Scuba Network

Mark was knowledgeable and extremely helpful.

My fiancé and I were extremely pleased with the overall experience that we had at Scuba Network. Mark was extremely helpful and patient with me from the start. I had a lot of questions about our open water dives and he communicated with the dive shop in Tahiti for me to ensure that we would have everything we needed to dive on our honeymoon. The pool classes were well run and Mark helped us feel as confident as possible. The pricing at the dive shop was also extremely reasonable. I would highly recommend Scuba Network to anyone looking for a good dive shop/​scuba certification classes!

My wife & I came here to get scuba certified. We love the water, have snorkeled often off our boat & while traveling. I spoke with Mark over the phone for my initial inquiry re: classes & what’s expected. He is a consummate gentleman & very knowledgeable about the sport. I told him of some concerns I had regarding my wife with previous water experiences that kinda spooked her. I thought proper training would benefit her, as well as me. While he was attentive to all of the students I really appreciate the time he personally took to make sure she was comfortable & confident in her newly acquired skills. Thank you Mark. Happy wife — Happy life…
While scuba is equipment inten$$ive, it’s an investment in your safety as well as your enjoyment. I appreciate their patience & expertise, the time they took to get us comfortably & properly outfitted.
We’ll be getting our open water dive experience while away on vacation. But we will be back to follow up & hope to take one of their fabulous dive vacations in the future. They have a welcoming & communal spirit that I saw first hand in their repeat customers; All in all, Great dive peeps & a great experience, to be continued.

I’m learning how to dive because I’m heading to Borneo later this year. We found the classes discounted on livingsocial, which was great.
Mark and Kyle helped fit me with all the gear and talked through options. I was impressed that the prices are comparable or better than Amazon.
The online classes seemed pretty standard, and are a good reference to have. The pool time was fun. To teach skills, Mark served as an underwater mime, performing the lessons and checking our progress. Above water Mark’s jokes kept things moving. Overall this was a great experience, and the Chelsea location made it super convenient.

One of the few scuba stores in manhattan. Overpriced and they do not offer PADI certifications here. I’d much prefer the 2 other larger stores where i had better service and deals. Horrible service where if they don’t try to close the deal on you they’ll try to guilt you or berate you into purchasing. Sure they are friendly and helpful at first but the monster comes out if you don’t purchase almost to a «soup nazi» extent. Came here for a wet suit and was given some good tips on the style i needed. Got fitted and tried on but didn’t want to get that particular model as there was another model i was looking at that they didn’t carry. When i decided on that they went all 360 degrees on me, accusing me of going to another store to look for a better deal or online to purchase. Yelling at me as i left the store. Even if this is the case why shouldn’t a customer go and look for a better deal at another store or online. Even if they did try a fitting there the customer always is out to look for the best deal. If you wanna survive as a business offer great deals yourselves and find a business plan that offers deals and where you can then survive in manhattan. I’m sure the other 2 stores i have in mind do just that.

I walked into Scuba Network on 21^st street back in May of 2015. I was just looking for a swim cap. Meeting Mark who runs the shop basically changed my life!
I had done some «resort» dives over the years but never took the time to get certified (didn’t have any time really). Anyway, after talking with Mark I signed up to be certified and by June I was in Costa Rica taking my open water test for the certification. A week ago I came back from my second trip with Mark in the Sea of Cortez. Both trips were fantastic!
I had been to another dive shop in Manhattan (will remain nameless) previously and was frankly put off by the owner /​manager. Mark, besides being a wonderful person, is an excellent instructor — experienced for a number of years, and having a great deal of patience to impart all his knowledge,
I am looking forward to the next trip offered by Scuba Network in the Winter!
If you have any desire to dive, but are wondering what it involves, you should pop into the shop and speak with Mark. Your life may change as well!

