How to begin your quest to become a diver?

1. Using internet, google "scuba diving in singapore". This is probably one way you have found this website.
   
   
   
2. Email to dive centres and ask in detail what the course entails and the fees involved. Active dive centres should reply in one to two days time unless they are away diving.
   
   
• Orpheus Dive has designed many packages to cater to divers with different budgets.
  
  
• Selecting the appropriate package is crucial to your needs and demands as a diver.
  
  
• We are the only dive centre in Singapore that offers a 1 to 1 personal trainer course for students who requires personal attention from one single instructor.
  
  
• All prices published on our website are the final prices with no other hidden cost incurred by the consumer.
  
  
  
3. Please take note that the best method to contact dive centres is to call them followed by an email expressing your interest. DO NOT TAKE WHAT IS PUBLISHED ON THE WEBSITE AS FINAL. Most dive centres in Singapore rarely update their website.

Commitment to safer dive training and overall safety

1. Once you have selected the dive centre of your choice based on your budget, pay a visit to the dive centre and request to see their training equipment. A good dive centre will not reject this request as it shows their commitment level to diving.
   
   
   • Proper dive centres will make it a point to maintain their training equipment in tip-top condition. Orpheus Dive has a quarterly internal audit of all training equipment to ensure each of our equipment is in proper working order.
     
     
2. Divers-to-be: In Singapore, there are a lot of dive centres that rent equipment from third parties - which means that they will not be able to ensure the quality of rental equipment. Excuses such as “we have another showroom or storage” are simply an excuse not to show you their training equipment. Only a few dive centres in Singapore DO indeed have a storage separate from their dive centre and they are mainly PADI 5 Star IDC Centres and PADI 5 Star Dive Centres. Another method is to take note of the training equipment that they have during your confined water session (Pool Training) and take a look at the rental tag.
   
   
• Orpheus Dive maintains its own 40 sets of Icaro backplate BCDs and a mixture of Seac Sub, Scubapro and Apeks training regulators. Most equipments are serviced quarterly to ensure the safety level of the equipment.
  
  
3. Ask the dive centre to allow you to inspect their emergency supplies such as their First Aid Kit and First Aid Oxygen supplies.
   
   
   • For any dive centres who publish themselves to be a PADI Dive Centre, please TAKE NOTE that owning first aid kit and oxygen kit is mandatory. Orpheus Dive maintains both emergency devices in waterproof Pelican cases to ensure that emergency kits are well maintained and protected from the harsh environment of scuba diving.
     
     
   • Our DAN O2 kit is serviced annually and the air is filled up whenever it is being used or once in every three months.
     
     
   • Our First Aid kit is replenished on a weekly basis to ensure that the medical supplies are sufficient
   
   
4. Any dive operation that has been in business long enough will possess an EAP - Emergency Assistance Plan or Emergency Action Plan or Evacuation Action Plan. Each dive operation will have a copy of this. If you are uncertain in an event of emergency, what action plan is taken, you as a consumer can request for this information from the dive centre.
   
   

• As a PADI 5 Star IDC, Orpheus Dive DOES maintain such a document. However, we are not able to circulate this document via email as this is also an assignment for PADI Divemasters and PADI Rescue Divers. Consumers can however request to view them in the premises of the shop.
  
  
• Each PADI Professional of Orpheus Dive DOES HAVE a copy of this document which they bring along with them on each dive trip.
  
  
1. 1 or 2 person(s) usually operates most dive centres in Singapore. Instructors are usually freelancers. Check with the dive centre the active level of such instructors before committing to the course. The more active the instructor, the more experienced he/she will be, thus taking better care of students.
   
   
• Orpheus Dive has only 2 fulltime staff. Manager Lester Kwok and PADI Instructor Chu Wen Seang. The rest of the instructors and crew are all freelancers. However, Orpheus Dive only use instructors and divemasters that are trained by us. For detailed information,
  please visit our crew page to see each crew individual training experience, dive experience and training records.
  
  
• Orpheus Dive crew are also checked for their rescue skills annually to ensure that their rescue skills are up to date.
  
  
2. Check with the dive centre on the instructor-to-students ratio.
   
   
• Orpheus Dive maintains a 1 instructor to 5 students ratio in both confined water and open water training. We do offer 1 instructor to 1 student packages as well, to ensure the safety and experience level of students. Most dive centres MAY published similar ratio, however,
  if you find during your course that the ratios are not according to what was published, there are regulatory bodies in Singapore that you can approach for assistance.
  
  
3. How safe are the courses and how is it conducted?
   
   
• Orpheus Dive is a PADI 5 Star IDC Facility. We are NOT in the position to give out information on how other diving agencies conduct their training. However, we can advise divers on how PADI Courses should be conducted. Please download this evaluation form when you attend a dive course. This form serves as an outline on how a typical PADI Open Water Diver course SHOULD ideally be conducted. Any deviation from it IS NOT ACCEPTABLE and VIOLATES PADI Standards.
  
  
4. Is it possible to ask for extra training?
   
   
   • Of course you can. Depending on dive centre to dive centre, there might be extra cost involved. If you are not confident during your confined water training (pool training), NEVER TAKE THE RISK to venture to Open Water Training (Open Sea Training).
     
     
   • Orpheus Dive charges $50 for each extra pool. We have instructors who can communicate and conduct courses in Cantonese, Hokkien, English of course, Korean / Japanese / Malay (available in Perhentian Islands only), Dutch and Afrikaans.
     
