Discover Scuba Questions

[Madzulu]

Hi All

 

I am considering trying a discover scuba diving excursion on our next cruise - Serenade of the Seas, April 2020 sailing. 

 

Anybody have any experience of doing this as a ship excursion?   

 

It is offered in either Philipsburg, St Maarten.  or San Juan, Puerto Rico.  In your opinion which would be the better option?

 

In the description it states that a medical waiver is required and if any question is answered yes - a certificate from a doctor is required.  How do you go about getting the medical waiver so that you can arrange a medical certificate if required before committing to the excursion?

 

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Glen

[Captain Billy Bob]

Try the scuba forum.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/24-scuba-and-snorkeling/

 

Not entirely sure but I think there is a medical form you can download from the PADI website that you can take to your Dr.

[Ourusualbeach]

Deleted

Edited August 11, 2019 by Ourusualbeach

[Madzulu]

20 hours ago, Captain Billy Bob said:

Try the scuba forum.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/24-scuba-and-snorkeling/

 

Not entirely sure but I think there is a medical form you can download from the PADI website that you can take to your Dr.

Thank you.  Good suggestion.  

 

[mayleeman]

@Madzulu The PADI medical eval form is very comprehensive. But some excusion operators may use simplified forms and might be much looser in excluding certain conditions. On a snorkel cruise in Hawaii we did a SNUBA dive that had a form that asked, among other things, if we had certain medical conditions, and if we said yes to any, whether the condition would interfere with our ability to dive to 20 ft, etc. 

 

The PADI one is much more strict for many of the conditions (and might be far more than what a "discovery" dive uses). Just be careful in answering them--your life insurance coverage may be void for certain causes if you participate in certain sport requiring a medical waiver, especially if you give false answers (as one SCUBA operator advised some friends to do).

[Captain Billy Bob]

You could also try contacting a local dive shop to do a discover scuba class before you go on your cruise. They can also provide the answers to your medical questions,

 

[Madzulu]

Thank you.  Good advice re the life Insurance - not something I would have thought about - I am planning on making it back alive.  On a serious note  wouldn't dream of not completing the form honestly.  

 

I looked into doing an intro with a local dive school - unfortunately did not have a very good experience - they were more interested in up-selling and would only do a pool orientation.  

 

I love snorkeling and try and get in as much as possible when we cruise.    Did a Bonaire drift snorkel last year and was blown away - loved every minute of it which is why I thought I'd give full scuba a try. 

 

Once again - thanks for the input.

 

Glen

[mayleeman]

@Madzulu Was that a Woodwind snorkel in Bonaire? We have heard great things about them so we scheduled one for our Equinox cruise in Nov 2020.

Edited August 12, 2019 by mayleeman

[Russ Lomas]

I'm a certified diver and had my 15 year old and 10 year old daughters get certified on our cruise this past March, so I now have dive buddies to go with.  I have had 12 family members try Discover Scuba, though not through the ship's excursions, on various cruises.  Not everybody got down.  Sea condition and nervousness prevented some of them from diving.  Nine of the 12 did the dive and loved it and have since dove again.

 

Neither St. Maarten, nor Puerto Rico are known for their scuba diving.  I have not dove in either of those ports before.  I do not know what other ports you are stopping in, but if you go to St. Thomas, I would recommend trying Coki Dive Centre for a Discover Scuba option.

[Madzulu]

23 hours ago, mayleeman said:

@Madzulu Was that a Woodwind snorkel in Bonaire? We have heard great things about them so we scheduled one for our Equinox cruise in Nov 2020.

Unfortunately Woodwind was fully booked so did the Samur sail and snorkel excursion through the ship - I try and avoid ship excursions as much as possible but in this instance worked out well as we were late back and they had to wait for us.

Glen

 

[Madzulu]

17 hours ago, Russ Lomas said:

I'm a certified diver and had my 15 year old and 10 year old daughters get certified on our cruise this past March, so I now have dive buddies to go with.  I have had 12 family members try Discover Scuba, though not through the ship's excursions, on various cruises.  Not everybody got down.  Sea condition and nervousness prevented some of them from diving.  Nine of the 12 did the dive and loved it and have since dove again.

 

Neither St. Maarten, nor Puerto Rico are known for their scuba diving.  I have not dove in either of those ports before.  I do not know what other ports you are stopping in, but if you go to St. Thomas, I would recommend trying Coki Dive Centre for a Discover Scuba option.

