Client Comments Archive - Page 4 of 5 - Family Dive Adventures

Thank you, thank you, and THANK YOU

THANK YOU for one of the best family experiences we have ever had.

Since I am a list person, here is my thank you to Kids Sea Camp

The Carrigan Family is thankful for:

Margo and Kids Sea Camp for the trip of a lifetime
Galapagos Liveaboard dive yacht and crew for above and beyond service
Wonderful meals- three times a day (at least)
Great snacks- loved the hot yummies on the dive deck
All of our fellow Kids Sea Camp travelers
Finally getting to meet and spend time with Margo and family
Hours of great conversations with Tom on the dive briefing patio (amazed at what we were seeing!)
Exceptional and inspiring dives with Margo and the dive masters
Slumber parties on the dive briefing couches and visits with Joanie
Getting to meet and spend time with Wayne and Caroline
Nitrox and Advanced Adventurer certification
All the great movies- Thanks, Wayne!
Our new Scubapro wetsuits and DAN safety signal kits- thanks, Margo!
Seeing Leslie and Connor again (Bonaire 2007) and meeting the rest of the family
Getting to know the Galapagos Aggressor II families and Alan and Ronnie too!
Diving with sharks, eels, rays, turtles, sea lions, millions of fish and snorkeling with penguins!
Sunrise surrounded by dolphins when we first arrived at Wolf Island
Tamales on the bow with Nelson and Lenin between dives
Sunset at Darwin
An unforgettable Father’s Day- with unexpected but much appreciated gifts for all the Dad’s (even crew)
Kids Sea Camp Galapagos T-shirts- love the artwork
Bags, Scuba do-rags and sock (more memories and fun dive items!)
Hours and hours of unbelievable scenery and wildlife from any of the decks on the boat
Land excursions that were amazing- marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, Galapagos tortoises and more!
Watching Andy surf waves on the Naval Basepoint on San Cristobal
Margo insisting that we paint- so happy to have contributed
A wonderful dinner in Santa Cruz- THANK YOU, Margo and Tom,
Clean laundry for the remainder of our trip
The new Aggressor backpacks that arrived after we returned home
The Aggressor water bottles, t-shirts and key chains that remind us of the fabulous trip
The thousands of photos from our cameras (Margo’s and Wayne’s too!)
The lycra socks we thought we lost that arrived in the mail thanks to Kids Sea Camp.
Making new (lifelong) friends that we hope to spend time with again!!!

Sincerely,

Janel

This was my first experience snorkeling and I LOVED it!

You were extremely helpful with all your advice before we got there. As non-divers, Andre and I were clueless as to what was involved.I also wanted to thank you for the whole Kids Sea Camp experience. Annalise had the time of her life. She was all smiles every day. What a gift you have provided for these kids and their parents! She is now certified and waiting for her next chance to dive.

Andre and I brought along books to read thinking there wouldn’t be much for us. We ended up reading only a little bit, mostly to be in the comfy hammocks! We went snorkeling off the snorkel boat almost every day. This was my first experience snorkeling and I LOVED it! Andre also took a Discover Dive one morning and really enjoyed it. He’s thinking about getting certified so he can dive with Annelise. Ron Rogest was very nice and gave me a quick instruction on diving… snorkeling with the dive equipment. It isn’t for me but I’m glad I tried it.

Margo, thank you for providing this opportunity. You have done a fantastic job finding a beautiful setting and a place that catered to divers and non-divers with a great staff!

Many thanks, Cathy

Teen Divers at Kids Sea Camp Grand Cayman

Teen Divers love Kids Sea Camp

Hello again, my fellow teen divers. I come to you now with information on another Kids Sea Camp: Grand Cayman. This was my first time on Grand Cayman, and I have to say, it was a really fun week. It was a totally different experience than Bonaire or Fiji (the other two Kids Sea Camps I have been to). But Grand Cayman was different in a good way, so don’t think it’s a bad thing.