Scuba Network is an amazing place to get your Diving Certifications. Make sure you get Mark C. as your instructor. He is amazing, and one of the best in the industry. I received my Master Diver Cert from him. You get to travel to amazing places like Bonaire, Cozumel, Roatan, and Belize to name a few. You make amazing friends that completely change your life and what vacations you will be going on with them. It all started here… :)

I called about a repair quote… and man on the phone, as nice as he is, tried to sell me a new dive computer.
Having been a scuba diver for 14 years, I half expect to be up-​sold — fully aware the dive business has slim margins and gear sales is where you make the bucks.
But seriously, not even a ‘bring the computer in and we can look to see if it’s worth sending to the tech’… but instead «maybe you can buy a new one»
Okie dokie. Next!

The reason they got 4 stars is that I left with what I went there to buy, plus two
other small things. This in NYC, and what a joy to find a shop dedicated to
a single sport. OK, I was there for snorkel equipment, but close enough.
In mid November, I felt like they had not seen a customer for days, or weeks maybe.
I needed fins, short ones that I could manage. I left with fins, water socks, and a bottle of SPIT, the kind that is supposed to minimize fog on the mask. Now comes the pushy part. Did I ask about a floatation device for snorkeling? I don’t think so. But, there
was a very hard pitch about that. I really didn’t want to spend the money before I booked the trip we are planning. And now, If you are reading this review, and you are a customer, be warned. They’ll try to sell you everything. If you are management of the store reading the review, BACK OFF a little and allow your customers to buy.

The great thing about dive shops is that there is always a sense of family to their business model, even if they’re trying to make a buck. This shop is my home base in Manhattan, and I love their staff as well as the selection. I studied technical skills with Mark, ace instructor, and was given a marvelous set of expanded capabilities from the investment. I would recommend you shop there — but more importantly, there is a wonderful community of teachers, divers, and buffs waiting for you here.

I recently just completed the course for open water dives, and I am entirely thrilled with the experience I had. I am from New Jersey and traveled into the city to take courses here because places at home wanted to charge me $ 700 for classes due to lack of students in mid December.
The staff is VERY friendly and very helpful. Mark was our instructor and he was very thorough which was great. He did not rush anyone learning a new skill, and made sure that we completely understood how to perform it before we moved on.
The pool was okay, not bad not good. However that should not matter because youre there to learn how to dive properly, it is not for a resort vacation! It serves its purpose and I had no problem with it at all. Its nice that its a couple blocks from the store (on the same street) because everyone meets first and walks to the school where the pool is together.
All in all, do it :)

I needed my equipment to be serviced and went to Scuba Network to get it serviced since they are close to my job. The people I’ve dealt with are very helpful, nice, fun to talk with about diving experiences. They were even honest about the fact that if they serviced my BC and reg, a brand which they did not sell and normally service, that they may not have the right parts for it and suggested that I go to the place where I purchased them, or another place that sells that brand. I did not feel any «hard sell» that other reviewers described. They were super nice, and I think I found my new dive op!

I needed a diving watch, so I got one. The clasp that holds the strap broke after one dive. That happens. What followed should not happen.
I got back from abroad and took it back to the store less than two weeks after I bought it. But instead of replacing it immediately, which is what should happen, I was told they were going to send it for me to the manufacturer, that it would take four to six weeks, and that they would call when they got it back.
Whatever. I thought it was a little strange — but ok.
Eight weeks passed. I called. «oh yeah your watch is here».
I went to the store to pick it up, and was told I had to pay for shipping and handling. Initially, the bill said $ 20.
I said no way.
The clerk called his superior, who lowered it to $ 8. I still said no way. I explained that this charge was not disclosed to me when I brought them the watch. That they should have, from the outset, replaced it immediately. And that I am not paying a cent.
They said that was the store-owner’s rules. And finally gave me the watch and told me they would contact me if the owner wanted his money back.
Way to lose a potential customer.
This is surprising for a scuba shop twice. A. because scuba people are usually super nice. and B. because your life depends on scuba equipment, vendors are usually very apologetic when something goes wrong.
Stay away.

