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November 2023 by Marissa Paz
Went into the shop today and was greeted by Jessica. She was very patient with me trying on masks and provided helpful diving info. Overall great customer service from her- much appreciated! ?
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March 2023 by Grace S.
Had a really wonderful experience in the Discover Scuba course with Ed and Mira! The pool session in the morning was super useful for getting used to the gear and doing the maneuvers without the ocean completely overwhelming you. I tried scuba diving two years ago with a dive shop that just dropped us straight in the ocean and told us to practice taking off our mask and reg. I panicked and had to back out. This was a much more beginner friendly experience!Our instructors were also very good at pointing out the wildlife under water, we saw a moray eel and a scorpionfish, which I would have completely missed on my own. They also took some fun pictures of us on the boat and under water.Also as someone who gets seasick easily, they had ginger chews on board and made that known immediately, which was really nice and helpful.
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September 2022 by Crystal Nicole
Went into the dive shop at the base exchange to ask a few questions and buy some gear with my family. There was only one employee in there and he did not greet us or acknowledge us in any way...when I went up to the counter to speak to him he never looked up from his computer and did not speak. Stood there for a few minutes and he did not once acknowledge my presence ( mind you I was a few feet away from his face). Really bizarre employees with obviously no training or basic manners/social skills.
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July 2022 by Skylar Haynes
I brought in my dive computer to get the battery changed on July 15th. They told me the turn around time was two weeks. I signed the paper work and paid them for the service. Two weeks goes by and I haven’t heard anything from them. I call them 5 days after the two weeks I was quoted, for them to tell me they don’t have my $600 dive computer, they brought it to Honolulu Scuba to be serviced by their tech. I call HSC, for them to tell me they never received my dive computer. At this point I needed the computer to go on a few dives that were planned but I unfortunately was not able to go because I did not have my computer. I contact Island divers again and they take a day to get back to me and tell me that my computer is on Hickam. I’m very disappointed as I’ve been a customer with Island divers and their sister stores for the last two years and haven’t had any issues up until this point. The lack of communication and care for what I experienced was extremely frustrating. The whole process took well over a month for a simple battery replacement and the entire time I, nor the management at both stores, did not know the whereabouts of a pricey piece of dive equipment. I would not recommend getting equipment serviced at this location.
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March 2022 by Sirius Y.
Bad facility, bad training, overcharge. I signed up for an Open Water Diver certification course. I was taken to a tiny dirty pool in some residential home's backyard. I can't believe this is a legitimate facility. The tiny pool was filled with people and sometimes I can't even turn around without hitting others. I don't know some of the diving skills, that's why I paid for this course. I was having trouble with some move. Instead of sufficient training and practice time, only two hours into the pool training, the instructor told me that he was not going to certify me that day. He moved away to teach the other student and left me hanging in the pool. I paid extra money for a semi-private class, there were only two students but I feel I didn't get the training I paid for. After the instructor failed me, I went back to the store to find out what to do next. They told me that I have to get two more dives from them, charged at $140 each, also an extra $100 re-booking fee. I felt like being treated like a fool. I went to Hawaii to have fun, but the whole experience made me cry on my vacation. What a waste of my time and money.
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December 2021 by Lyn R.
Have never been scuba diving before but had a great day out with Island Divers. Safety was the focus of the entire morning, which I greatly appreciated. The afternoon we went to two different dive locations and had a great time. Already looking forward to diving with them again!
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August 2021 by Gabriel W.
Awesome experience for certified and non certified divers. Started with a two hour training session at 9AM in a swimming pool about 10 min away from the dive shop (took us there by van). Afterwards, they gave us an hour or so to get lunch around the area (tons of places around the dive shop). Boat left at around 1PM and took us to our first location about 20 min away. The water was super clear and we saw tons of animals including a ray, turtle, eels, tons of fish, and more! Made two different stops with unique structure, coral, and animals from both. Davíd was an amazing guide and he took lots of high quality underwater pictures for us which were airdropped/provided through a link to us free of charge. Waves were a little choppy on the boat so might want to take motion sickness medicine.
