Discover Scuba

[Squeak]

I'm thinking about taking my 2 kids (13 and 10) with me to Discover Scuba, either in Cozumel or Costa Maya(most likely).

Has anyone done this outside of the cruise lines? I'm looking at http://costamayacruiseexcursions.com...cubaDiving.htm
which has it for $90 per person.

Thoughts? Is my 10 year old 'old' enough? It says she is online, but does anyone have history with this?

[penny3333]

Hi Squeak, welcome to Cruise-Chat. She is old enough as long as she is very comfortable in the ocean. Since you are doing a Discover Scuba, I am assuming you haven't been diving before. I personally, wouldn't do an open water dive without previous experience, but that's my opinion. The normal time spent going through a dive course is well spent. You learn how to breath out of a tank, in case the regulator fails. You learn how to buddy breath, you learn how to clear your mask properly, you learn how to clear your regulator, you learn valuable lessons. If you choose to do an open water dive, make sure the company is reputable and uses good equipment. You don't say when you're cruising, so maybe you could enroll them in a diving class before hand. I'm not trying to scare you away from doing the excursion, I just respect the ocean. Best wishes and Happy Holidays!

[tncruiseman]

Penny: Whatever happened to "snuba?" It seems that in the past, every port had snuba excursions and I haven't seen any recently.

[penny3333]

They still offered it on our cruise in October, it was in St. Thomas and Martinique. I think Cozumel still does it as well. I love diving, but now we just snorkel. It's much less hassle and much less equipment to haul with you. I'm sure the dive companies are reputable, but I know my equipment is maintained. Even so, things malfunction. I didn't want to sound negative with Squeak, I just want to let people know that diving in the ocean is to be taken seriously. It's a wonderful sport, but taking a certification course is the only way to do it safely. Best wishes!