Frequently Asked Questions About PADI Dive Courses in Cebu

This section is dedicated to answer the most frequently asked questions about PADI Scuba Diving training in Cebu. If you cannot find your questions or concerns here? Don’t hesitate to ask us instead by using the form provided below for your convenience.

What is our value proposition?

Dive Funatics is committed to providing thorough and quality dive education, therefore, will make you a better and safety oriented diver after you train with us.

We have a relatively more spacous center, bigger and better facility, airconditioned classroom, bench and tables where you can enjoy unlimited coffee and water in between training dives compared to the other centers in our area.

Our owners are Course Director and a Master Instructor so all our courses are regularly audited to ensure that our courses and instructors adhere to the PADI Standards and Systems of Education by heart.

Our staff will welcome you and treat you like a long lost friend, a family member, and not just someone passing through.

We are locals, let locals show you the way. Experience first hand the hospitality that Filipinos are known for. Immerse in our culture of making our guests feel very important all the time.

Therefore, with Dive Funatics, you get more value for your money.

Why do we only teach PADI courses?

It is our choice to exclusively teach the PADI system of education and certify through PADI and not offer alternative course from another training agency for a lesser course fee or for a higher profit margin.

Over 30 million certifications issued, present in over 180 countries, with an astonishing 80% market share, we believe in the strong leadership that PADI is maintaining.  Their system of education has been proven superior by far compared to other training agencies offering nothing but price cuts.

Our instructors are following our footsteps too. None of our instructors are actively teaching for the other agencies despite the fact that as PADI Instructors, they can easily teach for other agencies for as easy as an administrative crossover.

Because of this dedication, we have trained extensively to gain the qualification to teach a very broad spectrum of PADI Courses compared to our competitors. We teach from basic and entry level courses all the way to instructor trainer level.

 

Why are we more expensive than the center next door?

People think that we are expensive simply because a couple of centers in the area where we operate are offering low ball prices. The reality is, now matter where you go, the average cost of PADI certification should be more than our course fees.

Other centers who cannot match our value proposition will simply offer cheaper prices, at wholesale rates to attract more people to sign-up courses and possibly cut corners. Here’s to illustrate the principle further.

Assuming that “Time” to do your course is the same as how other centers run the course, either “Cost” and “Quality” will have to give.

Our position has always been that your time is more valuable than gold, because of this, we do our best to be efficient with our courses just so you do not waste your precious vacation time. If you want quality courses, it will cost you a little more than what the others offer.

Said differently, if time is the same and if you go with less cost then logically, it follows that you will get inferior quality. In the perfect world, you want to choose all 3 advantages but in reality, you can only have 2 out of 3.

Do you still think that we are expensive?

 

Why is your Open Water Course conducted only for 2 days while others do it in more days?

Our center is situated in an area that enables us to do so. Our confined open water area is a few meters away from our door. There is no swimming out required to be in a chest deep water for the confined session.

Our open water sessions are also conducted a few meters away from where we conduct our confined water sessions.

This means that on day one, we can easily do confined open water training 1 and open water training dive 1, surface, get back in the water after an hour to finish off confined sessions 2 and 3. Surface for lunch break and be back for the open water dive after lunch.

2nd day is even a breeze, we just have to complete confined dives 4 & 5, rest, do open water dive 3, rest and open water dive 4 to compete the course. You should be done with your course around 2pm in general.

This is why we always insist in completing your eLearning, secure medical clearance (when required) before you come for your schedule training.

In the event that the 2 day of training is not enough, we offer remedial training days for a very minimal fee should you need it.

Where are we diving?

All our courses are conducted at Kontiki Reef, this is our adopted site, we dedicate our time cleaning and maintaing this site regularly.

This is a perfect training site for all levels as it offers gentle slopes for beginners, it has sandy bottoms to conduct skills development without destroying the environment, it offers various depths suitable for various training activities, and the site itself offers school of sardines encounter, occassional turtles, vast number of marine species including criters, molluscs among others.

Are your instructors good?

Yes, our instructors qualified and met the stringent requirements that PADI demanded before they earned the authority to conduct PADI programs and courses.

