Adventure Scuba Inc — Local services in New York

I’m sadden to write this account as I wanted to like this place, but my experience was 100% avoidable. I went through the certification process elsewhere despite trauma I had to undo from Adventure Scuba. I tried twice to go to Adventure Scuba--big mistake. I arrived excited and ready, but left with an intense anxiety of scuba diving because of the comments the instructors made combined with their lack of support.

The instructors boast having years of instructing experience, but had zero helpful advice while I had difficulty breathing except: “collect yourself” “what’s going on with you?”, “you need to relax and pretend your in the spa”, all of which was monumentally unhelpful to hear as my body quickly spiraled to a panic. The worst was the female instructor. Hyper condescending. She was visibly irritated by my anxiety (I was astonished that my trouble breathing was a nuisance to both of instructors). The unfortunate part is that when I first conveyed I was having difficulty breathing, I didn’t feel ANY fear initially, I simply tried to explain I was experiencing trouble breathing, and to ask questions, but I was quickly dismissed and told to “make up my mind if this is something I want to do” (verbatium). These comments quickly fueled a feeling of intense panic when I received NO answers to my questions and reattempted to submerge myself only for the cycle to repeat and lead several times to the same outcome of not being able to breath well. Repeating this several times rendered me freaked out, confused, and exasperated. I don’t remember her name (but to be fair she kept calling me the wrong name which also contributed to my confusion). The male instructor accused me of not listening to him (although I proceeded to repeat everything he had just said, so no idea why he made that assumption).

The bright side is, I have since been to two different dive sites (one to complete certification the other just to dive for fun) and they both were vastly different experiences from Adventure Scuba. Surprisingly, there was no insults or condescending statements, no visible impatience, no accusations. Only support, encouragement, and understanding which is not a lot to ask. I learned that it wasn’t in my head or something wrong with me, but breathing (unlike i was told at Adventure Scuba) does feel different under water and shouldn’t be rushed. Now that’s good instruction!

The absolute worse part was I probably was in the pool both times for five minutes each and they happily kept the money despite lack of instruction. ASTONISHINGLY wrong. So I write this review and also let fellow divers know: please avoid this place.

Ultimately, I’m glad I didn’t give up despite this truly unpleasant experiences of my life. I would say its an ok place if you’ve already been diving a few times before, but definitely not if you expect to be supported, not rushed, and respected when you voice you can’t breath or want to ask questions. I would definitely caution against spending hundreds of your dollars for that kind of treatment trust me other places are able to train without that nonsense. My sister did it with me she completed with Adventure Scuba, but fully agreed that the experience was lacking due to the treatment and how rushed the class felt. My feedback would be if someone isn’t relaxed-- don’t fuel the apprehension, it’s...

Terrific experience! Seth couldn’t have been more helpful explaining what my husband and I would need to get certified for diving at our upcoming honeymoon. We did the one-day Saturday certification class with Tom, who was the best instructor I have encountered for any subject in at least a decade! Tom was patient, and explained everything in a logical way in which one skill built on the last. By the end of the first half of the day, I felt comfortable putting together all my gear and actually scuba diving along the pool floor. By the end of the day I felt relaxed and confident ready for our trip! He was delightful and explained each skill ahead of time so we knew exactly what to expect. Tom was also super helpful getting us outfitted and didn’t push us on any higher end equipment that wasn’t necessary. (Do get at least the cheaper wetsuit—I get cold and it helped a lot!) adventure scuba knows exactly what they are doing and paced the day perfectly for us! One note: The elearning component (which you complete prior to class) was fine, very repetitive but that is good so you know the main points before you get in the water—but when they say leave 10-12 hours for this, do leave at least 7–even cramming it took us this long to complete! Thanks Tom and Seth! We will send you...

This shop is great! So helpful! Really convenient and well organized. Plus they connected me with the best instructor ever!

Imagine your dream instructor - then multiple it by 1000 and you get Irina! She is so incredibly knowledgeable, patient, kind and well spoken. She really cares about her students and takes the time to get to know you and build a rapport that makes you feel seen and safe. She doesn't push you through the required training, she makes sure you understand the requirements, feel comfortable with them, and understand how they fit into the big picture - by the time you're done with her classes you feel prepared to Scuba the world. I wasn't expecting to feel panicked my first couple of breaths underwater, but knowing Irina was there if anything went wrong let me breathe easy. The class is packed with information and skills, but Irina makes every step of the way fun and exciting. Passing my open water dives was a breeze after learning all the skills from Irina - even in open water I felt calm cool and collected because I was confident that she taught me everything I needed to know. Not only is she a great scuba instructor, but she's also just incredibly lovely and genuine! Highly highly highly...