Cert and non-cert group dive

[EL Pistoffo]

Wife and I have dove in Cozumel (Aldora) during a cruise stop a couple years ago. This time we are bringing the 3 kids which are really adults along on another cruise. Wife, myself and the oldest kid is certified but not the other 2. I'd like to arrange for all of use to do a dive together while there. I imagine the 2 non-cert divers would have to do the discover scuba program. Not sure who could accommodate this. Any ideas if and how best to accomplish this?

Hopefully the younger two get bitten by the scuba bug.

Thx

 

[boulderjohn]

Wife and I have dove in Cozumel (Aldora) during a cruise stop a couple years ago. This time we are bringing the 3 kids which are really adults along on another cruise. Wife, myself and the oldest kid is certified but not the other 2. I'd like to arrange for all of use to do a dive together while there. I imagine the 2 non-cert divers would have to do the discover scuba program. Not sure who could accommodate this. Any ideas if and how best to accomplish this?

Hopefully the younger two get bitten by the scuba bug.

Thx

It is possible, and a number of dive oeprations can handle it. I witnessed one such trip myself with relatives of mine about 10 years ago. It might be hard to schedule from a cruise because of time restraints, but I don't know.

Discover Scuba starts with a classoom experience followed by a pool/confined water experience. After that, the students can do an open water dive, but it is a shallow one. The case I witnessed was run by Aqua Safari. They did the classroom work, and then they did the confined water in a sheltered area of the ocean next to the hotel. After that, the Discover Scuba students got on a boat with other guests and went off on a dive. When they came back, they reported that they had gone to 35 feet. I don't know what the rest of the customers on the boat did. Perhaps they did a dive in a deeper portion of a shallow reef, like Paradise.

You should be aware that under the rules of Discover Scuba and Cozumel, you really shouldn't be able to join the Discover Scuba instructor on the dive. You should be under the supervision of a different DM. You might be on the same boat in the same vicinity, but you will technically be a different group. The Discover Scuba instructor has to be able to devote full attention to the Discover Scuba students, and he or she cannot be districted by having to deal with issues of other divers.

 

[christieball]

Training standards dictate a limited group size, and the certified divers count towards the total number of divers. You may end up in 2 groups with different professionals. You can still dive on the same site at the same time, doing the same profile, and will see each other underwater. I've conducted DSDs many times under those circumstances, and it works quite nicely. The DSD participants get the close attention they need, and the certified divers are nearby, get to wave hello, and can even take pictures of those participating in the DSD. You can still have the social experience of diving together as a family.

In the end it's up to the operator, as they are responsible for your safety, and logistics may vary. If you communicate what you'd like ahead of time, most dive businesses will happily accommodate.

 

[EL Pistoffo]

Thanks for the replies folks. That helps a great deal. So at least now I know it's not impossible. I just need to work on the logistics such as which dive op. Our port time will be longer than my last trip, 1pm-10pm.

 

[Skittl1321]

Scuba with Alison can do a discover scuba in conjunction with her regular run (I think she gets a second DM, but I'm not sure). As she described it to me, the non cert sit out the first dive, then they do confined water stuff on your surface interval and then the second shallow dive they do with her. It costs the same as a two tank, because it takes up a spot on the boat.

 

[EL Pistoffo]

Scuba with Alison can do a discover scuba in conjunction with her regular run (I think she gets a second DM, but I'm not sure). As she described it to me, the non cert sit out the first dive, then they do confined water stuff on your surface interval and then the second shallow dive they do with her. It costs the same as a two tank, because it takes up a spot on the boat.

That's sounds very promising. thx

 

[betsyinczm]

"" Our port time will be longer than my last trip, 1pm-10pm.""

I hate to be the buzzkill person here, but that is a very late arrival considering that you probably won't even be off the ship until 2pm or so......depends if that is ship time or local time also. You don't say what time of year your trip is, so if it is wintertime when it is dark before 5pm, I don't really think that any responsible dive op is going to do a night dive with Discover Scuba folks. Maybe another port of call with daytime hours could work?.........good luck!

 

[rivers]

"" Our port time will be longer than my last trip, 1pm-10pm.""

I hate to be the buzzkill person here, but that is a very late arrival considering that you probably won't even be off the ship until 2pm or so......depends if that is ship time or local time also. You don't say what time of year your trip is, so if it is wintertime when it is dark before 5pm, I don't really think that any responsible dive op is going to do a night dive with Discover Scuba folks. Maybe another port of call with daytime hours could work?.........good luck!

Those port times are a non-issue. When I was working on the Carnival Destiny, 1-10 was our Cozumel port times, and I managed to dive at least once a month (for a 2 tank trip), including Christmas

 

[EL Pistoffo]

"" Our port time will be longer than my last trip, 1pm-10pm.""

I hate to be the buzzkill person here, but that is a very late arrival considering that you probably won't even be off the ship until 2pm or so......depends if that is ship time or local time also. You don't say what time of year your trip is, so if it is wintertime when it is dark before 5pm, I don't really think that any responsible dive op is going to do a night dive with Discover Scuba folks. Maybe another port of call with daytime hours could work?.........good luck!

It will be in May, longer days. Sunset at that time of the year will be a little past 7pm. I'm not exactly sure what time I'll be off the ship but I always tend to be near the front of the line when time is of importance. I pretty sure I'd be off the ship well before 2pm (local time). Being that this is a short cruise, Cozumel is the only port aside from Key West. The only dive worth doing in KW is the Vandenberg IMO which is too much dive for the others obviously.

That's why I need to figure out the logistics of it all. I'll contact Scuba with Alison and see what they say, if it can't be done then so be it. Plan B could be to go over to Chankanaab Park and do a quick simple shore dive from there.

Coincidentally, the wife and I will be on a 7 day cruise in a couple months. We are going to dive Grand Turk and St Thomas. It'll be our first time at those ports.

 

[betsyinczm]

I get that, Rivers, but YOUR experience didn't involve a two hour plus instructional course, right?.........that's all I was saying.......at least in May it won't be dark so early. Good luck to the OP.