Scuba Certification

OK! I've got it narrowed downto 2 locations to get my SCUBA certification.

Anyone have any experience with either of these shops? I've been to both of
them and talked to people there (staff/customers I ran into) and got a good
"vibe" from both of them.

Scuba 2000 in Richmond Hill
Aquarius in Etobicoke.

Thanks for any suggestions.

"La Pedrera" <LaPedrera@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:V--dncRBXLfcHhPfRVn-pQ@rogers.com...
> OK! I've got it narrowed downto 2 locations to get my SCUBA certification.
>
> Anyone have any experience with either of these shops? I've been to both
> of them and talked to people there (staff/customers I ran into) and got a
> good "vibe" from both of them.
>
> Scuba 2000 in Richmond Hill
> Aquarius in Etobicoke.
>
> Thanks for any suggestions.
>
>
>

Not everyone will realize that Richmond Hill and Etobicoke are near Toronto
Ontario. Canada, eh?

I was thinking about posting some additional information regarding that
after the fact, but you beat me to it. :)


"Rudy Benner" <newsgroups@rudybenner.com> wrote in message
news:118t3mbjq0q6s3e@corp.supernews.com...
>
> "La Pedrera" <LaPedrera@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:V--dncRBXLfcHhPfRVn-pQ@rogers.com...
>> OK! I've got it narrowed downto 2 locations to get my SCUBA
>> certification.
>>
>> Anyone have any experience with either of these shops? I've been to both
>> of them and talked to people there (staff/customers I ran into) and got a
>> good "vibe" from both of them.
>>
>> Scuba 2000 in Richmond Hill
>> Aquarius in Etobicoke.
>>
>> Thanks for any suggestions.
>>
>>
>>
>
> Not everyone will realize that Richmond Hill and Etobicoke are near
> Toronto Ontario. Canada, eh?
>

"Rudy Benner" <newsgroups@rudybenner.com> wrote in message
news:118t3mbjq0q6s3e@corp.supernews.com...

>> Scuba 2000 in Richmond Hill
>> Aquarius in Etobicoke.
>>
>> Thanks for any suggestions.

> Not everyone will realize that Richmond Hill and Etobicoke are near
> Toronto Ontario. Canada, eh?

Only a Canadian would name a place "Etobicoke". An American would insert an
extra "k" so it doesn't insult our President.

We dont care. Go with who you like.

"La Pedrera" <LaPedrera@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:V--dncRBXLfcHhPfRVn-pQ@rogers.com...
>
> Thanks for any suggestions.

Flip a coin.

I am newly certified and live near Syracuse, NY, so don't know the shops you
are asking about, but I am surprised that no one else has asked what
agencies these shops certify through. When I looked at shops I found that
one local place offered PADI and the other offered SSI (Scuba Schools
International). Since then I have spoken with and dived with lots of people
who have experience with both, SSI seems to be preferred. I know I have
been extremely pleased with the way the SSI program is standardized
everywhere, easy to learn, very repetitive, very conservative in their
ratings (Advanced and Master Diver ratings take lots more dives and courses
with SSI than with PADI). The books and videos are excellent and make it
easy and fun to learn.
Don't know if this helps or not, but it may be something to ask about at
those shops.
Good luck and good diving.

"La Pedrera" <LaPedrera@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:V--dncRBXLfcHhPfRVn-pQ@rogers.com...
> OK! I've got it narrowed downto 2 locations to get my SCUBA certification.
>
> Anyone have any experience with either of these shops? I've been to both
of
> them and talked to people there (staff/customers I ran into) and got a
good
> "vibe" from both of them.
>
> Scuba 2000 in Richmond Hill
> Aquarius in Etobicoke.
>
> Thanks for any suggestions.
>
>
>

Thus spake "Luke Brennan" <lukebrennan@worldnet.att.net> :

>I am newly certified and live near Syracuse, NY, so don't know the shops you
>are asking about, but I am surprised that no one else has asked what
>agencies these shops certify through. When I looked at shops I found that
>one local place offered PADI and the other offered SSI (Scuba Schools
>International). Since then I have spoken with and dived with lots of people
>who have experience with both, SSI seems to be preferred. I know I have
>been extremely pleased with the way the SSI program is standardized
>everywhere, easy to learn, very repetitive, very conservative in their
>ratings (Advanced and Master Diver ratings take lots more dives and courses
>with SSI than with PADI). The books and videos are excellent and make it
>easy and fun to learn.
>Don't know if this helps or not, but it may be something to ask about at
>those shops.
>Good luck and good diving.

