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All about our PADI certification on board Harmony OTS


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2 hours ago, Christie said:

 the 7 year old is in adventure ocean

7 year old ?!  Where has the time gone ?!  I remember when she was a newborn.  Holy cow !!  She'll be graduating from college before you know it !

You'll be Star Class, right ?  So no need to worry about something to do.  The Genie can help you set up a clinic somewhere on the ship and you can see a few patients.  Might as well work if hubby is going to work, right ?  LOL

It's good to see you on the boards.  You've been gone waaaytooo long.

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@Christie It is well worth learning to dive hands down.  However it will take some time on board to do your skills and such, if that is not an issue you may as well go for it since your time is constrained at home.  You will be given a code or link to start doing the online learning and you have to have it all completed and all the testing done before you start doing in water stuff.  You should also try to watch some of the dive video's online as much as you can to expand your knowledge on things like doing mask clears and taking your BCD on and off in the water.  The more you have exposed yourself to the better off you will be when it comes to be skill time just remember that ever instructor is a little different in how they handle things so some steps may be a little different.  Also remember to watch the ones based on PADI techniques as other agencies do have some minor differences like how to hand off a regulator when you are out of air.  

And all along the way teach your husband and/or children the hand signals.  It will help you practice and will get them prepped if they ever decide to join later on.  I actually have the open water course video's that I have had my friend watch so she isn't as worried while I am on a dive on the ship.

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5 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

7 year old ?!  Where has the time gone ?!  I remember when she was a newborn.  Holy cow !!  She'll be graduating from college before you know it !

You'll be Star Class, right ?  So no need to worry about something to do.  The Genie can help you set up a clinic somewhere on the ship and you can see a few patients.  Might as well work if hubby is going to work, right ?  LOL

It's good to see you on the boards.  You've been gone waaaytooo long.

Hey there! 
 

Haha, I actually wouldn’t mind doing an onboard clinic and recoup some travel costs. One one cruise, my mom got acupuncture and the lady was also a chiropractor. They snuck me down to the spa to swap adjustments with her 🙂 

The kids sure don’t keep, do they? Poor thing is so excited to be back on a ship.  She’s most excited to be an explorer in adventure ocean.  
 

Yea, sorry I kinda disappeared for a while. Went through several hard years with Kenzie’s autism diagnosis and intensive therapy and I finally feel like I’m getting my feet back underneath me. In all transparency, it was hard to read about peoples’ amazing vacations while we were in the thick of it.
 

Sorry to derail the thread. If I decide to do it, I’ll post a review with a flipped itinerary (Coco Cay at the end) and Eastern Caribbean ports. 

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21 minutes ago, MuttMutt said:

@Christie It is well worth learning to dive hands down.  However it will take some time on board to do your skills and such, if that is not an issue you may as well go for it since your time is constrained at home.  You will be given a code or link to start doing the online learning and you have to have it all completed and all the testing done before you start doing in water stuff.  You should also try to watch some of the dive video's online as much as you can to expand your knowledge on things like doing mask clears and taking your BCD on and off in the water.  The more you have exposed yourself to the better off you will be when it comes to be skill time just remember that ever instructor is a little different in how they handle things so some steps may be a little different.  Also remember to watch the ones based on PADI techniques as other agencies do have some minor differences like how to hand off a regulator when you are out of air.  

And all along the way teach your husband and/or children the hand signals.  It will help you practice and will get them prepped if they ever decide to join later on.  I actually have the open water course video's that I have had my friend watch so she isn't as worried while I am on a dive on the ship.

Thank you. This is very helpful 

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@Christie Glad you found this review helpful! 

We did the UDP and UBP. In hindsight, we probably would have skipped out on both because we booked a JS; we had the option for CK for dinner. But I stand by my original recommendation. Book the PADI! And if you already purchased the UDP, I think you will still get plenty of use out of it based off your input. 

I can't wait to hear how amazing it was! Happy Sailing!

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On 9/22/2021 at 12:10 PM, KLA said:

I would add on the argument that if learning a new skill in a unique setting and creating that memory of doing something for yourself would add to your vacation, I would say absolutely. Based on the review my husband and I are considering this. 

I agree if you and your husband are traveling alone.  Any other party, children, friends, ect. will grow tired of their vacation being spoiled by the constraints of your obligations toward your goal.  That's the biggest point I'm trying to make.  It will dominate your vacation.  I saw it happen with our good friend.

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I know you mentioned it earlier in the thread- but wanting to verify before I go shopping this weekend.  What should I purchase ahead of time?  Just mask and fins?  What about a regulator?  Would a bag to carry the stuff in help too? 

(There's this tik tok about having ADD and hyperfixation and basically it's like "I have this new hobby, all I can think about is this new hobby, I've bought premium products for this hobby...."  This is me to a tee lol).  

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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

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Mask and snorkel is a must most any place. Fins are not bad to pick up but you need to pay attention if you don't go to a dive shop as you may end up with fins designed for snorkeling which are shorter than scuba fins or freediving fins which are much longer. Another thing is don't worry about the split fins, they are for wreck penetration or cave diving and will underperform compared to regular fins. I personally use the Cressi Pro light fins and picked up the Cressi bungee straps.