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May 2021 by Ed U.
Amazing friendly staff, funny captain, and amazing diving. What more can you ask for. Sea tiger was epic and the reef dive was new. Had a blast.
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March 2021 by Chantelle M.
My brother and I went on a Discover Scuba (zero experience) class with Captain Tim and our instructor, Jess. We had the best time! I wasn't sure if I would be ok learning how to scuba so quickly, but Jess was amazing and helped us the entire time and gave us enough confidence to make it to the ocean floor. Honestly, I was nervous the whole time, second guessing a few times if I could really take the plunge, but I am sooooo glad I did! All my doubts and lack of confidence were completely reassured by our dive team and I can't wait to go on more dives and get my certification! Absolutely recommend Island divers Hawaii!
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March 2021 by Ranika K.
My friends and I recently did a scuba refresher course through this dive shop. We are disappointed with the management of this dive shop and would not recommend it to anyone. To be fair, we're sure covid has impacted the operations of businesses all around; however, what we experienced was not covid friendly nor was it professional. We want to clarify that we thought the instructors were amazing and that they did their best to help us navigate the mess at the dive shop. Here are the ways in which we did not receive the service that we paid for: 1. On their website the refresher course is described as "a full day activity that starts in the morning." In the confirmation email, it said we should show up at 12. Thank god we called and clarified with them and the actual time we had to show up was 9 am. Poor communication on their end. 2. When making the reservation, they requested information about our weight and shoe size so that we could have the right fitting gear. When we showed up, turns out they had several divers go out in the morning so the majority of the equipment was not available. I had to wear a size Large BCD and I normally need an XS. We had to wear fins and masks that were too big. Our instructor told us that the divers would be returning before we went out to the ocean so that we could swap out for better fitted gear. While that was somewhat true, we still didn't get the exact sizing we needed. On top of that, the shop didn't seem to have enough regulators. Our instructor had to hunt down a regulator for our group for 15 minutes. How can a dive shop not have the right gear or enough regulators for each diver? Poor management in booking the dives that day. 3. When we called to make a reservation and asked about their covid policy, we were told that everything was going to be at half capacity. This was simply not true. Our boat was full as was our refresher course in the morning that took place in the pool. At one point there were FIFTEEN+ divers in a very small pool. 4. The refresher course was supposed to be from 9 am - ~11 am. This included getting fitted with the right gear and then heading to the pool. We were expecting at least an hour in the pool to get comfortable again and the reality is that we only got FIFTEEN MINUTES. The pool was completely overbooked with other classes and at some point, we had to get in with everyone else or the dive boat would've left without us. This was NOT sufficient time to get refreshed. Our instructor, Paul, was awesome. He was patient and was trying to get us as comfortable as possible, but it was a very difficult situation to navigate. 5. Something that was NOT mentioned on the website, the confirmation email or on the phone is that the refresher course is off-site at a house. We had originally planned to take an Uber to the dive school, but we were able to get a car at the last minute. Thank god we did because we were expected to take a bunch of the gear in our car and to drive to this location. If we didn't have this car, we would've lost even more time & $$ waiting for another Uber to take us to this location. Again, another example of poor communication from the dive shop. 6. The website says that we will do two 45 minute dives at 2 reef sites. In reality we did two 45 minute dives at 1 reef site. We just moved the boat to a different mooring line at the same site. We know that obviously this is weather dependent, but it was the most perfect day out. 7. This is really minor, but on the phone we were told the dive boat would have snacks & water for us. There were no snacks. Not a big deal, but if we had known, we could've prepared to bring our own. Again, poor communication. We want to give a huge shout out to our instructor, Paul. He was amazing and really patient and helped us out wherever he could. The other instructors on our boat were also awesome (Hunter, Josie, Chandler, Jess, Captain Nick). They made our experience awesome despite all of the hiccups & poor planning on behalf of the dive shop throughout
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February 2021 by Jason S.
