PG diving for beginners

[Manticore]

We are going on the PG on July 11th for the 10-day cruise for our honeymoon. My fiancee and I are in our mid-20s and new to diving and most other forms of water sports. We're learning to swim but aren't very strong swimmers yet.

 

I have a few questions about the diving program on PG

 

1. They have a "Discover Scuba Diving Theory and Pool" 3 hour program offered on almost every port. What exactly is involved in this? Do you get any kind of certification for taking it? On most ports it's offered in the PM, does this mean we will have to stay on the ship for those 3 hours or do they take you for a practise dive somewhere off ship? We'd rather not spend an afternoon on board when we can be laying on a beach somewhere :)

 

2. There are dives offered for:

- Certified divers

- Experienced certified divers

- Active Advanced divers

- Beginner divers

What is the difference between these? If we've done the discover scuba program and one other dive, would we be considered "Active Advanced divers"? Or will we be forced to take only the Beginner dives?

 

3. What is the max depth for the beginner dives?

 

4. We were thinking of taking the following 3 beginner dives (if we can't take any others). I've heard good things about the Shark Gallery, but not sure about the rest...

- Scuba Motu Nuhi Nuhi - Rangiroa

- Scuba Table Top - Bora Bora

- Scuba Shark Gallery - Moorea

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I've been reading these message boards for the last month and have gleaned a wealth of information :)

 

Thanks for all the great tips, and I hope someone can help with this!

 

On a side note, is anyone here going to be on this cruise?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I hope someone who is a diver will answer your questions. But as a non-diver, I will hazard the opinion that this is not the destination to spend time in the pool learning how to use equipment. If you could get some scuba instruction before you go, that would be good, but it is so beautiful there, perhaps you should wait and learn to dive somewhere else. Just my opinion.

[JanR]

My wife and I certified on our B2B in August 2005. Let me try and answer you the best I can. Some of the things on the PG might have changed, but I should be able to get you close.

 

• Discover Diving Program

This is essentially an introduction to SCUBA. Yes, there is a lecture and pool session. If I remember this right, it was on Sunday afternoon. Although, for the 10 day itenerary it may be different (we did two 7-days)

 

The class and pool session is essential for your safety. Although your dives will be with an instructor, you need to be able to understand some of the basics to make sure you don't hurt yourself. These include understanding that in SCUBA you never hold your breath, why ascending fast can be bad news, how to clear your mask, what the BCD (Bouyancy Compensator Device-the vest type thing) is for and how to use your buddy's octopus (his/her secondary regulator--the thingee that you breath through). For some, (including myself) the clearing of the mask is the hardest bit. But once you figure it out, everything else is pretty easy.

 

Don't let this scare you off...the PG's dive crew, led by Tahiti native Dominic is the best dive crew I've dove with yet-cruiseline or not.

 

After the pool session on another day, you'll actually go dive with your instructor who'll be your buddy. At this point, you'll realize that 3 hours on the deck was more than worth it...more blabbing about Tahitian diving later...

 

• Certification Levels/Dive Difficulty

Don't let anyone fool you, there are only two real diving certifications (if there are DIR divers out there...OK three) this is the Basic Open Water certification and the Advanced Open Water Diving. There is a SCUBA Diver Certification offered by PADI, but I and most other certified divers will tell you that it is really not worth stopping at that level.

 

The important thing to understand is that certification level does not necessarily equate to experience level. A person can take the BOW course and then take the AOW course immediately after (we only had 3 dives in-between). AOW does not mean you are an "Advanced" Diver. It only means that you've dove 5 additional dives with an instructor. The BOW course mandates 4 open water dives.

 

The dive levels you refer to are attempting to give divers an understanding of how difficult the dive may be. In these cases, the levels are probablly dictated by two overwhelming factors: depth and current.

 

For a BOW diver, 60 feet is the maximum that you are supposed to dive. (Although there are no "dive police" ready to ticket you at 61 feet). For an AOW diver, the maximum recreational limit is 130 feet.

 

Usually, a dive that is listed for Advanced Divers usually means that the depth is greater than 60 feet.

 

Current is usually the other factor to contend with. A strong current can make things go wrong very quickly if you are not ready for it. Add depth and current and you can really have issues.

 

For you, you're going to be looking at beginner dives regardless. I've been diving for two years, am AOW, NITROX certified and have several other specialties and I still will shy away from some dives.

 

• Dive sites.

I haven't dove Nuhi Nuhi, but have dove Shark Gallery and Table Top. Shark Gallery and the other Moorea dive site with the PG, Ledges, is among my favorite dive sites ever.

 

All three, Shark Gallery, Table Top, and Ledges are fairly easy dives with little current and depths that only go to 60 feet. (You could dive deeper at Shark Gallery or Ledges, but there is more than enough cool stuff more shallow. Plus, after 30 feet or so, you start to loose the colors).

