@bee123 I can only speak for my experience of learning to scuba dive but it was vastly different to yours.
I paid extra for 1-1 (mainly down to scheduling) but in hind sight it was the best thing I could have done. What it meant for me was that I could take as much or as little time as needed to get the skills right and the instructor only had one focus - ME. I managed to get most of the skills down ok but my main stumbling block was hovering. No matter how much I tried I was always swinging way past the point on the wall. He did what was unthinkable to me - he told me (nicely) to get out of the water, have an early lunch and chill out - he could obviously see how stressed I was getting with it. Came back after lunch, had a little potter about at 3m in their pool and he signalled to do the hover. No problem at all - I could maintain the position within about 10cm instead of the 1m swings up and down that I had had in the morning.
Would that have happened in a group setting? I highly doubt it.
Have a word with the shop and see if you can do 1-1 with the instructor you liked (even if it is a bit more cash). Confidence and relaxation are HUGE factors in scuba diving and by spending a bit more time on the basics and being really comfortable, you will find the rest comes so much easier.
BTW skipping the float is a clear breach of standards as per
SSI standards . If you follow the download link and look up the water fitness requirements you will see it.
So excited to go on fun dives now and improve my skills.
