Open Water with Referrals, SSI + PADI?

[gryffin]

Hello all:

My husband and I are going on a cruise in February. We had planned to do the Discover Scuba course, but several people have recommended getting certified instead. I'm looking for a shop to do the coursework and pool work, and then two shops in the Caribbean for the open water dives. The problem is that the only shop withing an hour of me is SSI and there are only PADI shops on most of the islands we are visiting.

I'm looking for shops on the islands we are visiting who will do universal referrals, but just two of the four dives. I've found only one so far- in the last port we are visiting (St. Thomas).

Is it possible to do the coursework/pool work with an SSI and then finish and certify with PADI? I've tried to research it, but I am seeing mixed opinions. Some say they have done this, others say it is not allowed.

Does anyone out there know what is the correct answer?

Thanks in advance-

 

[toddthecat]

No. You can't.

---------- Post added September 27th, 2013 at 06:10 PM ----------

You CAN however certify in full at your hometown via SSI and then dive with a PADI shop at your destination

 

[oly5050user]

Hello all:

My husband and I are going on a cruise in February. We had planned to do the Discover Scuba course, but several people have recommended getting certified instead. I'm looking for a shop to do the coursework and pool work, and then two shops in the Caribbean for the open water dives. The problem is that the only shop withing an hour of me is SSI and there are only PADI shops on most of the islands we are visiting.

I'm looking for shops on the islands we are visiting who will do universal referrals, but just two of the four dives. I've found only one so far- in the last port we are visiting (St. Thomas).

Is it possible to do the coursework/pool work with an SSI and then finish and certify with PADI? I've tried to research it, but I am seeing mixed opinions. Some say they have done this, others say it is not allowed.

Does anyone out there know what is the correct answer?

Thanks in advance-

what is your location that there is no PADI facility nearby? As to getting a SSI referal and completing the dives with a PADI instructor, it can be done, but you will need to get into the pool for a review with the PADI instructor,take and pass the openwater final exam and then do the 4 dives. You will get a PADI certification not a SSI one. Will also need to own a PADI log book and a RDP.

 

[WheelsUSN]

It can be done but it might be hard to find someone to do it. Especially getting two different shops to do it.

The shop that certifies you has to verify that you meet the knowledge requirements so even though you have done the SSI academics you will have to pass the PADI final exam. They also have to assess your skills in confined water prior to taking you to open water. It will be hard to complete all of that plus your open water dives during the short time the cruise ship is port.

If you can't complete the training with your local shop prior to the cruise then you might be better off doing a Discover Scuba this time around and then get certified before your next vacation.

 

[gryffin]

Thanks. I'm on the NH/VT border, to finish the certification up here, it would mean open water dives in December/January- it may be possible, but the idea is not appealing. The nearest PADI shop is about 90 minutes from me- not out of the question, but much harder to fit in. Maybe we should do the Discover Dive and get certified another time if we enjoy and want to do more diving.

 

[Progen]

I did the PADI eLearning, had my confined water dives signed off by a friend who's a MSDT and then the open water dives at a resort in another part of the country. I was told (via email from a PADI representative) that the completing centre as indicated during the eLearning registration would get a little cut of the eLearning fee but where I got certified was not where I had indicated. Got charged full rate in the end so you might want to bear that in mind that the only benefit of you going through the theory online is a saving in time but the overall cost of getting certified might be higher.

 

[toddthecat]

I did the PADI eLearning, had my confined water dives signed off by a friend who's a MSDT and then the open water dives at a resort in another part of the country. I was told (via email from a PADI representative) that the completing centre as indicated during the eLearning registration would get a little cut of the eLearning fee but where I got certified was not where I had indicated. Got charged full rate in the end so you might want to bear that in mind that the only benefit of you going through the theory online is a saving in time but the overall cost of getting certified might be higher.

That's true of any shop. If you do part of your class at one shop and finish it somewhere else, you pretty much will always pay more overall for the certification. That applies regardless of eLearning or not.

 

[eponym]

I'm looking for a shop to do the coursework and pool work, and then two shops in the Caribbean for the open water dives. The problem is that the only shop withing an hour of me is SSI and there are only PADI shops on most of the islands we are visiting.
I'm looking for shops on the islands we are visiting who will do universal referrals, but just two of the four dives. I've found only one so far- in the last port we are visiting (St. Thomas).
Is it possible to do the coursework/pool work with an SSI and then finish and certify with PADI? I've tried to research it, but I am seeing mixed opinions. Some say they have done this, others say it is not allowed.
Does anyone out there know what is the correct answer?
Thanks in advance-

Hi.

I teach through SSI, in a cold-water area. I have had perhaps twenty Open Water Diver students train with me (academics and pool) and then do their open water dives at a PADI resort.

While PADI is not formally a part of the universal referral network, the PADI shops have always accepted my students' bona fides (the standard Univeral Referral paperwork) and they have simply conducted the open water dives--at some cost to the students, of course.

Those PADI shops always issue a PADI OWD card to the diver, based on the principle that the instructor conducting the open water dives has the final say on whether you're ready for the cert.

That's always been fine with me.

Hope this helps,
Bryan

PS Let us know what you decide. PM me if you want more info on what a specific dive operator wants (your instructor should be able to provide this info as well).

 

[RJP]

Doing checkout dives someplace warm instead of freezing cold is a great idea. Doing them while on a cruise is a bad idea. Doing them at two different shops, while on a cruise, is a horrible idea. Please don't do it.

 

[TMHeimer]

Doing checkout dives someplace warm instead of freezing cold is a great idea. Doing them while on a cruise is a bad idea. Doing them at two different shops, while on a cruise, is a horrible idea. Please don't do it.

I'll second all that. I always advise to do the full course at home, even if it means waiting 'til next summer. Just easier that way, and you get to enjoy the cruise without "working". Doing a DSD or even just enjoying a snorkelling tour would be the way I'd go. If we ever do another cruise, I may want to get in a little diving, but I'd have to rent everything with baggage fees nowadays, etc. Might just be too much of a bother. If you enjoy diving with the DSD, or full cert., you may want to consider a week long dive vacation down there rather than as part of a cruise. But, to each his own.