Maui resort diving?

[frenchmonkee]

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone had information on the Maui Undersea Adventures scuba group that runs out of the four seasons. I will be staying in the Four Seasons around January 1st and was wondering if they were a good shop, with reliable prices (as i am not paying for the trip, and dont have a whole lot of money, was wondering if they were an expensive to dive and take rescue diver with). Anyone with information would be great!
Thanks,
Dee

 

[KrisB]

Hi Dee,

All I could see on their website were descriptions, and you know the old adage: "if you have to ask how much... it's probably too much."

Resorts operations on Maui are famous for charging more than their non-resort competitors, mostly due to the captive audience the resorts draw.

Additionally, they typically cater to the resort diver -- someone who has never, or rarely, been diving... maybe certified, but probably not.

Your best bet is to find a shop that caters to divers. A good choice in South Maui is Maui Dreams Dive Co. (http://www.mauidreamsdiveco.com) -- you'll find their instruction to be top notch and their prices to be very reasonable... not to mention published.

 

[Eduardo]

I did the OW referral dives with Maui Undersea at the Four Seasons a couple of months ago and found the guys to be very professional. The beach there takes you to some decent areas. In fact the frog fish photo that I use for my avatar was taken there.

You may want to contact Makomike on this board who works for Maui Dive Shop. A colleague of mine did the OW dives with him last weekend and spoke highly of his skills.

Resort prices are usually higher as stated previously. Call and compare!

FWIW: Try Humuhumunukunukuapua'a restaurant at the Grand Wailea for a change of scenery, although Ferraro's at FS is also excellent. PM me if you have any more questions.

 

[RonDawg]

Another good alternative, and highly recommended by many here, is B&B Scuba. They leave out of Kihei pier.

Book early as they do fill up fast.

http://www.bbscuba.com

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Another good alternative, and highly recommended by many here, is B&B Scuba. They leave out of Kihei pier

Book early as they do fill up fast.

http://www.bbscuba.com

The nice thing is B&B does their checkouts off their boat. Best value around.

 

[KrisB]

The nice thing is B&B does their checkouts off their boat. Best value around.

That's good value -- but not necessarily good for safety.

A Rescue Diver cert (which she's wanting to do) really should be done from a beach, in order to have the time to develop and practice the skills -- having others on the boat waiting just isn't good.

I don't know about B&B, but I've seen other ops here ignore the standards as far as maximum depth during OW cert. training dives, just so they can do the cert off the boat. I'm really not keen on that.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Kris you said it all, you haven't dove with them so why question their safety? I have sent them dozens and dozens of divers over the years without a single complaint.

 

[KrisB]

I'm not questioning B&B's safety. I'm questioning the safety (and standard practice) of doing OW checkout dives off a boat at Molokini.

Once upon a time, I thought it made a lot of sense to do DSD's and OW certs off a boat... I mean, it makes a lot of stuff easier and more enjoyable.

BUT, having seen numerous people get freaked out in 2' of water, I can only imagine the panic attack they would have experienced after a giant stride.

I totally understand where ops like ERDA is coming from in requiring shore-based refreshers if people haven't been diving in a while...

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Aloha Dee,

It has been said many times before on SB, bad op's do not survive on Maui. The Four Seasons Wailea is one of the premier properties on Maui, continually listed in everybodies best of the best lists for Maui, the state of Hawaii, the USA and the World. A bad dive op would not be allowed to do business there. An inexpensive one would not be allowed either.

If price is how you will make your decision, call them and ask them how much it will be. Take into consideration that their price is all it will cost you, there will be no transportation costs. They also may be more flexible with the when's and where's, as well as last minute changes; guests call the shots at top of the line luxury resorts. If you also want to do some recreational dives, ask for a package deal.

Then call the Kihei dive shops and ask them thier prices, as well as where and when the dives will be (boats are usually very early). Do you have the use of a car? If not there may be some walking or taxi rides involved. If you value your time as much as your money, the convenience of diving on property might make it an exceptional value.

Remember, Hawaii Ohana SB'ers are not all authorities on Hawaii, or Maui. Only one previous poster answers any part of your origional question and that one calls Maui Undersea Adventures very professional. Eduardo also has a similar number of posts in the Ohana to his dives in Hawaii, which I find very refreshing.

As with the other posters above, mine is just advice and opinion. The difference is full time residency and years of full time guiding here. What ever you decide, I hope you come visit me and let me know how it's going. I'm with Ultra Dive at the Wailea Renessaince, less than a mile down the sidewalk just past Ulua Beach.

Aloha,
Steve

PS to Kris; if you've already seen numerous open water check out divers freak out in 2' of water, are you sure your diving with the right people? Properly prepared students almost never freak out in 2' of water, or the calm crystal clear waters of inner Molokini.

 

[KrisB]

They are calmed down very quickly... but that doesn't negate the fact that they are nervous to start with.

And, honestly, I'd say that says I am diving with the right op -- it's one that makes beginners feel comfortable enough to book the dive, then they help them through the apprehension and they book a second dive that day.

Another thing Steve forgot to mention -- the dive shops in Kihei will typically do an early-morning dive. Why? Because the weather usually picks up in the afternoon and viz drops in half on the shore dive sites. This is also why the boats go out early -- to avoid the larger waves that come in the afternoon.

Now, I can't speak for the Four Seasons, but a lot of the resort ops on Maui are constantly trying to pick out the new instructors whenever a new class "graduates." I won't speculate nor share the reasons for this that have been shared with me, but maybe ask whomever you book with about employee turnover. As with anything else, happy employees (dive instructors) will do a better job than unhappy ones.