Getting Certified with Star Princess

[Olwyn]

My sister and brother-in-law have been taking a Scuba course here in Toronto prior to our October 9th sailing on Star.

 

They will have one pool session onboard before doing 2 open water dives, one each in Cozumel and Grand Cayman.

 

This will give them their 'certification'.

 

There have been some pool sessions here, and classroom as well...but my sister is quite worried about the whole thing.

 

She has been reading those dive magaizines that talk about all the fatalities that happen when diving.

50 ways to die...that sort of thing...:(

 

Have any of you taken the 'final' stages of Diving Certification while on a Princess Cruise...and how was it?

 

I have read some scary issues on this post...and ee gads! I am trying to put her mind at ease!

 

Thanks so much!:)

Olwyn

[bruce-r]

She has been reading those dive magaizines that talk about all the fatalities that happen when diving.

50 ways to die...that sort of thing...:(

Unfortuantely, I think she is the kind of person that believes whatever she reads as the literal truth. The fact is that diving is a safe sport for those who take their OWN safety seriously and don't make stupid, careless choices when they dive. Sure, there are a number of ways you can get hurt while diving, just as you can get hurt in your bathroom or on the freeway if you are careless and foolish. It doesn't take any brains at all to figure out that people shouldn't drink and drive, but you see articles in the paper almost weekly about a driving fatality that was caused by drinking and driving. The point is that as part of certification, divers learn about the hazards and what to do to avoid them. Education, training, and practice are the key to safe diving. Once she has finished the classroom work and the pool dives, if she doesn't feel comfortable, a good instructor should give her some more practice time in the pool so she will feel better about her skills when it comes time to do the open water dives for certification.

 

I can't tell you that diving is completely safe and that no one has died doing it, but I do know that the accidents that are described in Scuba Diving are almost always about divers that make bad choices and don't dive follow what the learned (or should have learned) in their traning. The point of the articles aren't to scare people but to provide a lesson from someone else's mistakes so you can learn from them before you have the same stupid accident.

 

Sister will take her education seriously and will be a safe diver. It is OK to be cautious and even end a dive if not feeling comfortable. Diving is supposed to be fun and if you are not comfortable, it isn't fun, so don't do it. Also, don't let BIL pressure her into getting certified, she really has to want to do it on her own, for herself. She should not dive just because he wants her to, if that is the case.