 

• Recommendation

If you are wanting to do 3 dives anyway, this is what I'd recommend. Go find a PADI instructor near you and do the coursework and pool work there. Then do a referral to finish your BOW certification on the PG. This means that all you have to do is 4 open water dives off of the PG and you have your BOW certification. You'll probablly have a 30-45 minute meeting with your instructor on the evenings of your dives to go over lessons learned. We did our class/meetings before dinner and it really didn't interfere much at all with anything.

 

DANGER

Of course, there is one huge danger of diving in Tahiti. YOU WILL GET HOOKED and very well may begin diving every vacation you can. You may get a real bad case and go spend thousands of dollars on dive equipment. Worse yet, a advanced form of the disease may strike and you'll actually begin to enjoy cold, low-vis dives in your local quarries.

 

Diving in Tahiti is fantastic. Usually in dive magazines top 10 best places to dive. The fish are swarming around you. You'll see turtles, eels, and in Moorea at least, will have 12-14 black tip reef sharks zooming around you at all times.

 

OK...I've droned on enough. If you have any more quesitons, just ask.

 

Jan

[egret]

Jan did a great job with the response. I was on the PG in November last year and did three dives. First time since I was in college(30 years ago). The dives from the PG in the Society Islands are well supervised and not very challenging but as was stated, they don't have to be. There is so much to see in the shallow water. They have good equipment too. I would second the sentiment that it makes sense to get as much classroom and pool work done before you get on the ship. First, it will get you comfortable with the sport and secondly reduce the amount of time you spend not enjoyng Tahiti.

There is plenty to do on the PG without Scuba too.

[Zitdoc]

My wife and I are scheduled for the cruising on july 11th. First time to cruise and we are celebrating our 10th year married. I can't answer the diving questions but the above person seemed to hit it on the head. I'm IDEA certified but its been over 10 years since I had my certification and I only have dove on resort trips. We are taking the first SCUBA class offered and then all three of the offered beginner dives. I would love to hear from someone regarding the diving off the boat and if the PG offers this or only the assigned excursions.

[bruce-r]

1. They have a "Discover Scuba Diving Theory and Pool" 3 hour program offered on almost every port. ..... Do you get any kind of certification for taking it?

No. You do not get any kind of certification. You will only be able to do a dive that is described as for uncertified participants called a Discover Scuba dive. It is also known as a resort course.

 

 

2. There are dives offered for:

- Certified divers

- Experienced certified divers

- Active Advanced divers

- Beginner divers

What is the difference between these?

The difference is degree of difficulty. I have to think that all of them require a participant to be certified.

 

 

If we've done the discover scuba program and one other dive, would we be considered "Active Advanced divers"?

Not hardly. You would only be qualified to do more Discover Scuba dives as you would have to be under the direct supervision of a dive professional.

[Manticore]

Thank you guys so much for your responses!! This is exactly the kind of info we were looking for.

 

We will try to get the pool and in-class work out of the way before then so we can do 4 dives and get certified. I'm not too interested in doing very deep dives anyway...just want to be in the water deep enough to be part of the marine-life rather than watching from afar or attracting them with food.

 

:) Jan, I will try my best to not get addicted to it!

 

Zitdoc, we are also going to be doing all 3 beginner dives on the July 11th cruise and it's our first time cruising as well. From Jan's response it seems like we might be able to do Ledges in Moorea too as beginners!

 

Thanks again for the help!

[Zitdoc]

Sounds great and we will see you there. I am almost to the point of obsessed about this trip. I've always wanted to see French Polyonesia.

[catmommy]

Hi Folks!

 

DH learned to SCUBA for this trip. He does his final check out dives the two weekends before we leave.

 

In our area I was surprised to find so many dive shops with so many classes. I'm on the east coast true but I was very surprised at what a popular sport diving is.

 

In the class that DH is taking serveral folks have "dropped in" for refresher sections. Don't know how much they were charged but DH paid #$195 for his class.

 

I don't feel I'm a strong enough swimmer to dive this trip but I might try the Discover SCUBA if it is offered and doesn't get in the way of other stuff I want to do.

 

I am planning on doing some snorkeling but probably just off the beach.

 

Bye!

Caroline

[geriyac]

I appreciate all the helpful information. We are cruising on the PG June 16 and had hoped to have all of our open water dives completed by then. However, thanks to a couple of sinus infections during spring break in Cancun, not to mention choppy water, we only finished one.

 

I would assume, from what Jan wrote, that we would be ok signing up for the beginner dives, as long as we have our PADI paperwork with us. Is there any way to verify this ahead of time?

 

What are your thoughts about packing our own booties, fins, snorkels, and masks? It would be one extra checked item.

