Aldora Divers

[NDL_Diver]

Happy New Year!

My wife and I are planning to spend a good week of diving in Cozumel in a couple of months. My first choice is Aldora, and I have some questions.

As background, we are both experienced divers (I am a GUE cave diver) and we both dive a long hose BP/W configuration, leg pockets, etc. Diving is our passion but we are very serious about where and who we dive with.

1. How is the level assessed for arranging the boat groups and allowing dives at the more challenging spots (e.g. Barracuda reef)? a)Number of dives? b)Gas consumption? c) Overall diving performance + Awareness/Teamdiving in a check dive?

2. I am a bit paranoid with our own equipment to the point that I strongly prefer that nobody else except us manipulates our gear. We are used to personally analyze the gas and set our equipment up in the morning, change our tanks, and rinse everything up at the end of the day, all by ourselves. Would this be possible in Aldora?

First-hand responses from @Memo Mendoza or @Dave Dillehay would be extremely appreciated.

Many thanks in advance!

Dave no longer is part owner in Aldora. Memo rarely is on on the Scubaboard.
Fill out your reservations and answer the questions. They group divers mostly by skill. The 1st day maybe a try out day since they will not take you to Barracuda or Devils or lionfish hunt up north or .... until they assess your skills 1st hand.
There is plenty of room to put your concerns on reservation form. Once on island go to dive shop and speak with them. Use whatsapp (their phone #) to communicate any daily concerns while there. Tell the DM what you want to do tomorrow and whatsapp the shop.
Keep whadver gear you want to keep. You have to keep your wetsuit, they don't wash those for you. I keep my regulator and wetsuit and wash them at condo. I setup my reg and analyze my tank. I let them keep my BCD, fins and mask so basically I setup my gear (my BCD is on my tank when they pull up).

Been diving with them for 25 years. Communication is key

 

[ggunn]

Hi @apuleyo

I would suggest contacting Aldora directly to ask your questions and share your concerns.

I agree. If these are important details for your trip, do not rely on the opinions and anecdotes on a forum to make your plans; ask Aldora yourself.

 

[Dan G]

Happy New Year!

My wife and I are planning to spend a good week of diving in Cozumel in a couple of months. My first choice is Aldora, and I have some questions.

As background, we are both experienced divers (I am a GUE cave diver) and we both dive a long hose BP/W configuration, leg pockets, etc. Diving is our passion but we are very serious about where and who we dive with.

1. How is the level assessed for arranging the boat groups and allowing dives at the more challenging spots (e.g. Barracuda reef)? a)Number of dives? b)Gas consumption? c) Overall diving performance + Awareness/Teamdiving in a check dive?

2. I am a bit paranoid with our own equipment to the point that I strongly prefer that nobody else except us manipulates our gear. We are used to personally analyze the gas and set our equipment up in the morning, change our tanks, and rinse everything up at the end of the day, all by ourselves. Would this be possible in Aldora?

First-hand responses from @Memo Mendoza or @Dave Dillehay would be extremely appreciated.

Many thanks in advance!

+1 for contacting Aldora directly. As far as assessing diver level and grouping, when you fill out your reservation form explain your preferences including that you are interested in the northern sites such as Barracuda. In my experience Aldora plans those in advance with a group of divers they invite specifically for the north.

You can easily transport and care for your own gear. You may need to remind the Capt or DM who are accustomed to switching over tanks between dives, but otherwise just pack up your own gear after the second tank of the trip and take it with you.

The main thing you need to know is that Aldora has their groups stay together on every dive. This means you will be diving in a group of non-GUE divers and be expected to remain with the group including ascending as a group. This approach is different than plenty of other Cozumel ops who dive as a group (it's required by MX law to be with a guide while in the marine park) and send divers up as they get to the predetermined "time to end the dive pressure" which is often 700-1000 psi.

