I took the scuba diving course at Northeastern University run by Jim Estabrook and United Divers. Following the course I got certified through United Divers. It was an amazing experience from start to finish. Jim is extremely knowledgeable, encouraging, and friendly. Throughout the entire course I felt not only comfortable, but also confident in the water. Following graduation I had a trip planned to the Great Barrier Reef. As such, I wanted to get certified ASAP. I expected to be absolutely miserable getting open water certified in New England in April. However, United Divers vastly exceeded my expectations and it was a fantastic experience. They took us to a warmer pond in Cape Cod and fit us in suits so that we were pretty warm in the water. Since getting certified I have gone diving in Australia and Thailand. In both environments I was completely prepared. My dive instructor in Thailand was so surprised on how skilled I was considering it was only my third time diving in open water. Thank you, Jim! Hopefully this summer I can make the time to go back to the shop and take the Lobster Diving course! read more

I love these people! I had an unusual problem requiring an unusual solution as I needed to keep my neck warm while exercising in a pool - Thank you United Divers, especially Noelle and Jake, for your creativity and kindness. GREAT service, great products, and great thanks for your help. Too bad I can only rate you with 5 stars, you deserve a lot more. -Rita with the red shoes read more

Great store, I did an open water Divers Certificate through the store. I also had them service my equipment. Great staff. the prices were reasonable. read more

Went to United Divers to pick up two masks and snorkels. Even though it wasn't a big purchase we got the person's full attention. He showed us multiple options, gave us great advice, and gave us time to try lots of masks. And we really appreciated that he didn't try to upsell us, he showed us more expensive options but said we didn't really need them. Positive experience, would recommend to others. read more

Just got my ow diver certification! We took pool session at MIT pool, our instructor was Jim, he made the lecture part a real fun. During open water session, John, Lissette and Patrick were highly responsible, they gave focus on every student. No matter when I was in store or in class, all instructors and diving masters were extremely helpful. I'm so glad I came to United divers and took this class!! They also teach college diving class in NEU and MIT. read more

United Divers - Scuba Diving Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

We had a groupon for 3 hour snorkeling and that is how we first got to know about the place.The staff were great and extremely informative. One of the staff named Jennifer helped us schedule a very convenient date and had helped us try out the snorkeling gear before we bought one. .It was my first time snorkeling and the class turned out to be really useful.Our instructor Ronaldo was very informative and helped us get an overview of the Dos and DONTs of snorkeling. read more

Ok. I have to provide an update to my review because of my experience doing the drysuit class. Our checkout dives had to be rescheduled due to weather, and I was not able to attend the reschedule date. So, I was supposed to be invited to later checkouts, but the instructor was not too concerned and I never got to do my checkout dives (since February 2013, over a year ago). Granted, I was in Singapore from August, 2013-May, 2014, but there were at least 3 months where I could have been rescheduled. The owner did express disappointment to the instructor once when asking me "Are you doing the checkout dives this weekend?" while I was at the shop and I noted that I hadn't received any information about check out dives. The instructor in question then professed to have emailed me. I checked that he had the right e-mail in the system, but there was none in my spam, trash, or inbox. I was given the opportunity to dive with the group in openwater at a pond one weekend with some open water students. So that was a nice perk. But, as a divemaster, I really must comment that it seems that the instructor that I had was less patient with slower students. I tend to be a slower student, taking my time to get things all figured out and a system down. read more

Rather than help you with an issue you may have with your dive gear, they'll be more than happy to argue the point with you first. Not my first bad experience here, sometimes they'll have young girls working there that have very little experience which makes service lousy, no wonder shop is always empty, it's a wonder how Mr. J. E stays in biz.. I would recommend Boston SCUBA located at Marginal St. In East Boston, I met owner Jim Sullivan & he couldn't have been more helpful, his staff are very knowledgable and didn't argue the point about the gear issue I had, but infact resolved my issue on site. Thank you Boston SCUBA! I will be back.... read more

So I didn't read the website instructions as carefully as I clearly should have. However, I did make sure to ask the people I spoke with "so everything is included?" Then it turned out that in addition to it costing a small fortune to take the pool portion of the class, you also have to pay an extra couple hundred bucks for the ocean diving part. This was more than I could handle so I asked for a refund. They were willing to refund the pool class portion and the rental fee (side note: having this means fees is a Classic way to nickel and dime people) but they said they could only offer a partial refund on the $65 Student kit- and only if I brought it in the next day. Well, I'd already left to transport my mother to a new home after a stroke. So I couldn't return it. So I lost out on quite a bit of money, even though they had told me everything is included. That money could have been used to help transport my sick mother. read more