Thank you.  We have St Thomas as a call but my DW suffers bad claustrophobia so cannot  handle wearing a mask and therefore cannot snorkel.  I need to try and find a balance where she can go off and do her own think and we meet up later so St Thomas may not work for us but appreciate the suggestion.  Being realistic it looks as if I may be better off trying scuba at a land based resort rather than on a cruise.

 

[Capt_BJ]

https://www.padi.com/sites/default/files/documents/2019-04/10063_RSTC_MedState_v201_07_web.pdf

 

https://www.padi.com/sites/default/files/documents/2018-02/10648_DSDRelease_Medical_v1.pdf

 

just get your primary care dr to sign page two of the general PADI medical form and you are good to go ....

[LeeW]

18 hours ago, Russ Lomas said:

 

Neither St. Maarten, nor Puerto Rico are known for their scuba diving.  I have not dove in either of those ports before. 

 

Have snorkeled in St Maarten many times.  Divers around, but wasn't with them.  There is an artificial spot in the next bay west from the port set up by the local operators with a sunken minisub and plane, but we were not impressed by that location (too deep for decent snorkeling).  Around 20' deep but did have lots of fish in a rocky area.  Diving was off a floating pier.  It is close enough to the port for a Try Dive excursion.  Other spots on French side are better snorkeling, but less likely for that excursion.

 

San Juan has a small artificial bay on the NE end of the Old Town area used for this type of activity.  Not impressed.

 

Of these two ports I would choose St Maarten.

[Russ Lomas]

2 hours ago, Madzulu said:

Thank you.  We have St Thomas as a call but my DW suffers bad claustrophobia so cannot  handle wearing a mask and therefore cannot snorkel.  I need to try and find a balance where she can go off and do her own think and we meet up later so St Thomas may not work for us but appreciate the suggestion.  Being realistic it looks as if I may be better off trying scuba at a land based resort rather than on a cruise.

 

Not sure if your wife likes the beach or not, but the Coki Dive Centre would be perfect if you like the beach.  The dives you do are shore dives there right off the beach, so you simply walk into the water and swim the reef, coming right back to those waiting for you on land.  Coki is not my favourite beach in the Caribbean, but lots of people head there just to lay on the beach and swim with all the fish there.  There is also an attraction there I have not done called Coral World Ocean Park.  Below are shots taken on the beach and also on the bottom.

[Madzulu]

Thank you Russ.

 

Great pictures looks perfect and just what we would want.  DW loves the beach so definitely under consideration.

 

Glen

[CILCIANRQTS]

Took this course at a resort, first in the pool, then in the ocean.

Absolutely loved it, and was thrilled to complete a “real dive” in the ocean.

Only wish I had done it much earlier, as I was older at the time and a bit overweight.

Would have loved to have taken at a younger age and pursued diving as a hobby, given my extensive travels throughout my life.

[Madzulu]

On 8/13/2019 at 11:06 PM, Capt_BJ said:

https://www.padi.com/sites/default/files/documents/2019-04/10063_RSTC_MedState_v201_07_web.pdf

 

https://www.padi.com/sites/default/files/documents/2018-02/10648_DSDRelease_Medical_v1.pdf

 

just get your primary care dr to sign page two of the general PADI medical form and you are good to go ....

Thank you - this is really helpful.

 

 

[Madzulu]

On 8/14/2019 at 1:26 AM, LeeW said:

 

Have snorkeled in St Maarten many times.  Divers around, but wasn't with them.  There is an artificial spot in the next bay west from the port set up by the local operators with a sunken minisub and plane, but we were not impressed by that location (too deep for decent snorkeling).  Around 20' deep but did have lots of fish in a rocky area.  Diving was off a floating pier.  It is close enough to the port for a Try Dive excursion.  Other spots on French side are better snorkeling, but less likely for that excursion.

 

San Juan has a small artificial bay on the NE end of the Old Town area used for this type of activity.  Not impressed.

 

Of these two ports I would choose St Maarten.

 

Thank you - was very dubious about San Juan as an option - your first hand knowledge greatly appreciated.

 

Glen

[Madzulu]

22 hours ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

Took this course at a resort, first in the pool, then in the ocean.

Absolutely loved it, and was thrilled to complete a “real dive” in the ocean.

Only wish I had done it much earlier, as I was older at the time and a bit overweight.

Would have loved to have taken at a younger age and pursued diving as a hobby, given my extensive travels throughout my life.

I am so with you.  I wish I had done this years ago and a little lighter.  

 

Glen

 

[Madzulu]

Thank you very much for all the replies.  Great community which explains why I enjoy cruising holidays so much.  Always seem to meet the nicest people.

 

Glen