Recommendations for Intro Diving Course?

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fredwooch

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Hi. My son and I are going to be in Cozumel on a cruise and we want to take an introductory diving course. (I dove once about 10 years ago; he's never dived before.) We've checked with a couple of operators that we found over the internet who can accommodate us, but I was hoping to get some recommendations from some of you who may have personal experiences with them. Safety, of course, is our top priority. We were also wondering whether it would be better (especially given the conditions after Wilma) if our first dive was a shore dive or off a boat, since most operators seem to offer only one or the other.

The operators who seem to be able to accommodate us include: Blue Angel Dive Shop, Papa Hogs, Michael Beasley, Cristina Roman (Dive With Cristina), and Cozumel Cruise Excursions.com (I don't know who they use as the actual dive shop).

Does anyone recommend or not recommend any of the above? Is there anything we should particularly be looking for?

Appreciate any help . . .
 
fredwooch:
Hi. My son and I are going to be in Cozumel on a cruise and we want to take an introductory diving course. (I dove once about 10 years ago; he's never dived before.) We've checked with a couple of operators that we found over the internet who can accommodate us, but I was hoping to get some recommendations from some of you who may have personal experiences with them. Safety, of course, is our top priority. We were also wondering whether it would be better (especially given the conditions after Wilma) if our first dive was a shore dive or off a boat, since most operators seem to offer only one or the other.

The operators who seem to be able to accommodate us include: Blue Angel Dive Shop, Papa Hogs, Michael Beasley, Cristina Roman (Dive With Cristina), and Cozumel Cruise Excursions.com (I don't know who they use as the actual dive shop).

Does anyone recommend or not recommend any of the above? Is there anything we should particularly be looking for?

Appreciate any help . . .
I don't mean to get on too much of a soapbox here, but if safety is really your top priority, then (IMO) you should get the both of you fully certified before you dive Cozumel or anywhere else. Activities like diving are all about risk management, and any time you put diving gear on someone that is not trained for it, then you assume a higher level of risk than you would otherwise.
 
ggunn:
I don't mean to get on too much of a soapbox here, but if safety is really your top priority, then (IMO) you should get the both of you fully certified before you dive Cozumel or anywhere else. Activities like diving are all about risk management, and any time you put diving gear on someone that is not trained for it, then you assume a higher level of risk than you would otherwise.

DITTO!!!:thumb:
 
Get fully certified before the cruise, then schedule your first "Blue" Open water dive with one of the many wonderful dive op's in Cozumel. Then, practice and review your material before leaving home. When booking make sure you have your cruise info handy and inform the dive op that you are newly certified. After going through your certification, you will fully know why having this training is SO IMPORTANT !! Safety First ! I speak from experience when only on my second dive, I feel I avoided MAJOR castrophie due to the EXCELLENT certifcation and training from a top notch divemaster. I truly do not want to scare you, but, you need to be as prepared as you can be. Wishing you many many wonderful dives in the future. Sue B.
 
While I agree with the others posting on this, if you can't take a certification class before going, you could try Roberta's Eco dive cozumel (or some of the other dive ops you mentioned) for a "discover scuba" class. One trip last year I was there with my niece, and she took this class. It's a brief classroom session (on the beach) followed by a shore dive with an instructor. I went on the dive to tag along, the instructor was terrific, and she had a good time. Everything I saw looked pretty safe with that class, but it really depends on the instructor. A boat dive in Cozumel for an uncertified diver would be a big mistake IMO. The shore dive the class went on never got any deeper than 15 feet or so, and stayed pretty close to the shore in minimal currents. Boat dives are out in the open ocean, 40 ft at a minimum, and there are currents to deal with.

If you do this, you might try to get a class for just the two of you and the instructor. It might cost a little more, but the dive will be more controlled and you'll probably feel safer. Lots of cruise ship passengers take "discover scuba" classes on Cozumel. It's nothing like actually getting certified, but for what it's worth I'm pretty sure the more reputable dive ops take every precaution to ensure safety.

Thinking about this, it's kind of a shame they don't offer (or maybe they do, I don't know) a certification class on the cruise, at least the classroom and pool work. (they do have pools on cruise ships, don't they?) Then you could do a couple of OW dives in Cozumel, still under instruction, but much better prepared.
 
Ditto Matt.

Hi Fred, as we discussed, I think that a Discover Course by shore is definitely more appropriate considering your son has never dove and his age. Either of the operations I referred you to will be extremly safety minded and will take every precaution with you and your son. I'm sure Matt's recommendation is also a good one.

IF your son is comfortable and the instructor is comfortable with his skills after the shore dive, then you all can make the call whether or not you want to do a shallow boat dive, which would be a 40 foot maximum with your instructor. Best tip I can give you is not to push him...and based on our correspondence, I don't think you will.

Have fun and be safe...I hope one of the referrals I gave you works out!

Happy Holidays!
 

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