ocean college explorers sharm el sheik

WHAT EVER YOU DO DONT DIVE WITH OCEAN COLLEGE BASED AT OCEAN BAY HOTEL NAAMA BAY
HOTEL IS GOOD BUT THE DIVE OPERATION IS A TALE OF WOE
DO YOU ALL WANT TO HEAR THE TRUE ABOUT THIS MOB
PUT UP A POST AND YOU CAN HAVE THE FACTS AND VOTE WITH YOUR FEET AND DIVE WITH ANOTHER OPERATION WHILE THERE

WHAT EVER YOU DO DONT DIVE WITH OCEAN COLLEGE BASED AT OCEAN BAY HOTEL NAAMA BAY
HOTEL IS GOOD BUT THE DIVE OPERATION IS A TALE OF WOE
DO YOU ALL WANT TO HEAR THE TRUE ABOUT THIS MOB
PUT UP A POST AND YOU CAN HAVE THE FACTS AND VOTE WITH YOUR FEET AND DIVE WITH ANOTHER OPERATION WHILE THERE

Hi, I dived with ocean college last year & had a very mixed experience. Our first dive guide was a nightmare. We complained, they sorted it and the rest of the holiday was very good. I would love to hear about your experiences but feel that the travel club forum would be the correct place to put it.

Alan

:=WHAT EVER YOU DO DONT DIVE WITH OCEAN COLLEGE BASED AT OCEAN BAY HOTEL NAAMA BAY
:= HOTEL IS GOOD BUT THE DIVE OPERATION IS A TALE OF WOE
:=DO YOU ALL WANT TO HEAR THE TRUE ABOUT THIS MOB
:=PUT UP A POST AND YOU CAN HAVE THE FACTS AND VOTE WITH YOUR FEET AND DIVE WITH ANOTHER OPERATION WHILE THERE

I dived with these guys 4 years ago and had a really good week.

Hi, I dived with ocean college last year & had a very mixed experience. Our first dive guide was a nightmare. We complained, they sorted it and the rest of the holiday was very good. I would love to hear about your experiences but feel that the travel club forum would be the correct place to put it.

Alan

yep wiil put it on travel club forum
16 to one ratio 6 kit boxes down the centre on the kitting up area because the boat was just to full etc

:=hi, we have dived with ocean college for the last few years and have had some mixed experiances but overall it was ok, the odd kit box missing the day before departure, not being able to have enough power as a group to have more say in the dive site choice, some things just down to the fact that this is egypt, on the outside looks like chaos but inside they are organised amongst themselves.try staying at the Nama Bay hotel makes all the difference, especially for non divers.
:=Hi, I dived with ocean college last year & had a very mixed experience. Our first dive guide was a nightmare. We complained, they sorted it and the rest of the holiday was very good. I would love to hear about your experiences but feel that the travel club forum would be the correct place to put it.
:=
:=Alan
yep wiil put it on travel club forum
16 to one ratio 6 kit boxes down the centre on the kitting up area because the boat was just to full etc

WHAT EVER YOU DO DONT DIVE WITH OCEAN COLLEGE BASED AT OCEAN BAY HOTEL NAAMA BAY
HOTEL IS GOOD BUT THE DIVE OPERATION IS A TALE OF WOE
DO YOU ALL WANT TO HEAR THE TRUE ABOUT THIS MOB
PUT UP A POST AND YOU CAN HAVE THE FACTS AND VOTE WITH YOUR FEET AND DIVE WITH ANOTHER OPERATION WHILE THERE

Dived with them in May last year, absolutely no problems what so ever. Dive guide Hassan was first class. Care to supply some more details?

Dived with them in May last year, absolutely no problems what so ever. Dive guide Hassan was first class. Care to supply some more details?

As did we this January past, guides Jimmy & Annette, and boat crew Abrahim, Saeed and the Skipper. Looked after our party a treat.

:=WHAT EVER YOU DO DONT DIVE WITH OCEAN COLLEGE BASED AT OCEAN BAY HOTEL NAAMA BAY
:= HOTEL IS GOOD BUT THE DIVE OPERATION IS A TALE OF WOE
:=DO YOU ALL WANT TO HEAR THE TRUE ABOUT THIS MOB
:=PUT UP A POST AND YOU CAN HAVE THE FACTS AND VOTE WITH YOUR FEET AND DIVE WITH ANOTHER OPERATION WHILE THERE

Dived with them in May last year, absolutely no problems what so ever. Dive guide Hassan was first class. Care to supply some more details?