 

On a regulator I would say wait till you have some experience. I rebuild my own regulators and like the Scubapro piston style first stages and the G250 but a new equivalent would be a MK25 with a G260. But for every personal opinion on gear there is someone else who completely hates it. The best thing you can do is try some different rental stuff and see what fits you and your style. As far as new and used well I bought all my stuff used. But new Scubapro stuff get free parts for life from my understanding or at least the stuff to rebuild them. So while used will be cheaper there will be some costs added to the life of the product if parts are included and I have a MK5 with a 109 that was made in the mid 70's that prove the piston 1st stage and a 2nd stage can last a long time. 

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@ChristieI'll look forward to reading about your experiences, especially in St Thomas.  I'm PADI Certified, but a looooonnnng time ago -- and my last dives were in 2016 in Australia, so I'm taking a refresher dive locally and have signed up for the St Thomas scuba trip when I'm there on Oasis in December.

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On 10/1/2021 at 5:42 PM, Christie said:

Went to Divers Direct in Orlando today

Yes! @ChristieSuper excited for yall!

Just for anyone lurking the thread with the same question, RCI provides everything to rent EXCEPT the mask and snorkel  included with the price of the class. You can buy a mask and snorkel onboard, but I would strongly encourage anyone planning on doing this to hit up a dive shop on land. Price and variation are SUPER important when finding a mask that works for your face and budget. On the ship, they only had 2 different sets to really choose from. Keeping a seal on a mask can be challenging for beginners, and without tons of options, you may have a difficult time sealing/clearing the mask. 

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On 9/29/2021 at 10:12 AM, Christie said:

There's this tik tok about having ADD and hyperfixation and basically it's like "I have this new hobby, all I can think about is this new hobby, I've bought premium products for this hobby...."  This is me to a tee lol

Me too 🤣 

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  • 5 months later...
  • 1 month later...

The wife and I have a 7 day cruise on Harmony coming up next month (May) where we are booked for the open water PADI cert.  We've been planning on getting our PADI for 7 years now but never got around to it till now.  Your post/thread here has been most helpful!  

 

A few questions for anyone who already did this; did you need your own bag for gear?  What about water? Snacks? Did you need a change of clothes for transit (Open water dives)?  Did you transit in wetsuits or did you put them on right before the dive?  What restrictions are there on cameras?

 

Thanks in advance

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  • 11 months later...

Interesting topic - I've been considering this myself on a cruise later this year. My husband and son are certified divers and I'd like to get certified, too, and it seems like a good use of time to do it during a cruise since my time at home is so jam-packed. And we live in a landlocked state and watching my teenage son do his in a crappy local pool and in a freezing cold rock quarry did not look appealing in the least. My question here is, there's a mention of advanced divers heading out with the cruise group that's doing their certification open-water dives. That would work well for me if at least my husband and son were in roughly the same area, doing their own thing, diving, while I did my certification stuff at port. Is that possible? 

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16 hours ago, Tazzy said:

Interesting topic - I've been considering this myself on a cruise later this year. My husband and son are certified divers and I'd like to get certified, too, and it seems like a good use of time to do it during a cruise since my time at home is so jam-packed. And we live in a landlocked state and watching my teenage son do his in a crappy local pool and in a freezing cold rock quarry did not look appealing in the least. My question here is, there's a mention of advanced divers heading out with the cruise group that's doing their certification open-water dives. That would work well for me if at least my husband and son were in roughly the same area, doing their own thing, diving, while I did my certification stuff at port. Is that possible? 

I did not get my certification on a ship but I have done "shore excursions" thru a ship. Yes, I was in a group of beginners, taking lessons.  While we traveled together to the dive shop, we were split up during the dive.  I think it would be a great experience for your family. If for no other reason than you can join them on your next cruise.  

I would recommend that you contact the RCCL dive shop directly with your questions.  Their email address is royaldiver@rccl.com.

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

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!

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  • 6 months later...
On 4/19/2022 at 4:44 PM, Reverend said:

A few questions for anyone who already did this; did you need your own bag for gear?  What about water? Snacks? Did you need a change of clothes for transit (Open water dives)?  Did you transit in wetsuits or did you put them on right before the dive?  What restrictions are there on cameras?

Hey there! Thanks for stopping by! 

1. If you are doing PADI certification through the ship, they provided a mesh dive bag to carry your gear. We did bring our own collapsible backpack to carry things like wallets/sunglasses, reef friendly sunscreen, etc. 

2. Snack were not provided by RC (neither was water). We made a habit of stopping by WJ every morning and grabbing water and snacks for the day. Because you are essentially doing an "excursion" at a dive location for your open water dives, there were snacks/food/drinks for sale. 

3. We normally pack a change of shirt but that's all we needed. The dive locations have restrooms where you could change into dryer/comfy clothing, but our swimsuits dried quickly and a change of shirt was all that was needed. (we normally wear a thin, second skin long-sleeved for diving just to stay warm and keep the sun off our backs. 

