Just a little background first - I first dove during a resort course in the BVI 8 years ago. 3 years ago I did another resort course in TCI. I finally got my OW and AOW last year, and then dove for 2 days in Grand Cayman. Unfortunately, my family doesn't dive and we aren't doing a family beach vacation this year. I really wanted to dive, so I looked for a relatively inexpensive, safe place to dive. Cozumel came highly recommended. Being solo, and not outgoing, and in a strange country, I wanted some place with onsite dining. And since I was just there to dive, I wanted lots of diving. Thus, Scuba Club Cozumel.
I booked a 5 night/4 day diving + 1 wreck dive with Carradonna. Customs was quick, and then a very short drive to the hotel. The hotel is very clean and well maintained feeling. Check-in was fast. The room is small, but certainly more than large enough for one person to relax in. I was in room 12 (second floor) and had a nice view of the pool and ocean. I checked in at the dive center and then walked into town to explore a little before dinner. I was a little worried about the dining as I'm fairly picky and wasn't sure about the Mexican cuisine, but I left full from every meal.
Diving started at 8am the next morning. I was a little nervous as I hadn't been diving in a year (though I did take a refresher), but the boat crew (I was on the Reef Star) were outstanding. They helped setup the gear if you needed, and took care of it between the first and second dive. I had Ariel as my DM on all 9 days and he was excellent. He gave a good briefing before each dive. I didn't have a buddy, so I tried to stay up at the front of the group near him. And he was excellent at pointing out things. I have no idea how he kept spotting the camouflaged marine life. Buddy pairs would ascend as one ran out of air, but he stayed until the end. I have very good air consumption, so always ascended with him (generally it was just me, him, and one other diver) and would still have about 1000 PSI after 50-60 minutes. I actually would have been worried, I think, if I had to ascend early as you would just rise to the surface and have to wait for the boat to spot you. At least he had a sausage signal. The dive boats were great at following us, though, and were always right overhead at the end.
We dove Palancar Caves, Chankanaab, C53 wreck, Colombia, Punta Tunich, Santa Rosa Wall, Yucab, Dalila, and Tormentos Reef. Lots of large sea life, neat swim throughs (I'd never done that before), interesting coral. There were a couple of flats that were a little boring, until the shark, or ray, would swim by. The wreck was my first wreck dive, and was fairly difficult. Not really for inexperienced divers. But lots of large crustaceans to be seen.
My only real complaint was the lack of afternoon dives. They put out a signup sheet every morning, but if they don't get enough divers, they don't do the dive. I signed up every day, but only once was there enough, and that was for the wreck. I didn't have anyone to shore dive with, so I spent the afternoon walking to town, and then looking longingly at the ocean. I'm also not a great fan of the drift dive. Yes, it is effortless (mostly) and you cover a lot of territory. But it is difficult to stay in one place if you are trying to get a good look at something. And with 8-9 other divers all trying to take a look at the same thing before getting pulled away, it gets crowded.
All in all, I had an excellent time. I would probably make this my solo dive destination... except for the lack of afternoon diving. Since this trip is all about the diving, I will look for somewhere else for my next trip. Possibly somewhere else on Cozumel if I can find somewhere that guarantees 3 dives a day, and if I can find somewhere with as convenient diving as SCC.
Thanks for your great report! If you want afternoon dives, consider The Blue Angel which is fairly close to SCC. We stay at the BA every time we're in Coz and frequently do four dives a day. The BA has a good restaurant, great dive shop, fast boats, and wonderful DMs. Even if you don't stay there, you can still book afternoon dives with them. And they also do night dives!
