Overseas Diving and SSI

[jsquaredFL]

My wife and I are certified through SSI and she just got her specialty diver and hopes to have her advanced open water done by the end of May.

We were talking to her aunt who went diving in Cozumel with another agency and when she got to the dive shop she was told they don't accept her agency and had to dive with a dive master. Now this at first seemed like a money ploy on a vacationer to me, but I was just wondering, how widely accepted is SSI overseas? Particularly in regards to Mexico, Belize, the Caribbean and Hawaii? What are the chances we run into this?

It seems that PADI is the most well known and I've noticed something interesting. SSI shops predominantly have Scuba Pro and Oceanic gear while at most PADI and NAUI shops they carry everything except Scuba Pro. Any reason for this or am I just crazy?

I know its a lot of questions, thanks for any help

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

I have seen one ssi diver and one Y diver refused at padi shops, out of thousands. Usually it's the mistake of a brand new employee at the dive shop. One diver was told on Oahu that they're a padi op and only accept padi divers. When they got home from vacation I called the shop in question and they were very upset to hear that one of their idiots turned away a customer.

 

[Web Monkey]

My wife and I are certified through SSI and she just got her specialty diver and hopes to have her advanced open water done by the end of May.

We were talking to her aunt who went diving in Cozumel with another agency and when she got to the dive shop she was told they don't accept her agency and had to dive with a dive master. Now this at first seemed like a money ploy on a vacationer to me, but I was just wondering, how widely accepted is SSI overseas? Particularly in regards to Mexico, Belize, the Caribbean and Hawaii? What are the chances we run into this?

As far as I know, SSI is accepted everywhere, except for some dive operators in France that only accept CMAS

I can tell you that I've personally verified that SSI is accepted in all the places you mentioned.

Terry

 

[jsquaredFL]

Sounds great, thanks for the heads up.

Any ideas on the SSI/Scuba Pro vs PADI/ all other manufacturers thing? (if that makes any sense at all.

 

[SelkieDVM]

Can't speak for elsewhere but I personally know of two PADI shops that do carry ScubaPro.

 

[24940]

Any ideas on the SSI/Scuba Pro vs PADI/ all other manufacturers thing? (if that makes any sense at all.

Us vs them. We're great, they suck.

Think that covers it.

 

[jsquaredFL]

HAHA, OK then. Guess it was just the luck of the draw on the shops I visited not carrying scuba pro.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[24940]

Some manufacturers, SP for example, offer franchises to dealers. So, with two shops in the same general vicinity, one or the other will likely have the right to sell one brand, while the other will not.

There is nothing to prevent PADI from obtaining the franchise for SP, unless another shop already has it in the bag.

 

[ahava]

Sounds great, thanks for the heads up.

Any ideas on the SSI/Scuba Pro vs PADI/ all other manufacturers thing? (if that makes any sense at all.

I teach in an SSI shop and we carry Zeagle and Mares

 

[Miguel Vidal]

Ahava, any trouble with SSI certificated divers in any areas? I am PADI certified, but after years without divibg planning to retake courses. In my area there are many known SSI but only one PADI...