Tell us about the instructors. A crap instructor is still crap,
regardless of the agency. And a good one still shines.

If you haven't had the PADI courses, how can you compare them. PADI
courses are VERY standardized, which some people claim to be bad.

You will find that many people here will tell you to go with the good
instructor and screw the agency.

>
>"La Pedrera" <LaPedrera@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>news:V--dncRBXLfcHhPfRVn-pQ@rogers.com...
>> OK! I've got it narrowed downto 2 locations to get my SCUBA certification.
>>
>> Anyone have any experience with either of these shops? I've been to both
>of
>> them and talked to people there (staff/customers I ran into) and got a
>good
>> "vibe" from both of them.
>>
>> Scuba 2000 in Richmond Hill
>> Aquarius in Etobicoke.
>>
>> Thanks for any suggestions.
>>
>>
>>
>

--
dillon
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.

"Luke Brennan" wrote

>I am newly certified and live near Syracuse, NY, so don't know the shops
>you
> are asking about, but I am surprised that no one else has asked what
> agencies these shops certify through.

We didn't ask because we don't care. All the agencies operating in the US
teach approximately the same information and all of them have good and bad
instructors. The quality of instruction is considerably more important than
the letters he certifies with.

> When I looked at shops I found that one local place offered PADI and the
> other
> offered SSI (Scuba Schools International). Since then I have spoken with
> and
> dived with lots of people who have experience with both, SSI seems to be
> preferred.
> I know I have been extremely pleased with the way the SSI program is
> standardized
> everywhere, easy to learn, very repetitive, very conservative in their
> ratings (Advanced
> and Master Diver ratings take lots more dives and courses with SSI than
> with PADI).
> The books and videos are excellent and make it easy and fun to learn.
> Don't know if
> this helps or not, but it may be something to ask about at those shops.

In fact, SSI courses are, in my experience, less likely to be standardized
than PADI courses. That's one of the attractions to SSI. Another is that,
by learning with SSI, you don't have to listen to the sell PADI message in
every class. Instead, you get the sell SSI message every other class.
<grin>

PADI's biggest problem is not at the classroom level, it's a corporate
issue. They are believed by many, including me, to be more interested in
collecting dollars than in the quality of their training. They have been
reported to, for example, say things like "anybody can dive" and "diving is
safe." Neither is true.

Lee
SSI Master Diver

Thus spake "Lee Bell" <leebell@ix.remove.netcom.com> :

>"Luke Brennan" wrote
>
>>I am newly certified and live near Syracuse, NY, so don't know the shops
>>you
>> are asking about, but I am surprised that no one else has asked what
>> agencies these shops certify through.
>
>We didn't ask because we don't care. All the agencies operating in the US
>teach approximately the same information and all of them have good and bad
>instructors. The quality of instruction is considerably more important than
>the letters he certifies with.
>
>> When I looked at shops I found that one local place offered PADI and the
>> other
>> offered SSI (Scuba Schools International). Since then I have spoken with
>> and
>> dived with lots of people who have experience with both, SSI seems to be
>> preferred.
>> I know I have been extremely pleased with the way the SSI program is
>> standardized
>> everywhere, easy to learn, very repetitive, very conservative in their
>> ratings (Advanced
>> and Master Diver ratings take lots more dives and courses with SSI than
>> with PADI).
>> The books and videos are excellent and make it easy and fun to learn.
>> Don't know if
>> this helps or not, but it may be something to ask about at those shops.
>
>In fact, SSI courses are, in my experience, less likely to be standardized
>than PADI courses. That's one of the attractions to SSI. Another is that,
>by learning with SSI, you don't have to listen to the sell PADI message in
>every class. Instead, you get the sell SSI message every other class.
><grin>
>
>PADI's biggest problem is not at the classroom level, it's a corporate
>issue. They are believed by many, including me, to be more interested in
>collecting dollars than in the quality of their training. They have been
>reported to, for example, say things like "anybody can dive" and "diving is
>safe." Neither is true.
>

What bothers me is that the corporate culture is aimed at the store
level. Once you've made OWSI, you get very little real support. Most
of the "training" is aimed at the retailer. Ocean Journal has at
least two articles a quarter on improving retail sales and the
newsletter is always about retail or resort sales.

>Lee
>SSI Master Diver
>

Dillon, PADI OWSI

--
dillon
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.