Dive Maui / Hawaiian Rafting Adventures — Attraction in Maui

I've gone back and forth on whether to leave a review or not because our experience is certainly not the norm. TLDR: our 2-tank dive was cut to 1 dive due to a medical emergency, which we believe the staff dealt with well but there were other things that were concerning to us.

We were on the 2-tank Lanai Cathedrals tour and the group was split into two groups of 7, each with 1 dive master. Both dive masters did a briefing to their group on the way to the first dive site (not the cathedrals). The group we were in was second to go into the water, and as we were preparing to get off the boat, we heard one individual from the other group (he was the last person on the boat from their group) ask the captain who his dive buddy was, to which the captain told him to ask him dive master once he got into the water. This was interesting to hear that dive buddies were not assigned prior to going into the water, and after talking to a couple people in that group afterwards, they confirmed that dive buddies were not formally assigned. The medical emergency that took place was with the person who asked about a dive buddy so it's a little tough to think about this person possibly not having a dive buddy as they experienced troubles, even if it would not have made a difference.

Our dive started by going with the current - while not too strong, it was strong enough for us to notice it. Maybe 10-15 minutes later, we were going against a pretty strong current that most of the group had trouble getting through. As the group struggled, our dive master had gone around the reef, leaving a good amount of us behind before she came back. Then not too long after, we went into another current that was so strong that no one in our group made any progress. We all struggled for god knows how long, while our dive master again had gone ahead of us, around the reef seemingly not noticing the entire group was not following her. This last current really took it out of all of us, because after our dive master finally came back to the group, most if not all of us were between 300-500 psi and we were only 29 minutes into the dive (we all started with ~3,000+ psi). The max depth we went to was 47 feet. This experience really went against what you learn during your certification, which is to start going against the current if there is one whereas we started going with the current in the beginning. It was also shocking how long it took our dive master to notice the group not keeping up with her due to the very strong currents we were going up against.

After our dive master came back to the group, we ascended due to a medical emergency happening with the other group (which we were not aware of at the time). Although even without the medical emergency, we would've needed to ascend given how little air we all had left. When we surfaced, we weren't really sure what was happening at first and then quickly realized there was an emergency. I believe the captain and dive masters acted in the best way they could to respond to the medical emergency so I give them props for this. It was an unfortunate turn of events that took place, but it's hard to ignore some things that just did not feel right in the dive we did do.

The group consisted of those with a variety of experiences, ranging from recently having been certified to those with over 100 dives and even the experienced divers noted they've never experienced a dive like the one we...

Our main reason to visit Maui was to dive the Cathedral. Dive Maui had a very accommodating schedule that fit well with our trip dates. We have all of our own gear so we didn’t need to rent anything. But the night before we departed to Maui, my digital gauge stopped working. I emailed the shop immediately to let them know that I would need a gauge. They responded in the morning stating that it wouldn’t be an issue at all. When we arrived in the morning to dive they were able to swap out my gauge with theirs without hesitation. We ended up diving 2 days with them. The first day was the backside of the Molokini Crater. The 2-tank dives were both gorgeous drift wall dives with plenty of coral and smaller reef life. But with the big blue behind us there was always a chance to see larger life. No sharks or mantas on those dives, but we did see some large trevally and parrotfish. Our DM Brooke was able to point out various nudibranchs, eels, and even a scorpionfish! Their photographer, Micah, took some incredible pictures of the divers and the dive site! For our Cathedral dive, our DMs Scott and Pascal did an awesome job explaining not just the sea life we would see down there, but also the beauty of the Cathedral, as well as the intricacies of how to get in, and how to get out of the Cathedral. For both days, our captains Stephen and CJ made us feel safe, welcome, and at home on the boat. We saw numerous humpback whales during our trips to and from the dive sites. They stopped the boat several times so we could watch them as they lunged and breached. It was a fantastic bonus to witness these majestic creatures. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay too long out there with the whales as the crew needed to prepare the boat for the actual whale watching tours that were going out soon after we would dock, but it was nice to get a preview along with some amazing dives! At the end of each day, they offered to rinse our gear in the shop for us. Since we were diving for 2 days, they allowed us to keep our gear at the shop for the next day. It’s a great shop with a knowledgeable, professional, and...

Great Cathedrals dive with friendly staff. Gu was nice and helpful during check in. Once on the boat, our guide Brooke really made it a wonderful experience. I was very impressed with both her knowledge of marine life and her attention to safety. She spent most of the 45min ride to Lāna'i (brief stops by Captain Michelle to watch some whales) telling the group about all the different fish and marine life to look for at the site. She was friendly and her enthusiasm was infectious! She got to know the group and paid extra attention to some less-experienced divers. She made sure they were confident in standard dive procedures, signs, reading the computer, etc. She was really good at working with divers of all experience levels. Brooke really wanted to make sure everyone had the best experience as possible.

Our first site was a pinnacle reef area (Wash Rock) and our second site was the Second Cathedral. We were able to do the full 60min dive at each site, and Brooke was great at pointing out marine life and keeping track of everyone in the group. She remembered the specific fish we wanted to see and immediately pointed them out to me and my buddy! It was never hard to get her attention underwater. I wish we could have spent more time in the 2nd cathedral, but then again I could have spent all day down there, it was so beautiful! They gave us each a reusable water bottle and a light lunch was provided between dives. The boat also had a freshwater shower to rinse off. Back at the shop they even rinsed off our personal gear for us.

Overall, fantastic staff and company. Would I recommend this to other people? 100% yes! It was a great day in the water with Dive Maui. Would I do this trip again? I'm not sure just because it was a bit expensive for me. If we could have done both Cathedrals, or spent more time inside, then 100% I would do it again. But I understand why logistically that would be difficult.

5/5 for Brooke...