Grand Cayman, Kids Sea Camp, teens and diving Grand Cayman was mainly different because the program is totally different than your average Kids Sea Camp. There was no teen diver program where you just go on the boat and dive. There are three different groups offered for teens at Kids Sea Camp Grand Cayman. You can do the Junior Open Water program, where you become a certified diver. There is also the Advanced Open Water program, where you take your diving one level up from your regular Open Water Certification. The AOW program requires that you do dives such as a night dive, navigation dive, scooter dive, etc. Finally, there is the Photo/Scooter program (what I did, and for the record, it rocked). That is where you get your DPV (Diver Propulsion Vehicle, or Underwater Scooter) specialty as well as your Digital Underwater Photography specialty.

All three of these groups do require a little bit of work (I know’ it’s summer, who wants to work?), but it isn’t too bad. The JOW and the AOW groups require more work than the Photo/Scooter group, but it still isn’t that much. Using the DPVs was so much fun. When you are on the DPV, you feel like you are flying underwater. You get to see so much more, and you use a lot less air and energy. You also get a Reefmaster Mini camera in this group. It is a small, 6MP camera, and even though the camera cannot come out of the housing, it works underwater and on land. And the pictures come out really well. In order to get the AOW certification or the two specialties, you have to be twelve years old. So, sorry to all you pre-teens. All the groups take a photo editing clinic, where we use iPhoto on MacBooks to edit our photos to make them even better. So then you can put your photos on Facebook, MySpace, or print them out to show your family.

Grand Cayman is a fun island all the time, even when you are not diving. We go to the Turtle Farm for a day, which has a lot of fun stuff to do. You can also hang out at the famous Seven Mile Beach (which, for the record, is now five and a half miles long). And to all of you skateboarders and surfers, Grand Cayman is home to the second largest skate and surf park in the world, but there is no time to go there during the week. While in Grand Cayman, I highly recommend you try some Tortuga Rum Cake (parents, it isn’t that much rum, so don’t worry. And to the teens, Pirates of the Caribbean had to get the name Tortuga somewhere). It is very good and is served once a week at the hotel after dinner. The main town and capital of Grand Cayman is Georgetown. There is a lot of stuff for any type of teenager to do there. There is shopping, movie theaters, restaurants, basically anything American teenagers are into. Be warned, stores close at 5 PM on Grand Cayman.

During the week, we stay at Cobalt Coast resort, located at West End of Grand Cayman. It is about a 30-minute drive to town from the resort, but the hotel is right by the Turtle Farm, as well as The Cracked Conch (pronounced Konk), a very good restaurant I recommend eating at. Located in Cobalt Coast is Dive Tech, the dive center you will be diving with.

Like Bonaire, Grand Cayman is a great place for all types of divers. The water is clear, calm, and warm, and there are no jellyfish (at least there weren’t any when I was there, but I was told they are very rare in Grand Cayman). There is a lot of fish and coral, so it is a great place to get some good pictures of sea life, as well as your friends underwater.

You can tell your parents there is plenty for them to do as well. There are spas, shopping, and they can take a tour of the Tortuga Rum factory. So everyone will have a good time at Kids Sea Camp Grand Cayman.

Article by Ryan Seltz

Curacao or bust

Relaxation and diving at Kids Sea Camp

Ed and I were a little worried about taking the same exact vacation we did last year. Especially since we had such a good time in Curacao and we didn’t want to jinx ourselves. But our worries were put to rest after the first day back at Kids Sea Camp. We fell right back into our routine of relaxation and diving. Everything was so organized that all we had to worry about was when to get out of the pool to have dinner.

Ben and Jason seemed to have even more fun this year because they knew the routine and some of the same great teachers were still a part of the program. Ben and Jason also came back each day with a new fact about sea life that they were very excited about. I think what made our week so successful was that the children were having as much fun as we were! We didn’t feel guilty about diving each day, because we knew they were in good hands and having a blast. After spending all day with their friends, at 4:30 pm when we picked them up at the pool, they just wanted to stay in the pool and play. I don’t think there was one minute of the whole week that they were bored.

