Arriving by cruise ship....?

[Tool Belt]

PS, only been on that cruise twice, will make the third time in 3 more months....who.....whoooooooooooooooo!

 

[hpbelize]

If anybody chooses the cruise ship op you'll be diving with us. If you are on board a Royal Caribbean or Norwegian Cruise Lines and you do not have proof you have been diving in at least 2 years you will be required to do a Discover Scuba Excursion before booking any certified dive excursions. Carnival is not so strict but regardless of which cruise line you book your excursion from you will be surprised there is no cattle boat environment when diving in Belize. Groups are broken down into small teams of 6-8 divers per DM depending on experience and skill level. The main advantage we offer is that we pick up directly at the cruise ship avoiding the need for jumping tenders and taking taxis to the shop. Our dive excursions are to Turneffe Atoll where we can guarantee calm surface conditions because we can always locate a leeward side from prevailing winds. We are only 10 minutes from the Barrier Reef but do not offer this as a shore excursion because we cannot guarantee the conditions to be the same as at Turneffe Atoll at all times. Another thing to remember is that November to February is cold front season with northerly winds making diving at the Barrier Reef very challenging and uncomfortable, especially off a small boat. The Barrier reef, especially the area near Belize City, offers excellent diving but it can be a hit or miss during cold front season.

 

[Tool Belt]

Great operation

 

[peterbj7]

you do not have proof you have been diving in at least 2 years

This use of the word "proof" often intrigues me. I have no such proof, even though I have made several hundred dives in that time. I can produce circumstantial evidence, but it could all be forged and none is "proof".

What to you constitutes "proof"?

 

[hpbelize]

I believe they want to see your logbook but I know many of us who dive a lot don't keep a logbook. Those ships have a Dive Team on board and they accept credible substantial evidence and do a good job about it. In the end it is up to the guest to be honest and avoid possible problems due to long periods of inactivity in the sport.

 

[Gaz]

Fair comment HP, I dont keep a log book nor do I carry a C Card and I have never had a problem as competant staff can quickly accertain someones experience and decide if they are required to do a check out.

Gaz

 

[Tool Belt]

Why purposely not carry a C card?

 

[peterbj7]

In my case my house was burgled last year and amongst other things my wallet with many of my C-cards was taken. I've never bothered to get them replaced, so I also don't have a current C-card. On log books, I used to keep a paper one, then transferred to a computer record. That started out using the software for my then computer, but when I changed computer found no migration path for that data so it became inaccessible to me. From that point I transferred to a spreadsheet of my own devising, which I backed up twice along with all other data. Believe it or not, I had two hard disk crashes on different machines at the same time, one of which was whilst copying data from one to another. The upshot was that I lost all records at one instant. At that point I gave up, and have never bothered since. In any case, a computer record can readily be forged, albeit laboriously.

When I went on my PADI IDC back in the mid-90s, there was one candidate who had bought all his C-cards without doing courses and who had forged what he thought was a credible-looking logbook. The CD said that it was not the first time she had come across such a thing. I never look at logbooks, unless it is prior to a particular technical course and I need to see evidence of specific dives, and even then I only accept what is said for a particular dive if I recognise the signature of the instructor/buddy. If someone turns up wanting to dive but without C-card or logbook, if I believe them I let them. I can tell within a minute or two if they are bull****ting me.

 

[hpbelize]

Now we have the advantage that we can do online dive checks for most recreational dive agencies. Though sometimes you may end up in a location with limited or no internet access. It is recommended you have some kind of credential on you, especially if on a cruise where your time at port and at the dive center is limited. I have had Carnival cruise guests come up and say they forgot their c-card on board I turn back anybody whose credentials we can't verify. Fortunately the dive teams on board Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines make sure this does not happen. They even send us a manifest ahead of time with equipment needs and c-card numbers and certifying agencies of all divers booked.

 

[Downing]

When I went on my PADI IDC back in the mid-90s, there was one candidate who had bought all his C-cards without doing courses and who had forged what he thought was a credible-looking logbook.

I understand how someone could make a bogus log book, but how can a person buy C-cards without doing the courses? Is there a black market C-card forgerer out there somewhere?

Not that I'm thinking about doing it, you understand. Just curious.

As an aside, my now favorite LDS, which is not the one I used for my PADI OW, turned me away from their pool when I forgot to bring my C-card after I bought my current regulator from them. It was a little annoying but it's their pool and them's the rules.