Chicago Newbie heading to Maui in Feb. to complete open water cert. - questions

[purediva]

Hi All

Awesome board...I don't know where to begin. This board was recommended to me by a post on the Fodors travel board. My BF and I are heading to sunny Maui next month for my brother's wedding. We both have a couple intro dives under our belts (Cozumel, Jamaica) and are raring to get open water certified. We want to get the "grunt work" part of the certification out of the way at home in Chicago so we can spend our time on the fun part via referral while we're on vacation of course!

I've found two programs we can get through in time (we leave Feb. 11) that I'm deciding between that are conveniently located (DD Dive Shop in Glenview, IL and Scuba Systems in Skokie, IL). Has anybody had any experience with either outfit, heard of them, or have any other recommendations in the Chicago area?

Also, if you have any recommendations on shops in Maui (we're staying in Wailea), that would be great too. (I've currently got a reservation with Maui Dreams.) Or if you could point me in the direction of relevant forums/threads on here that has this type of info (still trying to figure out my way around here)...that would be super.

Thanks!

 

[ppo2_diver]

I'm an instructor at Underseas Scuba Center in Villa Park. We have a class starting at the end of January. You can see the details at www.underseas.com

Duane

 

[BDub]

I'm going to Maui next month to get married!

While I can't speak for the shops in Chicago, on Maui I would recommend Maui Dreams Dive Company. Great people and good instructors on staff. They are in south Kihei, very close to Wailea. B and B Scuba has a good reputation as well, but can't speak for them personally. They are on the northside of Kihei.

Hope that helps.

Brian

 

[purediva]

Duane...Thanks, your site is full of great info. Unfortunately, though we live downtown, my boyfriend and I both work up in the far north burbs so that's why we're looking at shops up north. Appreciate the info.

Brian...That's awesome - My brother is actually getting married on Valentine's Day. We're all signed up and ready to go with Maui Dreams Dive Co., so I'm glad to hear you had a good experience with them. Which instructor(s) have you worked with? Anyone in particular you really liked?

Congrats and have a great time on your wedding! almtree:

 

[BDub]

PD...Thanks. We're heading over on the 17th and getting married on the 27th, I'm actually certifying a couple of family members while we're there so I'm call it a 'working vacation'

MDDC has 3 instructors on staff I believe. One of them is named Rachel, and for the life of me I can't recall the names of the other 2, but they are all very knowledgeable and friendly.

We use them for our tank rentals for shorediving. We go there every February and they have had the same staff for the last 4 years. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the instructors, but Rachel in particular seems very competent and friendly.

HTH,

Brian

 

[Moodiejeff]

I've found two programs we can get through in time (we leave Feb. 11) that I'm deciding between that are conveniently located (DD Dive Shop in Glenview, IL and Scuba Systems in Skokie, IL). Has anybody had any experience with either outfit, heard of them, or have any other recommendations in the Chicago area?

Thanks!

Another option ,which is what my girlfriend and I did since we were also in a hurry, is to do a private class. It's a bit more expensive but it's so worth it. Plus you get to do it on your schedule. You get hands on instruction and you don't have to wait for the other people in your class to finish their drills. You might not think it but you'll be dead tired after your poolwork... why sit around while other people screw up.

We used Underwater Safaris (on Lincoln and Wellington) and our instructor was John Quigley... I can't say enough good things about John, his enthusiasm and knowledge is infectious. If you would end up using John tell him Jeff & Mia referred you.

edited:
One last note about UWSafaris... they have their own pool, not all shops do.

I've been to both shops you noted and they seemed very professional.

Whatever dive shop you end up choosing, ask how much private lessons would be. Like I said, it's money well spent... Oh, and good luck!

 

[Scottri]

Maui Dreams is very good but I like Ed Robinson's better. They have some very good instuctors. Drop me an email and I can give you some pointers on diving on Maui.


Scott

 

[BDub]

I agree with Scottri regarding Ed Robinson's (they are the only boat op we use), but they get booked so far out in advance I doubt they would have anyone available for teaching a course this close. They usually require quite a bit more notice than that.