Reviews of Alaska Nautical School (School)

Michael McCallister

I took the ROUPV class with Capt. John.. If you have any marine experience, just go take the test. His class is pointless and the forms he gives you to apply for the credential are out of date. The email address for the Anchorage REC is not current. You are better off downloading the forms from the Coast Guard site and doing it yourself. A waste of time and money.

Katie Rooks

I passed. That’s all the good I can share about this training. John’s methods are archaic, he hasn’t reinvested in current videos, chart tools or other materials since the 1970’s or so. Added to that, he’s rude to his students, embarrassing them for asking questions even though he rambles on about “helping all he can.” He doesn’t listen to his student’s questions, interrupting them before they’re done asking the question, and gave me an answer for a question i didn’t ask twice. He outright refused to be clear on what we could use on testing day as far as reference materials. There were numerous questions on the test that were not in any of his literature, things we never touched on in class. He took business calls constantly during class, even during the test, after lecturing us to be quiet. If you have a choice, do this training somewhere else. This guy is making a tidy retirement but he shouldn’t be a teacher anymore. He might well have been great back in his day, but that day is long over. For $800/a head he should care more about the quality of his class and his impact on others.

Jeremy Inman

Not sure why there’s so many one star reviews. John was a good teacher and a nice guy. Made sure you understood everything completely before he moved on to the next subject and helped you with any questions I had and made everything simple to learn. Provides coffee water and donuts each morning. Very pleased with the class (100gt masters)

Brandon Pellowe

I called to ask questions regarding which class I should take and license I would need. He was extremely short with me and couldn't tell me the difference between the difference between the near sore and freshwater. After about 20 minutes of going around in circles he came unglued and told me to "take my money and go else where cause he doesn't deal with trouble makers." Then he couldn't figure out how to hang up on me although he tried multiple times. I don't know if this business is a scam or if I caught him on an off day but judging from the other reviews and my experience I will not be attending courses through this "school"

Gabe King

I got my 100 ton with John and he was great! He covered all the material that was on the tests and made it easy. I'm getting ready to do another certification with him soon.