Aldora does not do this. If a diver gets to about 1000-1500 psi well before everyone else, the DM will air share with that diver using a long hose until others in the group get to a similar amount of gas. At that point, the diver using the DMs gas goes back to their own gas, the dive continues a bit longer, and then the entire group ascends together. Air sharing does not occur on every dive and on trips where we are on a boat with very experienced divers who all have good consumption, it never happens.

To reiterate, communicate with the shop. I have found Aldora to be very responsive and easy to work with. Many years ago, a GUE diver who lived in the Seattle region (IIRC) and was a regular poster on Scubaboard wrote about her very positive experience diving with Aldora. Have a great trip!

 

[divingjd]

Some good responses above. I will just add a few notes on grouping divers. They will not group you solely on certifications, number of dives, or other “paper” qualifications. They will have to see you in the water, maybe for a couple of days, before you will get assigned to the most advanced boat. To some degree, it all depends, but those are things to keep in mind. The other thing is that groupings depend on the mix of divers there on any given day. If you are the only two they are comfortable taking to Barracuda, it’s unlikely they will send the boat to Barracuda with only two divers. They would probably need four, or more likely six. Simple economics. I’ve been diving with them regularly since 2011. On my earlier trips, I often had great groups on the boat, sometimes had not-so-great groups. Was it me, the mix of divers that day, or something else. Hard to say. The last several years, I have always been happy with the group and got to go where I wanted to go, weather permitting. The better they know you, the better it is for you.

 

[bradStyle]

Happy New Year!

My wife and I are planning to spend a good week of diving in Cozumel in a couple of months. My first choice is Aldora, and I have some questions.

As background, we are both experienced divers (I am a GUE cave diver) and we both dive a long hose BP/W configuration, leg pockets, etc. Diving is our passion but we are very serious about where and who we dive with.

1. How is the level assessed for arranging the boat groups and allowing dives at the more challenging spots (e.g. Barracuda reef)? a)Number of dives? b)Gas consumption? c) Overall diving performance + Awareness/Teamdiving in a check dive?

2. I am a bit paranoid with our own equipment to the point that I strongly prefer that nobody else except us manipulates our gear. We are used to personally analyze the gas and set our equipment up in the morning, change our tanks, and rinse everything up at the end of the day, all by ourselves. Would this be possible in Aldora?

First-hand responses from @Memo Mendoza or @Dave Dillehay would be extremely appreciated.

Many thanks in advance!

My wife and I are Aldora regulars and GUE divers (she's got her tech pass, I've done Cave 1 + Tech 1). We're here all winter and I'm out with Aldora almost every day. Look for the guy diving twin AL80s. I let them confirm tank analysis for me and handle the rinsing at the end of the day, but otherwise I always set up and break down my own gear, and never let anyone else manipulate my valves. I'd let the shop know you want to analyze your own tanks and they'll let your divemaster know to bring an analyzer on the boat.

I'm happy to join you on any dive on the island (especially if it involves swimthroughs). I dive a standard GUE gear configuration (we're Halcyon/Apeks/Shearwater people), but we do things a little differently on recreational ocean dives: We don't use a primary light, we don't do full EDGEs (just the gear checks), and you definitely won't catch us in trim position for an entire dive... we're wetsuit divers and we enjoy being sideways, upside down, and seated during drift dives way too much to limit ourselves. LOL.

 

[apuleyo]

Thanks a million to @bradStyle, @scubadada, @NDL_Diver, @Dan G, @divingjd, for sharing your experience and your really good advice.

I contacted Aldora and Jorge was super helpful clarifying the logistics and confirming that we will have no problem managing our own gear and using the rinse tank at the shop. Related to the level, he said the following:

We are dedicated to matching the level of divers on each boat based on experience, gas consumption, and other factors you mentioned. We have seven boats and can arrange groups according to these criteria, accommodating 6 to 7 divers under special circumstances.

I get that everything depends on demand and he can't guarantee a boat with divers at certain level the two of us can join, but I am hopeful that with 7 boats they can adjust much better than smaller operators.

