Aside from unforeseen weather conditions, is there much chance the scuba certification program aboard the Paul Gauguin not being offered in June?
We are going to Tahiti to take advantage of the on-board PADI certification program.
We were on the NAVIGATOR last year and the Bermuda PADI certification program was cancelled at the last minute. Last year RSSC recommended we take the PG instead this year so we can get certified.
Would love to hear from any Paul Gauguin experts.

When Susan gets back off the Navigator (divediva) she can answer this one. She was certified on the PG. The PG focuses on Certification and diving I highly doubt anything will cause a problem for you as far as certification is concerned. I will ask Susan to post when she comes back next week.

I have a hard time imagining that the PADI certification program would be cancelled on the PG in "high season." We were on the PG for two weeks just a few weeks ago and one week they had two or three folks in the PADI cert program -- and there were fewer than 125 total guests aboard!

I can't say enough good things about the dive staff on the PG and if you choose to do the certification aboard I'm sure they'll be wonderful. Let me suggest (even though you didn't ask) that you consider doing the classroom portion of the certification process at a local dive center before you go on the ship. You can then, from the dive center, get a "referral" that will allow you to do the Open Water Diver certification dives on the PG and get signed off by the PG dive staff. The advantage to this approach is that you don't end up spending a significant chunk of your cruise time doing studying and classroom work.

george

I agree. We had a couple do the full certification on board and they said it took up an immense part of their evening time. Each night after dinner they had to go to their cabin to read/study multiple chapters for the next days test. Kind of a bummer if you like the after dinner social interaction. You may also be able to save a few bucks doing the class work at home.

Dominique (did I spell his name right?) told me last year that he did not understand why people take the cert course on the PG. (Oh, he is one of the Dive Pros there - a truly great guy!!)

You have a one week vacation in paradise that costs quite a bit and you choose to spend a whole chunk of your time in class & studying?
It does not make sense!

What does make sense is what Mr MarnaLou suggested. Do all the course & pool work at home in your spare time THEN do your check-out dives off the PG early in your trip.
THEN enjoy some amazing dives with the dive team!

Have a great time!

Doug

Thanks for the great suggestions. At the end of our Windstar cruise in January, the Divemasters signed cards for us that say "Successfully completed Discover Scuba Course ". We have the PADI textbook too. We intend to take the cards and the textbook with us.

Gymswim:
the Discover Scuba course is great, but it does not count toward cert.
I did it! And - frankly - it is what moved me to get cert'ed.
Just know that you have a real leg up on just about everyone else! You have already done it!

Go do it!

Doug

Thanks Doug for the encouragement. One of us is already PADI certified. Larry is the person who will be stuck in the cabin working on his homework. Do you have any idea if the non-certs and the certs dive different sites each day?

There are separate beginner and advanced dives and dive sites. The discover scuba class was worth it if you have not dived before because it lets you see if diving is for you. We did the class on the Sunday of our cruise (we did not really want to get off the ship anyway) and we spent about an hour in the show lounge going over basics. The instructors were very friendly and easy going. The "test" was pretty simple. Nobody failed...go figure. Then we went up to the pool deck and suited up. We spent the entire 1 hour under water going over basic movements and hand signals. Although you are not deep it gives a good sense of how you react to breathing under water and getting used the equipment.
We were then eligible for the 2 basic dives that were offered the rest of the week.

Gymswin:

yes, there are slightly different dives for the 2 groups you mentioned.

Doug