Charleston Scuba canceled a charter trip the afternoon before we were suppose to go out. They would charge customers if they cancel without 48 hours notice, but they can apparently cancel the trip 18 hours before without repercussions. Im sure it would be fun to go out, but I wont find out because it is now too late to book another trip. Hopefully if you book a charter they will follow through on their promises. I will not be rolling the dice with them again. Not a way to run a business.Per their email: We have a 48-hour cancellation policy for individuals and buddy teams, and a 7-day cancellation policy for groups (i.e. 3 ore more divers). This means that if you need to cancel your dives, you must do so BEFORE this time frame in order to avoid charges to your card. If you cancel AFTER this period, you will be charged for the full costs of your seat on the charter.EDIT: I called around to other shops seeing if I could squeeze a dive in somewhere last-minute. It was only after talking to the other dive shops that I was told about the poor weather. This review would not have been written if I was informed of this, instead the only information I received from the shop was that the charter was not going out. If I have to be told relevant information from another dive shop, you need to work on your communication.

The folks at Charleston Scuba have welcomed me into their scuba family since I moved to Charleston a year ago and have been so supportive in my quest to get back into diving. My experiences with them have been wonderful!

I had a great experience at Charleston Scuba! We did the Discover Scuba Experience, and I was really impressed with our instructor Olivers knowledge and patience. He was excited to share his passion for scuba and made it a really fun experience. We cant wait to try it again!

This is a great group of folks to dive with. You get personalized service from prior to boat launch until you have returned to the dive shop. Experienced, knowledgeable, and safety minded throughout every dive trip. I have now made over 75 dives with them both locally and on “out of State” dive trips, and have never had a bad experience. They are the ONLY dive shop I will go with in the Charleston, SC area. Thanks Charleston Scuba for all the great times Ive expierenced, and those yet to come.

A few things worth mentioning1. The owner and boat captain Tom is a great diver and ambassador to scuba diving and marine life. His experiance is hard to find these days with over 30 years in the business and more being a diver his depth of knowledge is hard to beat. He told me about diving experiences and projects that were like a personal history of scuba and local knowledge. Hes runs a very clean and properly working as well as safe boat.2. His staff was awesome the dive master was super helpful, knowledgeable with a great sense of humor. The tech diver that was helping the dive master had some incredible dives that he shared with me that was a great insight to doing technical dives well beyond 100 feet.3. The dive sites were great visibility, huge amount of sea life to look at and the ships were in great shape to look at and the penetrate if you are qualified. The ride is a bit long but I dont think theres much dive sites closer to land in that area. They do offer differnt sites so if that a concern ask the shop about it at the time of booking.I would highly recommend them and will be booking another trip in the near futureThanks Tom

Great experience on a ocean dive. The captain and divers were amazing.

Amazing experience and people. Everyone in the class and at the shop make you feel at home. Relate information to real life situations you may occur in your professions. 10/10 recommended. I felt a part of the groups during my CPR class and will be going back to further my SCUBA diving certifications.

Just got my special order aqualung semi dry suit in!! Kelly was super helpful, I asked a ton of questions bc the suit wasn’t in store to try on. She was super knowledgeable about the suit I was after. It arrived within a week. A young man over heard Kelly and I talking and gave me vital info on how to keep my particular suit in good condition, how and when to wash it... etc. I learned a lot thru my interactions with them. I just couldnt be happier with Chas dive shop and staff... and my new wetsuit

It was my first time going on a charter dive and my first time diving in the Atlantic. I had a really fun time. The dive sites were awesome! Tom and his staff are really kind and accommodating. Highly recommend.

I had an absolutely wonderful experience at Charleston Scuba. The people I met were great. My instructors were all very helpful and friendly. Most fun I had all summer.

I had a blast with Charleston Scuba. Everyone was super nice and a lot of fun. Al was a fantastic teacher for my Trophy Lakes training, and Morgan was also an awesome teacher for the open open water. Props to both my teachers. Thanks for a great time Charleston Scuba!

