Dive Ops on O'ahu

[lbrooks34]

The husband and I are doing a post cruise stay on O'ahu and would like some opinions on dive ops. We are advanced divers who prefer six-pack boats and ops that allow you to dive your air (nothing is more frustrating than surfacing with 1500 psi). I have been looking at Ocean Concepts and Reef Trekkers so far, but am beginning to get overwhelmed at all of the options. Thanks.

[cruzegirl]

No, no, no.... Check out AAA diving...... The owners name is Alex and he is awesome.... A brit with a wild sense of humor... He has his own boat so can go to many more places.. He does small dive groups. We were a group of 4.... They usually do a guided dive first and if he sees that your competent, then you can explore on your own. We did 2 dives and the first was a certify dive for the other 2 people... On the 3rd, he saw my buddy and I were good and let us go on our own.... Plus, he's just a cool, easy going cat.... You'll have a blast... I did an intensive dive review on here under Hawaii.... Should still be around....... And he's a major player in PADI and is very safe conscious..... If you use him, tell him Debbie from California sent you.... He's a kick........lol:D

And one more thing. I booked with him July 2005 for diving in September 2005. This was before gas prices went sky high.. He honored the original price in spite of the fact he was losing $$ on me... Needless to say, I tipped him well.

www.aaadiving.com

http://www.aaadiving.com/divercomments.php

[lbrooks34]

Thank you so much for that. AAA sounds exactly what we are looking for.

[Middleager]

I also dived in Oahu last year in Aug, pre-cruise. I researched the dive ops and found out there are some 30 ops, and about 11-12 of them had their own boat, the rest were buying wholesale seats from the various boats.

 

There were some discussions in scuba board about AAA, with some fairly upset people. I eventually ended up with Capt. Bruce's, based in Waiane (west Oahu). They have had consistently good reviews from several difference sources, and I was quite satisfied with them. I took the AOW with them, and had asked for a night dive, preferably near Waikiki. It was set up, but 2 days before I got there, Capt. Randy (the owner) called to say the op that he had set me up for the night dive cancelled out because there are only 2 divers, so he's not going. Capt. Randy offered that he will still go out on his boat even if it was just me. I accepted that. I think that illustrate committment to customer service. That night another person joined in the night dive, he was a DM that works in Kona with Jack's Diving Lockers (a very reputable shop in Kona).

 

Capt. Bruce's has a 42' jet boat, so it was big a comfortable, and not with propellers that may endanger people. They (just like most ops in Hawaii) will pick up from any hotel in Waikiki as part of the package.

 

I got prompt pickup and drop off for all of my dives, the instructor/DM Kevin was great, and I would not hesitate to recommend them.

 

You could also check the scuba board, for Hawaii diving.

[Middleager]

Additional notes.

 

Ocean Concepts is also based in west Oahu. They seem to be a fairly good and established op, with their own boats. Reef Trekkers did not have their own boat last year, and were buying seats from others.

 

The problem with those buying seats from others is you don't know where you may end up diving. You speak to a booking agent, who books a seat with a boat, and you go diving with the DM from this op. You and the DM go to where the boat captain takes you. It may not matter to some people. But if you have specific places you like to go, you have a better chance of getting there if booking directly with the op that has the boat.

 

In west Oahu, I dove at Makaha Cavern (day and night), Mahi wreck (one of the larger wrecks), LCU, and also got to do a drift dive (as per my request for one of the AOW dives).

[cruzegirl]

I still stand by my recommendation of AAA Diving.... To me, they were awesome as well as others I've know that have been diving with them...... They also will pick you up/drop you off at your hotel.... So check them out and have some great dives....

Middleager,

What happened to your review of Blue Ocean Safari from Costa Maya? I never saw your review of them??

[lbrooks34]

I was afraid that I opened up a can of worms. Everybody will have an opinion. I do not want to deal with "buying seats". We just want to be able to dive our air and make sure that the boat picks us up on any drift dives. We would rather not go with "newbies" from the cruise ship (I did not like this when I was a newbie), but be treated like the certified diver that I am. A more intimate dive op if that is possible. Though it does not sound like it. A small boat, with a max of six divers. Am I dreaming?

[cruzegirl]

I'm telling you, call Alex from AAA diving.... You tell him the dives you want to do and he's pretty good about accomodating them.... And he likes small groups..... He's not a cruise ship dive shop... I was staying in Oahu for 4 days pre-cruise and booked him privately... So call him.... The worst is you won't like what he has to say.... The best is that he can accomodate you perfectly......

Good luck..... He's great.......:p

[Middleager]

Hi cruzegirl, I finally wrote up my review of the Costa Maya diving experience. You can find it in the Costa Maya port forum. My write up for the Cozumel was moved to merge with the long list of scuba and snorkeling thread there.

 

lbrooks34, the dive ops in Oahu don't really deal with cruise passengers as such. Honolulu is usually not a 1-day port stop, but is the starting and ending point for most cruises, so they don't have dive excursions thru the ship. For those long across the ocean cruises that stop in Honolulu, most of the people don't dive in the "stop" in Oahu. So you won't be dealing with "cruise cattleboats".

 

There are different ops in different areas of Oahu. Some shops are primarily in the west, some in the north, few in the Waikiki area, and some in east Oahu. Many of them pick up in Waikiki hotels but some don't.

 

You haven't indicated what kind of diving you like. If you like caverns, then the Makaha cavern in the west is good. If you like wrecks, there are some near Waikiki, some in the east and then there's Mahi, LCU and others in the west. Not many would run drift dives. There isn't much coral growth (a little more in Kona), but good chance to see large turtles in a few places. Then there's the consideration of where you like to stay and what to do when not diving. The Polynesian Cultural Center in the north is worth a one-day trip out. Many people want to visit the Arizona memorial in Pearl Harbour, some like to visit the Swap meet at the Aloha Stadium, some like driving thru scenic areas, thru the Pali Lookout and others. So think about those in addition to diving. Of course you can do what most tourists do, stay in Waikiki and there's still lots to do there.

 

You can also look at and ask questions in the Scuba Board, for diving.