Called last week and was told they closed at 7pm everyday which is also what Google says. Went to rent gear today, Saturday, at 5pm and it was closed. Sign on the door says normal hours they close at 530pm, but a paper says due to COVID they close at 3pm. I was depending on the gear to dive tomorrow morning and that's no longer happening. Your employees should know the hours and it would help to add your new hours on your website.
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January 2020 by David S.
Loyd was a great guide . Satisfaction guaranteed!! He picked us up from the hotel, had great conversations and helped us prepare for the boat ride. Once getting on the boat, the crew helped everyone based on their certifications. Some people were training and some are certified. They group everyone together. You can also snorkel as a passenger and go on the boat together. Lloyd promised turtle sighting and did not fail. We saw turtles, octopus, star fish, eels and many fishes. Great trip! Highly recommend!!
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October 2019 by Katarina S.
Island Divers Hawaii made my first couple dive experiences amazing! I went out with multiple different staff members but the few who really stood out to me were Mary, Sheila, and Amber! They made sure I was prepared and answered all my questions to help calm my nerves. They made a conscious effort to point out the amazing life under water and teach me about it after. I brought my sister and her boyfriend back my second time because I had such a good experience the first time. Hands down one of the most amazing things I have ever done and this dive company made it easy and super fun!! Can't wait to go back soon.
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September 2019 by Kyle McDonald
Got certified here a few weeks back with Tere as my instructor. Wonderful experience starting in the pool and then two shore dives and two tank boat dive. He was a great instructor I would highly recommend getting certified here or doing dives through them.
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July 2019 by A. Michael G.
I was referred here for gear rental after I signed up for a freediving (no tank) certification course with Honolulu Freedivers. The staff was super helpful. It was a relatively long drive for me from east Honolulu to Wahiawa and I didn't want to waste a trip, so I called a few times to get info. The person answering (who I later found out was Anna), was friendly, very knowledgeable and never rushed me through any of my questions. Even though the shop services the public, it is located on a secure army base, and Anna let me know the day-pass procedure before I got there so I wouldn't be surprised. When I did got to the army gate (4pm on a Friday), there was no one ahead of me and vehicle inspection and pass issue took under 5 minutes. I used my GPS on base to find my way to the shop. The rental shop is part of a bigger recreation rental complex and is located in the back. So skip the line at the front door and go see a rental clerk at the back room with all the dive gear in it. I was assisted at the store by guy who claimed to be rich and retired so he did his job for the joy of it . In other words, friendly and helpful. He got me through 2 pages of paperwork. Got me the correct gear. I had to swap down a fin size because I wasn't going to be wearing booties, so he had to go to a store room twice to get me a second pair. I also had to get a full wetsuit. He asked me my size and got me what I asked for even though a passing coworker suggested a size down-- great customer service on his part. What I asked for fit perfectly. He brought me out a nylon weight belt before I told him that the dive instructor recommended rubber. So, he had to go back to the store room again to swap the belt. He didn't grumble at all about having to--in fact, he was happy to do so. He did a best guess on dive weights. He quickly showed me how to disassemble the snorkel so I could custom fit it on the mask to my needs. Then he got me cashed out after he found the rate he was looking for and gave me some terrific options for return time. The whole thing only took under 25 minutes--maybe even 15 not counting my wetsuit changing time in the restroom. Pretty quick considering 4 pieces of gear and the two return trips to the store room. I did end up doing an extra rinse of the wetsuit at home before using it. It was adequately clean and in good condition, but it had a musty smell I was hoping to get rid of (the rinse almost kinda worked). Regardless, it kept me warm, I couldn't smell it with my mask on and it didn't fall apart. All the gear worked perfectly through the weekend. The chartered boat (Enzo) which carried the class out on the second day was also supplied by Island Divers. The captain did a great job and so did my dive instructor, I got certified as a freediver at 30 meters. Really a great experience overall! I fully recommend them. And, bonus... I'm told that my rental fee can be used as store credit for the purchase of a full dive set later!! Nice!! Good job, Island Divers!
