recommendation for Maui SCUBA

[Shaka Doug]

What's a "Parking Lot Instructor"??

 

[Brandon]

What's a "Parking Lot Instructor"??

He's probably talking about one of those hippy looking fellers who run their diving ops out of a school bus.

-B.

 

[Charlie99]

What's a "Parking Lot Instructor"??

He's the one out diving with all the hot students in bikinis rather than sitting around in a beachside shack waiting for somebody to come by. Different clientele.

OTOH, if I had to choose between a Delta 34' 6 pack boat and a school bus as my transportation, I'd go with the boat.

IIRC, Ultra Dive is one of *the* most expensive dive ops in the South Kihei area... perhaps that's changed, but I remember seeing higher-than-boat-dive prices on their shore dives.

Not higher than HIS boat prices.

 

[Brandon]

OTOH, if I had to choose between a Delta 34' 6 pack boat and a school bus as my transportation, I'd go with the boat.

Bah, Doug's school bus is way better...

Does the boat have a bubble machine, black lights, and disco balls?

I think not.

-B.

 

[elenion]

Bah, Doug's school bus is way better...

Does the boat have a bubble machine, black lights, and disco balls?

I think not.

-B.

Hear, hear! We followed Doug's bubbles to Makena Landing and had a great time. He claimed the bubbles were in fact "his bubbly personality."

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Kyle started this thread looking for help with his stay in Wailea. Wailea has the highest room rates on Maui, and probably in the State. Typical guests play golf at the Wailea and Makena courses, eat dinners at Ferraro's, Longhi's and Humuhumunukunukuapua'a, take helicopter tours and have spa treatments. He specifically asked for great recommendations, not cheap. The Kea Lani pool is a great dive for 8-9 year olds (only $30).

The Renaissance is the most reasonably priced resort in Wailea, and the Ultra Dive location there is the most reasonably priced dive operation in Wailea. The other Wailea operations are located at the Fairmont (Kea Lani), Four Seasons and Waldorf Astoria (Grand Wailea), setting the bar pretty high. Additionally, we are located at Ulua Pt. with the St. Anthony wreck directly off shore (scooter, 1-4 divers).

I took 9 guests diving yesterday, each group private. 7 of them said they had a great time and the other 2 used bigger words. 2 of the less insulated girls told me their dive was great, during the post dive hot tub (with bar service). Disco balls and black lights in the parking lot school bus are not for everyone.

With regard to boat diving and Molokini, Prodiver is certified for 12 divers but takes only 6, unlike the other mentioned boats. 8 divers could get a private trip from Prodiver for less than any of those others, so again price is relative. Our departure/return times are nearly identical to B&B so your done by 10-11:00AM.

Many guests read Maui Revealed, considered the Bible of Maui, and the diving recommendations in that guide book are in line with my admittedly biased views.

Anybody from SB is welcome to stop in and say hi, even Shaka Doug.

 

[KrisB]

Wailea has the highest room rates on Maui, and probably in the State. Typical guests play golf at the Wailea and Makena courses, eat dinners at Ferraro's, Longhi's and Humuhumunukunukuapua'a, take helicopter tours and have spa treatments.

We're not talking about hotels, nor restaurants, nor other expensive "pampering" activities.

He specifically asked for great recommendations, not cheap.

We're not talking about *cheap* either -- we're talking of "worth their value." If I can pay the same amount and get three times the service (e.g. 6 dives instead of 2) somewhere else, then I'd say it's a better recommendation.

With the distance between Kihei and Wailea (especially North Wailea, like Ulua) being negligible, I'd suggest that it would be silly to pick a dive op based on locale, unless you didn't have a rental car (which would be silly, but that is a *COMPLETELY* different topic) or we were talking about West Maui vs. South Maui.

I'm not meaning to offend here -- I'm certain that you provide an excellent service that caters to a specific clientele. That said, when someone is researching the dive ops ahead of time, it's worth giving the full picture (price, service, etc.) -- if you want to post some of your current prices for your services, I'd gladly reconsider my comment about pricing.

Additionally, we are located at Ulua Pt. with the St. Anthony wreck directly off shore (scooter, 1-4 divers).

It was a really short scooter dive from the south end of Keawakapu beach, which puts it at the north end of Mokapu. If you get in the water at Ulua Point, you're burning a lot of air just on the there-and-back trip... not sure I'd want to recommend that, either.

 

[Charlie99]

Anybody from SB is welcome to stop in and say hi, even Shaka Doug.

We're glad you stopped in at Scubaboard. As you can see, there are always lots of differing points of views, and often a bit of good natured back and forth. The "parking lot instructors" comment definitely sparked some interest.

It's very true that you and Shaka Divers serve different sets of clients. The great thing about Maui is that there are lots of good operators with so that customers have a good chance of finding ones that suit them well.

Say "Hi" to Don for me. I haven't been out on ProDiver as frequently in the last two years since you bought it from Pierre, but I just looked in my log and realized that you are probably the "DM Steve" I noted in my log for a March 22 trip on ProDiver.

Charlie Allen

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Alas I am just an employee, not an owner. Oh well, you know the one about how to become a millionair in the dive business. I don't have the 2 million to start with. Yes I was the "guide" on your last Prodiver trip Charlie, howzit.

At the Renaissance our guided dive is $1.50 more than Shaka Divers private dive, our night dives are $3.50 less than his private night dive and our scooter dive is $38.50 less than Doug's private torpedo dive (comparing apples to apples). We are located on the Mokapu side of Ulua Pt. The St. Anthony is directly off shore from Mokapu Beach, making our launching point the closest to the wreck. If you can last 50 minutes we will head North to see a shrimp colony in an elkhorn coral head, then out to the wreck and return via Ulua, or even the oasis rocks beyond Ulua. Just doing the wreck is kind of lame. We dive 7:30, 1:30 and 3'ish on good days, with night dives on request.

Finally, some people are pampering themselves in everything they do here, including diving, and If I wasn't looking for some good natured back and forth I wouldn't have typed "parking lot instructors".

 

[KrisB]

At the Renaissance our guided dive is $1.50 more than Shaka Divers private dive, our night dives are $3.50 less than his private night dive and our scooter dive is $38.50 less than Doug's private torpedo dive (comparing apples to apples).

I don't think it's really fair to compare private prices -- unless your prices change if more than one person is booked in.

The better bet is to select the lowest "group" price, because chances are, if only one diver signed up with Doug, yet they were willing to go as part of a group, they'd get this price (not the "private") price.

We are located on the Mokapu side of Ulua Pt. The St. Anthony is directly off shore from Mokapu Beach, making our launching point the closest to the wreck. If you can last 50 minutes we will head North to see a shrimp colony in an elkhorn coral head, then out to the wreck and return via Ulua, or even the oasis rocks beyond Ulua. Just doing the wreck is kind of lame.

I guess that's a matter of opinion. I've scootered out there with a 100# tank, used it up (aside from what I needed to get back / reserve) and still wished I had a while longer at the wreck... there is a lot to see / find living out there, if you take your time.

By the way... what happens to your dives if Ulua / Mokapu is washed out by a south swell?