 

Also, what about toting along our own rafts for floating around off the recreation deck?

 

Thanks for any information you can provide!

[bruce-r]

I would assume, from what Jan wrote, that we would be ok signing up for the beginner dives, as long as we have our PADI paperwork with us. Is there any way to verify this ahead of time?

Unless you have finished your certification and gotten the C card, you probably will not be going on even the beginner dives unless they are discover scuba dives. I don't know if this is an option, but you might be able to do the 4 open water check out dives on the cruise. You will need to get a referral letter from your scuba instructor.

[Anniversary couple]

We are also on the July 11 PG cruise. We are planning to do several dives and are thrilled that there will be other divers on this particular cruise. When we received our shore excursion booklet we were disappointed to see so few dives listed. For those of you who have gone on this cruise before, did you do all of your dives with the PG crew or did you book with an independent company? The drift dive on Rangiroa sounds wonderful but I believe it is listed as being for advanced divers. My husband has over 100 dives but I only have about 25. Is it really such a difficult dive?

[JanR]

Caroline,

 

Hopefully I didn't confuse people.

 

If you have completed your book work and pool dives, you may be able to do a referral to the PG in order to finish your 4 required open water dives on the PG to finish your certification.

 

Doing the classwork and pool sessions are not a ticket to dive the "easy" dives outside of a instruction. Bruce-R is absolutely right. Get a referral from your stateside instructor and get with the dive team the first night on the ship and you'll be able to figure out what they can work out for you.

 

I know that the PG's full open water course is contingent upon the number of students they will have. For us, we had 4 students. This made it cost effective for the PG to dedicate one of their instructors for the course. If we had waited until our second week, there wouldn't have been enough students to justify pulling the instructor off of divemaster duties for the other dives.

 

As for equipment to bring, unless I was bring my full kit, the only personal equipment I'd bring myself would be my mask. The PG's equipment is pretty decent. I just really, really love my mask (MARES X-Vision). With that said, if we make it back to Tahiti, I'll probably bring all of my kit. Only because I feel so much more comfortable diving in my own equipment. Not that the PG's isn't reliable...it is...I've just got use to how my own equipment is set up and that's what my muscle memory is developed for.

 

By reputation only as we didn't dive with them, there are several dive companies which are off the ship that do a good job. TOPDIVE is probablly among the most recommended.

 

As an aside, I noticed that in the last issue of Dive Training Magazine, there was a full segment on diving in Tahiti. Interesting enough, much of the diving was off of the PG itself. You can usually get a free copy of the magazine from your local dive shop. It really is a great magazine and highly recommended by many divers.

 

v/r

 

Jan

[cruise499]

Geriyac, having dove off the PG for two weeks, this ship (due to it's exceptional dive staff, reasonable equipment) recommend you do take

boots, mask, fins, shorty. For all other cruises, I take BC, Reg, etc.

 

Anniversary Couple, when I dove with the PG, did not want to repeat

dives (we were on b2b) so we used http://www.boradive.com in Bora Bora...good

shark dive one day, fabulous Giant Manta Ray the next.

 

Have fun!

[geriyac]

We just returned from the June 16 PG cruise of the Society Islands and can attest to the wonderful support in the dives offered by Dominique, Frederick, and Jeremy. Though we had completed our classwork and only one open water dive beforehand, we did a refresher session in the pool and were ready to go on the beginner dives in Bora Bora and Moorea.

 

Both were spectacular!!!!! Hundreds of beautiful fish, colorful clams, a sea turtle, a moray eel, and black tipped sharks joined us as we followed our leader up to forty feet deep.

 

I can't say enough about how wonderful Dominique and his crew are for all divers, not just beginners.

 

The snorkeling is also amazing, especially the Coral Drift excursion off of Raiatea. You will love this experience!!!

 

Geri Y.:)

[Kane]

I really don't like to be a naysayer, but when I read:

 

.... We're learning to swim but aren't very strong swimmers yet ...

 

... If we've done the discover scuba program and one other dive, would we be considered "Active Advanced divers"? Or will we be forced to take only the Beginner dives? ...

 

Starting scuba from scratch on your honeymoon might not be a prudent decision.

 

Having grown up in the water in Hawaii, I have a very great respect for the sea. I don't mean any disrespect of your abilities but scuba can be dangerous, even to strong swimmers. To obtain my certification (many years ago), performing a 50 meter rescue ... towing someone else without scuba ... was a requirement.

 

It is my opinion that, if you want to scuba on PG, that you go through the basic training at home before you sail. You will then know whether it's within your abilities.

 

Apologies if these words are received badly but I truly believe that "go for the gusto" and the ocean are not a good mix.