4. Everything dive related can go in the dive bag RC PADI provided. Including wetsuits if you wanted. You would don them just prior to the dive if you wanted to wear them. We felt that a lightweight second skin shirt (bought from the dive shop onboard) was enough for our Caribbean dives. 

5. For the PADI certification, they do not permit you to dive with cameras (as your focus should rightfully be focused). Our RC PADI dive instructors were amazing and held our go-pro and filmed for the entire class. I simply shared all the videos to those in our cohort that wanted them. After certification, you are free to bring recording devices.

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On 3/23/2023 at 7:50 PM, Tazzy said:

My question here is, there's a mention of advanced divers heading out with the cruise group that's doing their certification open-water dives. That would work well for me if at least my husband and son were in roughly the same area, doing their own thing, diving, while I did my certification stuff at port. Is that possible? 

When doing your open water certification, you are a group of your own so you wouldn't be diving with your husband and son. But like you thought, the RC excursions are (mostly) headed to the same dive locations. So if they booked an open water 2 tank dive, they would likely be at the same dive location, but with a different dive group. That was the case for Roatan Honduras and others. Confirm with RC at the excursion desk once onboard though if not being with them is make or break. 

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On 4/18/2023 at 8:37 PM, Tazzy said:

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

OOOOOoooooOO! Can you share your experience here for others who would rather go the same route? How was your experience? 

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4 hours ago, S0nny said:

When doing your open water certification, you are a group of your own so you wouldn't be diving with your husband and son. But like you thought, the RC excursions are (mostly) headed to the same dive locations. So if they booked an open water 2 tank dive, they would likely be at the same dive location, but with a different dive group. That was the case for Roatan Honduras and others. Confirm with RC at the excursion desk once onboard though if not being with them is make or break. 

Some ports they go on the same boat, just head out in other directions. For example, in St. Thomas it is usually one boat that has Discover Scuba Diving, PADI Certification, and certified divers all going out on the same boat, just doing their thing in different areas around the dive spot (same location every time).

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  • 3 months later...

Our son wants to do this when we go next March 2025 on Symphony of the Seas for 7 nights.  He'll be 17.  My husband and I do not plan to do this.  Reading these posts it sounds like we may never see him the entire cruise!  Which he would be totally fine with, lol.  Can you give us a sense of the schedule each day?  I'm trying to determine if we should even try and include him in any of our plans, like shows or other things.  This is also our first cruise in 10 years so not sure how all the scheduling works.  Appreciate any suggestions!

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On 9/29/2021 at 11:12 AM, Christie said:

I know you mentioned it earlier in the thread- but wanting to verify before I go shopping this weekend.  What should I purchase ahead of time?  Just mask and fins?  What about a regulator?  Would a bag to carry the stuff in help too? 

I really like my dive boots and I'm glad I own those, in addition to my mask and snorkel. They protect my feet, both in and out of fins. 

My family (2 adults, 2 teens) got certified this past year after doing a Discover Dive in Cozumel during a cruise last year. We thought about doing it on the ship but decided to do it ahead of time, 1. because we only cruise at most once a year and value our time on the ship, and 2. we were excited to do our first real dives after the PADI cert in the Caribbean rather than having to use that time to focus on skills. But I don't think that there is a "best" way to do the cert, but rather just factors to consider for yourself as have been mentioned here. 

We did have the four freezing quarry dives in October but that weekend was like a mini family vacation - we stayed in a hotel, ate out, took many HOT showers, and really bonded with the group all doing various forms of certifications. I feel closer to the people at my local dive shop now and would consider joining them for Dive vacations in the future. And as rough as it was at points, I'm glad it is done and we can do cooler diving sites now in Aruba and Curacao during our March cruise. 

 

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7 hours ago, CrackerJack21 said:

Our son wants to do this when we go next March 2025 on Symphony of the Seas for 7 nights.  He'll be 17.  My husband and I do not plan to do this.  Reading these posts it sounds like we may never see him the entire cruise!  Which he would be totally fine with, lol.  Can you give us a sense of the schedule each day?  I'm trying to determine if we should even try and include him in any of our plans, like shows or other things.  This is also our first cruise in 10 years so not sure how all the scheduling works.  Appreciate any suggestions!

I think the comments people make about it consuming all of the time on a cruise are a bit overblown in my experience. When I did it we did the pool work on the first day (like a 6am start), and done by 9am (but it would probably be more like 10 most of the time). It was then at 2 ports we did the open water dives, so that was in place of excursions. We also had to gather briefly after the 2 days of open water dives to finish paperwork, but it was not long. Get the e-learning done in advance of the cruise and it will be a much more enjoyable experience.

I really enjoyed the whole process of doing it on the ship- my experience was broken into 2 cruises due to COVID restrictions limiting things. I was the only student for the pool work and first 2 dives on 1 cruise, then I joined a group of students on the last 2 dives on another cruise to finish. There is some camaraderie that develops with the other students and instructors, in fact I am still in contact with the instructor I had on the 2nd ship and met up with him on another ship to swap dive experiences and stories since my certification.

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