They went through a lengthy process to earn this coveted rating as a PADI Scuba Instructor. Last of which is the pass the 2-day Instructor Examination conducted by a PADI Instructor Examiner, an independent qualifier who works for PADI to ensure that the instructor candidates passed based on a global set of standards and criteria outlined by PADI.

Our center is one of a handful of centers autorized to conduct instructor development courses (IDC)  in Cebu. We do this about 6 times a year. When we have IDCs, our instructors get to participate in these sessions to so they are constantly refreshed with training and standard updates.

Our instructors never stop learning even if they have been in the industry for decades.

What is the minimum number of students that you entertain?

There is no minimum, we run courses for one student anytime for all courses, including professional courses such as Divemaster and Instructor Development.

How many students to instructor in a class?

Although PADI generally allows our instructors to run courses in the open water dive with up to 8 students, we ensure that our instructors will have ample qualified and certified teaching assistants to reduce the ratio down to 1:2.

When is your next schedule?

We are student centric, our booking system enables you to choose your own schedule. The only time that a date is not selectable is when we do not have any available instructors to run that course on that date.

Generally speaking, you dictate your own schedule, you do not need to get updated calendar of schedules from us.

Do I need to know how to swim?

It depends on the program or course. Discover Scuba diving doesn’t require you to demonstrate your ability to swim.

As for the open water diver course, you will be required to swim for 200m, or the option to swim for 300m using mask, snorkel and fins. Note, there is no requirement for specific form, or stroke or style, you just simply need to show us that you can move from point A to point B.

Do I need to tread water?

The requirement is to show that you can float for 10 minutes, not necessarily tread water, but just float, even if you lay on your back and not move. This meets the requirement for the course.

What is the minimum age to enroll in an Open Water Course

The minimum age requirement is 10 years old, under the PADI Junior Open Water Diver Course. 

Can my certified diver friends or family accompany the student in training?

Yes, We allow a certified diver to dive with the student diver in training ONLY on the 2nd day of training, not before.

Can I take my gopro with me. during training?

Generally, No. This is only allowed in Advanced OW and Specialty courses, and only after all the course preformance requirements are met – during the tour portion of the dive.

For programs like DSD, Scuba Diver, Open Water Diver courses, we have an option during booking where you can ask one of our dive professional (definitely not your instructor!) to use our camera and dive with you to capture your experience.  This way, you can stay focused on your training and less about trying to capture your experience all by yourself.

What packages do you offer?

Our most basic package is the budget, which includes everything that you need to get certified. Mainly, this package can have multiple students whom you would likely enjoy having the course together with.

There are also value add options to customize your package and the corresponding additional fees are also indicated and your running total is automatically recomputed everything you change these options.

Unless indicated in the options, the courses are conducted in consecutive days at the training site in Kontiki Reef.

What is an open water diver certification?

This certification is an entry level certification in the diving industry. During your training, we teach you have to develop fundamental skills that you will need in your future dives, how to manage known issues underwater, what to do in cases of emergencies, how to safely get in an out of the water, even basic details about the equipment that you will be using.

Earning this certification will qualify you to dive up to a maximum of 18 meters without the need to buddy up, or for an assistance of a dive professional like a divemaster or an instructor.

This certification is honored and accepted all over the world and yes, it is issued by PADI.

Can I take Advanced Open Water without taking the Open Water Course?

No. Open Water Courses teaches you to be a diver. All the basic and foundational skills are introduced and develop at this level (Open Water Diver), therefore, this is a requirement before you can enroll in the Advanced Open Water diver course.

Is dive insurance included?

No, diver accident insurance is not included in any of our courses, however, we partnered with Dive Assure to offer short term personal dive insurance while you are traveling.

Click here to find more information about their various insurance coverge.

Is accommodation included?

No, our courses do not include accommodation but we have a list of suggested options to suit your budget and preference. Send us a message so we can narrow down our list further.

What time does the training start?

