Florida vacation OW training destinations

[scubadada]

Nothing better than an ice cold beer steps from the boat! Love Sharkey's

...with Baja fish tacos

 

[hehatemefrisbee]

...with Baja fish tacos

Yesss! I am a sucker for a blackened mahi sandwich as well

 

[bradlw]

Since you're already in Florida how about a cruise? Cruises are pretty much all inclusive with food, activities, shows, food...did I mention food? Plus you're going from island to island/countries. And...you can do cruises for about the cost of a nice hotel per night. Yes you can spend a lot on a cruise but you can also do it fairly cheap without paying for all the extras.

Many cruise ships offer PADI dive training. You do the online stuff at home and then the confined water dives/skill testing in the pool on board. Usually in the morning. Then you do the OW dives on the various islands that you stop at.

I know the Oasis class ships on Royal Caribbean have dive training. I assume other cruise lines like Carnival do as well. Not only that a cruise is a nice vacation in itself. It would be nice to do it with family. Dive training on board is pretty much the same cost as on land when you figure the added costs of OW dives. Not counting the cost of the cruise of course.

I was looking to do my PADI training on RC back in 2018 but instead did my confined pool stuff at home (Nov '18) and my OW dives on a cruise through private dive shops. I did my first 2 OW dives in Curacao and then 2 in Aruba where I got certified in Feb 2019. I've since done 20 more dives on cruises.

Just was on an early Dec cruise back to Aruba, Bonaire and Curacoa where I dived on all three islands. Got another cruise in Feb* this year, going to and diving in Cozumel, Mahahaul/Costa Maya, Mex and Roatan.

*Cheapest times to cruise is between Thanksgiving and Christmas and then early January to about mid Feb.

I actually did look into that a little bit a while back....and was surprised to see the same regarding costs being at least loosely inline with local shops. Best as I can tell Royal Caribbean is the only line that offers it and only on some ships.
I still think it would be a fun way to do it. It's actually right in line with my dream trip...except it moves every night!
My wife's only response was "I don't want to spend the whole cruise in dive class." I didn't get far enough into it to get a feel of how many days and how many hours per day their agenda schedules but I can't imagine it would be any different from a local shop....roughly two half days for pool work + a couple 2-tank dives. So at least 2 ports of call for dives.... I recon it would have to be on one of the longer cruises to make it work well.... like a 7 day cruise or so... give some time for no-diving stuff too. You've inspired me...I think I might look into it again before I pull the trigger locally.

 

[bradlw]

Hi @bradlw

Nothing like diving with your family, I have been diving with my son for 25 years and with my wife and daughter for 20 years. Here's the whole family in 2019, and my wife, me, daughter and her boyfriend last August:
View attachment 763253 View attachment 763254

I don't think you said when you intend on taking your family scuba vacation. Wind and sea conditions tend to be unpredictable in SE FL and the Keys in winter and early spring, dive days may be lost. Having the flexibility of a few extra days is desirable. Your plan for your wife and 3 children to do their didactic work with eLearning and confined water at home is a good one. The 4 OW checkout dives will take 2 days. Unless you plan on getting recertified and taking the entire course, I might reconsider being present at the OW checkout dives so as to not affect the experience.

I have not spent much time in Key Largo since buying a townhouse in SE FL in 2011. I would consider using Rainbow Reef. Their size might allow more flexibility for dealing with your family. Ater finishing OW, their guided, shallow reef dives would work out well. They have accommodation agreements with Courtyard Marriott, Holiday Inn, and Marina del Mar. There are many restaurants, including Sharkey's Pub and Galley Restaurant on the same canal, next door to one of the Rainbow Reef locations.

Best of luck with your adventure vacation. I hope to read all about it here.

good on you scubadada...the screen name fits!
I'm not entirely sure when.... probably spring break timeframe given all the other stuff we've got this year.

