CUSTOMER CORNER

Welcome to the Customer Corner Page.  On this page you will find an assortment of customer comments and feedback related to Tortuga Bay or their personal experiences. 

Please feel free to submit any comments you might have.

 

SUBMITTED BY BRIAN AND TINA CAMPBELL.  JUNE 16, 2008

I wanted to follow up and provide you my feedback on my experience with Tortuga Bay and my instruction.  This is on behalf of myself and my wife Tina who participated along with me.  Additionally, I am a former co-worker of Tom Williams who recommended me to you.  Our instructor was Gerhard Morell.

To put it simply, we could not have been more thrilled with our experience with him and Tortuga Bay.  While we spent most of our lives in Florida and swimming, nothing quite prepares you for the unique experience of scuba diving.

The first dip under the water in the pool is the most apprehensive moment and learning to take that first breath is a huge leap of faith.  Without an instructor that is attentive, apathetic, and patient; it can be a daunting experience.  Gerhard was all of those things and more.  He took us along at our pace – not his – and got us to a point of comfort and trust.  From that point on, not only did he win our trust but he ensured that we enjoyed our pool training experience.  Additionally, Gerhard was flexible with his time and willing to spend as much time as we needed to get comfortable and accomplish our test goals.  If any time we felt we were uncomfortable, he was more than willing to take the time to ease us through thing until both he and we felt comfortable with our skill level.  Even after our pool certification, he was willing to guide us through a “refresher” before our open water certification because 2 months had passed.  That time was both useful and appreciated.

Gerhard and Kris Diehl instructed us at the Blue Hole.  Needless to say, both Gerhard and Kris demonstrated the same level of attentiveness, encouragement, and instruction that we encountered during our pool certification.  In all actuality, they exceeded what we had come to expect.

Both Tina and I experienced a few difficulties on that trip.  On our first dive, I encountered severe buoyancy issues and I lost my weight belt (despite my strict orders NOT to lose the weight belt in the Blue Hole J ).  Gerhard was patient enough to retrieve the belt; however, that put us behind the class.  Gerhard took the time during our lunch to make sure that Tina and I got caught up on the skills we missed.  During that session, Tina lost her neutral buoyancy while we were taking a tour around the Hole.  She sank abruptly yet she thought that Gerhard and I had surfaced – all in a matter of moments.  Gerhard quickly retrieved her and we surfaced.  When Tina discovered she went down to about 55 feet when we were supposed to be at ~20 feet – this severely shook her up and unnerved her.  While not a highlight moment for us, both Gerhard and Kris excelled at helping Tina through this.  Any scare at the outset of any new endeavor can put turn a person away forever.  Once Tina surfaced and realized how far she dropped – she was rattled realizing how quickly things can happen.  Gerhard and Kris coached her through what happened.  They shared their own stories from the Blue Hole that were similar and took the time to make sure that she felt comfortable to move forward.

Above and beyond all things they taught us both that things happen while under water and that you should 1) always remain calm & breath & 2) problem solve with safety always first and foremost.

I had an issue with my mask removal where I panicked and nearly surfaced.  Learning the lesson I had learned from them, I focused on my breathing to calm myself and then cleared properly.  Their instruction and encouragement from Tina’s experience kept me underneath the water for the extra moment that helped me see it through and overcome the panic and fear.

And through it all…we had fun! 

We are several weeks away from our first Caribbean dive.  Our excitement is as high as it first was when we first went to the pool.  While there are some nerves for our first ocean dive, both Tina and I learned all too well from Gerhard and Kris that issues come up and that can be dealt with effectively with calmness.  Not only did they teach us that but they instilled that in us through our actions and that has given us the confidence to keep going.

I’m sorry for the lengthy email but with all the challenges and the minor issues we encountered, we have so much enthusiasm for scuba diving and much of that is due to both Gerhard and Kris.   If Tina and I continue with our instruction, we will certainly consult Tortuga Bay first.  We will also continue to monitor the trips that Gerhard is taking people on as we would very much enjoy going on an ocean dive with him.

Best Regards,

Brian & Tina Campbell

 

 

Cozumel

April 2008

Liz and Allison Mock-Murphy
Hi Ron,
Just wanted to send you a picture from our trip.  We had a great time!  Loved everybody at Hotel Cozumel (I tipped really well the first day and was treated like royalty for the rest of our stay)  Trying to get to and from the airport was the only part that wasn’t seamless.  We were shuffled to the “time-share-sellers” thinking this was our taxi to the hotel..... They are sooooo slick!  Then trying to get back to the airport the Hotel didn’t know anything about our voucher, so we were a little worried during our taxi ride.  Once we got there all was well as they had us on a list and we had a piece of paper that our van driver had given us on the way in.

The diving was great!  Visibility wasn’t as stellar as it was the last time we were there, but still.... It was fabulous!  Such nice people, those divers......  We talked to quite a few who were worldwide divers like yourself and they all said that Cozumel was one of the best in the world.  That was surprising to hear!  The pool at the hotel was very nice and they had things going on all day like water polo, volleyball, kids activities and so on.  

We rented a car and drove around the island stopping at beaches and little beachside bars.  Saw some ruins.  The car was worth it and was still only $55 for the day plus about $10-15 in gas.

Thanks for recommending the trip.  We were so glad that it worked out. Our  trip to Hawaii this summer has been cancelled.  We were supposed to fly ATA who just declared bankruptcy and cancelled all flights.  Thank goodness it was early enough that we weren’t tied into a condo and such.

See you soon,
Liz

 

New Advanced and Rescue Divers in January 2008

January 2008 the diving world gained 4 new PADI Advanced Open Water Divers and 2 PADI Rescue Divers.   Advanced Open Water Divers included Kristin Miller, Mike Dinkle, Nicholas Fox and Camillo (Mo) DiLizia.  Mo additionally completed his open water requirements, along with Stephanie Druva earning them thier Rescue certification.  The instructors for these courses were Jeremy Bland (advanced) and James Maple (rescue).

Kristin, Mike and Nick being briefed A happy Kristin Mo and Kristin A proud Instructor
 
New PADI Rescue Diver Stephanie Druva

From: CASSANDRA BIGLEY
Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2007 12:48 AM
To: jeremy@tortugabay.net
Subject: Nathan, Cassie, Xavier and Cyrus 1st scuba experience

  We just wanted to drop you a quick note of appreciation for a great first experience with scuba diving.  Jim was an excellent instructor, he was friendly, patient, safety conscious, and helped to make our kids feel comfortable with the equipment and in the water.  We look forward to coming back for our pool training once our academic portion is complete!  

Once again thank you and we will see you soon. 

The Bigleys

 

We just got back from our trip and we did not drown so I guess you taught us well!  We actually had a great time and still felt very comfortable after our certification at the Blue Hole.  We’d like to go back down there again, so let us know if you’ll be heading back down there this summer. 

Thanks, 

Joshua & Jennifer Stengel

 


Subject: Thank you so much 

Dear Jeremy,

thank you so much for letting me do a dive at the Blue hole on Monday. You were incredible. I just wanted to thank you so much for spending time with me and taking personal care of me during the dive. I felt so comfortable at your side. My daughter Jessie told me later that she felt the same way during her dive. You are an incredible person and teacher. I  think you training is better than the one at Beaver divers. I was very impressed how you handled and taught all the College kids. If we have an future diving needs we will look you up first. You are a wonderful person. Take care of your wonderful family. I am sending you a little thank you via paypal. Take your wife for dinner. Hugs Andrea Bishop

PS if you don't get it please let me know, than I will do some checking.