Stay away from this place! No deal on earth is worth it to go through this mediocre experience. Not only do they give you an incorrect quote on their price structure (I was quoted 400 bucks for the course including equipment and elearning, but ended up paying $ 700) AND you do not get your money’s worth. Some other reasons to avoid this place:
a. They have over 10 – 12 people in their group session, so you barely get any attention and if you are unable to learn a skill in the first go, too bad!
b. The pool that they rent is terrible — its not heated, its only 7 feet deep; the shower area is dirty; makes the whole experience just terrible.
c. Instructor Mark, can be highly inappropriate towards women and is just a bad instructor overall. He is constantly trying to sell stuff from the store than actually concentrate on being a better instructor.
d. At the end of the pool sessions, he can just tell you without any prior indication during the class, that he doesnt think you are ready for the open water dives and will not sign your referral letter. Goal is to sign you up for more classes. TOTAL SCAM!
e. Extremely Inflexible: they charge 75 dollars to reschedule a class for whatever reason you may have (medical, etc)
All in all, you will dislike scuba even before you start it if you were to join Scuba Network. So even if you have to pay 50 – 100 dollars more some place else — do it and avoid this place all together.

This review is for the Open Water Certification Course on Gilt City for $ 220. I was not happy about so many hidden costs that were added on top of the $ 220 I paid and poor customer services. Before you sign up for classes with them, make sure you are comfortable paying/​buying —
1) your own mask, snorkel, fins, boots, dive journal, slate, whistle and belt (I feel like the last couple of stuff are absolutely useless). They will insist you buy ALL these before the pool training. Note that many other shops don’t require to buy anything. I just didn’t like how they wanted to buy all kinds of gear that I had no clue about.
2) this course is not it! Be ready to pay them another $ 300 to do your 4 open water dives in Dutch Spring in order to get the certification. And Scott and the other old sales guy will probably make you to buy more stuff for open water dives (ie knife, gloves). I’m not sure if dive computer is included in this $ 300 package. Also, be ready to pay $ 72 ($ 36 per day) to enter the park.
3) If you choose not to do your open water dives with them, you need to pay $ 30 to get the referral form.
I wish I read Unilocal reviews before I purchased the deal. I won’t recommend this shop to any of my friends.

Scott,
If there is ever one thing to learn from owning or acting on behalf of a business, it is that customer service goes a long way. The value of this negative review is a measly $ 32.00, which is pretty sad considering that Unilocal is a huge tool for finding businesses (more consumers use it for retail than they do for restaurants). Also, customers aren’t interested in you spewing out strict company policies, they are only interested in how you can help meet their needs. Most importantly, they want to see that you value their business. It was apparent that we weren’t worth using your magical powers to help redeem a store credit (because we didn’t have not one, but two receipts). The saddest part is that the origins of the store credit were the result of a faulty snorkel that we originally purchased from your store. Inconveniently, we had to replace it while on vacation. This year, we were planning on buying a few more snorkel tools for our upcoming trip, but you won’t ever see me in your store or hear my voice uttering any words relating to the endorsement of Scuba Network. The worst part is that we were intending on spending more than the $ 32.00 credit.

