Scuba refresher on NCL

[Dymt]

Just booked a Caribbean cruise on the Dawn as a Christmas gift for my son and husband. They're both certified scuba divers but haven't been on a dive within the last twelve months which is the requirement for many of the excursions they're considering. This will be a scuba intensive trip for them so I want to make sure they don't miss out because I didn't do my homework. I'm trying to find out if NCL Dawn has a pool refresher course onboard on sea day and if it fulfills the requirement. Anyone have experience with this? They won't want to waste time or money on a certification excursion since they're already certified. Thanks for any insight!!

 

 

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[justhere]

Just booked a Caribbean cruise on the Dawn as a Christmas gift for my son and husband. They're both certified scuba divers but haven't been on a dive within the last twelve months which is the requirement for many of the excursions they're considering. This will be a scuba intensive trip for them so I want to make sure they don't miss out because I didn't do my homework. I'm trying to find out if NCL Dawn has a pool refresher course onboard on sea day and if it fulfills the requirement. Anyone have experience with this? They won't want to waste time or money on a certification excursion since they're already certified. Thanks for any insight!!

 

 

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Let me just start by saying I am in no way suggesting that anyone should compromise safety or do something they are not comfortable doing.

 

With that said, earlier this year my son and I went diving while on a cruise. We had not dived in the last 12 months but were both comfortable enough that we were willing to dive without a refresher course. The dive operator really has no way of knowing how long it has been since your last dive. So it is up to them if they feel comfortable without a refresher. I know the excursions and dive operators say that you must have a dive in the last 12 months but again, they have no way of (accurately) verifying it.

[hillbilly73]

Just booked a Caribbean cruise on the Dawn as a Christmas gift for my son and husband. They're both certified scuba divers but haven't been on a dive within the last twelve months which is the requirement for many of the excursions they're considering. This will be a scuba intensive trip for them so I want to make sure they don't miss out because I didn't do my homework. I'm trying to find out if NCL Dawn has a pool refresher course onboard on sea day and if it fulfills the requirement. Anyone have experience with this? They won't want to waste time or money on a certification excursion since they're already certified. Thanks for any insight!!

 

 

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Just go to your dive shop and let them know you need a refresher. Should be easy and done in a afternoon. Take care of it now and have it checked of your list before going then no worries.

[cliffd64]

To answer the question fully... NO... there is no NCL scuba program or instructors that can give you a refresher. You are far better off doing that locally. Perhaps go on a few dives with a local divemaster to re-aquaint with the equipment and methodology.

[dalgirl]

DH as had no problem diving with the NCL excursion divers even if it was over 12 months. The dive master for your excursion is going to feel out all the participants to determine how experienced they are. If anyone seems unsure they will know it and make sure that that person stays with them during the dive. DH has never needed any refresher as he has dove off/on for over 35 years.

 

That said, if you think your sons should have a refresher, a trip to a local dive shop with a certification pool will do the trick and put everyone at ease.

[Laszlo]

Call you local Y or dive shop.........yesterday

[Dymt]

Huge help!! Thanks to all!!

 

 

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[KTD134]

Hey, did your husband and son have to do a refresher or were they fine?

[Dymt]

Hey, did your husband and son have to do a refresher or were they fine?

 

They did a refresher locally before going on the cruise. It wasn’t suggested on any of their excursions that any divers have a refresher so my husband was glad they did it beforehand. The local shop said that they always recommend them.

[chrpai]

Every "refresher" that I've seen in Mexico and the Caribbean has been a complete joke. Really just a way to shake down the tourist for some cash without really going over any meaningful theory and skills. Your more likely to get more out of your refresher at a local dive shop. Even better IMO is to find a group of local divers and just go diving with them. I run a facebook group with about 500 divers in it and we get people come through all the time saying they haven't been diving in awhile and would like to get their feet wet. There's never a shortage of highly qualified divers willing to hang out for an afternoon and help another diver out.

 

I haven't had a single dive operator from a cruise based excursion ask to see a log book. They *might* ask when your last dive was.... only you can decide how honest you need to be at that point. Just be honest with yourself first. Some people dive so infrequently that they really might need to take open water again and some have dove so much that they could take 5 years off and still be perfectly competent in the water.