I was recently on an east coast tour in Australia. I signed up for a scuba diving excursion. Being PADI certified I didn't think there would be any issue. Appearently Australia is extremely strict and does not honor PADI cards if you have asthma. They require that you are pre-certified with an Australian doctor prior to participating in a dive. Contiki never warned me of this prior to being on the boat and they downgraded me to snorkeling. Needless to say I was extremely upset / disappointed and am trying to get a complete refund.

My recommendation is if you really want to scuba and are aware of your health conditions and have them under check don't mark these on your health form prior to the dive (They denied 4 individual on our trip) or visit an Australian doctor prior to the dive.

Hummm, that's good to know !!

Also for all potential divers that are already certified, don't forget your C card, logbook (or at least photocopies of your most recent dives 5 logs), and either DAN or NAUI diver's insurance. I don't think your regular travelers insurance will cover SCUBA Diving perils.

If you plan on taking SCUBA lessons, talk to your local dive shop about health and preexisting medical conditions regarding diving. There are many medical conditions that will disqualify you from diving !!!! And you wouldn't want to find out after you arrive

- Vic

quote:

Originally posted by Heather:

My recommendation is if you really want to scuba and are aware of your health conditions and have them under check don't mark these on your health form prior to the dive (They denied 4 individual on our trip) or visit an Australian doctor prior to the dive.

I would have to disagree with this statement. If you have a problem breathing down there due to asthma or what ever I wouldn't omit something like this. This I have never heard of being denied have been already certified. We have tons of people from our shop that have these same health issues that go diving all the time. Perhapse its just a contiki thing or what ever operator they used didn't want to take chances. It could also be your age as well, but I don't see why they'd deny you if already certified ahead of time.

I am SSI certified and I had to have a letter from my doctor stating that I am ok to dive because of existing health conditions. These things should be listed on this site because while diving is incredibly fun there are a lot of health risks like narcosis. I work part time at our dive shop here in town and get loads of questions regarding medical conditions. Also try to find a doctor that scuba dives as well. That is a big bonus since they would be aware of these issues. I went diving in Australia in 2005 and didn't have that problem. Not with Contiki though. My sister even forgot her ccard on one dive and they made her perform all of the final tasks to see if she could do them.

I am planning on Contrast Reef and Rock in November '07... We were planning on taking our diving lessons while there. I have asthma, so what should I do? Take a Dr's note with me and get certified while I'm there???

Get an official letter from the Pro Dive Cairns dive operations stating what their current policy is.
Have it signed by their PADI Course Director, Alex Van Welderen.

- Vic

I recently signed up for a dive in cairns during my beaches and reefs tour. Do I need NAUI or DAN insurance to dive? I know it's good to have, but will they allow me to dive without it?

Do you know how much a trip to a hyperbaric chamber costs? And it is NOT coverd by your normal travel insurance. DAN and NAUI insurance companies have since merged and offer secondary coverage (ie: they reimburse you after you pay out-of-pocket). DiveAssure offers primary coverage.

If you are taking a diving class, insurance is included. If you are already certified, then the dive operators only responsibility is to verify your C-card. On all dive boat operations, you sign full waiver forms absolving the boat and crew should anything happen to you, so whether you have insurance or not is not their problem.

- Vic

Unfortunately some will let you dive without insurance. I would recommend spending the $50-$75 depending on the plan you get. Its better to be safe than sorry and depending on the type of Dan ins you get . it will cover some other things as well like trip cancel (just for diving stuff) and lost dive equipt ect. I think they will even arrange for eyeware if you loose yours ect.....Depends on what plan you get, if you aren't sure just get the basic or middle price ins.

A lof of operators are now requiring divers especially new divers to have insurance in order to go on the boats. They are also making people bring their log books as well as their c-cards to see what type of dives they have been on as well..

Here's another tidbit for scuba divers with underwater housings ... mine flooded this past weekend. I take care of my O-ring seal like it was the last one on earth. I still don't know the source of the leak, but if it'll leak, it will do so in the first 15 ft immediately. Housing was 1/2 full of seawater by the time I surfaced. Told the boat captain to immediately remove the memory card and battery. Rinse out the battery and camera and memory card with fresh water. At home, I rinsed out the memory card and shook it dry and placed it on my laptop keyboard to dry over night since the laptop is toasty while it is on. After warming overnight, I tried out the memory card and it is still functional - no data is lost. Currently drying out my camera. If it seems to work, I'll send it in for professional cleaning - otherwise it could be toast.

You may also want to consider Photography Diving Insurance.

- Vic

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ptooma,