mobster75
Contributor
DandyDon:
At 90k.. around these parts will JUST get you the garage. Damn crazy New Englanders paying $550k for a "starter" house.
I was just quoted $975 for SSI AOW
- Thread starter tparrent
- Start date
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At 90k.. around these parts will JUST get you the garage. Damn crazy New Englanders paying $550k for a "starter" house.
My SSI AOW class was $250 per person - 4 classes; Deep, Night, Navigation, and Equipment. That included the books, but not any rental gear if needed. If I had done the Boat Specialty it would have been about $85 more for the boat fee.
I'd day $950 per person is a little steep.
I'd day $950 per person is a little steep.
The $975 sounds about right to me. 14 boat dives at 3 dives per trip, thats 5 trips. Say $100 per trip, $500 right there. At $125 per specialty,times 4, theres another $500. Sounds like a $25 discount to me!
lamont
Contributor
tparrent:
like others have said this would be equivalent to 4 PADI specialities (I think I did Night, Deep, Nav and Nitrox) classes plus boat fees for 14 dives. around here you're usually looking at $80-$100 for 2-3 dives off a boat which is somewhere between $400 - $700 of charter fees for those 14 dives depending on the specifics, and $400-$800 for the classes, plus rental fees, etc.
if it includes the boat fees (i'd make sure to get that nailed down), then it actually sounds like a really good deal, although it would be quite a bit to cram through fast. hopefully its broken up a bit so you can digest?
The way my SSI shop scheduled their specialties, it would have taken 6 months to complete the 4 I wanted. I completed 2 of them and just went ahead and got the PADI card, which took 3 days. I needed the card for a specific purpose.
dpbishop
Contributor
FWIW
Here is a link to the AOW syllabus at the SSI shop in San Diego. It involves 4 separate courses at $169 a piece. They limit class size to 4.
Their OW course is $149 and includes all rental equipment.
Here is a link to the AOW syllabus at the SSI shop in San Diego. It involves 4 separate courses at $169 a piece. They limit class size to 4.
Their OW course is $149 and includes all rental equipment.
Packhorse
Contributor
I payed
$250 for my SSI OW
$450 for night wreck and deep specialtys
$250 for Nitrox
$950 total NZ$ (US$600)including dives, gas and boat over 4 years.
$250 for my SSI OW
$450 for night wreck and deep specialtys
$250 for Nitrox
$950 total NZ$ (US$600)including dives, gas and boat over 4 years.
serambin
Guest
I just paid 195.00 for padi included were the 5 dives and classroom.
Stan
Stan
havnmonkey
Contributor
First, why are you doing all these certs at once? I just got my AOW through SSI... I had previously made 18 dives then I took NITROX. Then went on a couple of more dives; took the class for wreck/night/boat. Did the dives (w/ my LDS) in Roatan on our trip= AOW certified I am!
But you do not have to take the classes all together, I only did because I was able to do the dives with my Instructor in Roatan. Otherwise I would have done them one at a time.
IMO, an AOW cert. diver with 24 dives is NOT the equivelant of an OW cert. diver with 50 dives. It's not how may classes you take; it's how much experience you have.
Regarding the price, could you cantact SSI? That does seem like way too much $$$ to spend on a new card.
But you do not have to take the classes all together, I only did because I was able to do the dives with my Instructor in Roatan. Otherwise I would have done them one at a time.
IMO, an AOW cert. diver with 24 dives is NOT the equivelant of an OW cert. diver with 50 dives. It's not how may classes you take; it's how much experience you have.
Regarding the price, could you cantact SSI? That does seem like way too much $$$ to spend on a new card.
As others have noted, SSI's AOW is not a course, like PADI's, it is a certification level. It requires any four specialty courses plus 24 logged dives. Some of the specialities (including Wreck Diving, Boat Diving, Navigation, Night and Limited Visibility, and Drysuit) require dives, usually two per specialty. Some specialties (Reef Fish ID, Nitrox) don't require any dives. Many SSI shops package together four courses that are commonly taken in their locations (you don't get as much demand for drysuit classes in Florida) as a package for AOW. Depending on what classes are in the package and what is included in the $975, it could be a good deal. If it includes books, boat dives, air fills, and everything else it takes to get from OW to AOW, it could be a good deal. If it includes equipment rental for a bunch of dives, it could be a great deal. Find out what you get for your $975 and compare apples to apples. SSI AOW is a completely different thing from PADI AOW. BTW, I am an SSI instructor.
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