Allegro Cozumel alternative dive operator

[IRZL]

Good day,
My husband and I are going to Allegro Cozumel end of December. Are there smaller DOs to Pro Divers whom you can recommend in close proximity?
Thank you

 

[IRZL]

We were picked up at Allegro pier by Roberta's Scuba Shack for the past 7 days. They were paying the dock guy and added it to our final bill. Not sure how much but about $3 per person per day. I just remember for two people for 7 days the adder was in the low 40's.

Being close to the dive sites is nice. We had to hurry to get our stuff in our bags after dive 2 before they were at the dock. A day or two they beat us. One drawback is you don't get to do the more northern sites. One day we rode back to their shop so we could do Tormentos.

Thank you. Would you do it again or would you rather "go with the flow" - ProDivers?

 

[ReefHound]

Thank you. Would you do it again or would you rather "go with the flow" - ProDivers?

I would absolutely use Roberta's again. We've used them our last 5 trips and know all the crew. We packed up our dive bags but left the bags on the boat. They rinsed and stored and had set up in the morning. If your op won't do that, then Pro Dive would have the advantage of offering dockside rinse tanks and lockers versus schlepping them to and from your room and rinsing in the shower. Which we did the first day before a DM said are you crazy, why are you doing that?

 

[MrBigfins]

By smaller op, are you looking for a smaller boat? Good posts from @NDL_Diver and @cozcharlie .

Something else to think about: although ProDive has bigger boats, groups will be small and the trip to dive sites will be 5-10 minutes - dive times may be about 10 minutes shorter than going with a smaller op because they tend to (or used to) stay on a schedule. With “smaller” ops and, of course, depending on the sites, you may get 60+ minute dive times. If you are looking for more than 2 dives a day, it may be easier to schedule with ProDive also, since they are right there. If you have another op pick you up, you will be waiting for them to arrive and most likely be the last divers on the boat (unless they are also picking up at the Iberostar a little farther south.) Just a few things to think about - no matter what you do, it will be great!!

Some of these statements aren't true. I've dove with Prodive from the Allegro and while at times groups were "small" there were times with 20 divers on the boat. While some sites are 10-15 min away, others were 40 min boat rides.

 

[jonhall]

Some of these statements aren't true. I've dove with Prodive from the Allegro and while at times groups were "small" there were times with 20 divers on the boat. While some sites are 10-15 min away, others were 40 min boat rides.

Although the OP has already gone on her trip, I'll respond - it would be nice to see a trip report from @IRZL on what their experience was, whether they dove with Pro Dive or some other dive op.

I believe my statements were pretty true. There were probably near 20 divers when I dove with Pro Dive several years before Covid and yes, groups were small, as I wrote. I was trying to indicate that although they have bigger boats (allowing more divers), dive groups would be small. Not sure when you last dove with them but I believe there are still boat capacity limitations in effect due to Covid (I'll even go out on a limb and say that some dive ops have imposed their own limit) and I'm pretty sure there has been group limitations, max 8 divers per group, pre-pandemic. Need a real Coz person to chime in and verify that.

I would be interested to know what dive sites Pro Dive boats go to that are 40 minutes away. One of Pro Dive's draws for many people, who tend to feel sea-sickness, are the short rides. Their website still indicates they are 5-10 minutes from dive sites. As mentioned earlier in this thread, a drawback for some could be that they don't go to the more northern dive sites - in December, I was on a fast boat from the north hotel zone and reached the marine park dive sites in 30-40 minutes - can't imagine where a 40 minute boat ride on a slow boat from Allegro would put you (actually, I can - I was on a Dressel dive boat from the PDC ferry to the Iberostar, a little farther south than Allegro, and it was an ~60 min boat ride.) Would you say your advice for the OP, by stating, "others were 40 min boat rides," be that these longer trips are common for Pro Dive or that they can happen, in your experience?

I would always suggest that a person check with the dive op they're interested in diving with to see what their current status is - no matter what is written here.

 

[MrBigfins]

Although the OP has already gone on her trip, I'll respond - it would be nice to see a trip report from @IRZL on what their experience was, whether they dove with Pro Dive or some other dive op.

I believe my statements were pretty true. There were probably near 20 divers when I dove with Pro Dive several years before Covid and yes, groups were small, as I wrote. I was trying to indicate that although they have bigger boats (allowing more divers), dive groups would be small. Not sure when you last dove with them but I believe there are still boat capacity limitations in effect due to Covid (I'll even go out on a limb and say that some dive ops have imposed their own limit) and I'm pretty sure there has been group limitations, max 8 divers per group, pre-pandemic. Need a real Coz person to chime in and verify that.

