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Dive Review of Ed Robinson in
Hawaii/Maui- Kihei

Ed Robinson: "Buyout with Prodiver Resulted in a Watered Down Product", Jan, 2020,

by Francis Loncar, WI, US (Contributor Contributor 13 reports with 6 Helpful votes). Report 11472 has 3 Helpful votes.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations N/A Food N/A
Service and Attitude N/A Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 2 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 1 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 1 stars
Comments I had dove with ERDA previously, so when my wife wanted to go to Hawaii, we settled on Maui, as I felt this would be a good experience for my son to get his AOW. The highlight of the trip was he completed his AOW and got some dives to hone his skills. Most of the rest of the trip was disappointing. One thing to note is that the crew on both boats were competent, friendly and hard working. The decline is mainly from the operational choices by the owners.

For a late Dec/early Jan trip I had contacted ERDA in early Dec by phone a followed up with our dates via email. At that point I did not realize they had merged with Prodiver, which was causing many back office and scheduling issues. Once we got to Maui I learned they had merged with Prodiver, but was not able to visit the office before our 1st dive. On our 1st day of diving we arrived at the Kihei boat ramp, met some familiar faces fro the crew and then found out we were not on the manifest of either boat despite a confirmation email. Off to the office we went, only to find another set of disappointed divers. Eventually my son did 2 shore dives that day to start his AOW, and learned the problem was 2 scheduling systems and 3 email accounts were in use. Next day was also a bust since the boats were full and my son's 8 precious days of vacation were being frittered away.

Finally, after 3 days we were able to get on the boat and my son was able to complete his AOW, but now I learned how much things had been changed. ERDA had a range of dives with certain days reserved for experienced divers. Instead, the Prodiver Op now runs the boats with a range of divers, with the dive sites chosen for the least experienced divers on board. For example on an Adventure Dive day for experienced divers, a group of divers were included that had 4 or 5 dives to their experience. So instead of a deep wall dive, we had shallow reef dives, with one site that was visited 3 times in a week.

Suffice to say my experience with the Prodiver operation was disappointing compared to what they inherited. While they appear to offer some of the ERDA dives, the description has changed to a more watered-down version, and of course the obligatory "dive sites subject to change". While there is nothing wrong with Prodiver, they have become a clone of every other dive op in the area.
Websites Ed Robinson   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Kauai, Cozumel, Fla Keys, Wisconsin, Palau, Maui, Grand Cayman
Closest Airport OGG Getting There Direct flights from West Coast and some midwestern airports

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy Seas calm, choppy
Water Temp 79-81°F / 26-27°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 50-300 Ft/ 15-91 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile ?
Enforced diving restrictions Had to stay within sight of the Dive Guide.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 1 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Small water filled plastic drum for cameras. Staging table in the middle of the boat useful for placing cameras while gearing up.
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Report currently has 3 Helpful votes

Subscriber's Comments

By Ms Lynda Durfee in VA, US at Mar 26, 2021 17:00 EST  
I would have called other dive shops after the first screw-up day. There are other reputable dive shops. I always go with Lahaina Divers. See my reviews.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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