Thinking of getting PADI certified on ship...

Hi! My husband and I are going on a weeklong eastern caribbean cruise, and we were thinking of doing the PADI dive certification program offered by the cruise line on board. (RCCL) Has anyone ever done this course? Does anyone have any advice on if it is a good way to get certified? Will it be too much classroom time and take lots of time away from the rest of the experience? When would we actually be certified? would there still be time to dive?

We really want to go diving and get certified... but not sure this is the way to do it...

Please help if you have any advice!

Thank you!

Nicole

Here are my opinions:

I think it would be best if you could get certified before the cruise, but being in CO will make that a cold experience. If you do, you'll have more time for other stuff on the cruise and you'll get to dives that are recreational in nature without having to do the skills demonstrations.

Second choice would be to do the class work and pool dives before the cruise and do the open water check out dives while on the cruise. I think that RCI offers this, known as a Referral, on their Voyager (and larger) class ships. You'll still get to dive, but the first part of each dive will be taken up with the skills demonstrations you'll have to do.

If you think you will only be diving on this cruise, then not again for several years, you might consider just doing the Discover Scuba dives on this cruise and spare the time and expense it will take to get certified. The dives won't be as long as the certified dives will be, but it is a good way to find out if scuba is really for you or not.

If you do go thru certification on the cruise, you will be certified to dive in conditions equal to, or better than, the open water dives you do. So, while I don't think it will give you the best scuba eduction, you will be certified divers.

Before you go on your cruise, I'd recommend going to your local dive shop if you have one, and talk to the people there. If you don't already have a mask, you will want to get your mask there as they will be able to get you the best fitting mask. You really want to try the masks on before you buy it.

Thank you for the advice. I had a feeling that is what would be recommended. I will head over to the dive shop today!

Thanks again!

Thank you for the advice. I had a feeling that is what would be recommended. I will head over to the dive shop today!

Thanks again!

I too strongly encourage you to get certified BEFORE your cruise. But I have been researching the certification program offered by PADI on Princess, as I am leading a scuba cruise next year. I have received three separate emails from members asking I post info, so if you are so inclined, I would recommend you check out my posting about the PADI New Waves Program at Princess . I know you have plans to cruise with Royal Caribbean, not Princess. But the input might help.

I can't stress enough how much better it will be for any one planning to cruise & dive to get certification out of the way before you embark on the cruise.

I know you aren't interested in our group, but we have quite a bit of information for newly certified folks at our group forum and I encourage you stiop by. We welcome visitors and try to keep things low key.

Let me know if you have any questions.

I tried to do the same thing last year. And I did the referrals through A1 Divers in Englewood last December. Unfortunately due to the weather on the trip, all of our dives were cancelled and I was unable to do so.

Getting certified in Colorado beforehand is not to difficult. Most of the shops run local classes into next month at Chatfield and Aurora resevoirs.

After that, its the Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, NM and Homestead Crater in Midway UT. I did the latter, and its the warmest dive I have done yet. 92 degrees at the surface and 96 at the platform.

For what it is worth, my wife and I are going on a cruise in February and are in the midst of PADI certification right now. I don't know if this is universal or not, but there is a 200+ page book to read and a DVD to watch in addition to the classroom time, confined water dives, and open water dives. Now I LOVE reading the book (I know I'm a geek!), but to be honest, I would not want to read it on the cruise!!!!! My wife and I both went for a basic into to scuba thing at our local dive shop. All we did was see the equipment and dive in their pool for an our or so. However, we both came out saying, "We HAVE to do this!" But, going through it, I would not want to spend the time this process takes while I am actually cruising.

For what it is worth, my wife and I are going on a cruise in February and are in the midst of PADI certification right now. I don't know if this is universal or not, but there is a 200+ page book to read and a DVD to watch in addition to the classroom time, confined water dives, and open water dives. Now I LOVE reading the book (I know I'm a geek!), but to be honest, I would not want to read it on the cruise!!!!! My wife and I both went for a basic into to scuba thing at our local dive shop. All we did was see the equipment and dive in their pool for an our or so. However, we both came out saying, "We HAVE to do this!" But, going through it, I would not want to spend the time this process takes while I am actually cruising.

