What days for CSS Complimentary Dive for Non-Certified divers?

[PregnantPapist]

My husband and I are going to CSS in October, and we would both love the chance to dive while there. However, we are flying in on Friday afternoon and leaving on Tuesday afternoon, and I'm concerned that the non-certified diving course is only available Monday through Friday.

Would the logistics work for diving on Monday morning and flying out on Tuesday afternoon? Will that give us enough of a window of time to make the introductory dive or are there introductory dives available on the weekend as well?

Thank you in advance!

[lsm1212]

Yes, the intro/complimentary dives are Mon-Fri at 8:45am. Sign up one day in advance. If I remember correctly, I think you can fly 18 hours after diving (per my Hubby's certification book... he did his PADI certification there this past March). So I think 24+ hours... You'll be fine.

[CA_girl_in_TX]

Yes, the intro/complimentary dives are Mon-Fri at 8:45am. Sign up one day in advance. If I remember correctly, I think you can fly 18 hours after diving (per my Hubby's certification book... he did his PADI certification there this past March). So I think 24+ hours... You'll be fine.

How long did it take your husband to do his PADI certification? Did he take the entire course while at CSS or did he do the coursework back home and just do the final examination/dive at the resort?

I've been wanting to get certified for a while but I'm not sure I want to give up a lot of my vacation time to do it. On the other hand, learning to dive in Jamaica sounds a heck of a lot better than learning to dive in Texas.

[lvgal]

At CSA, they won't do the intro dive on the day before you fly as you don't do any safety stops like you would with the regular dives.
This was an issue for me as I was trying to convince my husband who has had ear problems to try the intro dive and he would only consider the last day since he didn't want to mess up the vacation. Maybe CSS is different. Hopefully, since we are going there in October and I'd like to get him to try it then.

[FLgypsies]

The timeframe is 24 hours, but typically if it is a shallow dive isn't an issue. (most dives like this are less than 40')
On a side note, my wife will be doing this course in June (I'm already certified) so would love to hear more about the type of dive etc and possibly getting certified at the resort.

[lsm1212]

How long did it take your husband to do his PADI certification? Did he take the entire course while at CSS or did he do the coursework back home and just do the final examination/dive at the resort?

I've been wanting to get certified for a while but I'm not sure I want to give up a lot of my vacation time to do it. On the other hand, learning to dive in Jamaica sounds a heck of a lot better than learning to dive in Texas.

He did all of it at CSS. It wasn't a planned thing before we left. We arrived on a Saturday late afternoon. On Sunday we wandered over to the Water Sports Hut and were checking things out (times for snorkel, etc. and signing up for those things). He wanted to inquire about the PADI certification just to get an idea on how much time it would take and the cost. We left and went to lunch. I then asked him what he thought and I could tell her really wanted to do it. So we walked back to the WS Hut and they said he could start on Monday (next day). We had to go up to the lobby to pay for it separately ($360) and bring the receipt back to the WS Hut to prove we had paid and then he could fill out some paper work and get his packet, etc.

So we started walking up to the Lobby and Hubby said "I don't have my wallet on me, we'll need to stop by the room". I said, "Nope. I've got it covered". Happy 40th B-Day Honey... it was his b-day 2 days before we arrived. He was so thrilled.

After paying, we headed back down with our receipt. They gave him the packet and told him what he needed to read and do before starting the next day. I think it was 4 chapters of reading and a quiz after each chapter for the first day and then the last 3 chapters and quizzes for the second day.

It took 2 days. They started about 9am and were finished about 1pm both days. So a total of 8 hours. Which was fine w/ me.... I just laid out on the beach with a drink! The instructor said it could take 2-3 days as it depends on the weather. Thankfully, it was beautiful the entire time we were there so nor problems. We did have to go back to the WS Hut after his second/final day around 4pm to get his pic taken for his dive card. He probably spent about 4 hours on his own doing the book work (2 hours for each day). He just read on the beach and took the quizzes at night after we got back to the room to chill out a bit and get cleaned up for dinner.

It really didn't interfere with our vacation as we were there 8 days. He did 2 additional dives after he was certified but he was only gone about 90 minutes for those. No worries Mon. Irie!

Hope that helps.

[PregnantPapist]

Thank you so much for all of your help, everyone! I really hope it all works out so that we can dive, and it sounds like *fingers crossed* it should.