I would be interested to know what dive sites Pro Dive boats go to that are 40 minutes away. One of Pro Dive's draws for many people, who tend to feel sea-sickness, are the short rides. Their website still indicates they are 5-10 minutes from dive sites. As mentioned earlier in this thread, a drawback for some could be that they don't go to the more northern dive sites - in December, I was on a fast boat from the north hotel zone and reached the marine park dive sites in 30-40 minutes - can't imagine where a 40 minute boat ride on a slow boat from Allegro would put you (actually, I can - I was on a Dressel dive boat from the PDC ferry to the Iberostar, a little farther south than Allegro, and it was an ~60 min boat ride.) Would you say your advice for the OP, by stating, "others were 40 min boat rides," be that these longer trips are common for Pro Dive or that they can happen, in your experience?

I would always suggest that a person check with the dive op they're interested in diving with to see what their current status is - no matter what is written here.

2 years ago was last time with them, so pre covid. By groups do you mean underwater? Yes they were split between 2-3 divemasters underwater, but still the chaos and cramped atmosphere on even a large boat with 22-23 divers on board. I thoroughly enjoyed the dms I had with pro dive and we usually had a full group of experienced divers, so we probably didn't have the same experience as others.. I've also been on a pro dive boat where there were only 4 divers.
Punta sur, tormentos/paradise area are about the 2 extremes either direction from allegro and depending on which boat you get equal 30-40 min boat rides. The 40 min trips often had a few drop offs at other resorts. If diving all week I would imagine on average you would experience the longer rides at least 3 times in a trip as they run a fairly set schedule for dive sites. I have done a couple trips with them and probably 120ish dives with them between those trips. So I'm not saying there aren't advantages to using them,free nitrox being one of them. I've personally decided that style of coz diving is not my cup of tea anymore though. I love the flexibility and experience with 3ps, or the more personalized touches of Punta Sur divers (I met the owner when he worked at Pro divers) but thats the beauty of Cozumel, there is something for everyone

 

[IRZL]

Hello. I am back from the trip. Last minute we decided to go with pro divers. We were not really thrilled about our experience with them. The boats were overcrowded. Divers are not "assigned" to a particular boat or a DM for the entire duration of your stay, so we had to switch boats every morning and every afternoon. Often there were no space on the boat to set up the equipment while sitting on the bench. The boats so overcrowded that we had to do it in on the floor of the boat and then pick it up from the floor. We lost two days of diving due to a bad weather and pro divers do not return money. They provide "vouchers", so I wouldn't recommend buying a package as we did. DM are very openly hinting tips after each 2 tanks as pro divers switch and assign different DMs. So, I guess they were concerned that divers won't tip end of their stay. Looking back we should have gone with smaller operation.

 

[MrBigfins]

Hello. I am back from the trip. Last minute we decided to go with pro divers. We were not really thrilled about our experience with them. The boats were overcrowded. Divers are not "assigned" to a particular boat or a DM for the entire duration of your stay, so we had to switch boats every morning and every afternoon. Often there were no space on the boat to set up the equipment while sitting on the bench. The boats so overcrowded that we had to do it in on the floor of the boat and then pick it up from the floor. We lost two days of diving due to a bad weather and pro divers do not return money. They provide "vouchers", so I wouldn't recommend buying a package as we did. DM are very openly hinting tips after each 2 tanks as pro divers switch and assign different DMs. So, I guess they were concerned that divers won't tip end of their stay. Looking back we should have gone with smaller operation.

Thanks for stopping back and letting us know your experience

 

[wlecyt40]

We have gone through We B Divin'. They pick up at the resort. Yassar and Otto are great! We have dove with them twice before and are planning on going in August. They are a smaller DO but are very personable and helpful.

 

[VcRossi]

Hello. I am back from the trip. Last minute we decided to go with pro divers. We were not really thrilled about our experience with them. The boats were overcrowded. Divers are not "assigned" to a particular boat or a DM for the entire duration of your stay, so we had to switch boats every morning and every afternoon. Often there were no space on the boat to set up the equipment while sitting on the bench. The boats so overcrowded that we had to do it in on the floor of the boat and then pick it up from the floor. We lost two days of diving due to a bad weather and pro divers do not return money. They provide "vouchers", so I wouldn't recommend buying a package as we did. DM are very openly hinting tips after each 2 tanks as pro divers switch and assign different DMs. So, I guess they were concerned that divers won't tip end of their stay. Looking back we should have gone with smaller operation.

Thank you @IRZL for writing about your experience. I've been to Cozumel twice with my partner, stayed in budget accommodations and dove with Tres Pelicanos. This time we're going with family, that includes kids and non-divers, and staying in a resort (likely Allegro). Was debating whether to dive again with Tres Pelicanos or try Pro Dive. Your post made me decide Tres Pelicanos is a better choice.

 

[VcRossi]

Back from Cozumel. Went with Tres Pelicanos again and have zero regrets! I saw Pro Dive's boat and it was way bigger than Tres Pelicanos' boat. Don't know how big their groups were. Our boat had only 6 divers total on all days. On the 1st day we waited on the pier, but the captain wanted to pick us up on the beach instead. When we boarded he said the resort charges for pier usage, but it's free if you're picked up at the beach.
This was my 3rd time diving with Tres Pelicanos, and their operation was impeccable once again.