[gazuccio]

Although we will not be on your cruises (we cruise in 2008 on the 25 June trip) we will be on our honeymoon as well. Neither my fiancee or I have ever SCUBA'd and thought what better way to learn how to SCUBA than in Tahiti. Unfortunately when we began looking into it it seemed we would be doing some "homework" on the Cruise and secondly we would only be able to do very basic dives. So we looked into the possiblity of learning how to dive where we live (Virginia). We found a dive shop and talked with them in great lengths. And we were correct in surrmizing that it would be far better to learn now than on the Cruise. And like someone once said getting your Open Water Certification is like graduating from 6th grade and then go looking for a job - its not enough. So we will also be getting our Advanced Cert. as well as our NITROX.

 

If you think we are young guess again as we are in our late thirties early 40s so its never too late to learn. We will be learning in a quarry but heck beats wasting time on the cruise. And yes we are going to shell out thousands of dollars for the gear but that is oour choice and you can just rent. However you must have mask, snorkel, weight belt, booties (for the open healed fins - do not get the closed foot kind) and fins to get your certification. The next most important piece of equipment will be your regulator and dive computer/guages and then your BC (its amazing what you can learn in a week). There are lots of sites around about SCUBA so check them out.

 

Well hope that helped from a beginner to a beginner. HAve FUN!!!!

[Anniversary couple]

We are scheduled for a dive on Huahine while on the PG. I'm having second thoughts about whether it would be better to dive Raiatea and tour Huahine instead. We are also scheduled to dive in Bora Bora. Moorea and Rangiroa. Anyone have any experience that can guide me?

By the way, Manticore, you may want to check out the July 11 thread to see who is cruising with you and our plans to meet.

[jwas1]

I dove on PG cruise in March 07. Dive crew was first class. be prudent, for better or worse, the PADI course is not as arduous as it once was. You do not have to be a STRONG swimmer to be certified and enjoy diving. I second the other recommendations about doing all class and pool work at home and then do open water dives on PG. We had a teenager in our group who did that. As others have said, she was ruined for life by starting in Tahiti. Much more in the way of big critters (sharks, turtles, rays) in Societies than most Caribbean sites. Do it and have fun.

[minxtabb]

we've just returned from the 14 day PG cruise. We are both experienced divers and enjoyed the dives in Bora Bora and Moorea very much. There is mostly hard coral, very little soft coral, but plenty of sharks, turtles and fish to keep you entertained.

 

on our cruise they did not run the PADI course as there was only one participant. However, they did take COMPLETE beginners out to the same dive sites as the ones we went to, to a maximum depth of 12m.

 

We would definitely recommend anyone to take the lessons before they go.

 

Roz

[Kane]

on our cruise they did not run the PADI course as there was only one participant. However, they did take COMPLETE beginners out to the same dive sites as the ones we went to, to a maximum depth of 12m.

Roz

 

Sounds like they are a bit lenient, but I guess other tourist related dive operations are not much different. Lots of bad things can happen in 12m.

 

As a matter of curiosity, what certifications are recognized for the dives requiring them? I assume PADI, since that appears to be what they provide ... or posed otherwise, which ones do they NOT recognize?

 

TIA

[minxtabb]

agree wholeheartedly with your first paragraph Kane.

 

re certification, they accepted our BSAC. my guess is that they would accept any certification. i do have the email of one of the PG dive guides if you wanted to check something specific.

 

Roz

[catmommy]

Sounds like they are a bit lenient, but I guess other tourist related dive operations are not much different. Lots of bad things can happen in 12m.

 

As a matter of curiosity, what certifications are recognized for the dives requiring them? I assume PADI, since that appears to be what they provide ... or posed otherwise, which ones do they NOT recognize?

 

TIA

 

I wonder if the folks they took out had done the "Discover SCUBA" class? I think you can do a closely supervised dive if you complete that.

 

They also make you fill out health form before the allow you take any dive.

 

DH had already been cleared to dive by his ENT, Ear, Nose and Throat doctor, before he took classes because he has some scar tissue in his ear that he was worried might compromise his diving or even getting certified. He got the ok but when he checked the box that asked if he had ear problems he had to go see the doctor on the ship before they would let him dive on the PG.

 

DH had done his certification dives the two weekends before we left on the PG via NAUI and they really questioned him closely about why he didn't have his card yet. He brought them his logbook signed by his instructor and they did end up letting him dive. He finally got his card two weeks after we got home from the cruise.

 

They seem pretty serious about making sure that you are ok to dive with them or the outside operators they use. I guess they would rather have an annoyed guest rather than a dead one.

 

I know I watched Dominic with several folks who were first time snorkelers and he couldn't have benn more patient or kind with them. I can imagine he is the same way with divers.

 

I am planning on certification myself for next year. I learned to swim for our first PG cruise this year.

 

Calm seas,

Caroline