Does Carnival offer onboard scuba certification?

[sslkrissi]

Hello,

I will be sailing on Carnival Valor on 6/22 for the exotic western caribbean itinerary. Does anyone know if they offer an onboard open water certification course? I do not see it offered under the shore excursions.

 

Thanks

[clayhabitat]

I have never seen one offered by Carnival, and I haven't seen this as a PADI center on their website. It would be nice if they offered that for the referral dives for certification. My guess is that liability would be an issue that Carnival does not wish to address.

[flyerso6]

If you wanted to get certified I would goto a local dive shop. Scuba is very dangerous and a local shop would probably be safer than any tourist type place.

[3boyzmom]

I would agree-- get certified at a local dive shop. Several advantages- they want to do a good job because they're hoping to form a lasting relationship with you so you'll come back and do more training/buy equipment there, etc. Besides, you'll be able to enjoy your vacation dives more if you're already certified.

 

Your "open water" checkout dives for your certification involve doing a bunch of diving skills, so it's not just "fun diving." Get certified ahead of time.

 

Oops...didn't answer your question- no, Carnival doesn't offer certification onboard. As far as I know, Royal Caribbean is the only one who offers that.

[SpudLand]

I have been on 3 Carnival trips (2 Mexican Riveria and 1 western Caribbean) since 2004. None ever offered dive certification. To my knowledge Carnival does not offer diver certification on any of their US embarkation cruises.

[bruce-r]

....Scuba is very dangerous and a local shop would probably be safer than any tourist type place.

Scuba is only "very dangerous" if you're a tard and don't listen to your instruction.

[FuzzyMelton]

To answer your question, Carnival does not offer SCUBA certification. BUT Princess and Royal Caribbean do. I know Princess is PADI and they do a good job and take it very seriously. Just because it is a cruise ship doesn't mean they wont be serious or hold you to the correct standards. I know local dive shops that do a crappy job teaching SCUBA. It is the instructor nothing else that makes or breaks the course. I met the SCUBA instructor and had a long talk with her on my Princess cruise and was quite impressed with her level of knowledge, experience and desire to teach correctly.

 

With that said and you doing a Carnival Cruise, I would recommend you doing the classroom and pool at a local dive shop and then you can do your open water dives (called a referral) at a facility in the Caribbean. There are quite a few good shops in the caribbean, just make sure you contact them and talk to them and get an understanding and a relationship with them, or you might find one of those operators who just wants your money.

 

Good luck

[tunseeker1]

Scuba is only "very dangerous" if you're a tard and don't listen to your instruction.

 

I disagree. Scuba, along with driving a car, is inherently dangerous. There are many things which can injure or kill you which have nothing to do with following your instruction.

 

I have never seen anything in open water instruction which deals with a panicked diver while underwater or a dive buddy that has a major medical condition while at depth.

 

I cannot see how instruction will help you survive if you have a heart attack or stroke while underwater. While these conditions on land would be a non-issue while at depth they can be life threatning.

[bruce-r]

I disagree. Scuba, along with driving a car, is inherently dangerous. There are many things which can injure or kill you which have nothing to do with following your instruction.

 

I have never seen anything in open water instruction which deals with a panicked diver while underwater or a dive buddy that has a major medical condition while at depth.

 

I cannot see how instruction will help you survive if you have a heart attack or stroke while underwater. While these conditions on land would be a non-issue while at depth they can be life threatning.

 

If your medical condition is such that you might have a chance at a heart attack or a stroke, then you ARE a tard if you scuba dive. That is covered even before instruction begins. It isn't the scuba diving that is dangerous, it is the medical condition that is dangerous. As for a heart attack or stroke being a non-issue on land, that is just silly.