Cruising into Cozumel and Costa Maya

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BigDaddyGlad

Contributor
Messages
76
Reaction score
82
Location
Toronto, Canada
# of dives
25 - 49
Hola!

I'm thrilled to be posting back here! I was last in the water in Cozumel (stayed at Iberostar, dove with Dressel) in February 2020 just before the world went to hell. Today, I booked a cruise for November, stopping in Cozumel, Costa Maya, Grand Cayman and Belize. I'll definitely be diving Belize (never been before, so I'll take recommendations there too!), and I would like to arrange a 2-tank dive in Cozumel and/or Costa Maya.

Rather than going through the cruise line and paying too much for too little, who would you dive with?
 
Dreamtime Divers in Costa Maya is great, but they may be the ship’s dive op. Email them to check. I have used them as ship’s dive op and also when they were not. I don’t remember much of a cost difference in either case. Excellent dive op.
There are a lot of really good dive ops in Cozumel which you can find in the Cozumel thread.
Belize is a tender port (at least it was the last time I was there) which means you will have little control over when you can actually get off the ship. Priority is given to ship excursions. You should seriously consider using the ship’s dive excursion if there is one in Belize.
When arriving by cruise ship in any port, your choice of dive ops may be limited by your arrival/departure times, and make sure you know if ship’s time is the same as local time for each port.
 
Dreamtime Divers in Costa Maya is great, but they may be the ship’s dive op. Email them to check. I have used them as ship’s dive op and also when they were not. I don’t remember much of a cost difference in either case. Excellent dive op.
There are a lot of really good dive ops in Cozumel which you can find in the Cozumel thread.
Belize is a tender port (at least it was the last time I was there) which means you will have little control over when you can actually get off the ship. Priority is given to ship excursions. You should seriously consider using the ship’s dive excursion if there is one in Belize.
When arriving by cruise ship in any port, your choice of dive ops may be limited by your arrival/departure times, and make sure you know if ship’s time is the same as local time for each port.
Dreamtime closed. Amigos del Mar and Tritones are my go-to ops in Mahahual.
 
@horn34 Thank you for the update on Dreamtime Divers. I am surprised, and sorry, to hear they are closed, but appreciate your recommendation for the next time I am in Mahahual. I am surprised because their website is up and running with no mention of permanent closure.
 
@horn34 Thank you for the update on Dreamtime Divers. I am surprised, and sorry, to hear they are closed, but appreciate your recommendation for the next time I am in Mahahual. I am surprised because their website is up and running with no mention of permanent closure.
My friend is/was the manager. They may re-open at some point in the future, but there's not enough business right now to justify daily operations. I generally don't trust dive op websites, as most of the ops I use all over the Yucatan admit they rarely update them.
 
Choices for who will take you from a cruise ship may be limited.
 
I've used Deep Blue for diving while on cruise stops. They do a great job accommodating schedules.
 
ARISE!

Reviving this old thread to ask again about Costa Maya/Mahahual. On my November 2021 cruise, I ended up diving Cozumel and Belize, and just spend an hour or so walking around the port area in Costa Maya.

I've got my next cruise coming up in August, with stops again in Costa Maya & Cozumel, as well as Roatan. I've booked two-tank dives through the cruise line for Cozumel (operator unknown) and Roatan (through Anthony's Key), but I'm thinking I could also squeeze a dive in in Costa Maya without upsetting the family too much.

Is the diving even any good in Costa Maya? Any shop come particularly recommended in 2022?
 
Try Doctor Dive in Mahahual. I booked a two tank dive with Charlie, and was impressed by his quick responses to my emails and questions. Unfortunately, high winds prevented docking at Costa Maya, so I was not able to do the dives, and Charlie was very timely in returning my deposit. I will definitely use him when I return in November.
 
ARISE!

Reviving this old thread to ask again about Costa Maya/Mahahual. On my November 2021 cruise, I ended up diving Cozumel and Belize, and just spend an hour or so walking around the port area in Costa Maya.

I've got my next cruise coming up in August, with stops again in Costa Maya & Cozumel, as well as Roatan. I've booked two-tank dives through the cruise line for Cozumel (operator unknown) and Roatan (through Anthony's Key), but I'm thinking I could also squeeze a dive in in Costa Maya without upsetting the family too much.

Is the diving even any good in Costa Maya? Any shop come particularly recommended in 2022?
Diving around Mahahual is ok, but the big draw there is diving Banco Chinchorro. It's a 7-8 hour day trip, so not sure if you will have time, but it's an experience.

The two shops I recommended previously (Tritones and Amigos del Mar) are the only full time dive ops that go to Chinchorro.
 

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