Our diving experience was a pleasant surprise too, we had different Dive Masters than last year, and we didn’t think they could live up to our experience with Remy and Sherman the year before. Chili and Raoul took over where Remy and Sherman left off. They arranged a visit to the other side of the island to “Mushroom Forest” for our last day of diving. Those two dives were the “icing on the cake” for the whole week. We saw a small sea turtle that seemed to stay with our group forever, and we saw an 8 ft. Nurse shark sleeping under the coral. At our surface interval, they took us to this cool cave that we all snorkeled to and I felt like I was taken back in time.

We also saw a school of squid on the way back to the boat. The small things that the Dive Masters and Captain did during the week were very much appreciated. Louis, the Captain took us on a Harbor Tour during a surface interval, we got to see a huge ship in a Dry Dock getting repaired. We learned some History of the Island too. Louis also arranged for a special treat of Raisin bread one day and Raoul brought coconuts for us to drink from for a surface interval. Everyone on our boat got along so well and it was like a small family at the end of the week saying goodbye.

So overall we were very happy we decided to come back to Kids Sea Camp on Curacao. We are even talking about coming back next year with Ed’s brother and his family.

Thanks again for all you have done to make Kids Sea Camp so special!

Wegryn Parents, Scuba Mom and Dad

Kids Sea Camp and Sea lions

Meeting Chee-Chee the Sea lion at Kids Sea Camp

My name is Melissa, and I have been going to Kid’s Sea Camp for 3 years. Some of my favorite things about Kids Sea Camp is scuba diving, the dolphins, the treasure hunt, stingrays, pizza & movie night, Chee-Chee the sea lion, and the ostrich farm. Two things I like about scuba diving are when you are 10 or older, you can get certified, and if you are younger, you can still try it.

My favorite things about the dolphins are that you go in groups of 5 and swim with them! Cool! They also take a picture of the dolphin kissing you. Last year I used my picture of the dolphin and me as a Christmas card! The treasure hunt was cool because if you collect so many coins you get a bigger and bigger prize — (and you get to keep the coins)!

What I think you might like about the stingrays are we get to walk in a tank with them barefoot and they tickle your feet. You also get to feed them by hand!

Chee-Chee the sea lion is special because whenever you are sad you can go to his pool and talk to him. Also, he does tricks for you. FUN!

The best thing about the ostriches is that you can SIT ON THEM. Also, you can hold the baby ones.

I have had a lot of FUN at Kids Sea Camp!

Melissa – PADI Seal Team

Dear Kids Sea Camp

We would like to book the same week and same room if possible for next year!

We enjoyed Kids Sea Camp very much!!! I can not think of another place where the parents can dive every day and their children are having a better time than they are!

We felt that the resort was nice. It lacks a good restaurant, and the front desk staff is not always pleasant but the room makes up for these inconveniences. The room was huge and was very comfortable for our family of 5 for the week. The view was the best part! We were lucky enough to look over the dolphin pool and the ocean. It made for wonderful early mornings watching the dolphins play and listening to the ocean waves.

The camp counselors were top notch, it is very obvious that they love working with children. Jordan and Susanne had an amazing time at camp and learned a lot about the ocean, coral reefs and the other fish and animals that live there. They both loved learning SASSY. I would like to see KSC increase the number of Sassy units available so each child could participate in Sassy each day. Susanne said her favorite activities were the swimming pool and doing Sassy. Jordan said his favorite activities were the games and doing Sassy. Kyle really enjoyed diving, scaring his mother to death, and feeding the sharks and rays at the Sea Aquarium.

Please tell Margo thank you for us for offering such a wonderful camp and diving opportunity. Her hard work is very evident. We really had a great time and are looking forward to going back to Curacao next year!

Thanks for the opportunity to share our ideas and experiences with you.

Deanna & Ben Bernstein

Kids Sea Camp is the best

Dear Margo,

Thanks for the E-Mail, it is really appreciated. My wife and I had a great time this year but our grandson had a fantastic time once again at camp. He enjoyed all the activities during the week and met some of the same children from last year as well as the new ones this year in the first week. Michael really enjoyed sharing his camp time with the Sea Lions. The interaction he was able to have with these Sea Lions and pictures he has with them and himself will be cherished for years to come. The accommodations at the Royal Resort were topnotch.