I received my open water certification and night diving specialty through United Divers, and I highly recommend them to anyone looking to dive into SCUBA. I also went with United Divers to Florida for their annual end-of-the-year trip. For New Years Eve, we did a "Galaxy Dive", which involved floating through florescent droplets in pitch black water, it felt like you were flying through stars! For the countdown, we drank champagne underwater and it was the most memorable New Years I've ever had. Definitely an awesome group of instructors and students, I'd definitely want to go again! The instructors are incredibly patient and kind, and will go over the skills with you until you feel comfortable--quite different than other places who try to hustle things along and only care about the money they bring in. They really care about the well-being of their students as well as making sure they enjoy the experience. Not only that, the rates are among the best in all of New England. read more

Out of Stock. When I was there during fall of 2010 for some SCUBA gear (just the basic gear like: fins, snorkel, mask); everything was out of stock. In all fairness that is kind of an odd season to shop for gear, but other dive shops have items in stock at that time of the year. But the staff was helpful, and it looked like he was knowledgeable, and their prices were reasonable. read more

Great experience getting lessons from Lissette and Chris! They really knew their stuff and were patient with everyone in the class. Would recommend 5/5 stars!!! read more

Jim is super nice! I took the scuba diving open water certificate class with him, he is really patient with all my silly questions and explains in details. I enrolled his class through NASU, and till now all the pool sessions are finished , I'm confident about the test next. I can't believe the bad reviews about the store, there're so many people like this place but didn't say much on the internet. For me, my goal is to get the certificate and enjoy the learning, that's it. Jim is very professional and take good care of us, I highly recommend him and the store! read more

Had an ow session for the weekend, course was quite intense so be prepared to get exhausted at the end of the day. We had the owner of the shop, Jim, as our instructor, and he turned out to be a good teacher. Experienced, humor, and responsible. Will recommend friends to take the SDI OW license at United Divers read more

This is a review for a private SCUBA course: I just finished my open water dives in the Caribbean without a single issue. This is all thanks to the training I received from Chris Rogissart at United Divers. If you take a class here, ask for Chris! Great dude. Worth every penny. Thanks to him I was able to swim with sea turtles with confidence. I chose United because they could accommodate my tight schedule (I wanted to squeeze the training in before a trip to the Caribbean), because I'm right in Cambridge, and because their price was good. I didn't know much about this shop beforehand, but was impressed by the patience and focus displayed by my instructor. His passion for the sport and friendly demeanor was immediately evident. read more

I've been going to this shop for five years. The staff is incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. You can tell how much all of them love diving! I started working with this shop for my open water courses. Eventually I finished my advanced certification with them. All the classes ran smoothly, helped me understand all the fundamentals and beyond. :) read more

I've had a great experience working with the staff here. I had to get my ScubaPro Chromis dive computer replaced 3 separate times, and the staff was always very helpful with the exchange process. I also purchased my first tank here (used aluminum) and got a great deal with a VIP included, thanks to Jim. read more

Very knowledgeable and a lot of help in exploring gear options and troubleshooting. Excellent service and will order items if they do not have your size in stock. Owner Jim and other employees have done a lot of diving and have a lot of experience and help you be a better diver. read more

