PAUL GAUGUIN SCUBA DIVING OPTIONS
 

The islands of French Polynesia are considered to be some of the best for scuba diving and the ship offers numerous dives from beginning to certified with the guidance of on-board PADI dive masters.  The water is so blue with lots of coral, fish and sharks.  If you are certified you need to bring proof of your certification with you.

For years we have had to repeat the beginning coursework on every trip and only take beginner dives.  This vacation we decided to get our certification so we would be able to go on more interesting and exciting dives, and not have to repeat all the coursework every trip as you have to do with the beginning scuba program.  We had a great time getting certified on the ship, although it is time consuming and cuts out some shore excursions and lessens the time you can spend on any of the islands.  There was a couple who got certified with us that had completed both their bookwork and pool sessions at home so they only had to complete four dives which gave them more time to enjoy the islands.  It certainly is much more fun getting certified in such a beautiful environment with quality dive masters than diving in a cold dark lake or rock quarry back home.

Introduction to diving. During the afternoon while they are docked in Raiatea there is classroom instructions on the basics of scuba and then a pool session where they fit you with the proper equipment and then you have time in the pool to learn the basics. After this you can take the beginning dives which are offered on Bora Bora and Moorea. You have to sign up for the instructional session/pool session and beginning dives as soon as possible because it begins on Sunday. All of the beginning sessions and dives are listed on the shore excursion.

CERTIFICATION
 

Discover Scuba – Certification to dive with an instructor –  $400 – includes coursework and 2 dives.

One can also be certified on the ship at two levels, either the Discover Scuba which entails reading 3 chapters in the PADI Open Water Book and testing on those chapters, watching 3 videos, 3 pool sessions, and 2 dives.  After completion this certification entitles a diver to dive with a PADI instructor on a certified dive to 40 feet.

Open Water Scuba Certification – $600 – includes all course work and  4 dives.

The second option is to get Open Water Scuba certification that entitles you to rent your own equipment, plan your own dives, and dive by yourself up to 50 feet.  This entails reading the PADI Open Water book that is over 250 pages, taking 5 tests on the material, watching 5 videos, 5 pool sessions, and 4 open water dives.  As part of this training you will be taking more advanced dives.  Be aware, as the ship requires 3-4 people to sign up for certification before they will teach the course.  These are a good value when you consider that each dive costs $80. 

You can go to www.padi.com to get information on how to do the beginning work.  Just go to courses and it will lead you through the process.  Your local dive shop will give you options they have available.  You can buy the PADI manual at the dive shops.  There are five videos included in the course you might be able to rent or you can watch them on the ship.  We would recommend reading the book prior to taking your cruise so you wouldn't have to spend time on board studying

What the ship provides.  The ship provides all the equipment including masks, fins, BCD, tanks, weights, and wet suits.  The dive masters take you in Zodiacs from the back of the sports platform out to the dive sites.  We found the dive masters to be quite patient and willing to take the time to meet each individual's needs.  The groups were quite small and we received very individualized instruction.  There are numerous dive options to select from and they fill up quite quickly, so you need to sign up Saturday evening when the tour desk opens. Unless you are a unique size or just prefer your own mask and equipment everything is provided and is of good quality.

THE DIVES
 

Length of dives.  All the dives are 1 tank dives but higher MINUTE profiles, e.g. 57 minutes was the longest dive.  Other than in Raiatea, the dives on the ship are with Regent from the zodiac boats launched directly from the marina platform from the ship – VERY NICE and no hassle whatsoever.

Leaving the Zodiac.  You will be doing a "side roll" off of the zodiac tender.

Book your dives early.  Book your dives right away.  The shore excursion desk opens at 9:00 p.m. and depending on how many divers are on board, they can fill up really fast!  This way you will be guaranteed everything you want.

TOP DIVE:       There is an outside operator that is popular with divers.  I have heard some say they liked them better and others say they prefer doing the ship’s dives – it is all a matter of personal preference.  If you want information on Top Dive’s programs, please just email me and I will send it to you.  Top Dive’s email address is www.topdive.com   We also dove with Bora Diving Center on Bora Bora and found them to be quite good.  It is obviously more convenient right from the ship’s platform, but everyone has different preferences.

RAIATEA

Mushroom Patch.  The first scuba dive is off of the first island you will go to, Raiatea.  Regent offers this dive with an outside operator.  It is a good dive, about 50ft. max.  This is the only dive with the outside operator and some say it is not up to the standards of the dives operated by Regent, whereas others say it is just as good.

TAHA'A – NO DIVES OFFERED

BORA BORA

The dives off of Bora Bora are NOT to be missed!  The water clarity is unbelievable – about 80 ft. from the surface!  We have never seen anything like it.

Table Top.  There are two Table Top dives, one for beginners and one for certified divers.  We did both dives and found them to be quite good.   Both dives went down about 15 ft.- there is a sandy bottom to rest on, then you go down another 40 ft. or so, and that is the max footage on that dive.  A much better dive than Mushroom patch in Raiatea. We saw many black tip sharks (not interested in people), moray eels, lots of fish, coral, etc.

Tapu.  The second dive on Bora Bora is called Tapu – this was a great dive! Tapu is for more skilled divers. We saw lots of fish and black tipped sharks. You go down about 60 feet, approximately 50 minutes.

MOOREA

The Ledges.  This is a certified dive which we were able to take because we crammed all our coursework and four dives in first. This was a very good dive where we saw black tip and lemon sharks and swam with a green turtle. This is a cool dive, mostly through a coral reef shaped like fingers of hands.  You go in and out of the grooves, then depending on how much air you have left, they will take you to this crack in the coral where you follow the surge (very strong) right above the surface of the reef.  Not recommended for beginning divers – you could break the coral or cut yourself on it.  On this dive we saw whales on the surface as we were getting into the boat.

There is one dive to the Shark Gallery offered on Day Five and two on Day Six.