melfox26:
Care to elaborate on this comment? I only ask because I'm looking into booking a dive op out of the east side of Maui and am pretty close to choosing Extended Horizons.
Mel
Our reasons for diving with Lahaina Divers vs. Extended Horizons are purely personal, but I'd be happy to list them:
I prefer the bigger boats for the crossing to Lanai due to motion sickness issues I have (I wear a patch anyway).
We've never had a full boat with LD while diving Lanai, so there's more than enough room for everyone. Can't remember a time we've had more than 18 divers to Lanai with them.
We prefer the style of the Newton 46 boat that LD has to the EH boat. More places to relax during the SI and rides to and from the dive sites. We particularly like sitting on the bow to enjoy the sunshine and views on the way back to harbor.
Price is cheaper with LD, $119 vs $139 with EH (and we get an additional 10% off LD's prices)
Dive profiles are the same with both ops, and LD give latitude to those with computers (don't know if EH does the same).
We got certified with LD (years ago) and go to Maui at least once a year so know the DM's really well, and always have a great time diving with them.
LD puts 6-8 divers with a guide, so it's essentially the same as EH's 6 dives/DM
I like to change out of my wet bathing suit after diving, and the handicapped heads on the LD boats offer lots of room to do that (talk about a personal reason!)
The LD boats have mesh nets on the roof which you can put sunglasses, t-shirts, and hats to stay dry, but for easy access.
LD serves sandwiches between dives and warm cookies after the 2nd dive (don't know what EH offers).
Frankly, I could probably think of a few more reasons, but you get the idea from these. Like I said, there's no judgement on quality or any bad experience I've had from EH. We've just always had excellent service and experiences with LD, and for the price difference (and other reasons stated) it simply isn't worth it to us to go with EH.