The Lions Dive Hotel last year was nice but the Royal Resorts, being a newer facility, just made the stay at camp and in Curacao that much more pleasant. Michael has already been asking about going back again next year. Would you please advise me when we can sign up for Sea Camp in Curacao.

Thank you again for your assistance for this year’s camp and making the last minute changes for me again. Your kindness is truly appreciated. Hope to hear from you at your earliest convenience.

Warmest Regards,
Mike Bergmeister

From My Perspective as a Parent

Kids Sea Camp from a parent’s perspective

We got to Curacao early to spend a little time getting used to the place. My kids, although avid swimmers, had never really felt comfortable in the ocean. Sea Camp changed everything. The first day in Curacao, my kids wouldn’t go past where they couldn’t touch the bottom of the water. By day two, they were swimming the channel with local kids, back and forth. I was thrilled.

Jaws didn’t help my love of diving

I had spent my whole childhood enjoying the ocean and had always watched Jacques Cousteau and had even got to go to some of his lectures through Cal Tech in California, but after seeing Jaws, I was terrified of getting eaten. Years later, after a really wonderful impromptu snorkeling shark experience with about 50 wonderful leopard sharks, I finally became a SCUBA diver, Rescue diver and then a Divemaster. I finally realized many of my dreams of interaction, observation and the amazing feeling of being in what I think is heaven, that SCUBA Diving has to offer. Well, I thought my kids would never see it that way. They were always nervous because of the shark movies they’d seen, whether we were snorkeling or kayaking. Those days are over now.

Family loving diving

My son, who really had an aversion to studying, read his SCUBA certification book nightly with an enthusiasm I had never seen. He worked hard, and his instructor, Steve, worked with those kids in amazing ways. Every day, I saw a personal and intellectual growth in both kids, that I could never have imagined. The best part is, they were just having fun and had no idea what huge obstacles they were overcoming from what I knew of them in the past.

I have to say, that the most exciting day for me and my husband was the day we dove with them for the first time. I dove with Megan, as she wasn’t old enough for open water certification but got her confined water certification.

Kids Sea Camp our Aquarium

She actually showed me around the “In Ocean Aquarium” and knew what animals hung out where what their personalities and tendencies were and how to interact with them. She took me to all the different areas so that I could experience all her new friends: The friendly stingrays, the enormous Jew Fish, and the Blow Fish who just loved to hover right in front of your mask all the time. We laughed and giggled underwater at all their personalities as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She monitored me and my air as if she had to make sure I would be OK in her newly found playground. It was great!!!

My husband went with Micheal on his open water dive. My son had done it. He was certified. He could go out off of the rocks with his equipment, make good decisions about the current and depth, was really good at buoyancy, and was a natural at looking out for others. There he was in the open ocean, loving and appreciating it’s vast amazing beauty with respect and awe, just as I had always dreamed he would get to do. He’s always been like me, feeling close to animals and nature. I used to try and describe to the kids the amazing and beautiful experiences I’ve had as a diver, how it feels to lay on the sandy ocean floor and look up through the kelp with the sun shining through, how it feels to play copycat with the sea lions and the things to do and not to do so that you can enjoy being a guest in their world. Now when I and Micael talk about it, he gets that same look, that one only divers know and share.

Saving for Kids Sea Camp, instead of Christmas

This wasn’t something available when I was a child. We could only watch that occasional Jacques Cousteau special and dream of what it might be like. But now, both I and my children have a world of exploration, beauty, and heaven to explore together. It would be impossible to describe the feeling, as a parent, that I have, every time I think about the joy on their faces at their own accomplishment, and at the relationships, both human and animal that they developed through Kids Sea Camp. We’re going again, for two weeks, to do different programs. My kids, who love piles of presents under the tree, were ecstatic when I asked them if it was OK if we did a really small Christmas so that we could go to Kids Sea Camp instead.