I have dived with them three times, in the last year and found them to be first rate. The instructors are warm, proffessional and skilled, while the day boats are tidy, clean and fast. What ever they did or didn't do take it up with them and do not try and get some sort of campaign agaist them.

It was taken up with them via email.
And they failed to fully answer our queries ,
my post was not the start of some sort of vendetta,
Just telling it as we saw it,
Explorers are one of the better package operators
My friends and i have gone to the red sea with them many times before.
And will continue to do so,
But will dive with a different school.

I have been an Ocean College instructor for 6 years on and off. One of the originals. I returned from Sharm last September to take up my current job in the UK. (Eventually one has to!) But I miss it! Recently I have been feeling a bit nostalgic, so in a spare moment I fired 'Ocean College' into a search engine to see what was new. I was disappointed to see some negative comments on this site(and a few other forums. A cause for concern when coming from a body of people for whom I have great respect.

I'd never be able to defend every issue as I was not personally involved in every issue, but please allow me to address a few which seem generic in nature to Red Sea guides/centers and also one or two specific to The College. Please also understand that these are only personal reflections of a former dive industry employee and long term Sharm resident.

DIVE BOAT OVERCROWDING.
Right. This is an issue. I accept that. However, the reason it occurs is NOT due to OC or any other dive center trying to save a few Euros. The cause is the Egyptian authorities having decided not to issue any more boat licences. I believe this situation is still current.This results in ever increasing diver/tourist numbers attempting to board a finite number of boats. So rather than new or more boats we are forced to bear situations where boats are re-licenced to carry more divers. Anyone who has witnessed NAAMA jetty 9.30am will know what I mean. The jetty can only handle so many boats. The fees at the main Sharm el mina jetty in the old town are prohibitive, but again there are capacity limits. So please understand that Ocean and all other dive centers would simply rent more boats if there were any or anywhere to embark them from! (I recently found myself working a boat which had been rebuilt to twice original size, but retaining the old name for licencing purposes!

LOST/DELAYED EQUIPMENT BOXES.
Really annoying for guides with the skippers and Egyptian cops hassling us to get off the overcrowded jetty! More so for the 18 out of 20 guests on the boat who have theirs and are being forced to wait! Mistakes happen, people forget or screw up (guests AND staff). Hey it happens. Especially under pressure. Fewer centers are located near the jetty these days and many have more than one branch. This means searches in different locations and time for vehicles to get back to collect the kit when it's found. I reckon this kind of error happens relatively rarely in comparison to the number of divers involved in the case of OC several hundred/week. The staff do all they can. Why wouldn't they?

CHECK DIVES/DIVE SITE SELECTION.
Ocean College cares about its guests. I know this for a fact. From the top all the way down. Hey, this is true - I don't work for them any more, I have nothing to gain! We work within stringent and ever tightening framework of standards put in place by the dive centers and Egyptian authorities. One of the last things I did before I left was to sit an exam to see among other things whether after 6 years I knew where Jackson reef was! (Of course I know where it is when I jump - Finding it again on the way back? Ummm. 50/50!). Calm down dear -Just my little joke :0)

For clarity - & I only speak for the College - The rule is 2 days local diving to acclimatise people (And there's PLENTY to see), then once they have been observed by staff for ability levels (not always related to qualifications or number of dives!), guests move on to more challenging dives. Or not. This is (whether obvious or not) for the benefit of the guests. Although we work in Egypt there is still a duty of care by staff.

Where a guest has been out of the water for 6 months a check dive is required. This is only due care. Surely no one would argue that skills are not dulled or forgotten after a lay off? Sure this costs a little. An investment in safety. Incidentally - I undertook one myself with a senior colleague before I commenced my last tour of duty at Ocean College.

Where the layoff is a year or more, a full day's scuba review is carried out covering skills and theory. Again - Anyone wanna argue with the sense of that?

PERSONALITY ISSUES WITH GUIDES & CENTERS.
Sure, there will be disagreements with staff.They don't enjoy it any more than you do, but the last contributor got it bang on. Talk to them. You won't always get what you want, but usually an explanation why is given! Just bear in mind that the vast majority of staff want you to have a ball AND live to recount the tale!

Those of you with a history in Sharm may remember me as the fat Scottish bloke with the guitar in Camel Bar or the Tavern. I'm lucky. I had that small bit of talent to give which I hope helped make people's holiday. Others have other talents they want to share with you the guests to make your time the best it can be. So please don't stop going there or fail to visit for the first time after listening to other people's (perhaps even valid) complaints. GO see for yourselves!!

All the best

Steve M