Seattle Scuba School

Despite the risk of oversharing on the internets, I want to preface this review with my recent life developments (this is Unilocal and not FourSquare, after all, and I know you all are at the edge of your seats here). I got engaged the same week I started a big-​girl job. I clearly didn’t think that combo was stressful enough, because while I was up to my ears in wedding planning and utterly exhausted, I signed up to be open water certificated for scuba diving in these same few weeks. YOLO, right? Escaping to the underwater world was exactly what I needed and was able to do.
So despite my personal and professional life going cray with excitement, I was able to buckle down and complete the course needed for certification. I’m extremely happy with doing it at Seattle Scuba School– I cannot recommend them enough. The homework of reading and quizzes, the pool session, the four dives near Alki (50 degrees water anyone?) were thorough and were designed with small class size with extremely knowledgeable and patient staff.
Adam and Cathy were my instructors and I was lucky to have a very small class size for both the pool session and the weekend dives at Cove 1. No question was too silly, no skill was too hard. One must have enough faith in someone to allow them to bring them 30 feet below the Puget Sound with less than 5 feet of visibility for the first time– I had complete faith in both instructors. They were confident, knowledgeable, upbeat and patient– they’ve taught 8 year olds to scuba easily and can teach your little weenie self too. It’s great exposure therapy for those nervous about open water or the ocean in general– a great lesson in learning to breathe through anxiety!
After diving in said conditions, I am completely confident in my ability to dive in upcoming tropical waters. Seattle’s waters may not be the most comfortable, but after succeeding in the Puget Sound, I know my training will make any tropical warm water dive that much more fun and carefree.

I got my open water certification here. The course was well organized and all the dive masters were great. Kathy is an outstanding instructor, especially for a nervous diver like me. She was patient but firm and got me through the course. I would definitely recommend this place!

What a great staff! When we showed up, they were busy and still did a great job of helping us and other customers simultaneously. A week later, due to a family issue, they were able to change our class and dive dates to a later date without a hassle. Amy did a great job helping us with the paper work and registration.
My 12 year old son and I just finished getting certified this weekend. Our instructor Daniel was fantastic! He kept my son’s attention, which isn’t easy, and also kept him calm and engaged. The class and dive experience were both excellent, and we will be continuing to dive and train for advanced open water with them whenever possible!

I signed up in August and did my open water last weekend September ¹²⁄₁₃. Getting certified for SCUBA has been a long term goal for me and i am really happy with my decision to choose Seattle SCUBA. The instructors and staff were very professional, I felt like my learning was the #1 priority, Kathy and the dive masters were awesome they made sure the gear was right, that each student mastered the skills, and everybody’s questions and concerns were answered. Overall a great experience. I feel comfortable with my new skills, and I’m looking forward to my next dive !

Fantastic day with Craig at Seattle scuba. My boys and I could not have had a better experience getting certified!

I went to Seattle Scuba for my basic Open Water certification and had a great experience. The training was well organized and the staff are great. I’ll be going back there for all of my gear rentals and further scuba training.
Ask to be in Cathy’s group for the weekend practice dives. She’s a great teacher and I noticed that after the training dives she didn’t keep my group in the classroom any longer than was necessary for the academics and admin. That was much appreciated since the course requires two full weekend days to complete.

So I live in Seattle and learned to scuba abroad. As I had no experience in the cold PNW, I ended up coming to Seattle Scuba School for a cold water orientation.
I dealt with Craig via email and was able to set up a date that fit my schedule within the upcoming week.
The date arrived and everything continued smoothly. I met up with Craig and Cathy (Kathy?) and got fitted for all my gear. Afterwards we headed off to Cove 2 at Alki.
The dives went great. Cathy was very prepared and helpful for acquainting me with the area. I enjoyed myself a lot and would definitely go again!

This was an outstanding experience from start to finish. My teen daughter wanted to get certified for a class trip to Hawaii with her Oceanography class. Class parents were kinda disorganized but Reese took initiative and helped us set up a group rate. However, turns out that learning how to scuba? not so easy! My kid is a great swimmer but after the initial evening of pool training, she was doubting her skills and seriously concerned about the open-​water dives. Seattle Scuba invited her to return the very next evening to repeat the pool training and focus on the particular skills that were troubling her. My husband is an experienced diver and they allowed him to join the class also in order to help coach her. This was just what she needed to feel safe and competent. Open-​water instructors instilled a sense of mastery and excitement about diving, all the while stressing safety and learning how to build on skills.
The instructors were fantastic, hands-​on, and very supportive. The attention to detail from instructors and owner Craig is obvious and sets this school apart from other schools that might not have a s personal a feel. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Be wary of equipment servicing.
I cannot speak to their training or trips, only their equipment servicing and their customer service.
In Feb 2014 i had them service 2 of my regulator sets for a trip to Hawaii. As it turned out I ended up not taking my own gear on that trip to the regs literally sat on my shelf for exactly a year. Feb 2015 I pulled them out for a trip to the Caribbean. Although they had been serviced and sat, I figured I should check them out. I took them into the shop and tried them and the second stage had a slight bleed. No big deal they could adjust that, so I left them there.
When I came back later that day, their entire demeanor had shifted to a very defensive stance. They informed me that there were worn out pieces in it that they didn’t have and the regulator had been used extensively since it was serviced. When I reminded them that it had sat on a shelf, they flat out accused me of lying. Both of them ganging up on me. They kept telling me how THEY see it. So I explained how I see it: I had them service it, It still has worn out parts, it hasn’t been used. Period. That is when they started explaining that, «Well, you know, maybe sitting on the shelf could have slowly worn over time». BS.
I have never been treated as horribly as they treated me. They should be ashamed of themselves. I wasn’t asking for anything free (I even asked what I owed them at the end for «looking at it»). I wasn’t there to blame them, but the stance they took was inexcusable. I don’t know if they were having a bad day or what, but in 23 years of diving and instructing, I have never seen anything like it.
I will be shipping my gear to Diverite for servicing rather than trust this shop for anything.

