I've been on the Pride of Maui a couple of times. It's a bit crowded for me as far as diving goes but, it's actually a fun day on the boat. I did the snuba 10 years ago on the Pride. It was just "alright." Really nothing to write home about. I believe we went 15 - 20 feet max. Your son will probably love it though.
The people on snuba will eventually lose site of you if your diving. He'll have a partner with him on the same air and there will be a diver in the water with them. When I dove a few years ago off that boat, we didn't hang around the people snorkeling or on snuba.
Might want to call ahead of time and tell them your diving. The day I got there, there were no other divers. They didn't want to take me out because of the loss of money for them, with just me diving. In other words they didn't want to pay the DM money if he only had one paying diver. They made a few announcements and found a certified diver and talked him into going out with us. It was just 2 divers and the DM. Great dive! Actually, that's right, you'll have your wife and daughter with you so that'll be cool and you wont have to worry about not having enough divers to make it worth their while (PoM).
About 3 years ago I went on the Pride of Maui because my friend was not certified but, wanted to snorkel. I went on a couple of dives (felt guilty leaving my friend but, she made friends) and my friend went snorkeling.
They have a nice BBQ lunch and if I remember right, after everyone is out of the water, the bar is opened for some pre-made Mai Tai's for the ride back to the marina.
I probably wouldn't go on the Pride of Maui again because I prefer a 6 pack but, I would suggest it for a family that has non divers going. You can't go wrong with Molokini crater. The visibility there is outstanding with anywhere from 100 - 200' vis.
The Quick Silver boat which is fairly new also used to do the snuba, snorkeling and scuba but, last I heard they shut down either snuba or scuba down. I actually really liked that boat. The people were extremely nice and took care of everyone. I couldn't even hold on to a piece of trash like a cup or napkin for more than a couple of minutes without someone coming by and taking it for me to throw away. Again I went on that boat because I had a non diver with me.
Maalaea is the marina these boats go out of.
Have fun! :14:
