Hello from St. Louis, MO

[Vuk Milicevic]

Hi all. I went scuba diving on my honeymoon this year (first and only time thus far) and had the time of my life. Yet to get certified but looking to do so shortly and pick this up as a recreational hobby. I look forward to "meeting" all of you, networking and building relationships!

 

[iamrushman]

howdy and welcome form southeast Florida.....congratulations on your nuptials. tell us more..... where did you go on your Honeymoon? did you do a discovery dive?

 

[Vuk Milicevic]

Our Honeymoon was at a Sandals resort in St. Lucia during the middle of June. By chance I happened to sign up for scuba diving, simply because we had done just about every other excursion available. While my wife slept in, I woke up early and went ahead and did it. It was only myself and one other person who signed up. He was ex-Navy and had completed numerous dives before. The nice thing about that is that the instructor could devote just about all of his attention to me - like I said, this was the first and only time I've done this.

The dive itself was a little more than an hour in a max depth of maybe 20 feet. It was absolutely awesome. As someone who is avidly appreciative of the outdoors in general, I was fascinated to see what life looks like under water. While we did not see anything "extreme", the sights of colorful fish swimming all around was a remarkable experience, hence why I'd like to pick this up as hobby.

There is a scuba dive store relatively close to my house that offers certification for $350. I've yet to determine whether this is a good price. In addition, from the research I've done online, I see that gear and equipment is rather costly, too. More than likely this will be a hobby that I gradually ease myself into due to the cost involved but I am thoroughly looking forward to it and learning from other on the forum.

 

[paulithepin]

Congrats and welcome! I got certified before my honeymoon in Belize back in the 90's and have enjoyed diving ever since. I believe it is more of a sport than a hobby, and it costs a lot less than my cycling friends spend on their road bikes! The fact that you can rent gear as long as you need to or want to, makes a huge difference in affordability. This forum is a great place to learn how to secure quality equipment at the best prices, and I have used it to research every purchase i have made since joining. Researching gear here has also kept me from purchasing unnecessary or inferior gear which has saved me quite a bit of money over the long run. At which Sandals resort did you honeymoon? We are headed back to Sandals Grande St. Lucian in October and I can't wait!
Paul

 

[Vuk Milicevic]

Congrats and welcome! I got certified before my honeymoon in Belize back in the 90's and have enjoyed diving ever since. I believe it is more of a sport than a hobby, and it costs a lot less than my cycling friends spend on their road bikes! The fact that you can rent gear as long as you need to or want to, makes a huge difference in affordability. This forum is a great place to learn how to secure quality equipment at the best prices, and I have used it to research every purchase i have made since joining. Researching gear here has also kept me from purchasing unnecessary or inferior gear which has saved me quite a bit of money over the long run. At which Sandals resort did you honeymoon? We are headed back to Sandals Grande St. Lucian in October and I can't wait!
Paul

I certainly appreciate the advice. For someone like me just getting my feet wet (pardon the pun) I can use all the help I can get.

We stayed at the Sandals Regency La Toc in Castries, St. Lucia. I would highly recommend it, although I'm sure that all Sandals resorts are awesome. We did not venture off of the resort but did take an excursion called Joe's Knows that was an awesome, all day event. Strongly recommended if you're into sight-seeing, learning about other parts of the world and trying new things.