Discover Scuba excursion - anyone ever tried this before?

[MDCruiserz]

Hello all,

 

We're sailing to St Thomas in a couple of weeks on Princess. They offer a Discover Scuba excursion that sounds interesting, but I haven't found much information about it except for the Princess tours write-up itself. Has anyone ever tried this? Do you have any opinions on it? We love to snorkel - I'd hate to forego snorkeling and find that this is a bust!

 

Many thanks,

MA

[zqvol]

Hello all,

 

We're sailing to St Thomas in a couple of weeks on Princess. They offer a Discover Scuba excursion that sounds interesting, but I haven't found much information about it except for the Princess tours write-up itself. Has anyone ever tried this? Do you have any opinions on it? We love to snorkel - I'd hate to forego snorkeling and find that this is a bust!

 

Many thanks,

MA

 

I can't comment about this excursion in particular, but discover SCUBA events are really fun. You will spend about 90 minutes learning some scuba basics on shore, then maybe 30 - 45 minutes of time in a pool or real shallow water going over some critical skills. When all that is done you will complete a shallow dive (maybe 30 - 35 feet) that will last no more than 45 minutes. (New divers tend to use a lot of air and when it is gone the dive is over.)

 

You will see things like you see snorkeling, but you will see them in a different light.

 

When you are finished you can often snorkel for a while if you want.

 

These excursions are offered in lots of places. I did one in Hawaii and got hooked on SCUBA from it.

 

If you are a good swimmer and think you might want to learn to dive give it a try, but don't be surprised if you get hooked and have to take the classes and get certified when you get home.

[happytanned]

We did the Discover Diving with http://stthomasexcursions.com at Hull bay, There were 4 of us, and it was a private class just for us, you will love it

[helo driver]

Last year we did the discover SCUBA with Coki Divers on St Thomas. Had a great time, can also shore snorkel afterwards for as long as you want. Class of four (our family), no more than 30 minutes of "class work", probably closer to 20 minute, 20 minutes or so in waist deep water with gear, then off for a guided dive for maybe 40 minutes. All times are estimates....the time flew by and we enjoyed every minute of it. Instructor was great, always felt comfortable. Hooked DD and I, we have since completed our pen water certification.

[woodofpine]

If SCUBA is so great, why not make is safer with proper - thorough - training?

 

Divers can easily get into severe or fatal accidents in 30 feet of water. After all the greatest relative pressure change occurs when? In the first 30 feet or so of water. Meaning you can give yourself a potentially fatal embolism in...? 8-12 feet of water.

 

Is it gonna happen? Probably not. On the other hand, the more you study accident statistics... the 'more likely' you'll be to get more thorough training before diving 'on a lark'.

 

While your thinking about it, at least carry trip insurance...

[helo driver]

Woodofpine,

Funny you would compare it to introductory flying (in your title)....I have been a flight instructor and have allowed folks with NO training to operate aircraft under my direct supervision. Introductory flying is probably even lower risk since I have a full set of controls as the instructor; however, in the discover scuba event, as long as you stay with and follow the instructor, your risk is very low.

 

Other DD and DW did not think it was "so great", so in our case, I was glad that we did the discovery first....just my opinion.

[ashtyn]

I am a certified diver but my husband is not. I booked this so he could try out diving. I think it is a good first experience and would recommend this to anyone thinking about trying diving. My husband was reluctant to try it but now he wants to get certified. Thanks so much to Homer, our guide. He was wonderful and it was only the 3 of us.:D We booked with stthomasexcursions.com.

 

book this and you won't regret it:D :D