I recently took a dry suit certification class with United Divers, and I wouldn't take any classes with them again in the future. It starts with communication. They don't. I signed up for the course and never received any confirmation details. I had to chase them to find out the logistics on the course (where it would be held, when, transportation, gear, etc. ) What I'd expect, once I signed up, is an itinerary via email or phone with locations, times and dates and expected tasks. I never received this. Also, I would typically expect a confirmation email or phone call the day before the class, which I never received. There was a similar struggle at the end with the practical. I had to ask them for every detail, rather than them sharing the details. Then from an operational standpoint I was confused most of the time. I was originally told to show up at 530p on a Friday, and then when I called to confirm the day before I was told 430p. The classroom training spent way too much time on care and maintenance and too little time on the practical aspects of dry suit diving. Going to the pool at MIT for diving was confusing to all the students (park where? wait where? etc.). We spent almost NO time on actually setting up our suits and the instructors didn't do a check on our suits and setup before we dove in the pool. While we were there for two hours, we only did two actual exercises and the rest of the time was spent on buoyancy (which really didn't work since half of us were way over-weighted for freshwater and without our under gear). I felt the pool training was very perfunctory. I frankly didn't feel fully prepared for the practical. Also, my rented suit leaked through the neck seal. I mentioned this to the instructor, and she said she'd have a fix for the practical dives on Sunday. Sunday rolls around and they are unprepared and disorganized and we leave half hour late. They give us no details about the dive site that could have been useful (like there are no bathrooms and no places to change clothing). They also don't have a vehicle large enough to carry all the tanks, so we are schlepping tanks in our private vehicles. Also, at the shop I asked the instructor, 'as we discussed can you fix my neck seal?' She said, 'I could but I don't have the equipment.' So, obviously when I mentioned it to her two days previous, she simply ignored my complaint. Not good customer service. While we put on our gear, there is no supervision or review by the instructors. They were simply off talking by themselves. Myself and at least one other student both mistakenly hooked our BC tube to our dry suit inflator and visa versa (not catastrophic unless you have a stuck inflator valve, in which case it could kill you). Since the instructors didn't check our setup, this mistake was discovered on the beach (his tube wouldn't reach) or in the water (when I couldn't get the tube off my inflator during the test of how to react to a stuck inflator). My gloves also had holes in them, which meant my hands (in the 41 degree water) got even colder, faster than normal. And my suit immediately started leaking which meant I was freezing. The dives were one of the most miserable experiences in my life. I almost gave up because I was so cold. I was shivering so badly, I had trouble disassembling my rig at the end of the day. I'm still debating whether I want to do cold water diving ever again. Packing up to go back to the shop was as confusing as anything else, and at the end of the day, when the instructor asked me, 'Is there anything else you need?' I said, 'Yes, my certification card.' She acted put out and asked if I couldn't come back later and pick it up (because, I suspect she wanted to go home). I told her I wanted it now. I feel it is ridiculous and very customer unfriendly to make them takea special trip to pick up their card. Everywhere else I've been, they give you the card on the spot. So, in summary: 1. Lousy communication 2. Poor equipment 3. Sloppy training for the students 4. Poor instructor oversight 5. Poor customer service read more

I've done some training with this dive shop over the years, and I typically feel completely underwhelmed. Poor communication about classroom times, rescheduling the class without bothering to call, lost paperwork, and several missed deadlines for servicing gear. It really comes down to being organized, and this shop just isn't. I think the one thing that they have got going for them is location - it's convenient to Greater Boston. What is not convenient is rescheduling training the day before. I was lucky to even find out before showing up - I called the afternoon before the class to confirm the time. No apology, or even recognition that this might have been inconvenient for me. I really have given this shop a fair shake, and they have disappointed on almost every occasion. I'll avoid them in the future. read more

I've used this dive shop for repairs and ordering gear. The owner does not take responsibility for the bad repairs. Dry suit repair and add pockets were done badly. Around the same time, I dropped off something to have the o ring priced because he couldn't give me a price. He was suppose to call me but when I called to follow up with him he had it repaired and then charged me over $100. On top of that, I would need a specific hose/line to go with it, increasing the price to close to $200. I paid bc it was my gear but the whole place is run poorly. College girls who don't have a clue.. (can you say, mid life crisis) read more

I Had a horrible experience at this dive shop. I dropped off several of my tanks for visual inspection and one for a hydro. I was told it would take a couple of weeks for the hydro to be done but I was not in a rush because it was the beginning of April when I dropped them off. I go back after 2 weeks and 2 of my tanks are done (kindo of). I am told that the other were not done because they ran out of Orings for the tanks. Its an inexpensive part you would think they would keep plenty on hand. I give them another 2 weeks and go to pick up my other tanks and I am told they are still out for the hydro test. Even tho their website say they do them in house they actually send them out. Anyway no tanks. They said they would get them done "monday or tuesday and give me a call." The following weekend I go to pick up my tanks (no call ever received.) My tanks are still not done. They did manage to finish what needed to be done while I waited that day. It took 5 weeks to take care of something that would be done within a week. I would never set foot in this dive shop again. read more

Finished the Open Water certification dives with United this summer. The lessons in the pool went off without a hitch, and the instructors were very accommodating to me and others who needed equipment adjustments, rescheduling due to illness, etc. Instructor Patrick led the Open Water dives and was very professional in the water and easily passed the time driving to and from the dive sites. Would recommend to any friend looking to learn to scuba dive! read more

I've never dived before and United helped me with every skill with patience and amazing attention. The staff is extremely experienced in diving and teaching. read more

