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- # of dives
- I just don't log dives
We're just getting back from a St. Thomas / St. Maarten cruise on the Caribbean Princess, and I'm moderately disappointed and a little surprised.
I signed up for the "Advanced" SCUBA trip in St. Thomas. Got a warning on the dive description that it's an "Advanced Dive." The ship printed another warning on the ticket and additionally, send an actual 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of paper with another warning on it along with the ticket.
I figured "Cool. Maybe it won't be too crowded and will be an interesting dive".
Got off the ship, was met by a rep from the dive shop and directed to the shop. Waited in the shop. Waited in the shop some more. Waited a while longer.
Suddenly a mob of people showed up and we went down to the dive boat. Most of the people had rental gear with the required dangling pressure/depth gauges. They were apparently unaware of the various uses for pockets and clips.
I had brought a 19 cu ft pony because I never know who/if my buddy will be on the cattle boat dives. The boat crew spent a significant amount of time making cracks like "That's not a pony, that's a clydesdale! I was tempted to tell them to bite me, but decided not to bother.
Everybody in the water with their danglies! Nobody had buddies, which is just as well, since I suspect very few couldn have been much help anyway.
The "Advanced" dive turned out to be two "guided tours" in less than 60 feet that lasted just about 40 minutes each. Came up with over half a tank left on each dive, which really pissed me off, since the second dive "Navy Barges" was very cool and full of all sorts of great stuff. I would have liked to stay longer (a lot longer), however we were being herded around, and the DM wouldn't stop.
It's apparently a 40 minute tour regardless of how much air you have left.
The next day I signed up for a regular "Non-advanced" dive on St. Maarten.
The reef was very cool, however the seas were pretty rough. The DM led the group around on what looked like a really cool swim-through in a coral/rock formation. I went in a litttle way, then decided to back out and go over the top because the surge was pretty intense and I didn't want to damage the coral if I got knocked into it.
The we went to a small wreck (some sort of barge/freighter) that was also really cool. Saw some octopuses for the first time and a spotted ray. Vis was pretty bad.
DM kept looking around for the boat, then brought the group up way over 500 feet from the boat (lost?). It was a long swim back in rough seas. Again, it was a 40 minute dive, and then I'm back back on the boat with over half a tank.
One diver was bleeding very impressivly from his eye and nose. One of the crew, who had obviously used his x-ray (or MRI?) vision, blew him off and said "Probably just a sinus squeeze" Yeah it probably was, but maybe not.
Another diver got cut up badly, apparently on the coral, and was also bleeding impressivly. He was offered a band-aid.
Neither place had Nitrox or hyperfiltered air, even though I had requested it months ago, and again right before the trip (and I saw Nitrox tanks right in the shop in St. Thomas). Now I need to have my regs O2 cleaned again 8-(.
Went back to the ship and talked to the SCUBA manager and mentioned that the "Advanced" dive was nothing too exciting, and that the "non-advanced" dive was quite strenous and that they might want to change the description so new divers wouldn't get injured, and also that all the dives were way too short.
He wasn't impressed and spent a good deal of time explaining how they had to be "follow the leader" dives because of insurance problems. He wasn't able to explain why they had to be short and was very defensive about the descriptions, explaining that he's made thousands of dives and "they are what they are", and the divers are "on their own about calling the dive or not". I mentioned that brand new divers have nothing to compare it to, and typically don't have the confidence to call a dive. He wasn't impressed.
I won't be diving with Princess anymore, and probably won't be crusing with them either.
More on this later when it's not 35 cents/minute to use the computer.
I signed up for the "Advanced" SCUBA trip in St. Thomas. Got a warning on the dive description that it's an "Advanced Dive." The ship printed another warning on the ticket and additionally, send an actual 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of paper with another warning on it along with the ticket.
I figured "Cool. Maybe it won't be too crowded and will be an interesting dive".
Got off the ship, was met by a rep from the dive shop and directed to the shop. Waited in the shop. Waited in the shop some more. Waited a while longer.
Suddenly a mob of people showed up and we went down to the dive boat. Most of the people had rental gear with the required dangling pressure/depth gauges. They were apparently unaware of the various uses for pockets and clips.
I had brought a 19 cu ft pony because I never know who/if my buddy will be on the cattle boat dives. The boat crew spent a significant amount of time making cracks like "That's not a pony, that's a clydesdale! I was tempted to tell them to bite me, but decided not to bother.
Everybody in the water with their danglies! Nobody had buddies, which is just as well, since I suspect very few couldn have been much help anyway.
The "Advanced" dive turned out to be two "guided tours" in less than 60 feet that lasted just about 40 minutes each. Came up with over half a tank left on each dive, which really pissed me off, since the second dive "Navy Barges" was very cool and full of all sorts of great stuff. I would have liked to stay longer (a lot longer), however we were being herded around, and the DM wouldn't stop.
It's apparently a 40 minute tour regardless of how much air you have left.
The next day I signed up for a regular "Non-advanced" dive on St. Maarten.
The reef was very cool, however the seas were pretty rough. The DM led the group around on what looked like a really cool swim-through in a coral/rock formation. I went in a litttle way, then decided to back out and go over the top because the surge was pretty intense and I didn't want to damage the coral if I got knocked into it.
The we went to a small wreck (some sort of barge/freighter) that was also really cool. Saw some octopuses for the first time and a spotted ray. Vis was pretty bad.
DM kept looking around for the boat, then brought the group up way over 500 feet from the boat (lost?). It was a long swim back in rough seas. Again, it was a 40 minute dive, and then I'm back back on the boat with over half a tank.
One diver was bleeding very impressivly from his eye and nose. One of the crew, who had obviously used his x-ray (or MRI?) vision, blew him off and said "Probably just a sinus squeeze" Yeah it probably was, but maybe not.
Another diver got cut up badly, apparently on the coral, and was also bleeding impressivly. He was offered a band-aid.
Neither place had Nitrox or hyperfiltered air, even though I had requested it months ago, and again right before the trip (and I saw Nitrox tanks right in the shop in St. Thomas). Now I need to have my regs O2 cleaned again 8-(.
Went back to the ship and talked to the SCUBA manager and mentioned that the "Advanced" dive was nothing too exciting, and that the "non-advanced" dive was quite strenous and that they might want to change the description so new divers wouldn't get injured, and also that all the dives were way too short.
He wasn't impressed and spent a good deal of time explaining how they had to be "follow the leader" dives because of insurance problems. He wasn't able to explain why they had to be short and was very defensive about the descriptions, explaining that he's made thousands of dives and "they are what they are", and the divers are "on their own about calling the dive or not". I mentioned that brand new divers have nothing to compare it to, and typically don't have the confidence to call a dive. He wasn't impressed.
I won't be diving with Princess anymore, and probably won't be crusing with them either.
More on this later when it's not 35 cents/minute to use the computer.