If you opt to get certified on the cruise, you will be required to do all your book work at home. My understanding is you will review the materials, and take your final test, but most of the time, while on the cruise will focus on actually learning to dive in the pool. There will be classroom work, for sure, but I picture it being a lot like my "executive course" that I completed in one weekend, then did my open water dives the next.

I think getting your certification out of the way before the cruise is a smart way to go. But it seems there is some interest to go this route also. I don't know about the others, but the PADI program at Princess takes no more than 6 people.

I read something on the RCCL board that the certification class offered is not

the PADI open water one but something called "scuba diver." My husband and I have our open water, and our daughter is considering getting certified on the Adventure. I don't want her to waste her time if it is not the full certification course. Does anybody know about this? Is there really another level of certification or did I misunderstand the post? Thanks!!!

I read something on the RCCL board that the certification class offered is not

the PADI open water one but something called "scuba diver." My husband and I have our open water, and our daughter is considering getting certified on the Adventure. I don't want her to waste her time if it is not the full certification course. Does anybody know about this? Is there really another level of certification or did I misunderstand the post? Thanks!!!

Until recently, I had never heard of "Scuba Diver" level of certification. But I noticed it was listed on a PADI mailer I recently received. From what I understand, it is supposed to be lifetime certification that enables you to dive under instructor supervision.

Here is What PADI says about it:

The PADI Scuba Diver Course

Scuba Diver is a sub-course designed to fit your needs and your schedule! This course prepares you to dive in familiar conditions under professional supervision before upgrading to Open Water Diver; you will be able to dive and purchase or rent gear at thousands of locations worldwide and you can do it in half the time!

• Junior Level - age 12 or above.
  
• Standard Level - age 15 or above.

Prerequisite:

Age requirement and medical evaluation (a physician's medical for diving fitness may be required depending on your medical history). Paperwork can be completed in advance or at course registration.

A Standard Learning Agreement must be reviewed and signed in addition to course paperwork. Once registered, any session the student misses must be made up at an extra charge or during the next regular course schedule, or forfeit remaining course fees.

Course outline:

Course includes all materials and necessary SCUBA equipment. It is recommended, but not required, that students purchase their own mask, snorkel and fins as this increases confidence and comfort. Course covers academic, confined water and open water sessions.

• Scuba Diver Course: Academics (Quizzes) and Confined Water 1,2&3; Open Water Dives 1&2.
  
• A basic swimming fitness evaluation is required for this course.

Students can upgrade at any time from Scuba Diver to Open Water Diver simply by completing the remaining academic, confined and open water sessions (see Open Water Diver course outline).

This certification is valid for life; however, it is recommended that you keep your diving skills up to date if you're not able to dive often. Ask your instructor about refresher sessions or SCUBA Tune-Ups!

Junior Diver ratings can be upgraded after the diver's 15th Birthday by paying a registration fee and processing a new card, or by taking the next course and automatically upgrading with the new certification. Some depth and supervision limitations apply to Junior Diver ratings.

Course Fees:

Course Fees vary depending on your schedule and the number of students in your group. Individual students can be added to existing groups, or may choose to take a private course. Review your schedule with our staff and receive a quote on your course.

I read something on the RCCL board that the certification class offered is not

the PADI open water one but something called "scuba diver." My husband and I have our open water, and our daughter is considering getting certified on the Adventure. I don't want her to waste her time if it is not the full certification course. Does anybody know about this? Is there really another level of certification or did I misunderstand the post? Thanks!!!

By the way, you are not alone! It's what used to be called a Resort Certification - what you got at a resort after doing a discover diving or intro to diving activity that allowed you to make other dives while at the resort - only with an instructor. What they did is make it permanent and allow resorts and cruise lines to charge more for the activity.

I had never heard of this before, but I requested more information as I am leading a scuba group next year and people are asking about it. Personally, I can't see recommending this, but I suppose there may be some people out there for whom it may be okay.

