Take scuba cert on board, discover scuba or before?

Going on the Liberty next month and would really like to try scuba. There is a scuba certification class on board, but also a discover scuba excursion. Or should I get open water qualified before I go and do a 2 tank scuba excursion. My wife isn't interested in scuba whatsoever, so it would be time apart.

I would get certified before. My wife did the Scuba Cert class on Allure a few years ago, and was surprised at how much time it took out of the cruise, and how many early mornings it required.

Early mornings on vacation? :( You might be right about getting the cert before.

Do it before. You will miss a good portion of your vacation studying the manual and taking the test if you do it once onboard.

Find a local dive shop do the class work there or online and do the pool dive. You can find more information on certification at the PADI web site. There is also a sub forum here where you can find some additional information on certification and dive shops at the various ports. Good luck.

I would get certified before. My wife did the Scuba Cert class on Allure a few years ago, and was surprised at how much time it took out of the cruise, and how many early mornings it required.

I completely agree. I did mine ahead of time, but if you never had dove at all, the Discover Scuba excursions aren't bad. (I've done 2 before deciding to get certified on my own.

FYI, Allure does offer a scuba refresher course in the aquatheater pool that is only about $60 and was kind of fun.

Would lean towards the discover scuba unless you are certain you will enjoy diving, if you are certain you will enjoy diving then definitely get certified prior to going, that way you can bring your own mask fins and dive computer, don't forget your cert card and log book, will definitely do a little deeper dive and probably more " enjoyable" on the two tank dive. Either way enjoy !!!

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I completely agree. I did mine ahead of time, but if you never had dove at all, the Discover Scuba excursions aren't bad. (I've done 2 before deciding to get certified on my own.

 

FYI, Allure does offer a scuba refresher course in the aquatheater pool that is only about $60 and was kind of fun.

Do you remember about what you paid to get certified at home?

Do you remember about what you paid to get certified at home?

Just under $500, but that included equipment rental for 2 days for the trip to a nearby quarry for the certification dives.

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Would lean towards the discover scuba unless you are certain you will enjoy diving, if you are certain you will enjoy diving then definitely get certified prior to going, that way you can bring your own mask fins and dive computer, don't forget your cert card and log book, will definitely do a little deeper dive and probably more " enjoyable" on the two tank dive. Either way enjoy !!!

 

 

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I've always loved snorkeling, but felt a little limited. If my wife wanted to scuba it would make the decision easier. I'm not sure how much I'll be able to scuba except when we go on cruises, but I'm not sure how good the discover scuba is.

I completely agree. I did mine ahead of time, but if you never had dove at all, the Discover Scuba excursions aren't bad. (I've done 2 before deciding to get certified on my own.

 

FYI, Allure does offer a scuba refresher course in the aquatheater pool that is only about $60 and was kind of fun.

How were the discover scuba excursions you did? Way better than snorkeling or just a little bit?

Just under $500, but that included equipment rental for 2 days for the trip to a nearby quarry for the certification dives.

 

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That's not too bad, but still a good chunk of change added on to the cruise. I'm starting to lean towards the discover scuba now.

Do it before. You will miss a good portion of your vacation studying the manual and taking the test if you do it once onboard.

Find a local dive shop do the class work there or online and do the pool dive. You can find more information on certification at the PADI web site. There is also a sub forum here where you can find some additional information on certification and dive shops at the various ports. Good luck.

Thanks for the info. Yes, studying on a vacation kind of takes the vacation out of it.

Going on the Liberty next month and would really like to try scuba. There is a scuba certification class on board, but also a discover scuba excursion. Or should I get open water qualified before I go and do a 2 tank scuba excursion. My wife isn't interested in scuba whatsoever, so it would be time apart.

As a diver with over 60+ yrs of experience, I would strongly advise completing all your courses at home, including your open water. I have been on many dive trips in the Caribbean with people who did "resort" or "cruise" certifications and have found most to be either uncertain and some to be outright dangerous below the surface. If you plan on making diving a hobby that you frequently engage in, it is best that you get a strong foundation. The classes offered via a dive shop will give you that.

I`m always surprised that there aren`t more accidents or worse from these mini scuba courses. My PADI certification was 6 weeks of water and classroom time. 1/3 of the class was failed because they panicked when put into any kind of stressful situation.

I HIGHLY recommend getting certified before your cruise for you own safety and getting comfortable breathing underwater. Being prepared and water comfort will make you trip experience much better.

That's not too bad, but still a good chunk of change added on to the cruise. I'm starting to lean towards the discover scuba now.

W did it in St Thomas in 2011 through a Royal excursion and then I did my first cruise dive there through a private company. Diving in Nassau this May

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As a diver with over 60+ yrs of experience, I would strongly advise completing all your courses at home, including your open water. I have been on many dive trips in the Caribbean with people who did "resort" or "cruise" certifications and have found most to be either uncertain and some to be outright dangerous below the surface. If you plan on making diving a hobby that you frequently engage in, it is best that you get a strong foundation. The classes offered via a dive shop will give you that.

I`m always surprised that there aren`t more accidents or worse from these mini scuba courses. My PADI certification was 6 weeks of water and classroom time. 1/3 of the class was failed because they panicked when put into any kind of stressful situation.

I HIGHLY recommend getting certified before your cruise for you own safety and getting comfortable breathing underwater. Being prepared and water comfort will make you trip experience much better.

I agree.

How were the discover scuba excursions you did? Way better than snorkeling or just a little bit?

The first Intro to scuba class I did was actually through my local dive shop. I did this in 2009 intending on diving on Allure in 2011. My daughter decided to get married in 2010, so I put off the full certification. We then did the intro to scuba through Royal in St Thomas. They spent about 30 minutes of instruction on the ride to buck island. Because I had been through it before I breezed through the test, but it was easy.

The actual dive was about 30 minutes and down to about 40ft, but it had me hooked, it was nice reef with a bunch of coral and interesting fish. The only bad part was our group had a Japanese lady who barely spoke English and couldn't swim at all. Why you take a scuba excursion on a small boat when you can't swim if beyond my comprehension. The instructor actually ended up towing her around so she could underwater sight see. That shortened our dive, but it was enough to get me hooked.