PADI Certif. on Board

[cpawson]

Has anyone gotten their certif. on board

or at a port ?

If so could you please tell me about your experience ?

Thanks,

Ray

[dlbutler5]

I didn't get my cert onboard but dove with some that did. They were all satisfied and more than one had a partner that was already certified. The Carib is a real nice place to do your first dives. Plenty of visability, nice views and usually calm waters. I would say go for it if you are thinking about it. Also, I would buy the personel gear you need (flippers, mask and snorkle) at a local dive shop if possible. Like everthing else they are more expensive on the ship. GOOD LUCK!

[imsulin]

To get full PADI certification requires many hours of land instruction and in-water instruction. I would NEVER recommend doing this on a CRUISE, AND YOU CANNOT get it at an 8-hour port stop!! What you CAN get, , however, is a 2-week "RESORT DIVE certification. after about a one-hour land instruction, and a one-hour water instruction. This will allow yiou to do a 30-minute dive to about 30 feet. It's expensive! If you want full PADI certification, call your local sports stores or YMCA. It takes about 2 weeks of every-day land and water instruction.

[cpawson]

Thanks for the information -- i appreciate it.

[gadawg1979]

The COURSE on the 7 day ship includes both classroom and pool instruction on your sea days before your dive.

[cpawson]

I looked at the course that is offered and I thought I would be able to do it on my cruise --- but they do not offer it on my 9 daycruise out of Baltimore.

 

I'm hoping that when I am on board --- someone might be available to offer it.

[dlbutler5]

I am sorry Imsulin, but you are mistaken. Even at a local shop a person can get FULLY certified in a weekend. It is one day of class and pool and one day of open water certification. You don't do any of your open water dives on the ship until the last port. This is a fully open water certification, good for diving down to 65 feet and to the extent of your air. When I received my cerrtification it was a mixed class of two weekers and weekenders. Everyone completed the tests and got their certifications. The shipboard class is a cross between the two, so as to not tie up too much continous time during your cruise. Once again, I say if you are interested go for it. They couldn't issue certification if it wasn't qualified by PADI. Also, you can go to PADI.com and check out FAQ's there if you have more questions.

 

 

 

Dave

[imsulin]

Wow! Give me that two-week certification class anytime!!

[SunSkater]

My impression is that the cruise cert is for PADI Scuba Diver - not Open Water. This allows the student to subsequently dive under the supervision of a divemaster or instructor (which is what many will be doing anyway).

 

It's been a while, but when I got my Open Water cert, I made four dives - two in a spring and two in the Gulf. That, coupled with the physical and classroom training/testing, makes it seem unlikely to me that it could be granted on a seven day cruise.

 

Of course, one should be able to easily transfer credit for the work done on the ship to a shoreside program, thus picking up the open water c-card fairly quickly.

 

And, like I say, it's been a while. :)

 

best,

 

John

~~~~~~~~

Mariner of the Seas, 11/05

[dlbutler5]

You can get all 4 dives done. You two at each of the last ports. The class time is the easy part to do onboard but you have to hope for good weather to do your dives. On the eastern cruise we were on last year they dove St Thomas and finished in St Maarten. All divers dove together in St Maarten due to rough seas and the testing area was protected and fairly calm.

[cheezwhiz]

Our entire family is certified but try to do the certification before the trip. The diving is great and you will enjoy it more without studing on the cruise. My kids did it in Hawaii and it really took away from our vacation.....and you are spending big bucks for that vacation. Enjoy it in front of the pool or on the islands not in front of a book. We talk from experience.

[imsulin]

I'm with cheezwhiz! I did mine at home, and always take my card with me. At home, I had the choice of classes and times. When I'm on a cruise, I want to be able to dive without being confined to certain times for studying and blowing bubbles out of my mask in a pool!