After receiving a confirmation email that my class would occur as scheduled, I showed up for my recertification course on Sunday morning. No one was there. No one showed up. My class had been cancelled without notification. There was no phone call, no email, no sign on the door, no post on any social media outlet, etc. I called the shop as soon as they opened to discuss what happened. There was no apology for the lack of communication, only excuses. The phone lines were down on Saturday so they could not call. Everyone has cell phones now. These could have been used to call and leave a voice mail. Worse case scenario, a sign could have been hung on the door for attendees to see when they arrived early Sunday morning. Due to the lack of professionalism and lack of concern for my poor experience, I would not recommend this shop.

I had a great time getting certified here! My instructor, Jeff, was fantastic. They were flexible with my busy schedule and very knowledgeable and helpful with buying gear. I had a great time getting to know all of the staff. I highly recommend them!

My fiance and I flew down from Washington, DC to get our final open water certification training for a weekend in October. We were signed up with another dive company in Charleston--but they canceled on us the same morning of our flight! I thought we were screwed, but Charleston Scuba totally saved the day! They scrambled to accommodate us and got us an instructor at the last minute. Jason, Jordan, and then Jeff totally took care of us and were just awesome. Im so glad we came to Charleston and got these guys because they made us feel comfortable and are top notch professionals. Thanks for everything guys! I really cant recommend them highly enough.By the way, I do not believe that the negative reviews on here refer to Charleston Scuba. They must be talking about that place that canceled on us the day of our flight. You can trust Charleston Scuba!

I had a great experience with Charleston Scuba. I became a certified scuba diver yesterday, 09/02/18. The team was great! I got very seasick, and they were just the best! They helped me every way they possibly could, to include taking care of my gear for me. They encouraged me to complete my dives & kept a close eye on me under water to make sure I was ok. The dives were great! Tom, Tim, and Michelle were fantastic! I am so glad I was able to complete my dives. I would not have been able to do it if it were not for them. A million thanks!

Very nice and knowledgeable staff. They love diving and are happy to share their experience with those of us less familiar.

I had not been diving since the late 1980s and decided to take a refresher course at Charleston Scuba on 2/12/17. Lane Warren was my instructor; he is also a Divemaster. What a fabulous experience! Lane was patient, thorough and professional. The nearby indoor pool was warm & immaculate. I feel confident about the skills required to dive safely and managing the equipment properly.Also, the dive shop staff is knowledgeable and attentive. A few weeks prior to the class I decided to purchase a new mask & snorkel. Claudia helped me find the ideal mask for my facial structure. The shop has quite a variety of equipment.Overall, a wonderful experience & I look forward to taking dive trips with Charleston Scuba!

Ive been a loyal customer and fan of Charleston Scuba since 2007. It isnt enough for a shop to have exciting excursions, a great shop needs to have the highest in safety standards, equipment, and instruction. Charleston Scuba is undoubtedly the only shop within the region that can offer all of those things. If you dont believe me, then maybe the 18+ years of consistently winning Charlestons Best Dive Shop will convince you.

My boyfriend and I went on a dive while on vacation with Charleston Scuba. They were awesome!! It was my first ocean dive, and although the ride out to the ledges was a little rough, it was absolutely worth it. All of the staff were very knowledgeable about the area, and helpful/understanding to those of us who got a little sick from the ride. I was extremely pleased with all of them. The dive itself was amazing! We had about 40-50 foot vis at both locations. Plenty of ocean life down at the bottom to observe. Such a great change from where I got my open water cert. We look forward to diving with them again the next time we visit!! Thanks again to all the staff!

They say you cant teach an old dog new tricks. But can you teach an older guy (sexagenarian) how to scuba? These folks can.. With class and compassion. Claudia Bonforte rocks as a teacher and they paired me with the best buddy ever - appropriately named Reliance!!! What fun and a great place.

Awesome people. Environmentally and safety conscious. I have been taking all of my classes with them and the ensure you feel comfortable before you move on.

Dove with them this past weekend. Great dives and great locations. Keep in mind its a smaller boat and can be big seas, take your motion sickness. Great staff, great trip.

My 13 year old brother and I did a Discover Scuba Diving course with Chuck and it was fantastic! Chuck was very knowledgable and patient (especially during our gear malfunction!). I definitely recommend Charleston Scuba and cannot wait to get my full certificate from them!