Generally, our courses are scheduled to start around 9am the latest. However, there are courses which will start at noon time. Upon booking, you will also get an email with detailed information on what to do, where to go, and what time you need to come for your training.

This message will vary depending on the course(s) that you are signing up with us.

Do you offer hotel pick-up and drop-off?

Generally, no. However, pickup and drop-off may be included as an add-on, and this service comes free for our premium packages.

Are there any hidden fees, unexpected surprises?

No, our pricing is transparent.

Our booking system allows you to customize your booking based on your preferences by checking value added services like videos, wanting to rent a boat to go somewhere else, etc.

System also automatically reduces the cost for courses where you could already have your own complete PADI course materials.

How to book?

It is very easy and straight-forward.

Simply select the package that you are interested, click book and select your desired option (starting date of your course, number of participants, add-ons, etc). You will see that the overall pricing will automatically change as you make your selections.

You will also be presented with an option to either pay the course in full, or pay the downpayment.

Remember to provide the names, email addresses, certification number (if applicable) during the checkout process because our system will use these information to automatically initiate eLearning material assignment.

Shortly after successfully booking your course, you will receive confirmation emails, instructions, reminders and within an hour, you will receive an email from PADI directly with your access code and link to register your eLearning material.

Check your spam/junk folder from time to time as some of our emails may go there instead of in your inbox.

If you didn’t get any automated emails from us or materials, please reach out to us so we can either look into our system, or escalate with PADI customer services to look into the eLearning material assignment.

Do you teach in other languages?

At the moment, our in-house instructors can only teach primarily in English and a few major Filipino languages.

Please reach out to us should you need us to facilitate your course in the language that you prefer.

What are your payment options?

For the downpayment, our system can present payment options such as PayPal and Bank Transfer.

Your balance is due on the first day of your course, and it may be settled in Cash, PayPal, and Credit Card.

Credit card via a physical terminal payments will have a surcharge of 5% which we we do not primarily recommend as a primary option.

Do I need to pay down payment?

Yes, the downpayment is required because we will be using that payment to purchase your PADI eLearning training materials.

The materials are non-refundable and it will remain in your possession forever. Thus, downpayments are required and is NOT refundable.

Down payment is typically about 40% of your price fees, or in some cases, will be less or even more depending on the kind of course that you sign up for.

Is eLearning included in the package?

Yes, eLearning and other required course materials are already included in the package. Even the most basic package includes already the materials, the use of gear and everything else that you need to get certified.

Where are you located?

Our dive center is located inside Club Kontiki Resort, in Maribago, Lapulapu City, about 30 minutes away from Mactan Cebu International Airport by car.

Click here for the google map address location.

What does Go Pro mean?

Go Pro in the context of scuba diving is the career path to becoming a scuba diving professional starting with the PADI Divemaster rating.

Dive Funatics is authorized to conduct these professional courses for PADI from Divemaster all the way to Instructor Trainer or IDC Staff Instructor course.

How long does it take to be a dive pro?

There are certain pre-requisites that need to be met before taking professional courses, they vary depending on the level. However, to illustrate the most likely minimum training days to meet the course performance requirement are as follows:

Divemaster Course – 12 days

Instructor Development Course (IDC) – 12 days

IDC Staff Instructor Course – 2 days + Full IDC attendance

EFR Instructor Course – 1 day

Specialty Instructor Courses – 1 – 2 days

Resources

Some of our published stories and articles.

We are back in the water!

We are finally back to full operations after a series of unfortunate events happening in the last 2 years. Go visit us inside Kontiki Marina Resort, in Maribago, Lapulapu City, Cebu, Philippines or email us, we are very responsive to your inquiries.

Cebu Travel Guidelines

Your Guide to Traveling to Cebu as of February 2021 It's 2021 and the country is still in some form of lockdown. Different community quarantine rules apply per region and per city. To help you streamline your travel plans to Cebu, you may refer to the guide below....

Best to contact us through email so other team members can respond to you in case we are in the water running courses.

info@divefunatics.com

+639999981637

Inside Club Kontiki Resort, Maribago, Lapulapu City, Cebu, Philippines

Daily: 8am-5pm

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