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scubadog76 · 05-03-2004, 06:59 PM,

Trust your gut! Walk into a shop and tell them your THINKING about getting your c-card. A good shop will pick up on the THINKING part of it and realize apprehention and try to get to the root of whats holding you back, if its closterphobia, cost, fear of water- they'll try to make you comfortable. If you get the hard sell, "you never know until you try it", or "quit being such a pansy" or anything like that...run! Also, all classes should only require mask fins and snorkel. Nothing else! A buddy of mine took a class at a slimeball shop and they told him he HAD to buy a $35.00 log book and other junk. Instructors don't usually hang out at a bad shop very long. The employees are a pretty good indication of the instructors! Good luck and we'll see ya in the water down the road!

05-03-2004, 07:49 PM,

I agree with everybody that says the instructor is the key. It reall makes no difference which OW 2 you are certified with. Also reseach SDI and SSI. I happen to like the postion SDI takes with new students. An even more their postion on the advanced rating. I think NAUI has a similar position.
As far as cost, you usually get what you pay for in the training.
CJ

willadams67 · (This post was last modified: 05-09-2004, 08:09 AM by willadams67.)

I would wait to get certified on vacation if you don't plan to do any local diving. It will eat up some of your vacation but you will get a chance to dive from a boat. You will have instructors that might be able to give you tips and or sugestions on the type of diving you plan to do in the area you plan on diving. If you want to speed things up on vacation you can take the pool part of the class here and then take your open water dives on vacation.

MNLakeDiver · 05-09-2004, 08:11 AM,

I would do the classroom and pool here. mainly becaus if you need extra time to work on skills you wont have it available on vacation. you can still do the open water dives there and take advantage of instructor tips on "local" diving just my $.02

DiveCaptDean · 05-09-2004, 10:49 AM,

I dont think agency really matters.. get hooked up with a local dive center and instructor that you are comfortable with. Do your training here. I suggest that you do it all here..If you can dive here, you should be comfortable just about anywhere else. If you choose to do part of it here, maybe you could go on a trip with your local dive center to finish the rest off. I am very PRO-SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL DIVE CENTER.
Good Luck