Best Experience of my Life. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The trip I went on was an introductory trip to diving, sailing and Marine Biology. I already had my open water certification but I learned a lot in order to get my advanced certification. I also learned a lot about sailing and was able to get my International Yacht Certification. I learned a little bit about introductory Marine Biology in addition.

On-site administration of your program

On Saint Martin, where we flew into, there is a "home base" which Broadreach calls the Pad. There are ample supplies of dive gear, food and first aid gear. The boats can come back to the pad if a problem occurs. The instructors at the Pad were very friendly and the beach by the Pad provided many fun memories with my boat matesd.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I loved living on a boat. The boat was really nice and sleeping outside was so much fun. When it rained the cabins were also nice to sleep in but we preferred sleeping in the kitchen so we could be together.

The food was really good on the premise that we made it ourselves. Some of the meals were interesting but all of them turned out to be edible which was a huge deal. Usually we had chicken and rice or pasta of some sort with a salad or vegetables. For lunch we had cereal and for breakfast there were an array of choices each morning.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

We did not really spend much time on land, but when we did venture onto land, we did learn a lot about the local cultures.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

First Aid was also taken very seriously on our boat. My instructors required any cut to be reported to them so antibiotic cream could be applied in order to prevent infection. One of my friends developed a rash and after a couple of days of putting ointment on and taking Benadryl it still wasn't better. My instructors took her to a doctor on Saba and she was given cream that helped a lot.

My trip leaders did a really good job enforcing rules on the boat which in turn kept everyone safe. We did not have any accidents and even minor scrapes were taken very seriously.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I was able to live on a student's budget very easily. The limited time we were on land, food was very affordable, and if you did not want to buy food on land, eating lunch on the boat was always an option.

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• Other

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• Americans

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• Americans

• The scuba diving
• Living on the boat
• the people

• Nothing