I never met instructor who was very fond of keeping strict limits as per our current certification, I guess those folks are rather laid back and don't care abou

I never met instructor who was very fond of keeping strict limits as per our current certification, I guess those folks are rather laid back and don't care about some rules that much. I recall when doing my original SSI Open water cert in Croatia (max should be 18m), the instructor took us to 33m, it was maybe 4th dive in the course (and in my life). I was a bit worried and showed him the depth meter, he just signaled back OK, so I went along (like I could do anything else at that moment). When training for Advanced OW, or diving after I obtained it in various places, nobody cares about precise limit (should be cca 30m for SSI IIRC), generally 35-40m is the limit for real dives. At least they all rigorously follow decompression stops on a way up, wrist computers help greatly with more precise measurements. You just need to stick to +- same depth as instructor, not be constantly 5m below him chasing creatures.