One of my Christmas gifts from my girlfriend last year was a Dealist deal to «discover» scuba through Scuba Network. I was pretty excited by the opportunity as it is one of the things I have been meaning to do, and my travels have brought me close to some really well regarded reefs with no certification in hand with which to partake.
We went in person to fill out some paperwork and schedule an appointment a few months later. Fast forward to May: we showed up at an elementary school a few blocks down the street from the store in Chelsea. The appointment was for 9am, and we showed up at about 8:45am to find three other people waiting outside of the school. Apparently we were locked out. Great. We passed by the store on the way in, and there was no one there either. With no phone number to call and no signs, we just waited. Eventually a custodian arrived, by chance, and let us in still a few minutes before 9am. We thought we were okay, but when the dive instructor saw us, he asked why we were late? Indeed, there were 9 people already waiting. I guess sometime between Christmas and May, they decided to let people know to show up a half hour early, an announcement that escaped 5 individuals I might add. He walked away as I responded to our question, but still accommodated us.
We promptly changed, and then… waited. Being late as it were, it didn’t make sense that we had to stand around for about 20 minutes before we began. There were several people at the deep end of the pool suiting up for their open water class. On the shallow end of the pool, our group of 14 was split up into two subgroups of 9 and 5 respectively. Yep, the 5 of us who showed up «late» were grouped together and had to wait while the other 9 got to have their discover scuba session first. Why they don’t have two separate back-​to-​back sessions escapes me. In all honesty, I could have showed up 90 minutes late and not missed anything.
Unlike other similar sessions offered by competing dive shops, there was no video or classroom session here. We just watched the 9 assemble their BCDs and enter the pool. We watched them for 90 minutes floating around, going underwater, and basically just killing time. At one point I was asked to take photos of a woman and her daughter. I was getting kind of impatient.
Eventually we got to enter the pool ourselves after the first 9 left and went home. We were given a 5-​minute talk about defogging our masks, never holding our breath, and finding our regulator if it is knocked out of our mouth. We then sucked on the same regulators that the previous class used with nary a cleaning and were on our way to do whatever we wished with the remaining 85 minutes (the instructor informed us that the chlorine kills germs and he has never cleaned the regulators in all his years of doing the class).
Even with just 5 people it became kind of crowded in the shallow end of the pool, so I proceeded down towards the deep end which topped out at 7 feet. Unfortunately, I was quickly admonished for doing this by the other instructor, as apparently I accidentally interrupted a class that was in progress. Okay, well enough. I tried to hang out in the middle, and figure out how to swim on the bottom, get used to breathing underwater, and take in the experience. When I got the hang of it, I really liked it.
I was definitely hooked on scuba! The problem was that I really didn’t want to go back to Scuba Network to get the certification. It wasn’t very professional, and everything was haphazardly done on the cheap. Also, their certification system is SSI which is not as prevalent as PADI or NAUI. We ended up going to Pan Aqua to buy our gear and take our classes; the difference in pool size alone is worth the change. I don’t mean to disparage the experience entirely though. Our dive instructor ended up being a nice guy after our awkward introduction and was able to answer my questions pretty well. I just didn’t feel comfortable with how their classes were conducted.

We got a deal via
to do their Discover SCUBA class to see if we indeed wanted to commit to taking the certification course. The deal was well-​worth it by the way. I am not sure how I would have felt had I paid the full price. Anyway, we made our reservation for the class on the phone and then we had to go sign some safety waivers at the dive shop in person. We did all of this about a month in advance before the actual Discover SCUBA class.
Anyway, we got a paper that stated for us to show up at P. S. 11 @9.00 a.m. for the class. We show up at the school in our swimming suits, towel and flip flops ready to go and we see three other folks standing outside the school, totally locked out. It was still a little before 9:00 a.m. but nobody was in sight. I walked around the building to see if there were any other entrances and nothing. It was like a ghost town. One of the people from the group of three called the shop and it was closed so we had no idea what to do except just stand there and hope someone came to get us. Eventually, a custodian from the school came haphazardly, really and opened the door. I don’t think he came to get us, I think he just happened to be coming out the door. We went inside and down in the basement to the swimming pool area and to our surprise, there was the class of people, already in progress. Apparently, two sets of times went out, one said to arrive at 8:30 a.m.and the other said to arrive at 9:00 a.m. I do have my confirmation emails that state 9:00 a.m. Ughh. that was annoying and I am glad the custodian actually came upstairs or otherwise, we would have missed the class! Then the instructor was like, «Oh you guys are a little late aren’t you?» Hello, the paper we have said 9:00 a.m. start time. Oh well, luckily, the rest of the folks were basically sitting around by the pool area waiting for them to set up the equipment and begin. We didn’t miss anything yet.
When they did get the equipment set up, the instructor proceeded to split us up into two groups. One group was of 10 (the 10 people that were already there and apparently got the memo the class start time was 8:30 instead of 9:00) and then the 5 of us who came at 9:00 were in the second group. We basically had to watch the others set up equipment and wait for them to do their dives and everything before we got a chance. So we basically sat there for over an hour for our turn. What a waste of time. Another thing that kind of grossed me out was that we would have to be using the same mouth piece after these folks were finished. Doesn’t look like they sanitize anything beforehand either. Ewww… I was a little put off by that.
Another thing that bothered me was that there were two classes going on at once in a very small elementary school pool. The SCUBA certification class was going on, on the deep end side of the pool while the Discover SCUBA class was on the other side. Later on when we actually got into the water, we were told not to go over to the other side because we interfered with the certification class. Pool wasn’t big enough for all of us. Basically, we were confined to the shallow side of the pool essentially.
As for the actual Discover SCUBA class, I found the instructor to be very encouraging and if it weren’t for his attitude, I probably would have given up on the whole idea. I could not get comfortable breathing under water at first and I was scared. I wanted to just get out and give up but he refused to let me do it and said keep trying and showed me what I was doing wrong. In a matter of minutes, I was down at the bottom of the pool swimming around like a fish. I began to get comfortable under water and next thing I know, I didn’t want to get out of the pool.
The pool itself however was full of debris and murky. I was satisfied with the amount of chlorine in the pool, but it was too small for all those people. I also could not picture myself doing my actual SCUBA certification with SCUBA Network because of this. The pool was too shallow, even the deep end only went to 7 feet.
I do credit SCUBA Network’s Discover SCUBA class for basically giving me the incentive to want to get certified, however, after some research on other diving shops and certification programs, I opted to go with another place to get my PADI certification. I wanted more organization, a better pool for the closed dives and organized trips for open dives already available so we can complete our certification locally. I would recommend the Discover SCUBA class here if you can get a deal, even the $ 50 full price tag might be worth it but for certification, we had to pass.

