Nicci

I did the Discover Scuba on our cruise two weeks ago and enjoyed it. I decided I would rather take it slow while learning to dive for my certification, so I booked classes here at home, in the midwest, and after the pool work will do the open water dives in a lake or rock quarry, even though that's not ideal. It will get me certified. And then I booked a week-long dive trip to Bonaire, my husband's favorite dive location, for the fall. I think I'm set!

I've edited this to make it more concise.  
Something to consider if you are a cruiser and want to learn to dive. Most dive shops divide the classes into two parts, the class/confined water dives and then the open water.  You don't have to do both parts with the same dive shop.
I looked very strongly at doing the onboard PADI certification. I ended up doing a class back home in a pool and my open water dives while on a cruise. Those are called referral dives and I don't know of a dive shop in the Caribbean who won't take referrals.
 
 

Having some SCUBA experience I'll add my $0.02.
First, I am Advanced Open Water, Dry Suit, NITROX and Rescue Diver certified. I learned to dive as a SCUBA, Swift Water Rescue Team. I have  over a thousand logged dives. A lot of my diving has been body, vehicles (including one military helicopter) and evidence recovery in conditions and waters most people wold never consider wading in, much less diving in.
I have done a fair amount of diving in the Caribbean, deep dives, drift dives and cave dives.
PADI instructors are among the best. Learning to SCUBA is very rewarding. The beauty of the oceans is like nothing you will every see on land.
Learning the skills and being comfortable in the water is paramount. It is nothing to rush through and end up being uncertain about. Keep in mind that not everyone is suited for SCUBA. It can feel claustrophobic and scary. Everyone learns differently. Some take more time and patience. Keep in mind that 'quickie' resort and cruise training may not be sufficient for some people. I have seen bad situations where bad instructors just leave people to flounder because they can not keep up with the rest of the class. There are classes where time and money can take precedence over safety.
I will say the experience I have had with RC dive shops on board has been good but diving excursions can and are often run by independent dive shops and the quality of instructors, boats and equipment can vary.
If SCUBA is all new to you, my advice is get the best training you can. Get your own well fitted mask, snorkel and fins.
You might consider a wet suit. These come in full length ankle to wrist and 'shorties' that are thigh to elbow. For Caribbean diving, something thin and light weight alike 0.5 or 1mm thickness. It will act as your cover up, help with any slight chill and offer some protection if you bump into something that might hurt.
If you go on a dive boat, be prepared to contend with other divers and motion sickness. Find your rental gear, inspect it and keep it close. If you can, test fit you BC and assemble your tank and regulator, and have your weight in place. If you have questions about how much wight, or anything else, ask your dive master for advice. Test your regulator for a good fit in your mouth, that your tank is full and nothing is leaking air. As a novice, it is easy to the have the tank turned the wrong way, the regulator on the wrong side or what ever. The basic idea here is to plan ahead for that drop into water and be ready so you are not scattered, lost and over anxious when the time comes. I have never had a dive master complain about me double checking and getting everything ready in advance. If anything, it gives them some confidence that you know what you are doing.
It takes practice to get good control of buoyancy. Don't over compensate and yo yo. Its easy to be excited and burn up your air in a hurry. Stay calm and enjoy. Ascend slowly and decompress.
The last thing you want to do and probably will do is panic at 60 feet or more.
Anyway, enough scary stuff. The point of all this is take your training seriously and if you really feel uncomfortable in the water or with the equipment, maybe stick to the swimming pool. Be cautious of accelerated courses that promise certification in a day or two. SCUBA is a serious endeavor that is fun with great rewards and learning to do it properly and safely can not be over emphasized.
 

Hi Christie,
I was certified, twice, on RC ships, with three attempts (due to getting sick) as SCUBA diver and upgrade to Open Water. The only items necessary are mask and snorkel. If you have picky feet, like me, I would also buy fins in advance, but it is not necessary. The cost of the course includes all other gear. I have attached the SCUBA course outline I received October 2017, as I cannot find a later copy. The number of stops on the cruise will determine the exact days of pool sessions and open water sessions. 
I hope this helps, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask
HM Scuba Course Schedule LB, FL, CZ no cw on D6.pptx

56 days till we sail! We are so very excited to get on this sailing!!⛵️ 

I for one am waiting to see if we can book Cats ahead of time - my goal is to catch ALL showings on the cruise - Cats is my favorite musical 🙂
 
The trip is getting closer, I have started planning my dining, I bought the Unlimited Dining package. Although I think the terms have changed, I don’t recall the $20 was restricetd to “only once a day” before? Oh well.

Hi, I just booked this one, I will be traveling solo, and this is my second TA

Tonight’s message on updated itinerary, the sea day and Israel days are moved around

Maybe now there will be fewer Diamond members shunning Pinnacles who visit this lounge.  
Despite being able to access another lounge at times many Pinnacles will use the Crown Lounge to meet friends who aren't Pinnacle.  It wasn't unheard of for some Diamond member to tell a Pinnacle to get out of "their" lounge.  