The gift that keeps on giving

Nothing in the world has given them what Sea Camp gave them, and we are so fortunate that we have the opportunity in today’s world to give our kids this gift that will start them on a path that will last a lifetime. I am so grateful to Margo for having this dream for her and her kids and making this program a reality for those of us who see the great value in it but never really thought it was a possibility. Not only is it a fun thing to do, but it makes a huge change in the children and the parents who have done this. Our lives will never be the same and we have been truly blessed by the experience.

Gloria Fontenot (parent Micheal and Megan Marshall) 2003 KSC Curacao

Dear Kids Sea Camp, Thank You

Kids Sea Camp a single mom’s solution

Last winter, as I was beginning to plan my annual summer dive trip, I encountered some roadblocks. As a single divorced mother of an eight-year-old boy, I had the problem of making sure he would be cared for, while I was away. His father recently moved out of state and was inaccessible. My parents, 74 and 84, offered to watch my son, but admitted it was becoming more difficult to entertain an active boy for an entire week…especially with no other kids in the neighborhood to play with. When I logged onto the Kids Sea Camp website, I immediately contacted Margo. I soon received the information packet and knew that I had found the solution to my problem.

When I go on a dive trip, I dive….as much as I can. For me, it’s a once a year endeavor that I literally submerge myself in. How could I be a mother and dive at the same time? I decided that attending Kids Sea Camp would provide the answer. By week’s end, I had logged thirteen dives, made friends with several other divers and had quality vacation time with my son. While I was diving, my son had great instruction with well planned daily activities. He was well cared for and made friends while at KSC. The additional bonus to KSC Curacao was having access to the Curacao Sea Aquarium and the dolphin interactions at Dolphin Academy.

Kathleen Durig and Kelvin Durig Buerkle, 8

My Thoughts as a Mom on Seacamp!

Kids Sea Camp vacation money well spent

I had been debating on whether to put down my deposit for the 2005 Kids Sea Camp in Curacao. We couldn’t decide whether we wanted to try a new location or take a year off. But after speaking with Emily at Caribbean Adventures/formerly of Kids Sea Camp, and found out what a special alumni week they had planned for us “oldtimers” how could I not put in our reservations!

We had such a wonderful time at Curacao last year, we had learned from our first year that one week was not enough and we signed up for a two-week stay. We enrolled our daughter, Corley, in the Dolphin Training Program the first week. It was such an incredible experience watching as she put “her” dolphin, Teresa, thru her paces. The way those beautiful animals interact with people is so amazing. I highly recommend any family going to camp, take time to have their own dolphin swim. My swim will always be a treasured memory. Our second week of camp was the diving week. Corley began her junior open-water certification. Getting to dive with her on the final day on the Tugboat dive was such a thrill, seeing how she had learned to operate her equipment and be a responsible diver made me realize what a wonderful teaching crew they have from Ocean Encounters. All these experiences and so many more from taking a day trip to Klein Curacao, diving the Mushroom Forest, meeting new friends and renewing friendships made the year before, and of course golfing with Nolo makes it easy to come back.

On another note, it’s amazing what a small world we live in. Part of our vacation plans was to bring my older daughter, Sara along with us. She was certified 6 months before she was sent overseas to do a tour in Afghanistan and then Iraq, and she had never gotten to dive into the ocean yet. While we were waiting for her to arrive, my husband, Jon overheard a diver talking about her dive buddy who was a paratrooper. Sara is a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division, and of course, it made me curious. I introduced myself to him and asked where he was stationed, to make a long story short, his name was Rick MacIntosh and he and Sara had been in Ramadi, Iraq together. This made for quite a reunion later that week when she arrived and an interesting “you’ll never guess who I ran into while on vacation” story. The beautiful waters of Curacao made for a very memorable first ocean dive experience for her and she now understands why we are so hooked on Kidsseacamp!

Trish Worthman (daughter Corley Clark age 11)
Alliance, Nebraska