Extremely knowledgable and great selection of gear

I dove the Charleston 60 and had a great time. The water as we headed out was very rough that day and about half way out the captain stopped the boat and asked if we wanted to turn back due to the waves. He said he would refund our money if we so chose to. This just shows they are big on safety and not just the $$$. We all decided to push on and glad we did. This is a very professional dive outfit, and i would certainly dive with them in the future. ***I would definitely recommend bringing a dry bag for phone, clothes log book ect.

Being a college student in the Holy City, the staff gives a discount for those that are seeking a higher education. Growing up, I always wanted to become a diver. Once I got into college at The Citadel, the long-awaited dream would come my senior year, when the scuba club got reincarnated after a ~20 year hiatus. I always passed this shop every time I drove on Savannah Highway, and figured Id give it a shot on what they had to offer for dive gear. Got my first gear, a mask & snorkel, for under $100. When I purchased my first BCD, I took to them so they could inspect it for any flaws. Of course, being that it was (30 years) old, they found it defective and did not charge me a dime for inspecting the device. When I purchased my second BCD (which was a year old) through another dive shop back home in Florida, the price I bought made me think that it was too good be to be true for it to be $80, so I took it to Charleston Scuba when I returned after my winter break. They checked it, and only had to replace the low-pressure inflate valve. The staff has always been nice to me every time I visited, and I will always recommend going back to them when I visit Charleston.I can see why they have been awarded the best dive shop for over a decade.As for those who give the shop negative reviews: Show a little bit of respect; it goes a long way.

I brought a group of divers to complete some advanced training. We had the most wonderful day diving, the crew went out of the way to make sure everyone had a good time, and were very attentive to safety also. I felt very comfortable conducting training and the Robinsons as vertran instructors made sure all the needs we had to complete the class were met.On top of all this the diving of Charleston is just beautiful, and with Sally Robinson as crew you will have great insight into the marine life that you encounter.Already have the next booking and cant wait!

Great dive and very knowledgable staff. It was easy to book with them, the shop did a great job in keeping us informed on payment info (we paid upfront for dive, then we needed to rent some gear, and my husband needed a new dive knife). Tom did a great job explaining the different dive sites and making sure we knew all safety info for the boat. Great sea life viewings: barracudas, rays, octopus, tons of tropical fish! They seemed a little flustered and disorganized at the beginning, and It would have been nice to give us a little notice on time est while we stood on the docks while they had to run back to the shop to grab some forgotten equipement, but they did apologize after the fact and they did make up in wasted time getting out to the dive site. Overall, very pleased with our dives and would come back to dive with them if were in the area!

Undoubtedly the most unprofessional scuba company in all of SC.Took weeks of persistent emails and phone calls before I was able to schedule dives.Eventually, I was able to schedule a 2-dive trip for 2 people, but then had to cancel due to medical reasons. Canceled more than 48 hours in advance (which is their policy IN WRITING on their website and on our two Groupons), but then received a call saying no, they didnt get the message (number went to voicemail during normal business hours) and they hadnt gotten any messages all week. Um, isnt not getting any messages all week a good indicator that your voicemail system is broken (though it appeared to be working as I did indeed leave a full and detailed message)?Despite the fact that my scuba buddy was in the hospital (and I wasnt traveling without her), they still charged us the FULL amount.This isnt even my biggest problem with them, though. My biggest problem is how it was handled. A young-sounding guy called me the morning we were supposed to dive and we had a conversation. Once I clarified that Id left a message more than 48 hours ago and could PROVE I had left a message through my cell phone records, he wavered. But THEN I heard a lady screaming (absolutely screeching! she sounded really scary) about how they had people on the wait list, they never got the message, they were charging us the full amount, etc etc etc.This lady sounded like a psycho and I felt genuinely sorry for her young employee (she was the manager/owner) who was getting screamed at in person.Id heard from others that this is a licensing-machine operation and that once youre licensed to dive, diving with them is unpleasant due to the cattle boat feel and the number of people they pack onto one small boat. Also note that though their prices are exorbitant (like, truly, insanely exorbitant--you can dive for 1/3 of this price a couple hours south of here in Florida), no food or drink is provided on the boat, not even when you do an all-day dive (they tell you to bring your own lunch, drinks, and snacks).Oh yes, and we needed to rent some gear and the price of the gear rental kept increasing over the three months we emailed with them, trying to schedule dives. Suspicious, huh?Terribly unprofessional. Dive elsewhere!

