St. Thomas Ship vs Private Scuba, no parent

[pcmom10]

My boys and I are taking this cruise without my husband. The downfall is they Scuba and I can't due to sinus issues.

 

My oldest (18) is OW Certified but has only dived in the ocean 1 time, in Roatan last year. The other two (16, 14) did Discover Scuba privately in Roatan last year. I sat on the boat and visited with the captain while the family dove. FYI, Coconut Tree Divers in Roatan were GREAT to work with.

 

My questions are, if they do Beginner Scuba through Carnival, do I have to pay to go along since they are minors and I can't Scuba? And unfortunately the oldest would have to do this again or not dive. If he met someone else that was certified he might be willing to go off without the family. My husband dove with him last year and said our son,even though certified, is still learning and really should have an instructor or a very experienced diver with him.

 

I've emailed Coki Dive Center (no response yet) to see what options there are for this scenario.

 

Any suggestions? Or even another Dive Center?

[divinmule]

 

My questions are, if they do Beginner Scuba through Carnival, do I have to pay to go along since they are minors and I can't Scuba? And unfortunately the oldest would have to do this again or not dive. If he met someone else that was certified he might be willing to go off without the family. My husband dove with him last year and said our son,even though certified, is still learning and really should have an instructor or a very experienced diver with him.

 

Sounds like you should hire a private DM to dive with them even if they go with a group. The only way to do that would be thru a private dive shop.

 

I haven't dove there yet but I am planning on using Blue Island Divers http://www.blueislanddivers.com/ You might contact them or google other for other dive options.

 

There are too many things that can go wrong..especially with newly certified young divers...Hire a DM!;)

[pcmom10]

Sounds like you should hire a private DM to dive with them even if they go with a group. The only way to do that would be thru a private dive shop.

 

I haven't dove there yet but I am planning on using Blue Island Divers http://www.blueislanddivers.com/ You might contact them or google other for other dive options.

 

There are too many things that can go wrong..especially with newly certified young divers...Hire a DM!;)

 

Thanks for the reply! I pretty much decided the same thing - go private! I've contacted http://www.cokidive.com/ and am waiting for confirmation from them. It looks like they do shore/beach diving in which case I would hang out on the beach while they dive. Prices are really good too and they can probably do a 2nd dive.

 

I also started looking at maybe getting the other 2 boys certified before the trip. The downfall is where we live, we have 2 lakes they might could dive (still need a wetsuit), but the Pacific Ocean is VERY cold.

[divinmule]

Yeah a beach dive sounds perfect. Good luck!

[Capt_BJ]

My oldest (18) is OW Certified but has only dived in the ocean 1 time, in Roatan last year. The other two (16, 14) did Discover Scuba privately in Roatan last year.

 

My questions are, if they do Beginner Scuba . . .

 

OK, I'm trying to figure this out - I've been certified since 1973 btw and have a week long dive trip to Cayman just a few weeks ago as my most recent dives so in other words I'm 'active' . .

 

I'm not sure what 'Beginner SCUBA' is but I'm pretty sure it is just another name for a Discovery Dive which is what PADI calls an intro dive for folks not certified. And your two youngers are not certified? Then ALL they can do is a Discovery ... now after a first Discovery the vendor may give you a break on a second dive but the Discovery limits still apply. Them's the PADI rules . . . (see PADI.com)

 

For the older who is OW certified but has no experience. Well .... there is NO disgrace it doing a Discover Dive with your brothers even tho "I'm certified" and a DD serves as a GOOD refresher. I did 3 Discovery dives with dd B4 we found time to get her certified alto I had several hundred logged dives (she is C'd now and is currently on an internship doing u/w research at CocoView resort on Roatan - check their web page - they have a blurb about the interns for the summer; but I digress.) When I've been over 2 years 'tween dives (hey it happens) I've used DD's as a refresher. I just tell the instructor I'm certified and the circumstances (diving with dd or refresh) and they adjust the attention they pay to me accordingly.

 

IMO the three of them should be able to do a DD on their own BUT there is a complication. For those under 18 I'm gonna bet you a chocolate donut that a parent or legal guardian must sign the "waiver" for minors and 18 yoa bro CAN NOT do that for lil' bro's.

