Admiral Dive Center Key Largo

[RRedd]

I Just got back today from my vacation in the florida keys. I went with a group of people to a place calling themselves "Admiral Dive Center". So i go online looking for pictures and information about the place my group is planing on going. The web site shows a nice big house on the water, full of oppertunity of a good time. It states how they have their own boat that they run to local coral and wrecks in the atlantic ocean. The web page further says how it has internet access , outdoor shower, and kitchenette. It said that the outdoor shower was so nice that you may never want to shower inside again. So we make our way down to the Admiral Dive Center in hopes of making our trip which included four two tank dives and a one tank night dive. Well we meet the people at the house. Turns out the owners live upstairs. So the entire time we are there we hear them banging around with no respect for those below, even as late as 1AM. So off to our first dive. My girlfriend went with us so i paid so that she could go on all the dive boats with us as a snorkler. We get to the first boat and said that they didn't even know she was coming. So instead of me making a dive on that boat the lady at Admiral got us on a boat to snorkel. I AM A DIVER NOT A SNORKLER. What fun. well to make a long story short , they tried to charge us for a night dive when we got on to the boat after waiting aroung all day long for the last dive of our trip so that we could leave, to find out that they claim that the package did not include a night dive. This DIVE CENTER is no dive center. The boat they claim to have does not run they put us with other people, we went on half of the dive we wanted to . which what more can you except. The shower did not have hot water , my girlfriend could not use her hair dryer in the bath room becuase of the much needed repairs to the electrical system of the house. What was suppose to be a good trip turned into a one decitetful lie into another. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>ADMIRAL DIVE CENTER IS TERRIBLE<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

 

[deeper thoughts]

1st time i ever heard bad things about this center, they have been there longerthen i can remember, that being said does anyone else have an opinion of this op to support this post

 

[RRedd]

yeah there was two other people their with us, they will be on here soon as well

 

[RRedd]

oh yeah with the internet, they use their neighbor's internet so you have to get the code from them to log on which became a hassle to do at one point.

 

[Christi]

I Just got back today from my vacation in the florida keys. I went with a group of people to a place calling themselves "Admiral Dive Center". So i go online looking for pictures and information about the place my group is planing on going. The web site shows a nice big house on the water, full of oppertunity of a good time. It states how they have their own boat that they run to local coral and wrecks in the atlantic ocean. The web page further says how it has internet access , outdoor shower, and kitchenette. It said that the outdoor shower was so nice that you may never want to shower inside again. So we make our way down to the Admiral Dive Center in hopes of making our trip which included four two tank dives and a one tank night dive. Well we meet the people at the house. Turns out the owners live upstairs. So the entire time we are there we hear them banging around with no respect for those below, even as late as 1AM. So off to our first dive. My girlfriend went with us so i paid so that she could go on all the dive boats with us as a snorkler. We get to the first boat and said that they didn't even know she was coming. So instead of me making a dive on that boat the lady at Admiral got us on a boat to snorkel. I AM A DIVER NOT A SNORKLER. What fun. well to make a long story short , they tried to charge us for a night dive when we got on to the boat after waiting aroung all day long for the last dive of our trip so that we could leave, to find out that they claim that the package did not include a night dive. This DIVE CENTER is no dive center. The boat they claim to have does not run they put us with other people, we went on half of the dive we wanted to . which what more can you except. The shower did not have hot water , my girlfriend could not use her hair dryer in the bath room becuase of the much needed repairs to the electrical system of the house. What was suppose to be a good trip turned into a one decitetful lie into another. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>ADMIRAL DIVE CENTER IS TERRIBLE<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

So did you register just to trash this dive operation? This is your first post on this board.

Did you give the shop the opportunity to compensate you in any way before coming here to publicly defame them?

Did you have reservations for your girlfriend to go along or was this a last minute decision on your part? Logistically, they probably would have had to split the two of you up if you wanted to dive and have her snorkel. Maybe they didn't have space on the dive boat for her so they had to put you on another boat since they weren't planning on her. Many dive boats won't allow snorkelers period.

What releveance do the living arrangements of the owners have? So they live upstairs...big deal. That was nothing more than a personal attack against the owners.

Maybe they were having boat problems, that is not uncommon at all. At least they got you out and didn't cancel on you all together.

You may have some legitimate compalints, I wasn't there...but your story reads more like sour grapes because maybe you had some unrealistic expectations.

Just my 2 psi.

 

[jeepbrew]

Apparently johnnyfk has had a similar experience. http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=34315&highlight=admiral+dive+center

Too bad we didn't search Scubaboard before our dive shop booked the trip.

Like Johnny said, they don't book you for any dives until the morning of the dive. This past Tuesday, we didn't know what boat we were even going to be on until 8:15. Turns out, we had to be about 15 miles away by 8:30 and we weren't prepared for that.

On top of that, we had given them a list of dive sites that we wanted to dive... we only got to see a small portion of that list, although they promised we would be able to dive every one of them.

Wish List: Spiegel Grove, Bibb or Duane (didn't care which one), French Reef, Molasses Reef, City of Washington, Benwood, Statue of Christ, & The Eagle (Islamorada).
Out of those we got to dive the Grove, Benwood, Eagle, and Christ (lil lucky was forced to snorkel on that one). Now sure, they got us on 50% of the dives we wanted, but after driving 14 hrs each way and being promised that we could dive all 8 sites, it was disappointing. We did dive 10 trips, so all 8 could have easily been done... especially considering we booked at least 2 months ago.

