PADI scuba certification course

[dawn117]

Has anyone done the PADI scuba course on Harmony of the Seas? Was wondering how you liked it.

 

[OKW Lover]

Haven't done that course but would highly recommend you instead take a PADI course locally. I'm a PADI Master Diver and learning to scuba is something that you need to spend a fair amount of time to learn properly. Its class room work as well as pool work. All before you go out into the open water for real dives. It will take a substantial part of your cruise time.

 

[SteveMP]

My neighbor is an underwater welder and another friend is a big time scuba diver. When I mentioned I thought about taking that onboard my last RCCL cruise, they both looked at me like I was crazy, told me not too, and my friend told me thats a barebones class just to get you on the excursions in countries with iffy requirements. So I skipped it and snorkeled in GrNd Cayman instead. Want to take a real certification at some point(have always wanted to take underwater photography as well). Bucket list.

 

[Capt_BJ]

Royal has a couple of different programs kicking around so you need to do some research.

First RCCL offers a Discovery Dive .... this is a bit of training and an escorted dive intended to be a 'see if you like SCUBA' type experience. This class does NOT produce a 'certification' altho they will tell you that the training can be applied to a full class if completed with in yada yada.

In years past RCCL offered PADI SCUBA DIVER class on some cruises. This IS a class that leads to certification BUT it is SCUBA DIVER certification which is a basic level of certification short of what most divers consider 'full'. What you need to be what some call an autonomous diver is OPENWATER DIVER. The SCUBA DIVER class completes about half the Openwater requirements. IMO a problem with SCUBA DIVER is finding a place that teaches only 'part two' to advance to Openwater .... the write up for this course mentions the book work WAS done during the cruise. SCUBA DIVER certification is NOT sufficient to go on a typical cruise dive excursion, with SCUBA DIVER you still require an escort.

More recently RCCL has been listing a true OPENWATER DIVER class, or PART anyway. Folks familiar with current PADI training will see that this is a offering of the WET portion of PADI OPENWATER as offered all over the world today. PADI calls this a UNIVERSAL REFERRAL. It REQUIRES completion of the PADI 'book work' via computer based training before you board: "You’ll begin at home by studying the basic principles of scuba diving and safety-related skills using the Open Water Diver Manual online." This is a common way for folks to get certified today. Once on board you take a test to verify you learned the book stuff. Then a pool session is conducted followed by 2 tank dives in two ports completing the 4 dives required for PADI OPENWATER DIVER. DD got certified similarly: did the bookwork while at school and in two days in Key Largo completed all the 'wet stuff': a pool session, followed by 2 dives on day one, and two dives on day 2 .... OPEN WATER CERTIFIED. For DD the test took about 30 minutes and the pool session was maybe an hour as she already knew how to clear a mask etc having a couple of 'discovery dives' in her book already.
PADI Open Water Diver Course - XZC4
http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shore...horexByPort&ProductCode=xzc4&DestinationCode=

I could see the test and pool session on a sea day followed by 'dive' excursions at 2 ports. I often dive at 2 ports anyway so to me this sounds like a workable deal. And the price is not totally out of line with what we paid in the Keys for the 'wet' stuff .....

BUT VERIFY which one you are signing up for and plan to spend some time on the computer for the training ..... several hours .....

 

[dawn117]

Thanks very much. Yes, the open water diver course is the one I was looking at.

 

[loves to dive]

I'm an SSI master diver and certified cavern diver and I wouldn't trust taking a course that was so short. Most scuba certification courses are getting shorter but just the basic open water certification took us 16 hours of class time and 4 days in the pool before we ever actually jumped in the ocean and even then I wouldn't have felt comfortable had our first open water trip hadn't been with our instructor.

 

[Capt_BJ]

Yes, the courses today are short as compared to when I got certified ... in 1973! We had 16 plus hours of class and pool and qualified for open water for PADI, NAUI and YMCA - if we decided to pay for all 3 agencies (YMCA was the BIG DOG in requirements).



What's really important is that a new diver remembers 'certified' is just a basic qualification and does not replace experience. Similar situation to a 16 year old with a new driver's lic': you have the basic rules. How a new driver/diver uses these basics matters A LOT. Sadly I have a friend who tossed his car keys to son who just got his license. "go for a ride" .... a few hours later the police called cuz child had wrecked the car and was dead ....



When dd did PADI a few years ago I monitored things very closely. The tables were mentioned in passing, in my first class we spent HOURS with tables problems. For dd much time was spent in how to work a dive computer ....

Times change