 

SO - here's what I'd try to set up

 

For the youngers - a Discovery PLUS a second dive with a DM

 

For the older - 2 dives but he will stay with the youngers and DM .... a shadow diver ... should only be charge regular dive cost . . .

 

Coki is a place to try since it will be shore and once mom signs and pays she can chill on the beach . . . if Coki does not respond . . .

 

http://www.divingstthomas.com/dive-shops.htm

[pcmom10]

I did 3 Discovery dives with dd B4 we found time to get her certified alto I had several hundred logged dives (she is C'd now and is currently on an internship doing u/w research at CocoView resort on Roatan - check their web page - they have a blurb about the interns for the summer; but I digress.)

 

SO - here's what I'd try to set up

 

For the youngers - a Discovery PLUS a second dive with a DM

 

For the older - 2 dives but he will stay with the youngers and DM .... a shadow diver ... should only be charge regular dive cost . . .

 

Coki is a place to try since it will be shore and once mom signs and pays she can chill on the beach . . . if Coki does not respond . . .

 

http://www.divingstthomas.com/dive-shops.htm

 

Capt_BJ,

 

Thanks so much for the reply! I just finalized the dives with Coki today and we're doing pretty much what you recommended. While the younger boys are doing their Discovery Lessons, the older certified son will dive with a DM. Then he has the option to do a 2nd dive and either go off with the DM again or dive with his brothers. The younger boys also have the option for a 2nd dive if they are up to it. They are very excited about it!

 

I'll have to look up the internship in Roatan you mention. It sounds like what Coconut Tree Divers is doing - is that where she is at? When we were there last summer, there was a DMT with each of the boys and my husband and then the Dive Instructor as well. It was great to have the one on one especially with doing a boat dive and the younger boys had never dove before and my older son it was his first ocean dive.

 

When we return I"ll try to post a quick review of their dive in St. Thomas.

[BillOh]

My boys and I are taking this cruise without my husband. The downfall is they Scuba and I can't due to sinus issues.

 

My oldest (18) is OW Certified but has only dived in the ocean 1 time, in Roatan last year. The other two (16, 14) did Discover Scuba privately in Roatan last year. I sat on the boat and visited with the captain while the family dove. FYI, Coconut Tree Divers in Roatan were GREAT to work with.

 

My questions are, if they do Beginner Scuba through Carnival, do I have to pay to go along since they are minors and I can't Scuba? And unfortunately the oldest would have to do this again or not dive. If he met someone else that was certified he might be willing to go off without the family. My husband dove with him last year and said our son,even though certified, is still learning and really should have an instructor or a very experienced diver with him.

 

I've emailed Coki Dive Center (no response yet) to see what options there are for this scenario.

 

Any suggestions? Or even another Dive Center?

 

 

I don't know how Carnival does it, but most Royal Scuba excursions will allow you to go along at an additional ride along fee. The negative is you typically can't book that ahead of time and you risk it being full. One advantage of private is you can email the operator and ask. In May we used Blue Island Divers in St Thomas and they gave me the go ahead to bring my wife and what I think I remember was $20. She stayed on the boat while I dove.

[Capt_BJ]

glad you found something that works for you

 

dd is at CocoView on internship sponsered by the resort and run thru University Of Alabama for biological research ... monitoring water quality and coral health in addition to individual projects. Two selectees each year . . .

 

 

http://www.cocoviewresort.com/internship.php

 

https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.595225737163663.1073741838.128523230500585&type=3

[atog254]

I've been c'd for about 30 years and often make arrangements ahead of time to dive with Underwater Safari.

 

1. They are located within the Duty Free port area

2. 1st class operation

3. Never had a bad experience with them

4. One of the largest dive operations in the entire Caribbean

5. The owner (Mel Luff) is from my home town in Delaware

 

I wish is was starting to dive all over again! Enjoy! :)

[w&k]

.....I just finalized the dives with Coki today.....

 

I'm going to pile on for Coki as well. It's simple, easy diving with laid back folks.

 

We found Coki a couple of trips ago, and it's wonderful.

 

Now we've turned St. Thomas from a sleep in/pool day to DIVE! DIVE! DIVE! day.

 

Wendy