Impressive based on other examples of Royals IT department

Some more random thoughts:
--This seems like a rash, not well thought out decision. Like someone woke up from a bad dream and said "these Diamond and above are really causing a drag on earnings"--without really understanding the Diamond and above customers.
--This same person only sees the increased numbers of the top tiers (my last sailing they composed 10% of the total pax onboard--impressive!). This same person is blind to see the growth of Crown and Anchor to 25 million members. Yeah, 25 million members...so imagine getting 400-500 of the top ones any given sailing.
--How much does it really cost Royal to have a Diamond and above onboard? Well, not very much if you think about it. You might chose to multiply your daily free drinks by $14, re-do the math on what the core cost per drink is, let's guess high at $2 a drink. Have you ever looked at your local liquor store for the cost of that wine in your stateroom on embarkation day? Boy, they are good at writing copy for wine. Is it the coffee machine? Of the four of those machines onboard, yes it's the DL machine is the one that has leg day 7 days a week but man-oh-man; could it possibly cost that much??? The appetizers and the Ranger cookies, all ya' alls know you can get them in the Windjammer too, no?
--If you were to interview and ask every top tier member aboard your next sailing; you will find near 100% have a pending upcoming cruise. A better question might be just how many future cruises do they have booked? No doubt these are the best and most loyal customers. These are the people who kept faith and supported Royal when times were the worst. 
--The top tier folks consistently tip the crew the best. They also have the least problems and the most knowledge of how to have a cruise vacation. Relative low maintenance and give the crew benefits Royal doesn't have to pay for.
 
At the end of the day, Royal is going to do what they are going to do. Our small voices will have no input. But if you are concerned about what changes may/may not be coming, I'll tell you I am finding increased solace in the recent wise words of our good friend @twangster "Royal Caribbean and I have a business relationship" As much as I might not like it; Twangster is very, very correct. Thanks bro!
 

I like this name better than SkyPad.

I would think that this kind of activity on a cruise ship would be an invitation to injury lawsuits.  You would think they would have learned from the jumping bubble...whatever it was called....

Tonight’s message on updated itinerary, the sea day and Israel days are moved around

Tonight’s message on updated itinerary, the sea day and Israel days are moved around

Tonight’s message on updated itinerary, the sea day and Israel days are moved around

I was on Rhapsody of the Seas that departed from Haifa, first stop Limassol, second stop would have been Rhodes, but that got cancelled, so we got a sea day instead and some onboard credit. Then Santorini, and the idea was to head back with a sea day to Haifa. The day we arrived in Santorini, the news broke out in the morning and after dinner the international guests were asked to proceed to guest services, as they could disembark in Santorini given the situation. I am typing this from a hotel room in Santorini as we speak. They arranged for tenders and busses and hotel rooms for those who had not booked a hotel yet.

Tonight’s message on updated itinerary, the sea day and Israel days are moved around

Tonight’s message on updated itinerary, the sea day and Israel days are moved around

Gotta think Israel is off limits to cruise ships for a little bit to see how all that plays out.

I’m booked on a Holy Land Cruise in June on Voyager.  It’s a long way off, so I’m hoping thing are resolved by then.  In the meantime, I’m real curious about where they will be rerouting these cruises.  I’d be excited to go to Turkey if we can’t go to Israel.  Thanks for sharing the update.

We are on the Holy Lands cruise, and we’re supposed to stop in Haifa(Acre) and Ashdod (Jerusalem) in a few days. The captain just announced (paraphrasing here) about half a hour ago, that we will not visit Israel due to the geopolitical situation, decision taken together with security experts and in view of the safety of passengers, staff and ship. I am sure there are disappointed passengers onboard, but I at least would not have felt safe there right now.
 
Instead we are getting to go to Bodrum in Turkey and Limassol on Cyprus
RCI excursions will be refunded to onboard account, and New excursions will appear in app tomorrow.

We are on the Holy Lands cruise, and we’re supposed to stop in Haifa(Acre) and Ashdod (Jerusalem) in a few days. The captain just announced (paraphrasing here) about half a hour ago, that we will not visit Israel due to the geopolitical situation, decision taken together with security experts and in view of the safety of passengers, staff and ship. I am sure there are disappointed passengers onboard, but I at least would not have felt safe there right now.
 
Instead we are getting to go to Bodrum in Turkey and Limassol on Cyprus
RCI excursions will be refunded to onboard account, and New excursions will appear in app tomorrow.

Thank you for sharing this update

We are on the Holy Lands cruise, and we’re supposed to stop in Haifa(Acre) and Ashdod (Jerusalem) in a few days. The captain just announced (paraphrasing here) about half a hour ago, that we will not visit Israel due to the geopolitical situation, decision taken together with security experts and in view of the safety of passengers, staff and ship. I am sure there are disappointed passengers onboard, but I at least would not have felt safe there right now.
 
Instead we are getting to go to Bodrum in Turkey and Limassol on Cyprus
RCI excursions will be refunded to onboard account, and New excursions will appear in app tomorrow.