What kind of bothers me about this level of certification is many people will simply stop there. I am having to post a thread at our group forum that people diving with our group have to be at least Open Water certified. Any person with this level of certification will severely limit where we can dive and as they have to be under direct supervision, it would pose a significant problem. Babysitting divers with this level of certification is an issue, from I understand. All dive operators I have had contact with recently regarding our group dive package have flat-out stated they will not allow this certification level to dive with the group.

I suppose someone can make the case for this level of certification (as it requires only two open water dives) but I can't. Not even for kids!

I posted more information about this certification program at my group forum - feel free to stop by - we don't mind sharing!

Like I said before, we can't allow people with this type of certification to dive with the group, though they are welcome to cruise with us. They simply will have to make other plans if they want to dive.

Thanks so much for the information everyone! Does anyone know if "scuba diver" or open water is the level that RCCL offers for the on board course on the Adventure? If it is the lesser course, then my daughter will not waste her time and our money!

Thanks so much for the information everyone! Does anyone know if "scuba diver" or open water is the level that RCCL offers for the on board course on the Adventure? If it is the lesser course, then my daughter will not waste her time and our money!

My understanding is a lot of resorts are offering this type of certification, so it would make sense that some cruise lines would follow suit. You can contact Royal Caribbean at 1-800-327-6700 and ask to speak to the shore excursion desk - they should be able to tell you.

Good luck.

Thanks Sailfish. I found the answer to my question in the excursion information on RCCL's website. I guess I should have questioned why there were only 2 dives, not 4, offered. But since I didn't know PADI had a lower level of certification, it just didn't hit me that there was something different. The glowing description on the website sounded great, but now I see it differently since I know what it is. Thanks to everyone for their wonderful information!

This was my response to a poster on the RCI board with the same question.

My wife and I were PADI scuba diver certified on RCIs Navigator in April (Eastern Caribbean) of this year. It was $250 each. We did our two certification dives in St. Marten. That gave us basic scuba diver cert. (40ft with an instructor)

We also did the classroom/pool work for the optional Open Water certification (60ft w/o instructor and can rent tanks and purchase air) @ $100pp. The full OW cert can't be completed on the cruise because there's not enough time.

We were expecting that we could complete the second part of the OW on our LOS Western Caribbean cruise this past August. However the followup referral dives which have to be completed w/i a year of the classroom/pool work aren't offered on that particular ship. Some RCI ships do offer it but not the LOS.

Fortunately we were able to complete OW cert at Edens Rock in Grand Cayman on one of our LOS stops. This was an additional $150pp. Other than that the only additional expense was our masks and snorkle which are not supplied. We bought them on the ship.

Although we're glad we got the certification I'm not sure if we had it to do again we would do it on the ship. We missed two mornings or afternoons (actually 3 counting the OW class) on the first cruise and one day on the second. Didn't get to see much of St. Thomas or St. Marten. We only had an hour or two left to visit the islands. And we saw nothing of Grand Cayman but we've been there twice before.

It's a very skill intensive course with alot of new things to learn. But very rewarding also. Your pool work is done on the ship. As I recall it was about 4-5 hours each day. There's alot of book reading too. Not being a strong swimmer, my biggest challenge was the 200 yd (no equipment) ocean swim which is part of the open water check out dives. Thought I was going to drown in Grand Cayman.

We hope to get to the Caribbean at least once a year to use the skills we learned. We live 45 minutes from the Atlantic but that's too cloudy for our taste.

I too would recommend getting basic scuba certification locally. If it's too cold where you're at, just do the classroom/pool work and then get a referral to do your check out dives on your cruise. I'm not sure but you may be able to squeeze all 4 in on the same cruise.

Hope this helps,

Good Luck

Jimmers

My vote is for going to your local dive shop. Besides not wasting time on the cruise, you'll meet local people that can support your new hobby. You'll probably meet new friends and open yourself up to lots of great adventures. And getting to know local folks is a great way to exchange ideas/gear/vacation tips.

Lester