In fact, I went with them several years ago when it was under old ownership and swore I would never use them again. Then, this year I learned they have new owners, new employees and a whole new attitude so I decide to give them another try and I am more than glad I did. For those of you who feel they are not up to your standards ... thank you for staying out of my way. It's appreciated.

 

[divad]

In fact, I went with them several years ago when it was under old ownership and swore I would never use them again. .

Geez, I liked the old managment. I've never been with the new managment. I just liked the deal and the (responsible) lack of meddling. They did prevent me from jumping off the
boat with my mask on the back of my head once, but I'm not holding that against them.

 

[Jupiter31]

As has been said, Keys diving tends to be shallow; so its not comon to have a dive master in the water, however if you request one in advance and agree to pay for it ($50 - 75 per dive) it can be done.

I want to set up my own gear; its life support systems and I want it done correctly - by me.

If you dove with Conch Republic - an excellent operation, vey professional, super friendly - you would carry your gear only a few steps as the boat(s) are docked w/in feet of the shop and parking area.

What you should have done was called Silent World and asked them some questions - while I congratulate you on searching the board, you had specific expectations and should have checked with the operator to see exactly what their "deal" was before booking - you also might get an idea of how they do business by talking with them first.

Finally, like most things in life, dive operations are somewhat subjective; my 10 could be your 5. There are operators talked about in glowing terms on this board that I would not dive with; not that they are "bad" - they just don't meet my needs.

The great thing about the Keys is there are many to choose from.

 

[pmlee]

Hello All. I joined SB specifically to respond to this post.

I will NOT dive with Silent World again if I can help it. I am NOT a fan of Silent World, and doubt I ever will be. Have ya'll stopped reading yet????

I have over 200 dives and all are in Florida. I am a regular visitor to the Keys and called Silent World to get information on the recommendation of someone/s that I respect greatly when it comes to diving. He/they; sang the praises of Silent World. When I called I got "Sorry. Can't help you. Nope, no one will call you back. We're busy." 2 months later some guys I was diving with had booked the pm trip with Silent World. "No, we won't fill your tanks before the trip. You have to be on time, not even five minutes late." Got to the store and they were polite and I knew someone working there and we chatted and got caught up. Surprise!! My trip cost $90.00+. It didn't matter that I had my own tanks, and they didn't fill them, and called our group a "private charter." As it was only 4 of us on the boat I assumed this to be true. The shop stated that we had to be back to the store by 5pm, "We have a life too you know." Never mind the captain running the boat so fast that gear was slammed around, more than typical okay..... One of the guys I was diving with noticed that he did not have his mask and we went back to the dock after the store and nothing, the boat was to go back out for a night dive. Called the store the next day when the guys were on their way out of town and checked the dock again. The store said "Check with us when you get back down here, we'll keep an eye out." Great!

Fast-forward to yesterday. I discovered that we did NOT have a private charter; I just got taken advantage of by Silent World. We stopped in the store and 3 people behind the counter looked up and asked if they could help us. Started to ask about the mask that had been left on the boat back in June and my friend didn't even get the whole sentence out before he was cut-off and told to check the dock. I just stood there in shock and decided that Silent World is the last place I want to spend my hard earned money to play. 3 times I have given them the benefit of the doubt and 3 times they have been inferior in customer service with a bad attitude to boot.

 

[vondo]

I've dived with Silent World for three trips now, I think, so I'll give my 2 cents.

I got used to the lower level of service on my first Florida dives out of FLL, so I wasn't expecting a DM in the water or someone to switch over my tank. I don't think I've ever had a DM set up my gear anywhere unless I asked for help (which I did as a newbie). I guess if I had rental gear it might be set up for me. (Thailand was nice in that I could send my gear back to the shop with them and they would rinse if for me and bring it back the next day, but, hey, labor is cheap outside the first world.) But, I imagine if one asked for help at SW, you'd get all you wanted. I've asked for help changing out hoses and it was no problem, no grief.

The boats do hold 10, as I recall. I like that size, but never tried a six-pack in the Keys either. I usually travel solo, so a somewhat bigger group is a bit nicer in that regard.

Yes, the dive shop is a few miles from the dock. The morning of your first dives you stop by, pay, pick up your weights, Nitrox if you need it, and head to the boat. If you stay on Largo, the chances are really high that the shop is between your hotel and the dock, so I never found that much of an issue. Dropping the weights off after your last dive is more of a pain for me since I was usually heading back to Miami. But not a big deal.

Yeah, often you end up with two shallow dives. If that's not to your liking, ask for a different site at the shop. Days ahead of time if needed. If you don't get what you want, go to a different shop. Not every place dives the Spiegel every day.

The price can't be beat.

Finally, I will say that the new owners are not among the most friendly/chatty people running a dive operation that I've encountered. I don't know exactly why. One possibility is that they are British and used to a different level of friendliness in a business relationship. Another possibility is the pressures of running a low-margin business (with their rates) in a high competition market. The captains and the DMs are great, IMO, with Bob and A.J. leading the crowd.

So, that's my long-winded take on SW. In the future I'll use them if they are going where I want to go, but I no longer want to spend a weekend diving Molasses Reef, Grecian Rocks, and the Benwood. I've done enough of that to last a while.