First cruise for a JR diver

[AJinterpreters]

Hello everybody! First post here! YAY! My wife and I are both ASL interpreters and have worked dozens of cruises over the years. This summer we are loking to take out 10 year old son on his first dive trip. He will complete his open water chcek dives in late may or early June and we are loking at an early July sailing.

 

Keeping in mind the parameters he has to dive under( 40 feet bottom limit and must stay with a DM), could we get some recommendations of ports that would be good??? Here is what we were thinking. The Seranade of the Seas has a southern Carib trip that does: Curaco, Aruba, Dominica, and st thomas. I know that we would like to go with the Dive Bus on Curaco becasue we have heard that they do well with kids. But I am not sure about the other ports???? any ideas or other thoughts that we could try?

 

This is a big dive for us. My father was a dive instructor and just passed away, and was never able to see his only grandchild dive. SO..... we would like to make this a special trip!

 

We are open to any and all ideas!!!!

 

Thanks in advance for the help, Jeffrey and April

[bruce-r]

I agree with the suggestion; dive bus for Curacao.

 

St. Thomas, either a shore dive at Coki Beach http://www.cokidive.com or contact http://www.admiraltydive.com and explain what you are looking for and see what they can do for you.

[KJHorton]

Reading your post, I don't know if you are aware of this (or if it is PADI cert).

 

If it is a PADI certification, a 10 year old diver must stay with a parent or PADI pro. So, if you are comfortable diving without a DM, that is allowed. This might help make your planning a bit easier.

 

I agree with Bruce that Dive Bus would be a great option for you. We dove there with a new open water diver, her first dive in the ocean, and the DM did a great job with her.

 

Good luck.

[AJinterpreters]

My understanding is that at 10 he has to be with a DM at all times. I think t 12 he can dive with one of us. I also dont want to be the controlling dad, and would like our son to have the confidence that the DM will be with him the whole time on his first ocean dive. And yes, it is a PADI JR diver cert.

 

Is there a better cruise to get to Curaco than the Serande of the seas?

 

Thanks again for the help. Jeffrey

[jimw]

PADI Junior Scuba Diver--must be supervised by a DM or other pro.

PADI Junior Open Water Diver--a certified parent is OK

 

I guess as with the adult version of both, the difference is a few more skills and 2 more certification dives.

[KJHorton]

I totally understand if you want your child to dive with a DM. Diving with kids can be nerve wracking! Just putting the information out there for you.

 

From PADI website:

 

http://www.padi.com/scuba/padi-courses/diver-level-courses/kids-courses/default.aspx

 

 

Junior Open Water Diver (ages 10-14)

Young people can take the full PADI Open Water Diver scuba certification course and upon completion will become Junior Open Water Divers with certain age limitations for scuba diving:

 

Junior Open Water Divers ages 10-11 years old must dive with a PADI Professional or certified parent/guardian. Dives must not exceed 12 metres /40 feet.

Junior Open Water Divers ages 12-14 years old must dive with a certified adult. (13+ years old can take the Open Water Diver Course online.

[afiremedic323]

I dove with red sail sports in aruba and they were great. give them a call or email and if you can get to bonair I really really really suggest you try buddie dive they were by far the best, professional, easy going, friendly group I have ever went with

[HS_Travel]

I also agree that Coki Beach Dive is a great dive op to use in St. Thomas. My husband and I did our open water certification this past March with Coki Beach. It was really nice to do beach dives when you're new to diving!

[mystkittsdivebuddy]

Hello everybody! First post here! YAY! My wife and I are both ASL interpreters and have worked dozens of cruises over the years. This summer we are loking to take out 10 year old son on his first dive trip. He will complete his open water chcek dives in late may or early June and we are loking at an early July sailing.

 

Keeping in mind the parameters he has to dive under( 40 feet bottom limit and must stay with a DM), could we get some recommendations of ports that would be good??? Here is what we were thinking. The Seranade of the Seas has a southern Carib trip that does: Curaco, Aruba, Dominica, and st thomas.

 

This is a big dive for us. My father was a dive instructor and just passed away, and was never able to see his only grandchild dive. SO..... we would like to make this a special trip!

 

We are open to any and all ideas!!!!

 

Thanks in advance for the help, Jeffrey and April

 

Hi There Jeffrey and April

Padi standards say that a 10 year old must dive with a Padi professional at all times. Max depth is 40 feet.

 

I am presuming that neither of you are certified divers and these will be your son's first dives after certification.

 

You really need to talk to whatever dive school you are thinking about booking with. "Good with children" is one issue, but how is your son's dive going to be conducted?

The Dive leader (Divemaster or Padi Instructor) is going to lead a group of divers and be responsible for all of them.

The specific standards state that if a 10 yr old is present then this group must be no larger than 4 divers. That means that the operator, IF they are going to conform to standards will need to more than one dive leader in the water.

Do not presume that this standard will be followed, even if you book through the cruise ship. Being "one of many" will not give your son the supervision he requires.

I suggest that you ring any dive school you are thinking of booking with, tell them that your son is 10 yrs old and ask them what, if any, special considerations there are and if it will cost you extra (It probably will). If you do not get the right answers then move on.

I have done quite a lot of work with youngsters and they make excellent, competent divers, your son will meet all the standards required or he will not pass the course. You will need to take a deep breath and give him lots of trust when he goes out on "his own" for the first time.

From my point of view (I am a Padi IDCS Instructor) I really enjoy teaching youngsters because they get so much from being underwater. When I see the look of wonder on a child's face the first time they are surrounded by fish, or get "up close and personal" with a Turtle. I get a great deal of pleasure.

The problem with supervising youngsters is that they are usually enjoying themselves so much the they tend to forget the depth they are at and other things they have learned in training. As I say they are too young to "Know what they do not Know" That is part of the reasoning behind the 4:1 ratio.

I am sorry that St Kitts is not on any of your cruise options or I could have been taking your son diving.

Do not let anything I have said put you off your plans, I always wish that I had started diving age 10.

If you need any more advice, I have a website at http://www.mystkittsdivebuddy.com, pleas feel free to contact me directly.

Terry