Was curious what if anyone on here has taken any online courses with NEMO and if it was a good experience? Also wondering if anyone has done radar and arpa through NEMO and how that exoerience was/ how it worked
I used them for the online Advanced Fire Reval last year. I though it was a pretty decent online course, applicable modules, simple enough platform for the classwork and exam portion, and a brief video call with an evaluator for the “practical”. If I recall their office is quick to respond to questions/issues with course scheduling. I’d do it through them again if I needed to.
(I don’t know anything about their radar or arpa)
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I did AFF and GMDSS, fire fighting was decent. GMDSS was pretty good since I could do it at my pace.
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Last I heard their arpa course isn’t uscg approved yet.
Can’t recommend their gmdss enough…it is put together very well. I will say that even though you can do most of it with your smart phone in hindsight I should have done the whole thing from my PC. Would have saved me some grief.
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I did Advanced firefighting. No complaints. The practical assessments are pretty quick and I think the online content is thorough. Nice not having to dedicate off time to class, which is a bonus…
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I used them for advanced fire, made me feel like a moron due to how hard it was for me.
The one part that bothered me, and maybe they’ve updated it, it doesn’t give you a notification of any variety if you’re timed out. So I would do a bunch of practice / section quizzes and go to return to home page, and was met with a “please log back in” message, so none of the stuff I did X minutes prior was saved.
FYI: They have two sections- STCW approved and USCG approved. Anything under STCW will not be accepted by the USCG.
Even though I had a less than stellar experience for AFF, I plan on using them for radar as well.
Did you end up taking their radar course? I’m looking into it myself and was looking for some feedback. Thanks
yeah it wasnt too bad. just took some self motivation doing it from home theres definitely a lot more distractions. but all in all it was a decent course
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I completed it a few months ago. Overall a very cost effective course. I found the digital plotting program to be a bit clunky, but they accepted scans of paper ones too. I had to wait over a month to take my final exam, that was probably my only complaint, but it wasn’t that big of a deal.
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I used NEMO for their online AFF revalidation after being recommended by some friends. There course videos were dated and the test format was more annoying than anything (was just a headache of a course in general). In my opinion, this course is inadequate and NEMO is acting as a license-revalidation mill. Every person with an AFF cert should take the topic seriously and go to an in person training. Sorry to be a winger. Cheers 
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Thank you. I agree wholeheartedly. The AFF online at NEMO is not good. Thousands of slides peppered with grainy videos… and the test questions at the end of each section did not match the material presented. Ineffective drudgery.
I had a similar experience with NEMO AFF. The Basic Blended BST/ BFF in person was good but I also felt like a moron when trying to complete the online AFF. Beside being tedious, it was super glitchy. I gained zero skills or retainable information from it.
I have a very poor opinion of NEMO in general.
I think their courses are overpriced, especially the online courses. Reports of poor quality do not surprise me.
Once upon a time, I inquired about obtaining the gray list Dominica Flag CoC that they are an agent for. They claimed that I would have to retake all the “Dominica approved” STCW courses at their school. That sounded like a bullshit scam to me. No one in their right mind would retake all the STCW courses, especially not for an obscure gray list CoC of minimal value.
The owner of this school was more recently promoting the establishment of a new US Virgin Islands Flag Registry. I view that as a scam; it fizzled.
I notice that the school now calls itself a “college.” I have not bothered to research who it’s accredited by, if anyone, or for what. Perhaps, by the VA so veterans benefits can pay for courses. However, I doubt that the nearby U Mass Campus in Dartmouth is worried about the competition.
There are plenty of school alternatives. I get a bad vibe from the owner of this school. So I’m not inclined to give him any of my money.
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While I see the value and potential of online learning I am very dissapointed by what I have found at NEMO. As a matter of fact this latest round of SCTW course work that I have done at in person at MPT, MITAGS and NE Maritime and their NEMO system has been thoroughly dissapointing. Maybe I have just been unlucky but the quality of the training at all of my classes has been subpar at best. Most mariners in my classes that I speak to about this agree. Somethings gotta give here.
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The concept of STCW training is good, but the USCG’s implementation falls short.
It has become mostly a moneymaking opportunity for the benefit of the schools that overcharge us for low quality (everybody must be able to pass) courses, most of which have very little practical value.
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I just took my lifeboatman course through Northeast Maritime. I cannot speak for the fully in person courses because I did a blended online with one day in person. Over all I think this organization is a scam. Their product is not worth the price they charge. Their online interface for the course is unprofessional and lacks useful content. It fails to address the breadth of course information required to pass the course. It is riddled with typos and apart from a video demonstrating a life raft release, uses branded west marine adds as course content. When I took the course in person I was given the wrong address in the email, then bad directions to find the restroom at the facility, then bad directions to find the building we were actually taking the course in. I got the vibe from the instructor that this is just what he does to fill time between hitches. He managed to turn a full day course into a 3 hour event which I was thankful for because sitting in a basement listening to his sea stories was not what I had paid for. To top it all off, I did not receive my certificate for several months. When I was getting my paperwork together to submit for my upgrade, I emailed them to ask for a copy. Their response was that I had not completed the course because I was wearing headphones during my online exam. Ok, my bad, but when were they going to tell me this?! The software they use for exams does a room check and okays you to start, then at the end told me I passed. Why would I think to go back to that software after completing the course to check if they had revoked their statement that I passed? Overall I found this organization to be a waste of time and money. Go elsewhere if you can.
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I took this course. Had the same experience ( minus the headphones issue) The course and the test was so ridiculous. The in person “Assessment” was ridiculous. I am more than disappointed. The waste of money time and resources makes me angry.
When is the USCG going to do something about this?
Is their online flashing light worth taking?
Did my advanced firefighting refresher with them. Went seamlessly. It’s all a waste of time, I’d rather do it from my house than have to fly somewhere and get a hotel for three nights. Glad they’re around and hope they stay around.
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