Going Iberostar Week Before Christmas

[knucklebusted]

First, I apologize for not being a more regular visitor but I only dive on vacation and live 500 miles from any ocean.

I've done a quick scan of topics in the Coz forum but decided to ask.

I haven't been to Coz or the Iberostar since 2015. My wife booked us into an RIU at Playa Mujers last year and I wasn't thrilled with the underwater concrete statues. Between that and the long car ride back to Cancun to catch a boat for a long ride Isla Mujers. I was not impressed enough to book more than one day of diving.

So, we are back to Coz Dec 2019. What has changed in 4 years that I need to be up on? Apparently there are dock fees now if you don't use Dressel, which I never have before.

Is Dive with Martin still a good option or should I investigate others? My daughter and I are certified but bring little or no gear with us and rent everything but my computer and camera.

I've been doing the Rosetta Stone Spanish course and have completed 14 of 20 sections so I'm hoping to at least be able to practice a bit.

Gracias Amigos!

 

[DandyDon]

I only dive on vacation and live 500 miles from any ocean.

I resemble that remark; well, it's more like 600 miles for me. I got used to having to take at least two planes to go on most trips long before scuba, so I just accepted that - then went on to exploring diving all around the US and some Caribbean destinations. I think it might have been three planes to get to Montreal to dive that river. My time off was flexible tho so I went three or so times a year for a while.

So, you fly out of Nashville? It looks like the same miles of driving to the airport as I have to do here, but fares on good flights to Cozumel the week before Christmas look like $529 roundtrip, over a hundred less than I get here.

 

[Captain Bravo]

We dove with Dressel at the Iberostar in November March and August and will be returning in November. We purchase our dives online in order to save 20%. We like the service, boats and dive masters there.

We also dove with ProDive at the Occidental in March, did not like the smaller boat nor the rental equipment which was leaking and wetsuits so old we were freezing in the water. Hopefully they have replaced some of that old, worn out equipment since, as dive shops do on a regular basis.

 

[knucklebusted]

I resemble that remark; well, it's more like 600 miles for me. I got used to having to take at least two planes to go on most trips long before scuba, so I just accepted that - then went on to exploring diving all around the US and some Caribbean destinations. I think it might have been three planes to get to Montreal to dive that river. My time off was flexible tho so I went three or so times a year for a while.

So, you fly out of Nashville? It looks like the same miles of driving to the airport as I have to do here, but fares on good flights to Cozumel the week before Christmas look like $529 roundtrip, over a hundred less than I get here.

We are 1 hour north of Nashville, TN and fly out of there almost exclusively. I've tried booking flights out of Louisville but not that great a deal for the additional hour of driving and the time difference. We used some AA FF miles to get the Iberostar and business class flights for around $3K for all 3 of us. That gets us 1st on 2-class flights and free checked bags.

My time off is about to become a lot more flexible. Getting RIF'd at the end of 1st quarter 2020 with a nice "thanks for hanging" prize after 32+ years. I'm trying to figure out how much vacation I can burn in 3 months!

We dove with Dressel at the Iberostar in November March and August and will be returning in November. We purchase our dives online in order to save 20%. We like the service, boats and dive masters there.

We also dove with ProDive at the Occidental in March, did not like the smaller boat nor the rental equipment which was leaking and wetsuits so old we were freezing in the water. Hopefully they have replaced some of that old, worn out equipment since, as dive shops do on a regular basis.

Dressel is decent then? I've only used Dive with Martin on my previous trips. I haven't checked with them yet to see what they say about dock fees. Just trying to get the lay of the land before I dive in (pun intended) to the fray.

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

i dove with dressel at the iberostar for 4 or 5 days in may. i had all of my own kit with me, but i had no issues with the divers/guides or the setup etc. seemed absolutely fine..i certainly wouldn't see the need to go out of my way to have another operator come and get me.

there was an english guide, she was really nice and a guy called luis who was an excellent macro spotter. German guy too i think fabien maybe? did a night dive with him, really liked him. none of our dives were short etc.

 

[Captain Bravo]

I have only dove with Dressel, ProDive and the dive center at the Gran Bahia principe Riviera Maya. So I only have these to compare against.

The staff is great, super friendly.

And they have three boats so they try to assemble groups of divers of similar skill levels together.

 

[knucklebusted]

OK, I guess I'll give them a try. Thanks for the updates.

 

[tiger1974]

ScubaLuis out of Cozumel is an awesome small totally personalized option. Only one I will dive with

 

[DandyDon]

We used some AA FF miles to get the Iberostar and business class flights for around $3K for all 3 of us.

Sounds nice. I used to fly FC in the late 1980s when the FF game was fun. In the last decade I've found affordable upgrades a couple of times, but not willing to do what it takes now. Besides, I tend to sleep on planes these days, can sleep in the cheapest coach seats ok, so I'd miss the fun of FC anyway. It's still great when you can do it and enjoy t tho.

Getting RIF'd at the end of 1st quarter 2020 with a nice "thanks for hanging" prize after 32+ years. I'm trying to figure out how much vacation I can burn in 3 months!

OMG, use it all. No reason to gift that company any earned time.

I've only used Dive with Martin on my previous trips. I haven't checked with them yet to see what they say about dock fees.

Ok, I know you came here mostly to ask about Dressel. They do sound decent, and it can be convenient to dive with the house Op. I'd still look at what DWM says about picking up there. I wouldn't quit an Op I liked unless there were strong reason.

ScubaLuis out of Cozumel is an awesome small totally personalized option. Only one I will dive with

And I wouldn't be that inflexible either, but you're new to diving. I would try any Coz Op if I had strong reason to instead of my current fav, unless I read horrible things about them - which is not likely as great as Coz Ops are in general and competitive as the field is.

In my younger days, I started with Florida Keys trips but wanting to dive sites all along the 100 miles strip, so I had to use different Ops - some I liked more than others, yeah - but I did the sites. Then I went on to explore diving Roatan, Belize, California Channel islands, Puget Sound - and even there tried three different Ops to get the sites, Exumas, North Carolina, your Thousand Islands,and more. I checked two bag for every trip, including my pony & reg for most as I learned early how lousy boat pick buds tend to be, and connected planes each way every time. I long ago lost count of how many different Ops I used, only hated one that I recall but still got good diving done in spite of them, but I enjoy adventure travels - even when things become challenging at times.

Nowadays, I'm not only the oldest on the boat but oldest ever for my current fav Op on Coz, but I still enjoy new adventures. My kids and I are doing this weekend of exploring southern Arizona as I've always wanted to see Saguaro in person, then the Organ Pipes and more. I really like getting the most from my bucks, took the cheapest tickets possible, and we can't even select seats until the day before. I hope that doesn't back fire, but then Southwest fliers never get to reserve seats.

 

[NDL_Diver]

Diving with Dressel at IB has some advantage.

They return to resort between dives so you can get refreshments.

You can do a late morning dive if you want to sleep in.

You can do afternoon dives since they run every day.

Book online and save a few bucks.


Downside is they are more rigid in the sites they go to (weekly schedule ).

Big boats with multiple groups of 8 divers.

More rigid about bottom time but most people cannot make a 80cf tank last more than 50 or 60 min like my wife and I.

BTW, I think they have relaxed the pier price and is more redonable and more boutique shops are serving them again. not confirmed, but read it somewhere.

All that being said I do prefer boutique shops. It is a personal choice.