Now as far as the accomodations, they weren't the best in the world but they weren't the greatest either. Yes, Bill and Susan do live up above the unit they rent out, and yes, you can hear them walking around; however, those two things didn't bother me too much. The fact that the shower didn't have hot water is a bummer. It shouldn't be that difficult to wire up the hot water heater that is sitting by it. In addition, the only rooms with A/C are the bedrooms. The rest of that house gets HOT! But, other than the fact that the house was pretty dirty and we had lizzards sleeping in the beds with us, it wasn't too bad.

It is true that Admiral Dive Center has their own boat; however, it does not run. It is anchored out at sea. They do not take you out on their ship to the sites you want. Bill and Susan run around trying to find someone else to put you on the dive sites you want, and if no one is going to them, you are SOL. On Wed we had to dive Davey Crocker Reef and Davis Reef... we didn't care to do either and wouldn't care to do them ever again... however, if we wanted to dive, they were our only options.

The last gripe I have is one about the night dive. Susan did inform us that we would be doing a night dive as part of our package. Well, as usual, they didn't work anything out in advance, and as our last night in the keys rolled around, they didn't know what to do. Bill's suggestion was for us to go diving in the lagoon. We sorry, but I didn't drive 14 hrs to dive in the lagoon. We specifically asked in advance to do a night dive at the City of Washington or the Benwood. Well, Bill did find someone doing a night dive on Friday night... at Davis Reef again! Even though we didn't want to dive Davis again, it was a night dive, so we finally gave in and agreed to get on that boat. This meant that instead of heading home after diving Fri AM, we had to sit around 6 hrs and twiddle our thumbs. When we finally met up at the dive boat at 7 PM, Bill has his hand stuck out asking for $165. $65 each for us to dive and $35 for lil lucky's girlfriend to ride on the boat. We explained that we had paid in advance and even pointed out how the math worked out, but the Admiral Dive Center didn't care one way or the other. So, instead of forking over $165 to dive a site we didn't even want to see again, we just hopped in the truck and started our 14 hr ride home. We did make it home safely around 9 AM this morning.

All in all, I had a good time. I love being in the water even if it is a mudhole, so diving the keys was awesome. I will not; however, dive with Admiral Dive Center ever again. I do not think they deal in a very professional manner at all. I don't think we asked for too much nor do I think we were given enough in return. This is just my opinion... like usual, other divers may have a different one.

Any questions?

 

[jeepbrew]

I think I can answer a few of these questions for him...

So did you register just to trash this dive operation? This is your first post on this board.

Not as far as I know... he has been checking out the boards while at the office for a while.

Did you give the shop the opportunity to compensate you in any way before coming here to publicly defame them?

Yes. I am positive that he even called Susan / Admiral at 9 AM today when we got home and tried to explain why we were disappointed with their operation. She didn't have time to talk to him (which we know from first hand experience that she doesn't do a whole lot besides hang out at the house) nor did she return his phone call.

Did you have reservations for your girlfriend to go along or was this a last minute decision on your part? Logistically, they probably would have had to split the two of you up if you wanted to dive and have her snorkel. Maybe they didn't have space on the dive boat for her so they had to put you on another boat since they weren't planning on her. Many dive boats won't allow snorkelers period.

Yes, he had reservations for her well in advance.

What releveance do the living arrangements of the owners have? So they live upstairs...big deal. That was nothing more than a personal attack against the owners.

I don't know that it is relevant. You are probably correct.

Maybe they were having boat problems, that is not uncommon at all. At least they got you out and didn't cancel on you all together.

From what Susan said, the boat has not run since it has been in their possession.

You may have some legitimate compalints, I wasn't there...but your story reads more like sour grapes because maybe you had some unrealistic expectations.

I can tell you right now that a huge part of the problem was expectations. The only reason anyone ever gets upset is if something or someone does not meet their expectations. And yes, some of them might have been unrealistic. I was only upset about the fact that we did not get a night dive (as agreed upon in advance) and we did no get to dive the sites that we requested (in advance).

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

Well I just got back from Key Largo this afternoon. I dove with Sea Dwellers and Ocean Divers and liked them both pretty well. Sea Dwellers in particular did a good job cooridinating a dive/hotel package with the Holiday Inn (which is right by their boat dock). Ocean Divers had nitrox for the dives on the Duane. The Duane was in just the most amazing sapphire blue water. And as a California diver I find it hard to complain about 81 degree F water at 105' depth.

Too bad your trip did not meet expectations, but do not give up on Key Largo.

 

[RRedd]

yeah i forgot my last sign on name which is the same as now just without any spaces, i have known about scuba board for a couple of years, i just forgot which email address and info i used cause i have not been on for a while................. I am not complaing about the dive sites just the false hope that the dive center boosts you up with to make you think that you are getting something that your not. Diving in the Keys is great , just the dive center seemed to bend and twist every thing they said , never staying on track with what was planned. I mean it just seemed that they could have planned things out a little better and could of told us that some of the things did not work, not just lead us to believe that it did, then we got there and found out the truth about how things really are. You know a bunch of little stuff really does add up. But for the Florida Keys, i will be back to dive again, i mean that is my second trip down there , i just will not go back to Admiral Dive Center, and i wanted every one to know why...............

 

[jeepbrew]

BTW Ronnie, I found your camera in my truck. I will keep it with me and get it back to you next time we see each other...