About affecting their experience.... I have considered that.....but that's part of the shared learning experience adventure that I want. I was quite well qualified and so really don't need so much re-training, but I certainly have rust and have forgotten a whole lot. I need time just to figure out my rig and weighting, etc.. + no doubt they are teaching things differently now days anyway so I'm not opposed to pay for myself to go the the class with them although since I don't need the C-card i'd hope for some cheaper audit/refresher pricing... still, you are correct I think...I'd need to be VERY careful to not influence.
I know right where that Rainbow Reef shop is, although I don't think I've dove with them.... Thanks for the tip.... good to know you give them acceptable marks

 

[scubadada]

Hi @bradlw

I was initially certified in 1970, it was much different then. After 17 years of no diving, I was recertified along with my 12 year old son. The only things that have significantly changed since 1997 are the ubiquitous use of nitrox and dive computers. Is your last diving farther back than that?

 

[Doc]

I googled under “florida scuba idc” and…

Where they have “instructor farms” they do all levels of training, kind of like a barber college. They also know where to house and feed their instructor trainees.

 

[hehatemefrisbee]

I know RR does a ton of intern/instructor stuff. No idea if it's good, but the majority of guides/DM's I have been with while with them have been excellent.

 

[mac66]

I actually did look into that a little bit a while back....and was surprised to see the same regarding costs being at least loosely inline with local shops. Best as I can tell Royal Caribbean is the only line that offers it and only on some ships.
I still think it would be a fun way to do it. It's actually right in line with my dream trip...except it moves every night!
My wife's only response was "I don't want to spend the whole cruise in dive class." I didn't get far enough into it to get a feel of how many days and how many hours per day their agenda schedules but I can't imagine it would be any different from a local shop....roughly two half days for pool work + a couple 2-tank dives. So at least 2 ports of call for dives.... I recon it would have to be on one of the longer cruises to make it work well.... like a 7 day cruise or so... give some time for no-diving stuff too. You've inspired me...I think I might look into it again before I pull the trigger locally.

Cruising is a lot of fun...so is diving. Doing them together is a whole lot of fun. Here's an FAQ concerning the dive program on Royal Caribbean.

PADI Scuba Courses and Excursions FAQs | Royal Caribbean Cruises

Find answers to your questions about the PADI Scuba Courses and Excursions. Find more information on how to sign up, what to bring, how much it cost, and the class sizes.

www.royalcaribbean.com

I don't alway book my dives through the cruise ship but when I did they always went out of their way to take care of their passengers. I was on a cruise in early Dec to the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) and dived on all three, three days in a row. I'm on a cruise to Coz, Costa Maya and Roatan next month. Diving in all three places.

 

[bradlw]

ha, yeah I actually went there last night!!
I also found another guy posted his cert story on some cruising forum. His takeaway in short...because of the need for check in the 1st night, earlier arrival to pickup equipment before the shore excursion dives, schedule changes with pool availability and other issues, it interfered with his cruise more than he'd have liked...early rising for pool sessions, limiting his bar time and drinking, etc.... He said he'd rather have done it on a shorter cruise such as 4 days...single purpose cruise not expecting to do so much of the other cruise stuff.
I recon that's luck of the draw.... if things work out a couple pool sessions + 2 shore excursions on a 6 or 7 day cruise should leave plenty of time for other stuff too

cost is a little more than local shops ($100 to $200 more) but seems to include some pretty nice rental gear...and it seems you can't beat the convenience

 

[mac66]

ha, yeah I actually went there last night!!
I also found another guy posted his cert story on some cruising forum. His takeaway in short...because of the need for check in the 1st night, earlier arrival to pickup equipment before the shore excursion dives, schedule changes with pool availability and other issues, it interfered with his cruise more than he'd have liked...early rising for pool sessions, limiting his bar time and drinking, etc.... He said he'd rather have done it on a shorter cruise such as 4 days...single purpose cruise not expecting to do so much of the other cruise stuff.
I recon that's luck of the draw.... if things work out a couple pool sessions + 2 shore excursions on a 6 or 7 day cruise should leave plenty of time for other stuff too

cost is a little more than local shops ($100 to $200 more) but seems to include some pretty nice rental gear...and it seems you can't beat the convenience

As I mentioned I was all set to go the cruise ship route and things happened which forced me to do the pool/training at home and the OW dives on a cruise. I have dived with several people who went the whole cruise ship route and they enjoyed it. Though it does tend to take away the focus of the cruise itself. There is always the dive stuff hanging over you. On the other hand, it's a cool way to do it and once you start cruising it's hard to stop for most people.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.