So we finally decided to book with Aldora!

My wife and I are Aldora regulars and GUE divers (she's got her tech pass, I've done Cave 1 + Tech 1). We're here all winter and I'm out with Aldora almost every day. Look for the guy diving twin AL80s. I let them confirm tank analysis for me and handle the rinsing at the end of the day, but otherwise I always set up and break down my own gear, and never let anyone else manipulate my valves. I'd let the shop know you want to analyze your own tanks and they'll let your divemaster know to bring an analyzer on the boat.

I'm happy to join you on any dive on the island (especially if it involves swimthroughs). I dive a standard GUE gear configuration (we're Halcyon/Apeks/Shearwater people), but we do things a little differently on recreational ocean dives: We don't use a primary light, we don't do full EDGEs (just the gear checks), and you definitely won't catch us in trim position for an entire dive... we're wetsuit divers and we enjoy being sideways, upside down, and seated during drift dives way too much to limit ourselves. LOL.

Diving together would be a-w-e-s-o-m-e ! I can relate to everything you mention!
Are you still around mid March? Hope so! Will DM you now.

 

[Mlindie4]

We arrive tomorrow. Diving with Alodra for 5 days starting Sunday. My 13 year old son got certified last year when he was 12. We have done a couple local lake dives but this will be his first real open water experience. Might be a mistake to spoil him with Cozumel diving but hey I'll take that chance! Looking forward to diving with the best operation on the island. @Dave Dillehay thanks for sharing the history of Aldora, very cool.

Cozumel definitely spoils them, but then again so does, Diving with Aldora. Our son who is now 13 certified when he was 10. We started in Hawaii, which is amazing. But nothing compared to Cozumel. Aldora is top-notch. their service and Dive Masters can’t be beat but, the most important thing to me is they put my mama heart at ease. We’re headed back next month and can’t wait. I don’t know how many times we’ve dove with them in the last 2 1/2 years between Cozumel and Mexico he’s logged 50 dives at 13. He is totally comfortable in the water. I hope we run into other families at some point. We still don’t see too many kids on our dives. It’s good to hear from other family divers

 

[wateraddiction]

We arrive tomorrow. Diving with Alodra for 5 days starting Sunday. My 13 year old son got certified last year when he was 12. We have done a couple local lake dives but this will be his first real open water experience. Might be a mistake to spoil him with Cozumel diving but hey I'll take that chance! Looking forward to diving with the best operation on the island. @Dave Dillehay thanks for sharing the history of Aldora, very cool.

So how was your son's experience with Aldora? We have a 10 and 11 yo who just got certified in Bonaire and I'm considering DWM, Aldora (where I got cert with Liang) and an interesting GUE DM named Ruben. I'm thinking as a family of 4 with 2 Jr divers restricted to 40 ft, we would be assigned our own DM.

 

[Mlindie4]

So how was your son's experience with Aldora? We have a 10 and 11 yo who just got certified in Bonaire and I'm considering DWM, Aldora (where I got cert with Liang) and an interesting GUE DM named Ruben. I'm thinking as a family of 4 with 2 Jr divers restricted to 40 ft, we would be assigned our own DM.

We always use our own Dive Master. It’s totally worth the extra money. Even though he’s not as restricted now at 13 it’s just nice to have our own DM. It puts my mind at ease and I enjoy myself a lot more.

 

[wateraddiction]

We always use our own Dive Master. It’s totally worth the extra money. Even though he’s not as restricted now at 13 it’s just nice to have our own DM. It puts my mind at ease and I enjoy myself a lot more.

One of the reasons I love diving is how relaxed I feel under water and then I dove with my kids for the first time and for a second I thought, "Oh God, what have I done"!? So yes, we are definitely getting our own DM in Cozumel..... When you went with Aldora when your son was 10-12yo, were you always with another group on the boat and you dropped at different sites or just dove at different profiles?