All inclusive resorts with shore diving in Cozumel

[El Graduado]

Plane was in good shape after Gilbert. I dove it in the 90's and it was still in one piece and upright.

Before Wilma trashed it, it was flipped over and damaged by a cruise ship that got loose in a norte leaving port. They went full speed on the side thrusters and it was flipped over.

The plane was almost always on its back, upside down. What happened was, they had it filled with Styrofoam and tethered it to the bottom with a cable, so it would not drift while they were filming topside. After the "crash" sequence, they removed the Styrofoam and filmed it sinking. It landed softly up-right and they then filmed the underwater, interior sequences. Ramon Bravo was the cameraman. Rita Sheese was his associate and also played one of the dead passengers, holding her breath while strapped in a seat with a diver holding an octopus out of scene. Luckily, they were able to film all the underwater scenes involving the plane that same day, because when they came back in the morning, they found that the current flipped the plane over on its back during the night. They couldn't flip it back over, so they didn't shoot the last scenes and the plane stayed upside-down after that, until it was finally broken to pieces.

As far as the James Bond film "Thunderball," the underwater scenes from that movie were filmed in the Bahamas. No Bond film was ever made in Cozumel. "License to Kill" was filmed in Isla Mujeres, again with Ramon Bravo and Rita Sheese handling the underwater sequences. She still has her story board mock-ups she made for those scenes and lots of still shots of the scenes.

 

[cvchief]

And again with the education. I love it!

 

[Mossman]

Most recently, I stayed at secrets... I would never stay there again because it is not catering towards the divers... More towards vacationers... That being said there is not a rinse tank anywhere near the dock, and there are no lockers... It was a whole lot of fun carrying my gear all the way back to the room every single day without it being rinsed...

Interesting. When I stayed at Secrets, my gear got rinsed every day and the only thing I had to carry back to the room was my camera. I would definitely stay there again.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

We love staying at Casa Mexicana simply because it is convenient to everything. No beach and the pool is small. Breakfast is downstairs and is the best buffet on the island. Several dives shops are within a block. Aldora pier is maybe a block away at the very most. Aldora uses steel 120's if you want and the dive times are longer than any I've ever done. If you are grouped with an Airhog, they will take a pony for them or share air with the DM. Everyone has a long dive. They also have several boats so you are all grouped within your ability. Our last dive was relatively shallow and we were down almost 90 minutes. They do a long surface interval at a beach club. Next time we will pack a lunch, I wasn't impressed with the food, but the facilities are nice. The draw for us of Casa Mexicana is the location, it's within walking distance of almost everything we enjoy, or cab rides are cheap enough for everything else. mega is about a 5 minute walk as well.

For an anniversary, you might upgrade the room. A standard room is $70 or less if you call and book yourself, I think a suite is around $90. Breakfast is incredible, diving Aldora is a little more than most, but your times are considerably longer so it work out if you figure what most charge to add a an aluminum 100 tank. Aldora is also "valet" diving so there is no hauling your equipment except your wetsuit. They haul, rinse, and store your gear for you until you leave. There are several other valet dive shops within walking distance as well. blue Magic and tres pelicanos come to mind. I've never dive with TP, but have heard good things. I have dove with Blue Magic and loved it, no steel 120 tanks though.

I know you asked for an AI with shore diving, but an AI leaves out lots of great food, takes a cab ride to town, and the shore diving is mediocre. If you still want to dive after the morning 2 tank dives, throw in a few night dives. The twilight dives are breathtakingly beautiful as the light fades and I love the true "drop into the black" night dives. Guidos would be a great restaurant for your anniversary evening meal, the scallops (if you like scallops) are the best I've ever had.

Whatever you choose, happy anniversary, safe travels, and please buy a drink at The Thirsty Cougar for me. Lobster Rolls and Shrimp Rolls at The Lonster Shack across the street are really good too. We usually have lunch there after diving since its between the Aldora Pier and CM. I'm landlocked for the next several months.....

Jay