After reading of others that have had bad experiences, or have seen things done by others that have scared them, at Discover Diving courses, at resorts and on cruises, I thought I would say a couple of things
There are guidelines for Discover Scuba courses ... (PADI, no more than 4 in water with each instructor, 2 for a DM, no deeper than 40ft, etc.) do some research online ( http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/pro/PDF/DSD.pdf ) , ask questions of the resort, cruise or operator, speak up if you see something that is unsafe, or different than your briefing.
I guess I am one of the fortunate ones that got good instruction in a Discover Scuba Diving course on a cruise (Carnival)
We did 75, or so minutes of classroom where I clearly remember it being stressed that you do not want to hold your breath and what could happen if you do, about what to do if you have any problems with your reg, to stay neutral in the water, don't worry if your mask floods, etc. we then walked into the water (beach at Anthony's Keys Resorts) and sat down while everyone went over again in how to clear a ask, and just getting comfortable breathing underwater, we then swam out, 4 to a instructor, and cruised the reef, gliding in the sandy bottomed coral canyons, no deeper than 38ft, peering under the ledges as we swam by, colorful fish all around us like a Nat Geo special
and at the end of our dive we swam out of one canyon, out over deeper water, then swam back through a different one (I suspect now, that she did that at the end of our dive only after she was sure that the 4 of us had control of our buoyancy)
I don't know about others , the cruise was the best thing I have done, but my DSD was the most amazing experience of my life, and is why as soon as I got back I started my training .. even in cold, poor viz at times, So Cal
There are guidelines for Discover Scuba courses ... (PADI, no more than 4 in water with each instructor, 2 for a DM, no deeper than 40ft, etc.) do some research online ( http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/pro/PDF/DSD.pdf ) , ask questions of the resort, cruise or operator, speak up if you see something that is unsafe, or different than your briefing.
I guess I am one of the fortunate ones that got good instruction in a Discover Scuba Diving course on a cruise (Carnival)
We did 75, or so minutes of classroom where I clearly remember it being stressed that you do not want to hold your breath and what could happen if you do, about what to do if you have any problems with your reg, to stay neutral in the water, don't worry if your mask floods, etc. we then walked into the water (beach at Anthony's Keys Resorts) and sat down while everyone went over again in how to clear a ask, and just getting comfortable breathing underwater, we then swam out, 4 to a instructor, and cruised the reef, gliding in the sandy bottomed coral canyons, no deeper than 38ft, peering under the ledges as we swam by, colorful fish all around us like a Nat Geo special
and at the end of our dive we swam out of one canyon, out over deeper water, then swam back through a different one (I suspect now, that she did that at the end of our dive only after she was sure that the 4 of us had control of our buoyancy) I don't know about others , the cruise was the best thing I have done, but my DSD was the most amazing experience of my life, and is why as soon as I got back I started my training .. even in cold, poor viz at times, So Cal
