mi000ke
Contributor
- Messages
- 1,142
- Reaction score
- 1,734
- Location
- Massachusetts & Grand Cayman Island
- # of dives
- 200 - 499
All of my dives from #21 on have been on Grand Cayman. @caydiver provides an excellent description of how most dives/dive ops work down here. I've gone with several different dive ops and they all work pretty much the same way.
First, they will "insist" that you do a refresher dive if you have not dived for a while (but only you know the truth). I have taken several guests on refresher dives, and I go along. They are very similar to discovery dives, in that there are less divers per DM (4 in my experiences) and they are easy shallow dives. You will usually pay a bit more as there are less people to spread the cost over, but well worth it if you have any hesitancy about diving. The DM knows your situation and will pay more attention to your needs while in the water. For example, I took my sister and brother-in-law out on one as they had not dived in well over a year. The DM spent a few minutes at the beginning doing a weight check on all four divers, which normally would not be done. We spent more time getting them down the line while they cleared their ears. We stayed closer to the boat in case one of the divers was more of an air hog (which my brother in law is big-time). The DM asked them about remaining air more frequently than usual, etc. Also, one operator I use has the diver do a pool session for an hour or so before doing the refresher dive.
On "normal" dives, as caydiver pointed out, almost all do a deep wall dive first followed by a shallow reef. The first is usually a "guided" dive and the second a buddy dive. I'm really not sure what that means. I usually dive as a single down here and the first part of the dive is usually as a group and we buddy up based on similar remaining gas when we get back to the boat. I stick close to the group for safety, but when I've gone as a buddy we will usually follow the DM but may go a bit off on our own. I've seen buddy pairs both follow and not follow the guide on both dives. I like following the DM as they know how to get the most out of the dive, point things out, continually check on everyone's air to know when to turn the dive, and help the directionally-impaired find the boat. For all of the ops I've gone with , they usually keep at least one DM in the water under the boat for most (but not necessarily all) of the remaining time. Most ops ask for a reasonable time limit (45 to 55 min on first dive and 60 on second), but I regularly go over these with no problem.
I have gone with ops that will guide someone back to the boat. After my sister's refresher dive last week, she and I did a normal buddy dive and at the end the DM escorted her up to the boat (we were just tooling around under the boat at that point) after he made sure I found another buddy. I've seen this with other ops as well, as long as they know the people they are leaving are buddied up.
In general, the ops on Grand Cayman tend to be very friendly, helpful, and safety conscious. I've only done a few dives on some other Caribbean islands and Florida, and it was like night and day. I don't think you will find a much more accommodating and easy place to dive than the caymans. It's a good place to get back into diving.
As far as tipping, I am happy to tip them (usually US$20 or $CI 15) as they all seem to go way beyond my expectations regarding service - and not just for me, a regular customer, but for everyone.
First, they will "insist" that you do a refresher dive if you have not dived for a while (but only you know the truth). I have taken several guests on refresher dives, and I go along. They are very similar to discovery dives, in that there are less divers per DM (4 in my experiences) and they are easy shallow dives. You will usually pay a bit more as there are less people to spread the cost over, but well worth it if you have any hesitancy about diving. The DM knows your situation and will pay more attention to your needs while in the water. For example, I took my sister and brother-in-law out on one as they had not dived in well over a year. The DM spent a few minutes at the beginning doing a weight check on all four divers, which normally would not be done. We spent more time getting them down the line while they cleared their ears. We stayed closer to the boat in case one of the divers was more of an air hog (which my brother in law is big-time). The DM asked them about remaining air more frequently than usual, etc. Also, one operator I use has the diver do a pool session for an hour or so before doing the refresher dive.
On "normal" dives, as caydiver pointed out, almost all do a deep wall dive first followed by a shallow reef. The first is usually a "guided" dive and the second a buddy dive. I'm really not sure what that means. I usually dive as a single down here and the first part of the dive is usually as a group and we buddy up based on similar remaining gas when we get back to the boat. I stick close to the group for safety, but when I've gone as a buddy we will usually follow the DM but may go a bit off on our own. I've seen buddy pairs both follow and not follow the guide on both dives. I like following the DM as they know how to get the most out of the dive, point things out, continually check on everyone's air to know when to turn the dive, and help the directionally-impaired find the boat. For all of the ops I've gone with , they usually keep at least one DM in the water under the boat for most (but not necessarily all) of the remaining time. Most ops ask for a reasonable time limit (45 to 55 min on first dive and 60 on second), but I regularly go over these with no problem.
I have gone with ops that will guide someone back to the boat. After my sister's refresher dive last week, she and I did a normal buddy dive and at the end the DM escorted her up to the boat (we were just tooling around under the boat at that point) after he made sure I found another buddy. I've seen this with other ops as well, as long as they know the people they are leaving are buddied up.
In general, the ops on Grand Cayman tend to be very friendly, helpful, and safety conscious. I've only done a few dives on some other Caribbean islands and Florida, and it was like night and day. I don't think you will find a much more accommodating and easy place to dive than the caymans. It's a good place to get back into diving.
As far as tipping, I am happy to tip them (usually US$20 or $CI 15) as they all seem to go way beyond my expectations regarding service - and not just for me, a regular customer, but for everyone.
