Has anyone had to pay extra to rent weights in addition to a dive tank fee?

[Kharon]

I'm a bit OCD. I always bring a couple of self made 1# and 1/2# weights to get perfect trim. For the main weighting I depend on the dive shop. That's for air travel. If I'm driving I always bring my own (sef made) weights.

 

[Aqua-Andy]

The cost does seem high but as other have said, so is $190 for one forty minute dive in Epcot. Would dive in Epcot again? No. But I am glad I did it once to see how it was and I did enjoy it.

 

[60plus]

Is the Epcot mentioned in these posts the Epcot part of disneyland in Florida, I was there in 1994 and they had some sort of Jules Verne themes submarine ride. Cant remember if it was in Epcot or Magic kingdom. Could not find same ride in 2013. Sadly the Jaws ride had also disappeared at universal.

 

[JackD342]

It is in the big Epcot aquarium.
Epcot Seas Adventures – DiveQuest

 

[chickuita]

In the first 5 dives they take you on, it is at least 95% o/w. The dives/routes are numbered and not necessarily chronological. For example, mine were not #1 through #5, so there could be differences.

When they do each briefing, they let you know whether there are any overheads, and give you the option of going through or around. When you come to a short tunnel, they signal to go around or go through and they wait and watch.

However, there are all kinds of off-shoots from the main line. You can see the openings as you go along and some divers will examine them closer. When we went, there was a full cave diver guiding in the front and a full cave safety diver behind the last divers with our LDS leaders interspersed. It is very possible for someone to go the wrong way or get lost, which has happened and people have died.

Having said that, I had only been diving a year and a half when I went in 2003. I was pretty comfortable but I didn't know what I didn't know. My original pair of heavy, slightly loose fins were causing shin pain. There were times I was trailing behind the group, including my buddy, but the safety diver was always patiently behind me. It seemed well run at the time. And yes, I changed my fins right after that trip.

Did you have to pay extra for weights back then?

 

[chickuita]

In the quarries and springs that I have gone to in Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and Alabama, weights were charged for separately from the tank. The cost was generally minimal -- $5 including a weight belt. I remember one quarry charging a dollar a pound.

Do they charge you $80 a tank plus weights? Thats what the Mine is doing and that seems really excessive to me.

 

[chickuita]

At least at some places in Hawai'i the tank and weights are separate charges so I'll bring a couple of weights in my checked bag and buy a couple of used weights when I get there if I'm planning on doing a lot of shore diving. I've even considered using USPS's Flat Rate Priority Mail to ship them to my destination and back home again if it comes to that. Every dive boat I've ever been on included the tank and weights.

for shore diving, but for a guided tour? I am being told to pay $80 a tank plus weights.

 

[Marie13]

Do they charge you $80 a tank plus weights? Thats what the Mine is doing and that seems really excessive to me.

BT is very expensive and they seem money hungry. One of the reasons I will never go there. Don't agree with any of their policies, plus the long walk and my knees don't go together.

 

[MrVegas]

Is the Epcot mentioned in these posts the Epcot part of disneyland in Florida, I was there in 1994 and they had some sort of Jules Verne themes submarine ride. Cant remember if it was in Epcot or Magic kingdom. Could not find same ride in 2013. Sadly the Jaws ride had also disappeared at universal.

I loved 20,000 leagues under the sea as a kid, and was on the ride ages and ages (and ages) ago. It is now gone: The tragic tale of Disney World's most epic ride

 

[Kinglake]

for shore diving, but for a guided tour? I am being told to pay $80 a tank plus weights.

It is a flat $20 per day for weights. It is not per dive. While I agree the rates are high, looking at it at $80/dive is an exception to how their typical clients would think of it. Just about 100% of their divers are on packages, and in most cases those packages also include lodging, so trying to get to a "per dive" number is not as straightforward as you make it sound.