In a word: Outstanding! I would recommend them to my best friend. Cathy, Craig, Rhys and Bob know their stuff, have tremendous experience, and they care that you’re safe and that you learn the material and skills. I plan to dive with them again soon. Highly recommend!

I have a phobia of being underwater and a life-​long goal of learning to scuba — the two shouldn’t be compatible! Rhys, Kathy and Craig were all great at helping me feel comfortable in the water and even took the extra time with me that I needed.
Happy to report that less than a week after being certified — I successfully completed my first dive!

Awesome! I rented snorkel gear from Seattle Scuba School — Reese is THE MAN. Excellent customer service and pricing. I’ll be a return customer — hands down.

I just completed my dive certification with Seattle Scuba this weekend. What a fantastic experience! The PADI training program is super organized and easy to follow and I feel like I have a good foundation. Craig and his team are excellent and very knowledgeable. As a teacher myself, I was impressed with their earnest interest in helping people learn. Craig in particular. Here is a guy who’s done over 10,000 dives. He doesn’t need to mess with us newbies. But there he was with us all weekend, helping out the primary instructors on every dive. That is real dedication! I could not be more pleased with my experience. I HIGHLY recommend it.

I recently took the discover scuba diving program, Craig and Cathy were incredible! A perfect balance of professionalism, humor and warmth. I felt safe and all my concerns were put at ease in an instant. What an amazing experience! Thank-​you Seattle Scuba, you guys rock!!!

I had such a great experience at Seattle Scuba! I did the beginning open water diving course over 3 days and learned SO much (home study, followed by one evening of pool session and 2 days of open diving). The instructors were very knowledgeable and patient, and I felt comfortable the whole time. I plan to sign up for the advanced course soon!

When I was visiting Maui in 2012 I had an Intro to Diving class and fell in love with the whole experience. Being a Seattle native I wanted to experience more diving so I did some research and found Seattle Scuba Schools. I was a bit nervous and signed up for the PADI E-​Learning and then I waited a long time before calling to sign up for a class. When I called everyone was very friendly and signed up for the indoor dive session. The instructors were super friendly and I had a great experience. I waited a while before I did the outdoor dives because I was nervous. But I had a great time and would highly recommend Seattle Scuba School. The owner was super friendly and I ended up picking a mask and snorkel.
I can’t wait to sign up for the Advanced Open Water class. I was happy they even had gear to fit a big guy like myself. If you would like to learn from the best this is the place to do it.

The team at Seattle Scuba School are amazing, Craig knows how to pick great instructors and great instructors love working with him.
I was in an unusual situation from most in that I had done half of a PADI Open Water certification while on my vacation in Egypt and came back to Seattle to finish it. (Most tend to do their certification prior to going on vacation so they can enjoy it there). Craig gave me a discount just pay what was needed to actually finish the certification, however during the closed water portion of the class I was able to do the entire instruction set with the class. This was at first very annoying as relearning how to put on and what the names of each equipment piece was annoying. However there where quite a few differences that I was taught overseas vs here based on the type of equipment as well as common practices.
During my one day in open water class it was warm, though the water was freezing. I never understood why people say it’s better to purchase your own equipment until I took a step into that water and my head cap didn’t stay inside my wetsuit, cold water would just go down the back of my neck COOOOOOLD. This has nothing to do with the class but wanted to share.
The two instructors we had where a blast, they were able to joke when people were comfortable but give amazingly detailed instructions and wonderful one on one when needed. The instructors made everyone feel so much at ease for what is at first a very uncomfortable situation and I don’t think I’d be able to do what they do.
If you are looking for a location to do your Scuba certification I’d say that this is your best bet, not only are they the only PADI certified instruction program in the Seattle area (I think); Craig’s main revenue is also instructions not sales of merchandise so you know where his priorities are.
tld; go here.

Absolutely amazing experience. I signed up for the PADI certification and ultimately decided that scuba diving isn’t for me, but I would recommend the instructors and courses to anyone who is interested. The owner, Craig, has set up an amazing business and surrounded himself with great staff.
As for the PADI cert, the combination of home study (they’re not kidding about the 20 hours!), pool session and open water sessions is fantastic. They did everything in their power to ensure my success in a factual, encouraging, no-​nonsense way. They were also good about respectfully suggesting private lessons for a student who was struggling in the pool session and asking him to leave so that both he and the rest of the group could succeed in learning what was needed.

I would trust these guys with my life. Craig and Heidi and Charlie and Justin and Sean are truly the kindest, biggest-​hearted human beings on the planet. Every instructor has been the kind of person I want to be friends with for life, and their seriousness about safety has never once interfered with their humor. Their combined knowledge base and experience is immense and I know that all of their specialty courses are taught by people at the top of their field. I have no idea how they stay in business — their prices are way lower than other shops — but I do know that I’ll pour every extra cent I’ve got into them. I’ve never loved anything as much as diving and it’s all because of the extraordinary people and instruction I’ve gotten at seattle scuba.

I went there with an old mask that needed new lenses (going from prescription to normal after lasik). The dudes were super laid back, the owner (I think) went back, looked for some replacement lenses, whipped out his pocket knife, carefully removed my old ones, put in the new ones, tested it, and when I asked how much, he said it was free if I gave him my old lenses (which I gladly did). Granted, those old lenses probably will come in handy for them but he could have charged me to do the swappage or just threw some new ones on the counter, charged me, and said good luck. Good karma at this place.