PADI E-learning

[sarugby9]

I have a question for all you dive experts out there. I will be taking a cruise to the W.Caribbean in Nov/Oct. If I do the elearning course online before hand I know that I still have to do the 4 open water dives spread out over two days. My question is can they be at two locations. i.e can I to a one day, two dive session in Roatan and then another one day, two dive session in Cozumel the next day? :confused::confused:

[mystkittsdivebuddy]

I have a question for all you dive experts out there. I will be taking a cruise to the W.Caribbean in Nov/Oct. If I do the elearning course online before hand I know that I still have to do the 4 open water dives spread out over two days. My question is can they be at two locations. i.e can I to a one day, two dive session in Roatan and then another one day, two dive session in Cozumel the next day? :confused::confused:

 

Once you have completed the ELearning you do need a pool session where the basic scuba skills are taught. This takes around 4 - 5 hours and can be completed in 1 session. (Time can only be approximate as the session progresses at the pace you learn at.)

After successfully completing the pool session you are then ready to go on to your Open Water dives.

The academics, (Elearning), the Pool session, and the open water dives are separate entities and be taken at different locations with different dive centers / instructors.

Your main problem I can see is going to be one of scheduling, other than this there is no reason why you cannot complete your Open Water this way. You need to have all your scheduling complete before you sign up and pay for your ELearning course.

You also need to purchase a Padi Training Log Book, (purchase from your first instructor) and ensure that each stage of your training is recorded in this, as at every stage you must be "signed off" correctly.

 

As an alternative, most Padi centers will offer you the Academics (Classroom or ELearning) and the pool session, so you could complete these before your cruise and just do the Open Water dives while cruising. I have taught a number of students this way.

 

A couple of other thoughts, The more options and dive centers you use, the more expensive your course will be. If you have any problems during the course there may not be time to "make up", so ensure you complete the pool session thoroughly and are happy with every skill.

 

You will find that you will love scuba and will get hooked very quickly, go for it and enjoy.

[sarugby9]

Thank you very much for the detailed response divebuddy. I have lots to think about.

[scubadiver888]

I have a question for all you dive experts out there. I will be taking a cruise to the W.Caribbean in Nov/Oct. If I do the elearning course online before hand I know that I still have to do the 4 open water dives spread out over two days. My question is can they be at two locations. i.e can I to a one day, two dive session in Roatan and then another one day, two dive session in Cozumel the next day? :confused::confused:

 

I've always thought this was a bad idea. When I took the classroom portion of my dive training. People in the class asked questions which got me thinking. If I was eLearning I would never have been involved in those conversations. Additionally, instructors would often give me tips and help based on the questions I asked in class.

 

Next, you will need pool sessions. The instructor will gauge your comfort level as you do the exercises in the pool and tailor how they help you for the open water dives. If you do the pool session with one instructor, dives 1 and 2 with a second instructor and dives 3 and 4 with a third instructor, they won't be have to build off the previous sessions because they weren't there. You will most likely get the minimum requirements for certification.

 

On the other hand, if you sign up for a course locally, they should be able to do the whole thing in two weekends. My shop will have classroom Friday night (6pm to 9pm), classroom Saturday morning (9am to 1pm), pool session Saturday afternoon (2pm to 5pm), classroom Sunday morning (9am to 1pm), pool session Sunday afternoon (2pm to 5pm), open water dives 1 and 2 Saturday, open water dives 3 and 4 Sunday.

 

The pool session occasionally run long but that is because the instructor want to make sure everyone is comfortable with all the exercises. The open water dives are usually 9am to 2pm but we can have take our time, have a long lunch do a debriefing, tell war stories, etc. if that is what the students want.

 

Total time for certification is one Friday evening and two weekends. Get the training material before the Friday class, read through it and class work will go a lot faster (cheaper than paying for eLearning).

 

Finally, wouldn't you rather go to Roatan and Cozumel as a certified diver rather than as a student?

[Middleager]

You can also consider getting to your cruise home port earlier, and do the certification dives there. If it's Miami or Fort Lauderdale, there are lots of shops to find. You can even go to Key Largo, which can provide IMO better dives.

 

If it's Tampa, there's not much good diving there. Clearwater does not have clear water. But you can go north to Crystal River to do some dives there, and Rainbow river for nice easy shallow drift dive. Or a bit further north with other spring or cavern dives. Before going to Cozumel, the Rainbow River drift dive is a very good introduction.