Unorganized, unprofessional, and unpleasant.In 8 years of diving, my wife and I have never seen such a hot mess. Maybe it’s because they overbooked the boat. Maybe it’s because Captain Tom was going through some problems with his personal life. Maybe it’s because he seems to dislike the people he’s hired. All I know for sure is that I’m glad that I’ll never have to get on another boat with him.From the first minute at the dive shop things were in chaos: there wasn’t enough room for everyone to fill out their paperwork and receive their rental equipment in the room where we were getting outfitted. The staff seemed overwhelmed with the task of giving rental equipment to both myself and my wife, and Captain Tom added to the fun by berating his employees throughout. Then, there wasn’t enough room for all of us in the shuttle bus, so we had to be rushed onto the bus with only half of our equipment, only to be left standing at the dock for what seemed like an eternity waiting for the bus to return, wondering how much of our equipment would show up considering the chaos that we had seen at the dive shop.Then after a lot of standing around, a few rounds of getting on the boat, getting our equipment set up, and then getting off the boat for more standing around, we finally took off for the Charleston 60. The boat was super loud, smelled of diesel exhaust, and we were a bit nervous given just how many people and how much equipment was aboard, but we eventually made it to the dive site.The dive site itself was acceptable, and the staff did try to help us with some equipment issues my wife was experiencing.The ride home was miserable. We sat up towards the front of the boat this time since I’m a pasty-skinned fella and I feared that I had gambled enough with the sun for one day. Plus, we hoped that maybe the diesel fumes would be a bit less pronounced. The boat was much louder up front, with the engine emitting a high-pitched scream that battered our eardrums. But I actually wish it had been louder so that I would have missed hearing Captain Tom explaining to some of the other customers just how “easy on the eye” some of his female divemasters are, and detailing his plans to go out looking for women that night.Oh, did I mention that he also managed to lose one of his dive instructors overboard on the way back?The process of getting off the boat and shuttled back to the dive boat was the same jumbled mess of getting on the boat, just in reverse. Complete with unexplained long periods of waiting for the shuttle bus to arrive, and Tom yelling at various crew members. Rental returns were similarly bewildering. The only upside to this part was that we were no longer on a boat with Captain Tom.

Very dissappointed. Was new to diving, called to ask questions and get a price estimate, wad told 75 the first time, 80 when we called again to reserve a date, then look at the bank and we were charged 421. Called and there was finally a nice lady who was as confused as we were on how we were charged that, but also why we were told 80. Its a 120 just for her WITH her discount. This place is a joke. Unhelpful and too money hungry.

Amazing experience! Everyone is so knowledgeable and helpful! Im addicted!

I went to the best to get the best! After advanced open water diving 30 years ago, I retired and went to Charleston Scuba and Jordan took over and I bought a Henderson wetsuit, a DUI dry suit, Oceanic mask,Cressi snorkel,Scubapro BCD,Aqua Lung boots,Legend regulator,AquaLung octopus, tank,Spyderco knife. Yeh, it was a huge expense with 10% off and free refresher and free DUI dry suit immersion lesson.But, if you want someone who really knows, checkout the dive master who sold me my stuff, Jordan Schneider. I did the PADI Tune up on line and Im in the water tomorrow am with Jamie.Carolyn J. Harrington,M.D.

They just dont get it.....another spot giving small business a bad name

This is the worst dive operation I have ever used.I have years of diving experience on both coasts of the US, Central America and Mexico, and never have I seen a more unprofessional and rude staff, or more people packed onto a smaller boat. Sally in particular was incredibly rude to other divers on the boat and actually diver to sit down and shut up when she asked how much longer it would be until we reached the dive site.The reefs & ledges that they promote on their site are inedibly meager in size and NOT worth the 2.5 - 3 hour ride one-way in a packed boat. Because the ledge we visited was so small and our group so large, we were left with the choice of either being crowded over the site or drifting out of an undersea desert of flat and featureless sand.There are other choices for diving in this area, and I strongly encourage you to consider them. Sally and her husband are incredibly unprofessional and unpleasant, and diving with them is an incredibly unpleasant experience.

Unprofessional and inefficient