ALWAYS DIVING - Cancun, MX

[fanthomdiver]

If you're looking for a reputable, no frills dive outfit for a trip to Cancun, MX, ALWAYS DIVING is the place to go. Always Diving's reviews are spot on and I and my son are first hand witnesses. Here's why and the low down . . . After a few internet searches for a reputable dive shop in Cancun, I emailed the shop a week before my arrival asking for diving recommendations for a rescue certified diver. Alvaro, the owner, enthusiastically answered the email and recommended the Advanced diver trips, i.e. wreck and a reef dive. We exchanged a couple more emails and then I paid for the dive trip via PayPal for July 3, Friday. I also brought along my 14 yr. old son for the trip as a first time bubble watcher and Alvaro did not charge me extra for him.

Me and my son arrived at the Always Diving shop 30 minutes early of scheduled time (9:40 a.m.). The shop was still closed and no one showed up until about 10:15 a.m. It was Juan, the trip's dive master/instructor. After the introductory preliminaries and the paperwork, Juan asked me and another diver, who has been diving a few days with them, to suit up. We were set in about 15 minutes. It is at this point that Juan handed me the phone to talk to Alvaro. This is where I began to get a bit queasy. Alvaro informed me that I was not scheduled to go with the group for the day since I have not responded to his confirmation email 2 days ago and that the boat for the day is already fully booked. I said I was not able to get the email since I was traveling from CA and on my way to Cancun and that the internet is very spotty at my hotel resort. I also emphasized that I have stated the dive date and paid for it in full as agreed. Alvaro asked me if I could possibly dive the next day to which I declined since I will be flying back home the day after and will need to SIT it out for at least 24 hrs. Alvaro at this point said to hang tight for a second and he'll see what he can do.

Fast forward, Alvaro arranged for another boat to take just me and the other diver. The trip became a 3 man dive which is by far is the smallest dive group I ever had in 20 plus yrs. of diving. Great dives overall as has always been in my many trips in Cozumel, MX. What made it special is the outstanding accommodation Alvaro extended to make it happen.

A Sr. Alvaro y compadre master/instructor Juan - MUCHISIMAS GRACIAS A TI AMIGOS POR UNA GRAN TIEMPO EN LA MAR CARIBE! HASTA OTRA Y HASTA LA VISTA HEFES ! ! !

 

[mmmbelows]

I'm glad you were able to make lemonade from the lemons you were handed. Unfortunately I've experienced the same thing with this outfit and good reviews or not there seems to be a pattern of disorganization that keeps repeating it self enough where I wouldn't dive with them again, as it's a crap-shoot on what you're going to experience every time Alvaro subs your dives out to a sub-contracted dive master. The long waits at the "mall" for somebody to finally show up, the confusion of who you are and what's supposed to be going on, the dives pre-paid which suddenly become "un-confirmed". Been there done that, unfortunately this isn't a one time thing, huge frustration and not worth putting ourselves through it again. Seems like when you actually dive with Alaro things are great, when he is at capacity and farms you out to one of his subs the wheels have a good chance of falling off. Unfortunately, there seems to be no way of knowing when you book with them whether you're diving with Alvaro or not until you show up.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

I would have to agree this company doesn't sound reputable and is someone I wouldn't ever dive with unfortunately.

 

[Diver Dave1]

If I read this correctly, You pre-paid for the dive? But they did not put you on the schedule due to lack of communication 2 days prior to diving?
You stated: "I also emphasized that I have stated the dive date and paid for it in full as agreed"

If that is the case, I would not be diving with them again or giving them high marks regardless of what else they did.

 

[alwaysdiving]

Hey there, whatever happens is my responsability 100%, I've been teaching and conducting divers for over 33 years since I became in a dive instructor, unfortunatelly the problem it was because there was impossible to receive mails, the most important thing it was that we solve the situation in a way that everyone where happy and we give them a really good couple of dives, we have resources and options to give the divers the best, thanks for your comments and I'll be sure that it won't happen again, for those who has a bad experience with us, please give us an opportunity of redeem ourselfs and show you that when someone has more than 33 year with a good reputation sometimes you can have a bad day, so mmmbelows Ontwreckdiver kcmayes1 next time you come to Cancun you'll have a dive free of charge.
I beg you not to misunderstand me, all these situations help us to make thing better.
I really appreciate your feedback.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

We've done a lot of diving with Alvaro.
Sue and I did our OW and AOW with him. I did Rescue.
He did Kim's DSD and OW, when we got her addicted - I mean introduced- to diving.
When Sue's son and his new wife went to Playa del Carmen for their honeymoon, we called Alvaro, who went to Playa to do a DSD with them.
When my daughter gets married next June, we're sending them to Cancun for their honeymoon, and Alvaro will be doing a DSD with them.
We trust him to introduce the most important people in the world to diving.

AlwaysDiving is a small shop. And sure, mistakes and mix ups happen. But I'm confident Alvaro will bend over backwards to make it right. Like offering free dives to people who say they were unhappy.
I've seen the same sort of mixups with much larger shops, including large, well respected shops like Stuart Cove's Dive Bahamas and Aldora Divers on Cozumel.

I'd dive with Alvaro, Aldora, or Stuart's Cove anytime.



Sent from an old fashioned 300 baud acoustic modem by whistling into the handset. Not TapaTalk. Really.