From the moment I walked in, the aggressive sales pitch started. I wanted to get my open water certification and was immediately required to purchase about $ 300 worth of gear that I had no clue about…
After the pool sessions, I was ready for my open water checkout dives. The deal said «all gear included!» which was true, however, they expected me to pick up the gear (including four 80cuft. Scuba tanks), take it home, and then take it up to Pennsylvania on the weekend. Mind you, this shop and myself are in New York City, where no one owns a car!
«rent one!» they said, turning a cheap package into a very expensive one.
I politely declined, and told them I will be doing my checkout dives with another company which will provide transportation as well as gear for a comparable price.
They had the nerve to charge me $ 30 for a referral and tried to push on more sales as a last gasp at a client whose jumping ship. All the time giving me the stink-​eye.
Scuba Network is a large company with two branches in Manhattan, one of them is a huge showroom sized place which I see no way for it to cover it’s rent costs alone from scuba courses and gear sales.
On a positive note, Mark, is a very knowledgable instructor. Had it not been for his bosses looking only at numbers, Scuba network could have been an awesome place to learn how to dive!

This review is for their «Discover Scuba» class. It seemed like a great deal from Groupon — $ 25 ($ 50 value) to figure out if you’re cut out for scuba diving. You have to go in a day early to fill out paperwork (which is completely unnecessary, you can easily fill out the forms on the same day in 10 min, but whatever.) The night of the class you meet at the store at 7:30 as a group and head over to PS11 to use their pool. *
Ok, here’s where we ran into trouble. It took them about half an hour to set up the equipment. There was a scuba certification class going on at the same time, so it was kind of chaotic. The class has 15 ppl in it, divided into 3 groups of 5. The first group learns scuba techniques, the second snorkels (yes, in the pool), and the 3^rd group waits. After about FORTY FIVE MINUTES, the groups rotate. Being in the second group, I didn’t get to do any scuba-​ing until 9:30pm and didn’t get out of the pool until 10:15pm. Heaven knows how long the third group stayed!
Some words of advice.
1) Show up to the class already wearing your suit if you can, the «locker rooms» are more like shower stalls and were pretty wet
2) Wear a rash guard if you have one. After hours in the water you will be FREEZING regardless of the time of year
3) Fight to the death to be in the first group, otherwise be mentally prepared to spend all night there
The class itself was great. The instructors are really patient and show you basic hand signals, how to breathe out of the regulator, how to retrieve a regulator that’s been knocked out of your mouth, and how to clear your mask of water. They make sure that everyone is comfortable and don’t push you if you’re reluctant to voluntarily take the regulator (aka you only supply of oxygen underwater) out of your mouth.
All in all, other than the ridiculous waiting time, a very good intro to scuba diving class. Beware though… scuba is a very expensive hobby, so consider that before you start down this potentially money draining path!
*It’s a good 3 ave hike, so I would advise NOT to take this class in the dead of winter, ESP as your hair would be wet on your way home*