     
5. Classroom Facilities and Location
   

• As diver education is our main bulk of business, ensuring that we have the right facilities is a very important part of our business. Unlike most dive centres that conduct their classes in make shift classes or "classes" equipped with only a sofa - and usual excuse is because they want a cosy hangout place - many dive centres are not properly equipped with the right classroom facilities.
  
  
• Our classes are equipped with multimedia computer, DVD player and surround sound system linked to a projector with a 40" screen for students' comfort. Some dive centres to date, are still not properly equipped (for example, viewing of videos/presentations on a 14" monitor or TV), which may not be ideal for a comfortable learning experience for students.
  
  
• Orpheus Dive is also conveniently located in the heart of city with many good food joints around. To get to Orpheus Dive, you can come by TAXI, MRT (Bugis ) or by many SBS buses.

Commitment to Dive Business and Services in Singapore

1. Dive courses, NOT products but Services.
   
   
   • Unlike many dive centres that sell courses as a product, Orpheus Dive takes a different approach. With a wide diversity of PADI training and courses, each course and training CAN BE CUSTOMISED to suit the needs of each diver or diver-to-be. We listen to your needs and advise you accordingly to what you really need.
     
     
   • Orpheus Dive understands that not everyone is created equal. Every customer deserves the best and it is our privilege to be in the position to advice you with what you need. We try our best to give unbiased advice, advice that we as customers would like to receive too.
     
     
     
2. Orpheus Dive as a Dive Centre
   
   
   • All PADI Dive centres MUST SUPPORT the diving community based on the following
     Education, Equipment and Experience.
     
     
   • Education - Dive centres must be able to provide all level of training to consumers. Orpheus Dive - a PADI 5 Star IDC - is committed to diver education and we provide most levels of pre-entry training to Instructor Level training. We are also the first and ONLY dive centre in Singapore that has taken the initiative to promote Master Scuba Diver training here in Singapore. Believing that safety of a diver begins with proper training, we have dedicated our time, money and effort to promoting the Master Scuba Diver Challenge right here in Singapore. For more information, please visit our website at www.master-scubadiver.com
     
     
   • Equipment - A PADI Dive centre must be able to cater to the diving industry with Equipment Sales, Equipment Rental and Equipment Servicing. However, Orpheus Dive is not as well established in Singapore in terms of dive retail. Our focus has always been on diver training. However, knowing this shortcoming, Orpheus Dive has chosen to work with an established retail dive outlet - Richmond Dive Supplies - for all Singaporean diving needs. Richmond Dive Supplies is the distributor for Scubapro products, Problue, Uwatec, Underwater Kinetics, Trident Dive Supplies, Aeroskin, Spareair and Dive Alert.
     
     
   • Experience - also known as Dive Travel - a PADI Dive centre must be able to provide such services to the local diving community. We are currently building more exotic diving destinations and obtaining field reports to educate our divers. We are diving beyond the waters of West Malaysia and we are bringing our divers to more exotic diving destinations such as Raja Ampat, Solomon Islands etc.
     
     
     
3. Why Orpheus Dive?
   
   
   • While it is true that Orpheus Dive prices are not the cheapest in the market, we do make an effort to give back to the diving community.
     
     
   • Eurydice Member is the child diver loyalty program of founder Lester. Believing that safety of divers begins with training, the Eurydice card is targetted at divers who take their life seriously while building an interest in diving. With the Eurydice card, returning customers pay for "cheap courses". This is to encourage divers to dive more and learn more.
     
     
   • Eurydice members are also entitled to discounts for both diving equipment and 10% off most dive travel. Another reason to become a Eurydice Member. The more a diver dives, the more comfortable they become.
     
     
   • Do we make money from selling courses, trips and equipment so cheap? Unlike many dive centres that SELLS VIRTUALLY everything cheap and are not even making enough to pay bills, Orpheus Dive adopts a very different marketing approach. Building a concrete and sincere relationship with our divers is the winning formula. We hear, receive (constructive) feedback and learn from it, and in return, constantly reinvent the way we do business to benefit both consumers and ourselves as a dive operator. When divers are happy diving with us, their word of mouth is our best form of advertising in attracting new divers to dive. This brings more revenue to us then trying to charge ONLY HIGH PRICES with no return of investment.
     
     
   • Our divers' recommendation: our advertising tool. Our friend: our marketing agents.
     This is what we believe in :)And plus it's the best compiment that our divers can give us!

Dive Pratices and Overall Summary

1. Is Singapore the best and cheapest place in Asia to learn diving?
   
   
   • If anyone tells you otherwise, they are probably lying. See below for a chart comparison for a typical PADI Open Water Diver course

1. Singapore is the lowest? How do dive centres survive?
   
   

• Good question. Many Singapore dive centres hardly survive as consumers here are very cost savvy. This is why each dive centre located in Singapore has to find their unique selling point to stay competitive. While many dive centres have taken the easier way by cutting corners and jeopardizing the safety of divers-to-be, thus trying to increase their profits, Orpheus Dive tries to take a different approach by selling services and products that are specially selected and catered to local diving needs as well as individual diver needs.

At Orpheus Dive, we believe in doing business out of the box by returning to the reason why we started diving. Listening to what you as a diver needs and anticipating what you as a diver expects. Then we simply provide. Thank you for taking the time to read this page. We hope that you find a dive centre that you enjoy diving with after reading this simple guide.

Dive safely and DO NOT STOP LEARNING.