My girlfriend and I went there, and the staff were great! We wanted to go snorkeling, and we had a great fitting for masks with the pros and cons of each item and then help you choose the right thing for you and your needs. I will definitely go to them again for great customer service and education with the sale. read more

I got my open water scuba certification as an MIT student through United Divers. United Divers' help with gear, transportation, forms, etc made learning and getting certified easy and stress-free. Completing the open water dives (I did mine in late May when the weather started to get nicer) was once of these funnest experiences ever! Our instructor was extremely helpful and patient even when I took the longest amount of time to struggle into the stiff 7mm wetsuit and heavy gear. She was very knowledgeable from personal experience about recommendations about where to dive, info about types of scuba, and much more beyond the basic how to scuba dive to help us understand how to have the best scuba experience possible. Shout out to Jeanine and Jessica for being super badass and awesome - as another petite female, I was really encouraged and inspired by them and their scuba skills/experience!! read more

I just completed a dry suit course with United Divers, and I would highly recommend the courses at the dive shop! Rich was a great instructor, and everyone at the dive shop was helpful and friendly in finding the right dry suit and preparing for the course. read more

Over the course of the Summer I had a LOT of tanks filled and every interaction was wonderful; the staff are friendly and extremely helpful. They rented me a perfectly fitted drysuit, and at the first sign of a leak in the drysuit they immediately helped me into a new drysuit. Friendly, responsive, knowledgeable! read more

United Divers is the hidden gem of dive shops! I've been diving since 2010 (certified through UD) and would never consider going anywhere else for gear or service. The owners, trainers and staff are uber knowledgeable about everything about training, advice on where to dive for your comfort level and conditions, helping you choose the best gear for you, and will share all the tips and tricks of the trade. If they don't have something you want/need in stock, it will be special ordered for you that day. Their ultimate secret magician is Margaret and her wand is a needle and thread. She can alter, fix, mend and repair any suit that you have and in almost any condition. I think she'd be able to sew back a shredded suit if she was faced with the challenge!!! If someone else tells you it can't be done, don't believe them until you've shown it to Margaret. Once you've visited their shop, you'll never go elsewhere. read more

Holy awesomeness, Batman! I just took the Discover SCUBA course yesterday and it totally rocked my world. I have been thinking about getting certified for a while but was weary that SCUBA and I might not get along. So I wanted to test the waters (heehee) before making the full commitment. Boy am I glad I did this! Greg was a super instructor and the shop owner even jumped in to assist as we had a pretty good sized group. They walk you through all the basics and necessary do's and don't's of SCUBA before getting into the pool. They absolutely don't push you beyond your comfort zone, which I really appreciated. But I had an awesome dive in the deep pool and am totally ready to take the plunge! SCUBA certification, here I come! If you've ever been curious about SCUBA, I would definitely recommend checking out one of their classes. As for the shop, I don't have much experience purchasing dive gear but the staff seems very knowledgeable and they definitely like to chat so I will be sure to make my purchases through them in the future. Go SCUBA! read more

these guys are my go to shop - love em. i haven't bought all my gear here - i like to spread the love - but i got my first set of fins/mask/snorkel and a bunch of other dive stuff like used tanks. 95% of the time the staff are super knowledgeable (it depends who you talk to). if they're not, the staff are still super friendly either way. i could probably ask somebody else for more information if i felt like it bothered me but it never does. i continue to give these guys business and like being a regular. some of the staff that lobster (younger guy i don't know his name) have been there a while and will give some beta. love talking about recent dives and good catches. it's great when people can get as pumped about your dives as you do. as long as i live in boston i'll probably keep using United Divers. great shop, great people, great gear, great service!!!! read more

Great shop! Great Prices! and an excellent Staff to help you out. The shop may look small from the outside however on the inside it is full of all that you could need to have a wonderful diving experiece. They offer dive gear rentals and they have an air compressor to fill your tanks. Dive classes fill quick but they offer many to fit your schedule. Margaret is the best of the best and can assist with whatever you are looking for. She can alter any dive suit imaginable which is very nice as not all suits fit as they should lol. If you are looking to get into scuba diving look no further than United Divers. read more

I used to be pretty impressed with these guys, but not lately. I took my reg in for annual service in early May, and was told to expect it back in 7-10 days. Fair enough. But by the end of June they hadn't even looked at it. Despite repeated calls and visits on my part, and repeated promises on their part that it would be done Real Soon Now and they'd definitely call me to let me know what was going on, they did nothing at all. No calls, no apologies, no nothing. I won't be back. read more